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Based on all of the Stack Exchange API endpoints, especially the [auth required] ones, what actions are bots allowed to do?

There is a lot of things you can do with the API, so here's some that are particularly interesting for the question:

  • Should bots edit posts?
  • Should bots suggest edits?
  • Should bots flag or recommend deletion?
  • Should bots comments on posts?
  • Should bots post answers?

Should bots be allowed to perform these actions, and when are they acceptable?

What I mean by "when" is "in what situations". I think bots should probably not do anything unless they're sure that their contribution is welcome, so you'd have to be sure that it answers correctly.

Here's a very specific example of a bot replying when someone asks about an abbreviation:

When someone asks what CGCC means, the bot would reply "{@username} Code Golf and Coding Challenges". BUT it will have to make sure that someone else haven't answered before, and probably some other conditions.

The thing is, CGCC is pretty clear, but there are other abbreviations that have multiple meanings. The same kind of things could happen to a typo fixer bot.

But even with all of these precautions, would a bot like in the example be allowed?

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As an advocate for automation on Stack Exchange, I'd say that it boils down to one thing: Use common sense.

I've written various bots/scripts which edit posts or suggest edits, to repair broken stuff (obviously never to change the intent of the post, but you should not do it as a regular user either). That script also leaves comments under certain circumstances.

Regarding flags, a bot casting flags is one of reasons you see so little spam on Stack Exchange.

Should bot post answers?

Now that is an entire different league than the other things you mention. I could not even imagine doing that, but others have certainly done so: Is it acceptable to post answers generated by an AI, such as GitHub Copilot?

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    And don't forget that a lot of users post some answers themselves, with their bot accounts, to get the required reputation to do certain actions. Commented Feb 8, 2022 at 10:34
  • Hmm... I wonder if a bot could sniff the close vote queue for obvious duplicates, generate an answer based on the suggested duplicates, and post it before the question can be closed... Commented Feb 8, 2022 at 15:13
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    @AndrewMyers people can do that fairly well. Some literally find the dupe and copy/paste the accepted answer. I suspect it's not going to be hard to automate it, either. Commented Feb 8, 2022 at 15:51

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