Substack’s new ‘Reply Rules’ feature lets creators control how people respond

On Wednesday, Substack unveiled a new feature named 'Reply Rules,' aimed at giving content creators enhanced authority over audience interactions. This tool permits creators to set specific guidelines for comments on their posts, whether they appear in Notes or Chat. These rules can range from requests to eliminate inappropriate language or unwanted AI-generated comments to more whimsical requests, such as requiring replies to be crafted in haiku form. Substack highlights that the system is adaptive, learning from user actions—like hiding replies—and will automatically filter out comments that do not align with the specified preferences of the creator. Importantly, creators retain visibility over hidden comments and can choose to unhide them at any time. Currently, this feature is accessible to all English-language publications. Substack has consistently adopted a decentralized moderation strategy, placing the responsibility of community policing in the hands of the writers themselves. Creators are equipped with various tools, including the ability to lock threads, delete comments, and ban or suspend users if necessary. The introduction of Reply Rules may significantly lighten the manual burden of reviewing comments for creators. However, it's worth noting that Substack has faced scrutiny for its content moderation policies, especially concerning far-right newsletters, with critics arguing that its lenient approach has allowed harmful content to proliferate. In its recent announcement, Substack acknowledged these concerns and reaffirmed its dedication to nurturing diverse online communities, despite the challenges involved. Substack stated, 'Since our inception, we have aimed to cultivate conditions that allow various cultures to thrive online. This often requires difficult trade-offs, but in conjunction with our core model—where we only profit when creators do—we've established a distinct approach compared to other platforms.' This year, Substack has rolled out a series of updates, including a built-in recording studio for creators to pre-record and publish videos, as well as a new TV app that enables subscribers to view video posts and livestreams directly on their television screens.