Automation rules: when X happens, do Y
Automation rules: when X happens, do Y
Automation rules let you react to things that happen in your community without lifting a finger. Each rule watches for one event, checks a few conditions, and runs one or more actions when they match. You build and manage them at /admin/automation.
This is a different system from the AI Community Manager. The Community Manager drafts messages for you to approve; automation rules run a fixed action you defined, automatically. Use rules for deterministic "always do this" behavior, and the Community Manager for AI-drafted content that needs review.
How a rule works
A rule has three parts:
- Trigger — the one event that starts the rule.
- Conditions — optional checks against that event. All conditions must pass (they are combined with AND). No conditions means the rule fires on every matching event.
- Actions — what runs when the trigger fires and the conditions pass. A rule can run more than one action.
Triggers
| Trigger | Fires when |
|---|---|
| New member joins | Someone registers |
| New thread is created | A member starts a thread |
| New reply is posted | A member replies to a thread |
| Marketplace listing is created | A member lists an item |
| New report is filed | A member reports content |
| Moderation action is taken | A moderator warns, hides, suspends, or similar |
| Learner completes a course | A member finishes a course in mobieusLearn |
Conditions
Each condition checks one field from the event against a value. Available comparisons: equals, does not equal, greater than, less than, greater-or-equal, less-or-equal, is one of, is not one of, contains, starts with, ends with, is set, and is empty. Add several conditions to narrow a rule — they must all pass for the actions to run.
Actions
| Action | What it does |
|---|---|
| Send a direct message | Sends a message from the system account to a member |
| Grant a badge | Awards an achievement badge to a member |
| Award credits | Adds credits to a member's balance |
| Move a thread | Moves a thread into a forum you choose |
| Queue a Community Manager draft | Hands off to the AI Community Manager to draft a message for your approval |
Filling in details from the event
Action fields can pull live values from the event using {{ }} placeholders. For example, a welcome message of Welcome, {{username}}! sends "Welcome, Dana!" when Dana joins. If a placeholder has no value, it resolves to nothing rather than printing the raw {{ }}.
Turning rules on and off
Every rule has an on/off switch. A rule does nothing while it is off, so you can build and review it before it goes live. Each rule shows how many times it has run and when it last ran, so you can confirm it is behaving as expected.
Good first rules
- Welcome new members with a direct message.
- Award a few credits when a member starts their first discussion.
- Send the reporter a "thanks, we're on it" message when they file a report.
Where to go
- Build and manage rules:
/admin/automation - AI-drafted messages (a separate system): AI Community Manager
Discussion
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