โ๏ธ Chat Settings
Customize advanced features for your community to enhance moderation and user experience. The Chat Settings (Configurations) menu allows administrators to configure additional controls for the Fren One bot, enabling greater customization and stricter moderation for their group. These settings enhance both functionality and user experience by tailoring the bot's behavior to the community's needs.
Overviewโ
Chat Settings provide:
- Bot Customization: Use your own bot token for branded appearance
- API Key Management: Store API keys for AI features
- New User Definition: Define criteria for identifying new members
- Exception Lists: Whitelist trusted domains and users
- System Message Control: Auto-delete Telegram system messages
- Strict Moderation: Enforce comprehensive content restrictions
- Lockdown Mode: Emergency group lockdown capability
- Silent Commands: Suppress notification spam from bot actions
- Language Selection: Multi-language bot interface
These settings provide granular control over bot behavior, moderation rules, and community management. Configure them thoughtfully based on your community's specific needs.
Configurationโ
To access Chat Settings:
- Use the
/settingscommand in your chat - Navigate to โ๏ธ Chat Settings or โ๏ธ Configurations
- Configure the options below
Main menu displays:
๐จ Bot Customization: Integrate your own bot token to personalize the bot's appearance.
๐ API Keys: Manage your API keys for this community.
๐ค New User Definition: Define what constitutes a new user.
๐ Exception List: Exclude certain links or mentions from being moderated.
๐ข Remove System Messages: Automatically delete system messages (e.g., 'User has joined').
๐ด Strict Moderation: Enforce strict moderation by removing all links, media, mentions, and forwarded messages.
๐ด Lockdown Mode: Activate lockdown mode to kick all new members joining the group.
๐ข Silent Commands: Suppress notifications for admin commands (e.g., 'User has been banned!').
๐ฌ๐ง English (language selector)
Bot Customizationโ
Integrate your own bot token to personalize the bot's appearance and branding.
Purpose:
- Use your own Telegram bot instead of the default Fren One bot
- Custom bot name and profile picture
- White-label the bot for your brand
- Maintain brand consistency
Steps:
- Create a bot via @BotFather on Telegram
- Obtain your bot token
- Navigate to ๐จ Bot Customization
- Enter your bot token
- Configure the bot's appearance
For complete instructions on setting up bot customization, see the Bot Customization documentation.
Benefits:
- Branded bot name
- Custom profile picture
- Your own bot identity
- Professional appearance
API Keysโ
Manage your API keys for this community, specifically for AI features.
Purpose:
- Store API keys for external services
- Required for Smart Triggers with external AI models
- Secure key management
Supported API Keys:
- OpenAI API Key: For GPT-4, GPT-3.5 Turbo, GPT OSS 20B models
- ASI:Cloud API Key: For Gemma, Qwen, Llama, GLM, Mistral, ASI Mini models
Steps:
- Navigate to ๐ API Keys
- Select key type (OpenAI or ASI:Cloud)
- Enter your API key
- Save
Where to get API keys:
- OpenAI: https://platform.openai.com/api-keys
- ASI:Cloud: https://asicloud.cudos.org
API keys are sensitive credentials. Keep them confidential and never share them publicly. Keys are stored securely for bot operations only.
Related features:
- Smart Triggers - Uses OpenAI or ASI:Cloud API keys
- Sentiment Moderation - May use custom AI models
New User Definitionโ
Define what constitutes a new user in your community.
Purpose:
- Determine who is considered "new" for moderation purposes
- Apply stricter rules to new members
- Used by Filters, Spam Detection, and other moderation features
Options:
Never sent a messageโ
Users that have never sent a message in the group.
Use when:
- Want to restrict silent lurkers
- Prevent join-and-spam behavior
- Require participation before trust
Example: User joins group, immediately triggers "new user" status. After sending first message, they're no longer "new."
Joined within daysโ
Users that have joined within a specified number of days.
Configuration:
- Set the number of days (e.g., 7, 30, 360)
- Time-based trust building
- Gradual permission expansion
Example: With 7 days set, anyone who joined in the last week is considered "new."
Combinationโ
Combination of users that have never sent a message and those that joined within a specified number of days.
