#update
HAL has been updated to function only in groups where it has the required permissions it needs to do its job.
Going forward, if a group has disabled either the “Delete Messages” or “Ban Members” permissions, then the bot will not perform its functions in that group.
HAL has been updated to function only in groups where it has the required permissions it needs to do its job.
Going forward, if a group has disabled either the “Delete Messages” or “Ban Members” permissions, then the bot will not perform its functions in that group.
Some thoughts about Telegram’s “Aggressive Filtering”
https://telescope.ac/hal/thoughts-on-telegrams-aggressive-filtering
TL;DR: Telegram's new anti-spam system leaves some serious questions unanswered and, for this reason, we question its processes and cannot safely recommend its use. Whilst we admire the effort on Telegram's part, we believe they need to provide more information to users about how it works and how it guarantees user privacy.
https://telescope.ac/hal/thoughts-on-telegrams-aggressive-filtering
TL;DR: Telegram's new anti-spam system leaves some serious questions unanswered and, for this reason, we question its processes and cannot safely recommend its use. Whilst we admire the effort on Telegram's part, we believe they need to provide more information to users about how it works and how it guarantees user privacy.
HAL went down for a bit. It’s been rebooted and is playing catchup. It might be unresponsive while it does this.
Updates (latest first)
2 Feb
30 Jan
29 Jan
Incident - 29 Jan
(times in UTC)
2 Feb
05:30: The underlying issue has been identified, and is largely out of our control. Pending some testing, we’re going to be moving HAL to a new server in the coming days. This will result in some downtime, which will be communicated ahead of time.30 Jan
15:34: Commands should be responsive now, but may fail from time to time. Getting there.14:30: Some commands may be unresponsive. We're still investigating. Spam detection continues to work.29 Jan
13:52: HAL is currently running, but may encounter issues from time to time. When this happens, it will try and self-recover and catch up on its own.12:05: Service may be intermittent. We’re working on it.11:56: Back up and running.Incident - 29 Jan
11:18: HAL is down again. Spam will need to be deleted manually until the issue is resolved.(times in UTC)
🕔 Scheduled Downtime — Server Upgrade
HAL will be inaccessible for a short while tomorrow, 5 Feb, from approx.05:00 06:30 UTC, while it gets moved to a new server. The process should take around 30 minutes, though if something goes wrong, it could be a little longer.
When HAL goes live on the new server, it will attempt to catch up on everything it missed during the migration.
HAL will be inaccessible for a short while tomorrow, 5 Feb, from approx.
When HAL goes live on the new server, it will attempt to catch up on everything it missed during the migration.
HAL Updates
🕔 Scheduled Downtime — Server Upgrade HAL will be inaccessible for a short while tomorrow, 5 Feb, from approx. 05:00 06:30 UTC, while it gets moved to a new server. The process should take around 30 minutes, though if something goes wrong, it could be a little…
Downtime has been re-scheduled for 06:30 UTC (in ~30 minutes).
HAL Updates
🕔 Scheduled Downtime — Server Upgrade HAL will be inaccessible for a short while tomorrow, 5 Feb, from approx. 05:00 06:30 UTC, while it gets moved to a new server. The process should take around 30 minutes, though if something goes wrong, it could be a little…
Server migration is complete, and HAL is now running smoothly in its new home. We’ll keep an eye on things, and please let us know in @halsupport if you encounter any problems.
HAL is currently offline due to an issue with a recent update. Working on getting this resolved.
HAL Updates
HAL is currently offline due to an issue with a recent update. Working on getting this resolved.
The issue has been resolved, and HAL is now operating normally.
However, the database needed to be rolled back to the most recent backup, which was created ~18 hours ago. The missing data will be restored in due course.
Due to the nature of the issue, HAL was not able to fully catch-up on missed spam, which will need to be removed by group admins using the /hban command.
However, the database needed to be rolled back to the most recent backup, which was created ~18 hours ago. The missing data will be restored in due course.
Due to the nature of the issue, HAL was not able to fully catch-up on missed spam, which will need to be removed by group admins using the /hban command.
HAL now has a Rose Federation
We’ve created a Rose Federation for HAL, primarily to serve as a backup for those nasty times when HAL is down (which we we do our level-best to prevent).
Whilst anyone can join or subscribe to this Federation without installing HAL, it should be noted that this will only prevent known spammers from joining. Groups that do this will not benefit from HAL’s active spam-fighting capabilities. As such, we recommend that groups only use this federation as a backup.
Chat owners that make use of @MissRose_bot in their groups are welcome to join the HAL Federation using the following command:
If you are already part of a Federation, then you can subscribe instead, using the
We also recommend enabling quiet mode, so as to not bloat your chat with ban messages. To do this, send
Please note that we do not provide support for groups that only make use of the Federation. Support is only for those that use @thisishalbot.
⧉ Learn more about Rose Federations
We’ve created a Rose Federation for HAL, primarily to serve as a backup for those nasty times when HAL is down (which we we do our level-best to prevent).
Whilst anyone can join or subscribe to this Federation without installing HAL, it should be noted that this will only prevent known spammers from joining. Groups that do this will not benefit from HAL’s active spam-fighting capabilities. As such, we recommend that groups only use this federation as a backup.
Chat owners that make use of @MissRose_bot in their groups are welcome to join the HAL Federation using the following command:
/joinfed 43fb2bbc-e29b-4093-be43-b7a0afd84557If you are already part of a Federation, then you can subscribe instead, using the
/subfed command with the same Federation ID (federation owners only).We also recommend enabling quiet mode, so as to not bloat your chat with ban messages. To do this, send
/quietfed yes to your group.Please note that we do not provide support for groups that only make use of the Federation. Support is only for those that use @thisishalbot.
