Substack gives creators control of the conversation with new Reply Rules

Source: Mashable Tech

What are Reply Rules?

The paid newsletter platform announced in a blog post that it is introducing a new system called Reply Rules. Writers who enable comments beneath their posts can write a brief summary of the behavior they’d like to see in the discussion. Anyone who wants to comment on a post, a Note, or in Chat will see these rules. Examples include “no AI slop” or “stay on topic,” but writers could also request more whimsical constraints, such as replying only in limerick form.

Some examples. Credit: Substack

How moderation works

Compliance isn’t based on an honor system. Substack says the system learns from any replies you hide that don’t follow the rules and will automatically hide other replies it predicts you would have hidden, before you see them. While the blog post didn’t provide detailed technical specifics, automatic moderation driven by natural‑language prompts could be a powerful tool for popular writers on the platform.