Modes:
- AND Mode: User must meet BOTH criteria (never sent a message AND joined within X days)
- OR Mode: User meets EITHER criterion (never sent a message OR joined within X days)
Steps to configure:
- Navigate to ๐ค New User Definition
- Select โ Combination
- Click Set days and enter number (e.g., 360)
- Click ๐ง Mode to toggle between AND/OR
- Confirmation message displays selected mode
AND Mode example:
Mode selected: AND! New users will include those that have never sent
a message AND joined within the past 360 days.
OR Mode example:
Mode selected: OR! New users will include those that have never sent
a message OR joined within the past 360 days.
For most communities, use Combination with OR Mode and 7-30 days. This catches both silent members and recent joiners, providing comprehensive new user coverage.
Common configurations:
Strict (AND mode, 7 days):
- Must have never posted AND joined within 7 days
- Very narrow definition
- Only brand new silent members
Balanced (OR mode, 30 days):
- Either never posted OR joined within 30 days
- Broader coverage
- Recommended for most communities
Lenient (Joined within 60+ days):
- Only time-based
- All recent joiners regardless of activity
- Good for active communities
Where new user definition applies:
- Filters - New user filters
- Spam Detection - Only scans new users
- Word Blacklist - Can target new users
- Other moderation features
Exception Listโ
Exclude certain links or mentions from being moderated.
Purpose:
- Whitelist trusted domains
- Allow mentions of specific users
- Prevent false positives in moderation
Domainsโ
Exclude URLs with specific domains (e.g., example.com) from being moderated.
Steps:
- Navigate to ๐ Exception List โ ๐ Domains
- Add trusted domains
- Links from these domains bypass filters
Example domains to whitelist:
fren.one
twitter.com
telegram.me
docs.project.com
official-website.com
Use cases:
- Official project website
- Trusted social media
- Partner websites
- Documentation links
- Official resources
Enter just the domain name without http:// or https://. Examples: example.com, docs.example.com
Usersโ
Exclude mentions of specific users from being moderated.
Steps:
- Navigate to ๐ Exception List โ ๐ฅ Users
- Add usernames of users to whitelist for mentions
- Mentions of these users bypass filters
Example users to whitelist:
@AdminUsername
@ModeratorName
@OfficialSupport
@ProjectFounder
Use cases:
- Official admin accounts
- Support staff
- Team members
- Verified accounts
- Bot accounts
Important: This whitelist is specifically for mentions (tags), not for the users themselves posting. For full user exemptions, use User Whitelist.
Exception List Users only exempts mentions of those users from filters. To exempt users from all moderation, use the User Whitelist feature instead.
Language Selectionโ
Select the language for the bot's menu and system messages.
Steps:
- Click on the current language (e.g., ๐ฌ๐ง English)
- Select from available languages
- Bot interface updates immediately
Available languages:
- ๐ฌ๐ง English
- ๐ช๐ธ Espaรฑol (Spanish)
- ๐จ๐ณ ไธญๆ (Chinese)
- ๐ฎ๐ณ เคนเคฟเคจเฅเคฆเฅ (Hindi)
- ๐ฆ๐ช ุงูุนุฑุจูุฉ (Arabic)
- ๐ง๐ฉ เฆฌเฆพเฆเฆฒเฆพ (Bengali)
- ๐ต๐น Portuguรชs (Portuguese)
- ๐ท๐บ ะ ัััะบะธะน (Russian)
- ๐ฏ๐ต ๆฅๆฌ่ช (Japanese)
- ๐ฉ๐ช Deutsch (German)
- ๐ซ๐ท Franรงais (French)
- ๐ต๐ฑ Polski (Polish)
What changes:
- Bot menu interface
- System messages
- Notifications
- Confirmation messages
- Error messages
What doesn't change:
- User messages
- Community content
- Custom messages you've configured
- Documentation
If your community is multilingual, choose the primary language most members understand. Users can interact in any language regardless of bot interface language.
Remove System Messagesโ
Automatically delete Telegram's system messages.
Toggle: ๐ข Enabled / ๐ด Disabled
System messages removed:
- "User joined the group"
- "User left the group"
- "User was added by..."
