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Augmenting Moderation with Text-Replacement Shortcuts

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Augmenting Moderation with Text-Replacement Shortcuts on macOS, iOS, and Android

Fellow IrregularChat moderators,

One of the simplest yet most powerful ways we've streamlined moderation is by using native text-replacement shortcuts on macOS, iOS, and Android. By defining triggers like yyreq, yyinvite, yysnprompt, yyroom_name, and yygtg, you can instantly expand them into our full, community-approved prompts — no hunting through notes or worrying about typos. This frees up mental calories, maintains consistency, and lets you focus on the conversation. The yy prefix helps avoid accidental triggers and allows different bindings for school, work, personal, etc.

Why it matters:

  • Consistency & Transparency: Every new requester sees the exact same onboarding questions, reinforcing our trust model.
  • Speed: A two-keystroke shortcut replaces a multi-line message, so you can respond in seconds.
  • Low friction: No extra apps or bots required — just your device's built-in settings.

1. Example Shortcuts & Expansions

Shortcut Expands to…
yyreq You've requested to join the IrregularChat Community. Bonafides: Everyone in the chat has been invited by an irregularchat member. So that we can add you to the right groups, we need to know: 1. NAME 2. YOUR_ORGANIZATION 3. Who invited you (Add & mention them in this chat) 4. EMAIL_OR_EMAIL_ALIAS 5. YOUR_INTERESTS 6. Link to your LinkedIn profile (if you want others to endorse your skills)
yyinvite To invite someone to IrregularChat: 1. Let them know you're vouching for them. 2. Make sure you have an SSO login: https://sso.irregularchat.com 3. Login to the forum and follow: https://url.irregular.chat/invite 4. Join the Actions Chat 5. Add them to the Actions Chat 6. Type: !request @their_username That's it.
yysnprompt XXXX It shows that your safety number has changed. For the privacy and security of all we added you to the actions chat to confirm your identity.
yyiwar Welcome to the Information Warfare Chat! Please take a moment to look around and introduce yourself to the group. We love reading articles, dissertations, and white papers on influence, behavior change models, social movements, and related studies or news; please share something with the group. Check out some resources for learning shared with the group: https://irregularpedia.org/index.php/Learning National Strategic Documents and Reports: https://irregularpedia.org/index.php/National_Strategy_and_Reports See all the community chats: https://forum.irregularchat.com/t/229
yytech Welcome to the Tech Chat! As you join us, please take a moment to browse the user list and introduce yourself. We're excited to learn about your tech training, interests, and projects. This is a great opportunity to self-promote and share your tech projects or ask a question to the community. Resources for Learning: Check out some fantastic resources shared within our group at https://irregularpedia.org/index.php/Learning Expectation Management: This group fosters a focused environment for general tech discussions. Off-topic banter is directed to our Off-Topic Chat, where you can freely share and enjoy less technical content. This approach helps us maintain the quality and relevance of discussions for everyone's benefit. Thank you for joining us, and we look forward to your contributions!
yygtg Good to go. Thanks for verifying. This is how we keep the community safe. 1. Please leave this chat 2. You'll receive a direct message with your IrregularChat Login and a Link to all the chats. 3. Join all the Chats that interest you when you get your login 4. Until then, Learn about the community https://irregularpedia.org/index.php/Main_Page See you out there!

2. Setting Up Text Replacements

macOS

  1. System Settings → Keyboard → Text
  2. Click "+" and add your shortcut & full phrase

iOS / iPadOS

  1. Settings → General → Keyboard → Text Replacement
  2. Tap "+" and add each pair

Android (Gboard)

  1. In any app, open the keyboard → Gboard settings → Dictionary → Personal dictionary
  2. Select your language → "+" and add your shortcut & phrase

3. Benefits & Best Practices

  • Reduces mental load by offloading routine text
  • Eliminates typos and missing steps in onboarding
  • Ensures auditability: Everyone receives the same vetted message
  • Shareable: Export/import your shortcuts via JSON or CSV for new devices

More on building and managing communities based on the lessons learned from IrregularChat can be found at Building Communities.

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