How to handle simultaneous responses in a Telegram bot?

Other Questions Telegram bot
1

I am developing a Q&A game for my Telegram bot and encountering difficulties with simultaneous responses being processed. For example:

bot: query_1
user_1: reply_1_to_query_1
bot: correct, query_2
user_2: late reply to query_1  <--- issue
bot: incorrect reply to query_2       <--- issue

The challenge arises when user_2’s response to the first query is sent late, causing it to be received by the bot while it is expecting a response to the second query. I want the bot to only accept the first valid response and disregard any replies related to previous questions. I’m aware that Telegram messages include a structure for reply_to_message:

{'reply_to_message': {'from': {'username': 'Bot', 'first_name': '', 'id': 1}, 'text': 'some text', 'chat': {'type': 'group', 'id': -2, 'title': ''}, 'date': 1487442200, 'message_id': 10351144}}

I aim to track the last message sent in each chat and only accept replies that correspond to this message. However, I face a challenge because, prior to sending a message, I can’t access its message_id. Moreover, the text of the outgoing message may differ from the reply (for instance, due to markup removal). Is there a dependable method to ascertain whether an incoming message is a response to the most recent outbound message?

2

Another strategy could involve utilizing state management within your bot’s logic. You can define unique identifiers for each question that are stored temporarily. When a user responds, the bot can match these identifiers to ensure correspondence with the current question. Additionally, use the message_id to track the last issued question to handle incoming messages more accurately. This way, even if users reply late, their messages can be filtered and processed only if they match the active question’s identifier.

3

You might consider using database or in-memory storage to track active questions per user. When a new question is sent, update the user’s active status with the question’s details. Check each response against this data. It may help eliminate confusions with out-of-sync replies.

4

try using threading to handle simultaneous responses, making each user’s response a separate thread. this allows the bot to process them independently and avoid mixing replies from different queries. it might be tricky at first, but with practice, it can really improve response handling!

5

To address your issue with simultaneous responses, you might also explore using a combination of webhooks and context-based message tracking. By implementing webhooks, your Telegram bot will receive updates more efficiently. Coupling this with a message context dictionary that gets updated every time a question is sent can help. Each entry in the dictionary would map user IDs to their current expected question, ensuring replies are validated against this mapping. This approach ensures that even if message timestamps differ, the context remains coherent.