miku-discord/AUTONOMOUS_V2_SPAM_FIX.md

# Critical Fixes for Autonomous V2 - Spam Prevention

**Date**: November 23, 2025  
**Issue**: Miku sending multiple rapid-fire messages on startup and reacting to messages in wrong channels

---

## 🐛 Issues Identified

### Issue #1: No Channel Filtering ❌
**Problem**: `on_message_event()` was processing ALL messages from ALL channels in the server.

**Impact**: 
- Miku reacted to messages in channels she shouldn't monitor
- Wasted processing on irrelevant messages
- Privacy concern: tracking messages from non-autonomous channels

**Logs showed**:
```
bot-1 | 🎯 [V2] Real-time reaction triggered for message from aryan slavic eren yigger
bot-1 | ❌ [j's reviews patreon server (real)] Missing permissions to add reactions
```
This means she tried to react to a message in a channel where she doesn't have permissions (not the autonomous channel).

---

### Issue #2: No Startup Cooldown ❌
**Problem**: On bot startup, the autonomous system immediately started making decisions, causing 3 messages to be sent back-to-back.

**Impact**:
- Spam: 3 general messages in ~6 seconds
- Bad user experience
- Looks like a bug, not natural conversation

**Logs showed**:
```
bot-1 | 🎯 [V2] Message triggered autonomous action: general
bot-1 | 🤖 [V2] Autonomous engine decided to: general for server 1140377616667377725
bot-1 | 💬 Miku said something general in #general
bot-1 | 🎯 [V2] Message triggered autonomous action: general
bot-1 | 🤖 [V2] Autonomous engine decided to: general for server 1140377616667377725
bot-1 | 💬 Miku said something general in #general
bot-1 | 🎯 [V2] Message triggered autonomous action: general
bot-1 | 🤖 [V2] Autonomous engine decided to: general for server 1140377616667377725
bot-1 | 💬 Miku said something general in #general
```

---

### Issue #3: No Rate Limiting ❌
**Problem**: Even with the decision engine, multiple messages could trigger actions in quick succession if conditions were met.

**Impact**:
- Potential for spam if multiple users send messages simultaneously
- No protection against edge cases

---

## ✅ Fixes Applied

### Fix #1: Channel Filtering 🔒
**File**: `bot/utils/autonomous.py`

**Added**: Server config check to only process messages from the autonomous channel

```python
def on_message_event(message):
    """
    ONLY processes messages from the configured autonomous channel.
    """
    if not message.guild:
        return  # DMs don't use this system
    
    guild_id = message.guild.id
    
    # Get server config to check if this is the autonomous channel
    server_config = server_manager.get_server_config(guild_id)
    if not server_config:
        return  # No config for this server
    
    # CRITICAL: Only process messages from the autonomous channel
    if message.channel.id != server_config.autonomous_channel_id:
        return  # Ignore messages from other channels
```

**Impact**:
- ✅ Only tracks messages from the configured autonomous channel
- ✅ Won't react to messages in other channels
- ✅ Privacy: doesn't process messages from non-autonomous channels
- ✅ Performance: less unnecessary processing

---

### Fix #2: Startup Cooldown ⏳
**File**: `bot/utils/autonomous_engine.py`

**Added**: 2-minute cooldown after bot startup

```python
class AutonomousEngine:
    def __init__(self):
        # ... existing code ...
        self.bot_startup_time: float = time.time()  # Track when bot started
```

```python
def should_take_action(self, guild_id: int, debug: bool = False) -> Optional[str]:
    # STARTUP COOLDOWN: Don't act for first 2 minutes after bot startup
    # This prevents rapid-fire messages when bot restarts
    time_since_startup = time.time() - self.bot_startup_time
    if time_since_startup < 120:  # 2 minutes
        if debug:
            print(f"⏳ [V2 Debug] Startup cooldown active ({time_since_startup:.0f}s / 120s)")
        return None
```

**Impact**:
- ✅ Bot waits 2 minutes after startup before taking any autonomous actions
- ✅ Gives time for context to build naturally
- ✅ Prevents immediate spam on restart
- ✅ Users won't see weird behavior when bot comes online

