Tabletop roleplaying groups use Telegram for session scheduling, character sheets, rules debates and a lot of in-character jokes. Many also run a wider community chat where people look for players, trade books and share crowdfunding news. That wider chat is where moderation gets tricky.

Here is a setup for a game-store community, a convention group or an online RPG server's Telegram companion.

Disclosure: this post is by the team behind 虾宝 (Xiabao), a bot that removes ads and scams from Telegram groups. Group owners pay nothing for it.

What gets posted that should not be

• Fake pledge managers. A message claims a popular crowdfunding campaign has "reopened late pledges" and links to a look-alike page that takes card details.
• Dice and miniature shop spam. Bulk posts for metal dice sets or resin minis at implausible prices, usually from accounts that joined minutes earlier.
• PDF piracy links. "Free core rulebook" downloads that lead to malware or login pages, and that also put the group at odds with publishers.
• Looking-for-group bait. "Paid GM, first session free" offers that ask for a deposit to hold a seat at a table that never runs.

Structure that helps

If the group has topics, separate them: Announcements (admins only), Looking for Group, Marketplace, and General Chat. Put the marketplace rules in its own pinned message:

• Sellers photograph the book or box beside a handwritten slip naming their account and today's date.
• Crowdfunding links must point to the campaign's own page, not a mirror.
• Paid game masters post once per week, with their rates and a way to verify past games.

A join question like "Which game or system do you play?" stops most bulk accounts and starts conversations at the same time.

Automate the obvious

Most spam is plain advertising pushed in bulk. A filter bot removes it, so admins can focus on the borderline posts that need a human.

Xiabao sits in the group as an admin and quietly clears bulk promotions and scam bait; dice-roll jokes and rules arguments are left exactly where they are. The Xiabao notes for game and hobby community admins explain how to add it and which permissions to grant. It is free for group owners, so a store or convention team can try it without a budget discussion.

Before and after a convention

Conventions bring a wave of new members through QR codes on flyers. Switch on join requests the week before, review members who joined but never posted once the event is over, and then rotate the invite link.

A tidy community chat keeps tables full and newcomers welcome. That is the whole point of running one.