Reddit Submission Statement Bot

This is a bot for Reddit, to manage "submission statements" on posts. These require that a user submits a justification for why the post meets the requirements of the subreddit (or that a user has read the rules for example), therefore reducing spam and other non-conforming content.

The variety of configuration options is described in more detail below, however at the "default" configuration the bot will run every 5 minutes and

• check for new posts and request a submission statement
• look at posts where the 5 minute submission statement time has expired, check if the submission statement meets the 100 character limit, and either remove or approve them based on this criteria

The bot does not operate on historical posts, and will only manage posts submitted after the bot has started.

Installation / Operation

Set up a Reddit account

1. Create a new Reddit account with an account name suitable for the bot, e.g. "subreddit-submission-bot".

2. Login into your a Reddit account which moderates your subreddit and has the ability to invite other moderators (or ask a moderator who can), and invite the bot to become a moderator with "Manage Posts and Comments" access.

3. Log back into the bot’s account and accept the invitation.

4. Go to https://www.reddit.com/prefs/apps/ and select Create an app

5. Type a name for your app and choose script.

6. Write a short description of what your bot will be doing.

7. Set the about URI to this Github Repo URL (or any URL of your choice).

8. Set the redirect URI to "http://localhost:8080".

9. Select create app.

10. Make note of both the client ID (the code underneath the "personal use script" subheading), and the client secret.

Configure your hosting

1. It is assumed you will have a 24/7 available host, with a python environment. The bot will work most effectively if left running. Oracle's "always free" tier is a suitable environment to use for this bot.

2. The bot has been tested on Python 3.10.12 and PRAW 7.7.1. See: PRAW installation

3. Obtain a copy of the bot's code - either select Code and then Download Zip, or Clone to your host via the HTTPS URL.

Configure the Bot

1. Open submission-statement-bot.cfg.example

2. Set up the configuration as needed for your subreddit (see below for configuration options)

3. Save the file as submission-statement-bot.cfg

Run the Bot

1. If you are in a linux environment, usage of a screen is recommended.

2. Run the submission-statement-bot.py file in a terminal or command prompt; e.g. python3 submission-statement-bot.py

Bot configuration options

subreddit name of your subreddit

submission_statement_minimum_char_length minimum character length of submission statement. A number from zero to anything you require.

minutes_to_wait_for_submission_statement number of minutes allowed for a user to respond with a submission statement. The minimum is 1 minute.

pin_submission_statement_request boolean (True/False) for whether we sticky the request for a submission statement.

pin_submission_statement_response boolean (True/False) for whether we sticky the submission statement response that the user has provided.

remove_posts boolean (True/False) for if we are removing a post or just reporting it. True = remove, False = report.

use_spolier_tags boolean (True/False) for if we should hide the text that was provided as a submission statement. Useful if the text gives away an unexpected outcome for example.

bot_interval number of seconds between each bot "run", minimum 30. Lower values will mean users wait a shorter period before receiving a request for a submission statement, but are more intensive on the host system.

bot_remove_request boolean (True/False) for if we should remove the "request for submission statement" comment that the bot makes

required_words_in_submission_statement a list of words, separated by commas, that must be in the submission statement. E.g. irtr, potato, banana

removal_reason the text that the bot uses in its comment when removing a post

submission_statement_request the text that the bot uses in its comment when requesting a submission statement

bot_footer_text the text displayed at the bottom of each comment from the bot, useful to explain that it is a bot and not a human

username Reddit user account name that the bot will use password Reddit user password that the bot will use

client_id the "id" of the script application that was created on www.reddit.com/prefs/apps client_secret the "secret" of the script application that was created on www.reddit.com/prefs/apps