---

### Fix #3: Rate Limiting 🛡️
**File**: `bot/utils/autonomous.py`

**Added**: Minimum 30-second interval between autonomous actions

```python
# Rate limiting: Track last action time per server to prevent rapid-fire
_last_action_execution = {}  # guild_id -> timestamp
_MIN_ACTION_INTERVAL = 30  # Minimum 30 seconds between autonomous actions

async def autonomous_tick_v2(guild_id: int):
    # Rate limiting check
    now = time.time()
    if guild_id in _last_action_execution:
        time_since_last = now - _last_action_execution[guild_id]
        if time_since_last < _MIN_ACTION_INTERVAL:
            print(f"⏱️ [V2] Rate limit: Only {time_since_last:.0f}s since last action")
            return
    
    # ... execute action ...
    
    # Update rate limiter
    _last_action_execution[guild_id] = time.time()
```

**Impact**:
- ✅ Even if multiple messages trigger decisions, only 1 action per 30 seconds
- ✅ Extra safety net beyond the engine's cooldowns
- ✅ Prevents edge cases where rapid messages could cause spam

---

## 🔄 Multi-Layer Protection

The system now has **3 layers** of spam prevention:

1. **Engine Cooldowns** (in autonomous_engine.py)
   - Each decision type has its own cooldown (5 min, 15 min, 30 min, etc.)
   - Mood-based thresholds
   
2. **Startup Cooldown** (NEW)
   - 2-minute grace period after bot restart
   - Prevents immediate actions on startup
   
3. **Rate Limiter** (NEW)
   - Hard limit: 30 seconds minimum between ANY autonomous actions
   - Final safety net

```
Message arrives → Channel check → Startup check → Engine decision → Rate limiter → Action
     ↓                 ↓                ↓              ↓                ↓           ↓
   All msgs      Autonomous only   <2min? Skip   Apply logic    <30s? Skip    Execute
```

---

## 🧪 Testing Checklist

After deploying these fixes:

- [ ] **Restart bot** - Should see no autonomous actions for 2 minutes
- [ ] **Send messages in autonomous channel** - Should be tracked and eventually trigger actions
- [ ] **Send messages in other channels** - Should be ignored completely
- [ ] **Rapid messages** - Should trigger at most 1 action per 30 seconds
- [ ] **Debug mode** - Should show "Startup cooldown active" for first 2 minutes

---

## 📊 Expected Behavior

### On Bot Startup
```
[Bot starts]
User: "hello"
[V2 tracks message but doesn't act - startup cooldown]
User: "how are you?"
[V2 tracks message but doesn't act - startup cooldown]
... 2 minutes pass ...
User: "anyone here?"
[V2 can now act if conditions are met]
Miku: "Hi everyone! ✨"
```

### Message in Wrong Channel
```
[User sends message in #random-chat]
[V2 ignores - not the autonomous channel]

[User sends message in #general (autonomous channel)]
[V2 tracks and may act]
```

### Rate Limiting
```
18:00:00 - User message → Miku acts
18:00:15 - User message → V2 rate limited (only 15s)
18:00:25 - User message → V2 rate limited (only 25s)
18:00:35 - User message → V2 can act (30s+ passed)
```

---

## 🔧 Configuration

### Adjust Startup Cooldown
In `bot/utils/autonomous_engine.py`, line ~238:
```python
if time_since_startup < 120:  # Change 120 to desired seconds
```

**Recommended**: 120 seconds (2 minutes)

### Adjust Rate Limit
In `bot/utils/autonomous.py`, line ~15:
```python
_MIN_ACTION_INTERVAL = 30  # Change to desired seconds
```

**Recommended**: 30 seconds minimum

---

## ✅ Validation

All syntax checks passed:
- ✅ `autonomous.py` - Syntax OK
- ✅ `autonomous_engine.py` - Syntax OK

---

## 🎯 Summary

**Before**:
- ❌ Processed all messages from all channels
- ❌ Immediately acted on bot startup (3 messages in seconds)
- ❌ No rate limiting

**After**:
- ✅ Only processes messages from configured autonomous channel
- ✅ 2-minute startup cooldown prevents immediate spam
- ✅ 30-second rate limit prevents rapid-fire actions
- ✅ Multi-layer protection ensures natural behavior

**The bot will now behave naturally and won't spam on startup!** 🎉