Add config option ignoreAccidentalThreads. Using this option, messages that start with 'ok', 'thanks', etc. will be ignored, as they probably shouldn't start a new thread.

src/index.js

@@ -87,13 +87,17 @@ bot.on('messageCreate', (msg) => {
     const attachmentSavePromise = attachments.saveAttachmentsInMessage(msg);
 
     let thread, userLogs;
+    let threadCreationFailed = false;
 
     // Private message handling is queued so e.g. multiple message in quick succession don't result in multiple channels being created
     messageQueue.add(() => {
-      return threads.getForUser(bot, msg.author)
+      return threads.getForUser(bot, msg.author, true, msg)
         .then(userThread => {
           thread = userThread;
           return logs.getLogsByUserId(msg.author.id);
+        }, err => {
+          console.log(`[ERROR] Modmail channel for ${msg.author.username}#${msg.author.discriminator} could not be created:\n${err.message}`);
+          threadCreationFailed = true;
         })
         .then(foundUserLogs => {
           userLogs = foundUserLogs;
@@ -101,8 +105,8 @@ bot.on('messageCreate', (msg) => {
         .then(() => {
           let content = msg.content;
 
-          // If the thread does not exist and could not be created, send a warning about this to all mods so they can DM the user directly instead
-          if (! thread) {
+          if (threadCreationFailed) {
+            // If the thread could not be created, send a warning about this to all mods so they can DM the user directly instead
             let warningMessage = `
 @here Error creating modmail thread for ${msg.author.username}#${msg.author.discriminator} (${msg.author.id})!
 
@@ -111,10 +115,13 @@ Here's what their message contained:
           `.trim();
 
             bot.createMessage(utils.getModmailGuild(bot).id, {
-              content: `@here Error creating modmail thread for ${msg.author.username}#${msg.author.discriminator} (${msg.author.id})!`,
+              content: warningMessage,
               disableEveryone: false,
             });
 
+            return;
+          } else if (! thread) {
+            // No thread but creation didn't fail either -> probably ignored
             return;
           }
 

src/threads.js

@@ -1,6 +1,16 @@
 const Eris = require('eris');
 const utils = require('./utils');
 const jsonDb = require('./jsonDb');
+const config = require('../config');
+
+const accidentalThreadMessages = [
+  'ok',
+  'okay',
+  'thanks',
+  'ty',
+  'k',
+  'thank you'
+];
 
 /**
  * @typedef {Object} ModMailThread
@@ -18,7 +28,7 @@ const jsonDb = require('./jsonDb');
  * @param {Boolean} allowCreate
  * @returns {Promise<ModMailThread>}
  */
-function getForUser(bot, user, allowCreate = true) {
+function getForUser(bot, user, allowCreate = true, originalMessage = null) {
   return jsonDb.get('threads', []).then(threads => {
     const thread = threads.find(t => t.userId === user.id);
     if (thread) return thread;
@@ -31,8 +41,16 @@ function getForUser(bot, user, allowCreate = true) {
     if (cleanName === '') cleanName = 'unknown';
 
     const channelName = `${cleanName}-${user.discriminator}`;
-    console.log(`[NOTE] Creating new thread channel ${channelName}`);
 
+    if (originalMessage && originalMessage.cleanContent && config.ignoreAccidentalThreads) {
+      const cleaned = originalMessage.cleanContent.replace(/[^a-z\s]/gi, '').toLowerCase().trim();
+      if (accidentalThreadMessages.includes(cleaned)) {
+        console.log('[NOTE] Skipping thread creation for message:', originalMessage.cleanContent);
+        return null;
+      }
+    }
+
+    console.log(`[NOTE] Creating new thread channel ${channelName}`);
     return utils.getModmailGuild(bot).createChannel(`${channelName}`)
       .then(channel => {
         const thread = {
@@ -49,6 +67,7 @@ function getForUser(bot, user, allowCreate = true) {
         });
       }, err => {
         console.error(`Error creating modmail channel for ${user.username}#${user.discriminator}!`);
+        throw err;
       });
   });
 }