⧉ Learn more about Rose Federations
HAL is going offline shortly for a minor server upgrade. Downtime won’t be long, and it’ll catch up on anything it missed when it comes back online.
You can now check if you are banned directly with HAL
If you’d like to find out if you are banned by HAL, you can now open a private chat with @thisishalbot, and send the
You can also tap here to see if you are banned.
If you’d like to find out if you are banned by HAL, you can now open a private chat with @thisishalbot, and send the
/check command. If you are, HAL will let you know the reason and the effective date, and will show you the message that got you banned. If your ban was issued in error, or you would otherwise like to appeal, you can do so in @halsupport.You can also tap here to see if you are banned.
Command Removed:
This command is no longer needed, as Chat Locks has an option to delete private invite links, and many other types of messages.
If you are currently using the feature, please use the “Private Invite Link” chat lock instead.
⧉ Learn how to use Chat Locks
/deleteprivateinvitelinksThis command is no longer needed, as Chat Locks has an option to delete private invite links, and many other types of messages.
If you are currently using the feature, please use the “Private Invite Link” chat lock instead.
⧉ Learn how to use Chat Locks
Some Updates:
1. When a global ban is lifted, HAL will now lift the ban in each group where it applied it. There is no longer a need for group admins to take unbanned members off their removed users lists.2. The antispam system can no longer be disabled. This was previously available as HAL has other features, but it is primarily an antispam system and those other features will become premium-only (HAL+) at some stage, so turning off its core feature does not make sense.3. The /me command has been renamed back to /info.4. Group admins can now opt out of the troll ban-list. See the Antispam section in /help for more info.HAL will be going offline shortly for server maintenance. Downtime should only be a few minutes.
An attempt to fix channel banning has been deployed. Messages that are automatically forwarded from a channel to its linked discussion group should no longer be subject to filtering. If this does occur again, please let us know in @halsupport.
Additionally, the filtering mechanisms that triggered channel-bans have been adjusted – they were a little too broad, and produced a few false-positives (including the channels that should not have been checked in the first place) which have since been reversed.
A reminder about our beta testing period:
Most online services, big and small, will go through a beta testing period before becoming generally available to the public. In the case of HAL, we are currently in a private/closed beta. Unlike a public/open beta, this means that groups need to request an invite in order to be considered and, in doing so, must be able to commit to testing the bot and providing input in the form of bug-reports and general feedback. This input is important, as the objective is to build a bot that everyone can use.
At the moment, we’re keeping this testing period private/closed so as to not inundate the process – this is a side project at the end of the day, and public testing would likely be a bit overwhelming to manage at this stage.
The current objective is to do some housekeeping and introduce some more features, such as HAL+ (premium tier, the details of which are not yet finalised), a web-based interface for managing group settings, viewing event logs, etc, before we enter a public/open beta, at which point anyone will be able to use HAL and provide feedback whilst it’s still in testing.
Then, once everything is stable in the public beta, we will plan for a General Availability (GA) release, at which point the bot will be considered stable and ready for all groups to use.
In the meantime, if you’re testing HAL in the private beta, please remember to report any issues you may find and feel free to provide feedback about your experience using it.
Additionally, the filtering mechanisms that triggered channel-bans have been adjusted – they were a little too broad, and produced a few false-positives (including the channels that should not have been checked in the first place) which have since been reversed.
——A reminder about our beta testing period:
Most online services, big and small, will go through a beta testing period before becoming generally available to the public. In the case of HAL, we are currently in a private/closed beta. Unlike a public/open beta, this means that groups need to request an invite in order to be considered and, in doing so, must be able to commit to testing the bot and providing input in the form of bug-reports and general feedback. This input is important, as the objective is to build a bot that everyone can use.
At the moment, we’re keeping this testing period private/closed so as to not inundate the process – this is a side project at the end of the day, and public testing would likely be a bit overwhelming to manage at this stage.
The current objective is to do some housekeeping and introduce some more features, such as HAL+ (premium tier, the details of which are not yet finalised), a web-based interface for managing group settings, viewing event logs, etc, before we enter a public/open beta, at which point anyone will be able to use HAL and provide feedback whilst it’s still in testing.
Then, once everything is stable in the public beta, we will plan for a General Availability (GA) release, at which point the bot will be considered stable and ready for all groups to use.
In the meantime, if you’re testing HAL in the private beta, please remember to report any issues you may find and feel free to provide feedback about your experience using it.
Telegram’s Bot servers are currently experiencing issues.
This may make HAL appear to respond or action a ban slowly, but it’s actually a delay on Telegram’s end. There’s not much we can do about this – just need to wait it out…
Update: Looks like everything’s working normally again.
This may make HAL appear to respond or action a ban slowly, but it’s actually a delay on Telegram’s end. There’s not much we can do about this – just need to wait it out…
Update: Looks like everything’s working normally again.
HAL Updates
Telegram’s Bot servers are currently experiencing issues. This may make HAL appear to respond or action a ban slowly, but it’s actually a delay on Telegram’s end. There’s not much we can do about this – just need to wait it out… Update: Looks like everything’s…
Telegram’s Bot API is experiencing issues again, and so HAL may be slow to respond or may not respond at all. Will update this message when it looks like the issue is resolved.
Update: Seems to be back to normal. The API has been unstable of late, so this may happen again soon. Luckily, the problems do not affect the apps, so sending messages works normally when they happen.
Update: Seems to be back to normal. The API has been unstable of late, so this may happen again soon. Luckily, the problems do not affect the apps, so sending messages works normally when they happen.