- "Photo changed"
- "Title changed"
- "User removed"
- Other Telegram service messages
Benefits:
- Cleaner chat appearance
- Less clutter
- Focus on actual conversations
- Professional look
- Reduced noise
When to enable:
- Large groups with frequent joins/leaves
- Professional communities
- Focus on content over membership changes
- Minimize distractions
When to disable:
- Want to welcome new members
- Track who joins/leaves
- Small communities where it matters
- Transparent membership changes
If you have Welcome Messages enabled, Fren One will post your custom welcome instead of Telegram's system message.
Silent Commandsโ
Suppress notifications for admin commands.
Toggle: ๐ข Enabled / ๐ด Disabled
Notifications suppressed:
- "User has been muted!"
- "User has been kicked!"
- "User has been banned!"
- "User has been warned!"
- "Message has been deleted!"
- Other moderation action confirmations
Benefits:
- Less notification spam
- Cleaner chat
- Discrete moderation
- Professional appearance
- Reduced member awareness of actions
When to enable:
- Active moderation with frequent actions
- Want discrete enforcement
- Reduce chat clutter
- Professional communities
When to disable:
- Want transparent moderation
- Deter rule-breaking (public consequences)
- Small communities
- Educational enforcement
Public notifications deter bad behavior (others see consequences). Silent notifications keep chat clean but remove that deterrent effect. Choose based on your community culture.
Lockdown Modeโ
Activate lockdown mode to kick all new members joining the group.
Toggle: ๐ข Enabled / ๐ด Disabled
What happens when enabled:
- All new members are immediately kicked
- Existing members can stay
- Chat may be restricted
- Emergency protection active
Use cases:
- Raid protection (mass spam join attacks)
- Before important announcements
- During technical issues
- Preparation for events
- Emergency response
- Temporary closure
How to use:
- Enable Lockdown Mode
- New joiners are auto-kicked
- Announce to existing members
- Handle the situation
- Disable when resolved
- Resume normal operations
Lockdown Mode is a drastic measure. Use it only when necessary (raids, emergencies). Remember to disable it when the situation is resolved, or your community cannot grow!
Best practices:
- Announce before enabling (if possible)
- Communicate why it's enabled
- Provide estimated duration
- Announce when disabled
- Have alternative contact method
- Monitor the situation
Strict Moderationโ
Enforce strict moderation by removing all links, media, mentions, and forwarded messages.
Toggle: ๐ข Enabled / ๐ด Disabled
Automatically prevents posting of:
- Links: Any URLs (http://, https://, shortened links)
- Mentions: User tags (@username)
- Forwarded messages: Any forwarded content
- Media files: Photos, videos, documents, audio, stickers, GIFs
What's still allowed:
- Plain text messages
- Emojis
- Bot commands
Use cases:
- During token sales (prevent scam links)
- Special events requiring focus
- High-risk periods
- Temporary strict control
- Emergency measures
- Anti-scam periods
How to use:
- Enable Strict Moderation
- Announce to members
- Explain what's allowed (text only)
- Maintain for needed duration
- Disable when appropriate
- Resume normal operations
Strict Moderation is designed for temporary use during high-risk events. Long-term use severely limits communication and may frustrate members.
Example scenarios:
Token Sale:
- Enable during token sale
- Prevents phishing links
- Only official announcements visible
- Disable after sale ends
AMA Event:
- Enable during AMA
- Focus on questions (text only)
- No distracting media
- Disable after event
Raid Response:
- Enable during raid
- Stops spam media/links
- Gives time to resolve
- Disable when clear
Best practices:
- Announce in advance
- Explain restrictions
- Give time estimate
- Provide updates
- Disable promptly
- Thank members for patience
Common Configurationsโ
New Community Setupโ
Scenario: Just launched, building initial trust.
Configuration:
- New User Definition: Combination, OR mode, 7 days
- Remove System Messages: Disabled (welcome visibility)
- Silent Commands: Disabled (transparent)
- Strict Moderation: Disabled
- Lockdown Mode: Disabled
- Language: English (or primary language)
Established Communityโ
Scenario: Mature community, regular moderation.
