Managing Your Bot & Chat

Now that you have a chat setup and you've implemented some changes to your settings to keep the community running it's worth us discussing how your Bot & Chat can be managed with Modr8.

Managing Your Bot

Amending & Changing Your Bots Profile

Since your Bot has been registered by you with @BotFather the official Telegram bot registration assistant then you own the Bot Profile settings. This means, if you want to carry out any of the following actions you will do so via @Botfather direct.

I want to change my bots profile picture

This is done by messaging botfather direct and uploading your new profile image.

1. Message @BotFather or click this quick link.

2. Type /setuserpic to let the bot know you want to set a profile image

3. Select your bot from the list

4. Upload or paste a Photo file

5. Observe your bot profile picture will be updated once caching expires

I want to update my bots name/username

There is good and bad news! The bad news first - you are unable to change your bots username once it has been set. This means the @username / https://t.me/username part can not be altered. You will need to register a new bot to do this.

The good news is that you are able to change the display name for the bot. To do so complete the following steps.

1. Message @BotFather or click this quick link.

2. Type /setname to let the bot know you want to set a new display name

3. Select your bot from the list

4. State the new name of the bot, it does not have to end with "bot" unlike the username

5. Observe your bot display name updates once telegram has completed processing the change

I want to show a command list when users type / in my chat

Whilst the Telegram Bot API does allow us to manage and change the list of commands displayed when users type "/" in their Telegram app it's really confusing to work with and is fraught with complications when numerous admins of your chats register different commands.

We recommend setting commands direct with the bot as the owner so you can manage what is going to be listed to users. Remember, this is going to show the command list in every chat the bot is in.

By default Modr8 will automatically list any of the commands you have created on our platform in the "Command Builder" if a user sends the command /commands in your chat. It is best to only register "commands" with bot father. You can however use the process outlined below to set any number of commands you want to show.

1. Message @BotFather or click this quick link.

2. Type /setcommands to let the bot know you wish to set commands to be displayed when a user types /

3. Select your bot from the list

4. State the commands you wish to be stored. The format required is commandname - command description as an example send commands - Our chat commands this would then show "commands" when a user types /

If you wish to register multiple commands you need to have them each of a new line when sending them to botfather. As an example:

command1 - Here's my first command command2 - Here's my second command

What features of my bot can I manage on the Modr8 website?

Given the Bot Profile amendments are managed direct with @BotFather that only really leaves the management of the bot token with Modr8 website and also some of out "bot level" features such as announcements, team access, bot commands (work in private message to the bot).

All of the major settings we offer for Modr8 are managed at a "Chat Level", which means each chat that has been activated against your bot can have its own isolated setup, completely personalised to that community. You can even have your bot responding in a different language from one group to the next.

I want to send an announcement to all of my chats through the bot

Whilst you are able to click the "announcements" button on each individual chat to send one-off, scheduled and social announcements we also have "bot announcements" which will issue an announcement out across all of the chats the bot has been activated against.

To find out how to issue a Global Bot Announcement check out our guide here.

To find more out about our Global & Multi-Chat Features check our explanation here.

I want to delete my bot from the platform

There are times when you just want to start over. We get it! The bot owner is the only person who can delete a bot profile from the Modr8 platform as there are serious implications.

Deleting your bot from the platform will:

• Delete the bot

• Delete all chat data associated with the bot

• Delete all tracked user data associated with the chats

• Remove all settings and team access

We are unable to reverse this process, even though we do take incremental backups through the day the overhead to re-processing these for you just isn't possible for us on an individual basis to execute.

With all of this being said, if you are still sure you want to delete your bot form Modr8 complete the following steps.

1. Login to the Modr8 Platform

2. Click the "Manage" button on the bot you wish to delete

3. Select "Bot Menu" button on the bot profile, just below its profile image

4. Select "Delete Bot" - Confirm the deletion.

I want to switch my current bot profile over to another bot I have created

Sometimes you may wish to change up your brand or you may have lost access to your previous bot. There are two options available and it depends on which way works best for you.

Option 1: Register the new bot and leave the old one for dead

• Kick your old bot from your chat, it won't receive chat updates

• Register a new bot with the platform

• Export your settings, commands, actions and other items from your old bot chats

• Import each of the above into the new bot once you have activated the chat with the new bot

Option 2: Manual support intervention

The second option would be for the Modr8 support team to manually detach your old bot from the platform and attach your new bot in its place. This can take some time so we prefer you to choose option 1.

Managing Your Chat

As Modr8 is in command of your registered chat we have better control over it's settings and management. The bullet points below will set out what is managed where.

Managed In Chat via Telegram Apps

The day to day moderation of the chat using standard "bot commands" are utilised from the Telegram app. You will not be managing any of the bots built in settings from here.

• Executing Moderation Commands - Our full list can be viewed here, but these are mutes, bans, warnings, kicks & deletions.

• Reviewing private "Event Log" and issuing approvals / moderation events

• Commands enabled due to Modr8 modules i.e. /toprep ranks, /report and /toprefs

If you wish to see a full list of general moderation commands available to your chat admins message your bot in private and send the command /commands your Modr8 powered bot will reply with a list of all of the commands available to be executed from the chat and what they do.

Managed On Website via Modr8 Platform

Modr8 main engine settings are all handled on our website. From the outset we have found that managing such a vast array of modules and configuration is horrible when forced to do so via a chat direct with your bot. It is much easier to manage and work with on a website where you have a view of what each setting does and can edit it easily.

• Creating & managing custom commands, announcements, polls & actions

• Managing tracked users and viewing profiles, referrals and reputation points

• Configuring standard settings such as welcome messages, user filters, spam prevention and advanced filters.

❓FAQ & Troubleshooting

I am unable to see the bot or my chat on the website

Only the bot owner or members of the team are able to manage the bot and associated chat settings on the website. You might need to be granted access, in which case contact the bot owner and remind them to provide a team access code. A tutorial/guide on how to do so can be found here.