Automated replies

eduard_m · 2014-05-19T20:58:52.000Z

Hello, I’m trying to make an app which will reply to user’s tweets with information they are asking for.
The thing is, I was told to: NOT require people to follow my account, to do it in real time, and do so by filtering by hashtags. So, I’m using the streaming API, with hashtag filters, and sending replies on the “onStatus event”. Doing it this way gets my account suspended and/or my app to have it’s write permissions revoked.
Reading the rules it says no one is allowed to send unsolicited replies to statuses found by search, and obviously not to post links “in an aggressive manner to get attention towards a brand, service or link”.

So my question is: how can I provide the end-user a way to opt-in to a service which will automatically reply to their request by hashtag and not get suspended or get my app’s write permissions revoked for posting links?

aaronhoff · 2014-05-20T22:51:00.000Z

Hi @eduard_m, The @reply and Mention functions are intended to make communication between users easier, and automating these processes in order to reach many users is considered an abuse of the feature. If you are automatically sending @reply messages or Mentions to many users, the recipients must request or approve this action in advance. For example, sending automated @replies based on keyword searches is not permitted. For more detailed information regarding our automation policies please see https://support.twitter.com/articles/76915

I’ve attempted to look into your situation specifically but It doesn’t appear that your app is registered under the account you wrote in with. Will you please log a ticket at https://support.twitter.com/forms/platform (provide your app ID) and we will investigate the issue.

eduard_m · 2014-05-27T14:47:51.000Z

Hi, yeah. Sorry, the app was made with a different account @WorkshopRespond because the replies couldn’t (shouldn’t) be sent with my personal account. I already stated my case in the support platform and got a reply that said “We have enabled write permissions for your account.” but in “My Applications” (from that account) it still says “Restricted from performing write actions”.

But my question is about the policies, how to offer users an opt-in? Or is it just a matter of:
-The tweets HAVE to mention @WorkshopRespond in addition to the hashtags.
-The users who generate those tweets HAVE to follow @WorkshopRespond.
-The replies generated HAVE to be an @reply and not a @mention.

Any help clarifying on how to avoid getting my write permissions revoked in the future would be much appreciated.

aaronhoff · 2014-05-27T18:41:08.000Z

Thanks @eduard_m, I’ve taken a look into the issue on @WorkshopRespond. Your app lost write permissions because the user account was suspended for volume of @-replies marked as spam. What is the intended use of the app and the hashtags you are using?

eduard_m · 2014-05-27T19:04:54.000Z

The app is for the company I work for, it’s supposed to be able to respond to user’s doubts, in occasions replies could contain links to the company’s page, depending on the hashtag the user posted. Indeed the app would seem to be generating spam for it does a filtering of the twitter stream via hashtag, and by the initial tests I was sending mentions instead of @-replies and no user was following the account. I’ve stop development for I need to know exactly what the proper etiquette is.

So, again I ask:

How do I offer users an opt-in? Is it just a matter of:
-The tweets HAVE to mention @WorkshopRespond in addition to the hashtags.
-The users who generate those tweets HAVE to follow @WorkshopRespond.
-The replies generated HAVE to be an @reply and not a @mention.
?

Thanks in advance.

aaronhoff · 2014-05-27T19:28:00.000Z

@eduard_m If the hashtag is unique enough that users who tweet it expect an automated response from your app, this would be considered opting-in and you should not run into issues. If users do not expect a response from your app and mark your replies/mentions as spam you will run into suspension issues again. Your app should now be able to resume making write actions. Please let me know if this is still unclear.

eduard_m · 2014-05-27T19:43:38.000Z

It’s just that “unique enough that users […] expect an automated response” seems kind of subjective. As far as I’ve read in the dev forum, there’s supposed to be an “algorithm” that checks if tweets from the same account have heavily repeated content, if such content is a link or brand, if mentions/replies come from accounts that follow each other, and perhaps other key points.
Such “policies” or rules would come in handy to know, so we can be clear when we offer the end user our services. That way we could tweet stuff like “remember to follow us” and/or “remember to mention us + the hashtag of the information you’re looking for”.

SLoanAdvisor · 2014-10-14T20:02:14.712Z

Aaron, I am jumping in this post, because I believe is the closes that comes to answer my question.
I am a new here, so I hope I am doing it the right way.
Based on the response is not clear to me, if an app can automatically send for an automated reply asking to opt-in?
An example would be: In a twit a user ask for a recommendation of a service. In this case can for example an app automatically reply and ask for permission (opt-in) to be contacted by a possible vendor that provides that service ?

PerfectlyClea · 2015-05-07T14:37:28.823Z

Hey! Very random jump on - but did you ever create this app? Would be VERY useful for a campaign I’m working on right now!