Command proposal: !watch

[elkowar]

!watch <user> [time]
would create a hidden channel where all actions of the given user are logged. This would make it easier for the mod-team to keep an eye on people, reducing moderation effort.
Watching would stop either after the time ran out, or after a mod runs !watch stop in the given channel.
The channel should stay existant until the mod runs !watch close.

Possible, major issue

Thanks to discord being rather weird, hidden channel names are still visible to the API as well as the audit-log. This would mean that anyone using a customized client could see the hidden channels, which would in many cases cause people to behave very differently and is also likely to cause regular discussions and complaints by community members.

Possible solutions

• Channel names that don't show the name of the watched user. This would only partially fix the issue, as people would likely be able to guess that they are watched out of context.
• Show the watch-logs externally, on a different server. This would work, but would be very unergonomic for the moderators, as well as be a hassle in general.

[buffet]

I don't think the time stuff would be that good. You don't really know when a user will stop behaving in a certain way, so manual closing is pretty much the only way.

[clbx]

I think the best way to handle the channel name would be to make the name like “watch-x” x being a number (maybe increment, doesn’t really matter) and then set the channel topic to the user since that is not public via the API

[eepykate]

and then set the channel topic to the user since that is not public via the API

@clbx Actually, it is.

Both the audit log and custom clients.

[clbx]

I guess then a pinned topic or embed the messages directly to make it obvious where they are coming from.

It’s also possible to “spoof” where the messages are coming from right? As if that user was saying it in the channel

[eepykate]

It’s also possible to “spoof” where the messages are coming from right? As if that user was saying it in the channel

Kind of, yeah. You can use webhooks to change the pfp and username, however it won't have the correct person when you click the name/pfp.

[clbx]

I think embedding the messages would be better since then you could jump to them in conversation. There's no way for a user to see if their messages are being embedded elsewhere via the API is there?

[eepykate]

@clbx

There's no way for a user to see if their messages are being embedded elsewhere via the API is there?

No, I don't think so.

Webhooks also support hyperlinks, so you could use their pfp + their name and have a (source) hyperlink at the end.

[davidv171]

I don't think the time stuff would be that good. You don't really know when a user will stop behaving in a certain way, so manual closing is pretty much the only way.

Is there a specific goal about the user not being able to know he's being watched? If not, what's wrong with just doing it for hard to moderate users, or another role with a similar purpose?

[buffet]

Is there a specific goal about the user not being able to know he's being watched?

Personally I think it doesn't matter, but to quote ElKowar: "I'd rather have people misbehave while I'm active than when I'm not".

[eepykate]

If people know they're being watched they often change their behaviour.

But honestly, I'm unsure if that's a pro or con. It's on a fine line.