Configuration:
- New User Definition: Combination, OR mode, 30 days
- Remove System Messages: Enabled (clean chat)
- Silent Commands: Enabled (discrete)
- Strict Moderation: Disabled
- Lockdown Mode: Disabled
- Exception List: Official links and team mentions whitelisted
High-Security Communityโ
Scenario: Token project, high scam risk.
Configuration:
- New User Definition: Combination, AND mode, 60 days
- Remove System Messages: Enabled
- Silent Commands: Enabled
- Strict Moderation: Available for emergencies
- Lockdown Mode: Ready to enable
- Exception List: Only official domains whitelisted
- API Keys: Configured for Smart Triggers
Event Mode (Temporary)โ
Scenario: During token sale or major event.
Configuration:
- Strict Moderation: Enabled โ ๏ธ
- Lockdown Mode: Enabled โ ๏ธ (if needed)
- Silent Commands: Enabled
- Exception List: Event-specific links added
- Announce clearly to members
Best Practicesโ
- Document Changes: Announce when enabling strict measures
- Exception Lists: Whitelist trusted domains early
- New User Definition: Balance security with user experience
- Language: Match your primary community language
- System Messages: Remove for large groups, keep for small
- Silent Commands: Enable for frequent moderation
- Emergency Ready: Know how to enable lockdown quickly
- Regular Review: Adjust settings as community evolves
- Test First: Try settings in test environment
- Member Communication: Explain any restrictions clearly
- Forgetting Lockdown: Leaving lockdown enabled blocks growth
- Too Strict: Permanent strict moderation frustrates members
- No Exceptions: Not whitelisting official links causes issues
- Wrong Definition: New user definition too broad or narrow
- No Communication: Enabling strict measures without explanation
- Missing API Keys: Smart Triggers need keys configured
- Language Mismatch: Bot language different from community
- No Recovery Plan: No way to communicate during lockdown
Integration with Other Featuresโ
Chat Settings + Moderationโ
Enhanced moderation control:
- New User Definition used by Filters and Spam Detection
- Exception List works with all moderation features
- Strict Moderation overrides normal filters
- Lockdown Mode ultimate security measure
Chat Settings + AI Featuresโ
API key integration:
- Smart Triggers require API keys from Chat Settings
- Spam Detection (free, no keys needed)
- Impersonation Detection (free, no keys needed)
- Sentiment Moderation works with configured keys
Chat Settings + Onboardingโ
Clean onboarding experience:
- Remove System Messages with custom Welcome Messages
- New User Definition determines CAPTCHA targets
- Exception List allows verification links
- Language selection for multilingual onboarding
Troubleshootingโ
Lockdown still active, can't grow?
- Disable Lockdown Mode immediately
- Announce to community it's resolved
- Test with alternate account join
- Check for other join restrictions
Strict Moderation blocking everything?
- Disable Strict Moderation
- Add exceptions if needed
- Use targeted filters instead
- Reserve for emergencies only
Official links being blocked?
- Add to Exception List under Domains
- Format: just domain name (example.com)
- Test link posting after adding
- May take a moment to update
New user definition not working?
- Verify mode (AND vs. OR)
- Check days setting
- Test with new account
- Review related filter settings
API keys not working?
- Double-check key format
- Ensure key is active with provider
- Verify key has available credits
- Try removing and re-adding
Bot language wrong?
- Click current language in menu
- Select correct language
- Interface updates immediately
- Member messages unaffected
Silent Commands not working?
- Verify setting is enabled (๐ข)
- Check which messages should be silent
- Some notifications may still appear
- Test with moderation action
Related Featuresโ
- ๐จ Bot Customization - Custom bot token setup
- โ๏ธ Filters - Uses New User Definition
- ๐ง Smart Triggers - Uses API Keys
- ๐ฟ Spam Detection - Uses New User Definition
- ๐ค User Whitelist - Broader user exemptions
- ๐ Welcome Message - Replaces system messages
- ๐ฆ Traffic Control - Complements lockdown
Chat Settings are foundational to your community setup. Configure New User Definition, Exception Lists, and API Keys early. Keep Lockdown and Strict Moderation ready for emergencies but disabled normally. A well-configured Chat Settings creates a secure, clean, and professional community environment!