PointsBot/docs/TODO.md

TODO

Current

General

• Logging
• Testing
• GUI
  • Create a GUI for configuring and running the bot, and performing other jobs like adding or subtracting points for specific redditors
  • Check for updates in the Github repo and prompt user to update
    • Github API overview:
      • https://developer.github.com/v3/
      • https://developer.github.com/v4/
        • It turns out that v4 might only be possible with a Github user account to authenticate with the API.
    • Useful links:
      • https://developer.github.com/v3/repos/branches/#get-branch
      • https://developer.github.com/v3/repos/contents/#get-archive-link
      • https://developer.github.com/v3/repos/commits/
      • https://developer.github.com/v3/repos/releases/
      • https://developer.github.com/v3/#timezones
    • Webhooks:
      • https://developer.github.com/webhooks/
      • https://developer.github.com/v3/repos/hooks/
      • https://developer.github.com/v3/activity/events/types/#pushevent
• Determine whether and how to check "![Ss]olved" comments have been later edited to remove the "![Ss]olved" string, and whether and how to remove or reassign points
  • If so, it could do that daily or something.
  • This will be especially important if a "recovery mode" is implemented that crawls through the whole subreddit to rebuild the database, since the bot would only be able to see comments that haven't been removed, or the newest version of edited comments.
  • This could also just be encouraged through sub rules; e.g. "don't mark as solved until you've actually tried the proposed solution"
• As mentioned in the previous section, implement a recovery mode

File-Specific Tasks

bot.py

• Allow mods to use "/[Ss]olved" in any context
• Allow mods and/or bot owner to add or remove points from specific users
• Make the algorithm for determining the problem solver more sophisticated
  • e.g. check entire comment tree instead of just ignoring if the OP also authored the parent comment
  • Ask OP for clarification only if solver cannot be sufficiently determined
  • Again, this behavior could also perhaps be better enforced through subreddit rules rather than algorithmically
• Allow mods to mark a post as solved with "/solved"
• When replying to solution, the bot should...
  • Reply to the comment containing the "![Ss]olved" string
  • Tag the solver so they will be notified
  • Delete the automod message
• Add a star to the user flair for every 100 points
• Add a way to look up user points
  • i.e. summon bot by tagging it and provide a username to look up
  • the bot will reply with the last message that the user received

config.py

• Switch from toml package to tomlkit package
  • Preserves style, comments, etc.
• Change from ini to toml
• Consolidate pointsbot.ini and praw.ini into a single config file.
• Add option for flair_template_id
• Check for config file in a well-known location, e.g. ~ directory
  • Probably named ~/.pointsbot or something similar
  • Could do something similar to packages like PRAW:
    1. Look in current working directory first.
    2. Look in OS-dependent location next.
    3. (Maybe) Finally, could look in the directory containing the source files (using __file__).
• Add interactive config scipt
• Fix titlecase problem with roman numerals
  • Only an issue with ini format
• Separate the development-handy config items into separate section
  • Don't really have any right now

database.py

• Store date for each "!solved" comment
• Possibly refactor for a datastore type thing instead of database
  • Maybe even make models like Redditor to combine data storage/access with logic, e.g. determining current level

reply.py

• Fix progress bar
• For the footer section of the reply comment regarding the bot, could have the bot make a post on its account explaining itself, and link to that (and then also link to the source code separately, and perhaps in that post, too). Could even have the bot make this post automatically if it doesn't have a link to the post in its config, and then store the link for future use.

Ideas

Config

Database

• Should it keep track of the solved posts for future reference and calculate points on the fly, rather than just keeping track of points? If so, should have a column denoting whether the post has been deleted, if that information is decided to be useful when determining a user's points.

Determining when to award points

To ensure that points are only awarded for the first comment marked as a solution:

• Alter the database to allow for tracking of each submission and the first comment marked as the solution. Then, everytime a new solution comment is detected, simply check the database to see if the submission is already counted. This will avoid unnecessary calls to Reddit, which would include scanning all the submission comments each time.
• This approach could also make it simpler to check whether a solution comment has been edited. Instead of having to do a daily search for edits, it could just check the original solution comment to ensure that it still contains the "!solved" string. If not, it can remove points from that author and award points to the new author.

To ensure that a point is awarded to the correct user:

• We could expand the "!solved" bot summons to include an optional username argument. Without the argument, the bot will award the point to either the top-level comment or the parent comment of the "!solved" comment, whichever is decided upon. However, if the username argument is provided, the bot could simple check that one of the comments in the comment tree belongs to that user, and then award them the point.
  • Honestly, this is probably overcomplicated and unnecessary, though.