As I suggested on slack, just have the bot post a small, neutral message stating that it found similar content at another site, and give a link. Humans can then review the material and decide whether to make a stronger accusation.
This will not only defuse negative reactions from people who don't want to be accused by a bot (either falsely or as a matter of a gray area) but it also reduces the spammishness of the bot by making the bot-posted comment smaller.
Thanks Smooth, I did indeed take your guys' advice. You can see it on the latest cheetah posts. I appreciate the feedback!
Yes, I see that. It is much improved. Thanks!
Smooth, your comments are always measured and sage. I saw that in this BCT thread and was so impressed. A sober, cool hand. Thanks. Are you developing any bots? Or have you?
Yes I am developing bots. None are active yet, outside of occasional testing.
Measured, sage, no sudden movements like a true cheetah wrangler 😉
To be a cheetah wrangler, you got to be fast. Or big. Or evolution because they are dying off due to lack of genetic diversity.
How about adding a link to a post on what fair use and content curration is? Some may honestly not know and give them a way to improve their posts. Just a thought.
If so please use a link shortener and keep the whole thing very brief. One of my objections to the original message, in addition to the tone, was the size of it (still an issue to a lesser degree). Because the message is posted frequently (including false positives) this can easily become spammish and annoy people. Such services are must useful when they add value when they can without detracting from the site when they don't.