Currently, Use %%KEY%% in the value field as a placeholder for the detected trigger word is the only template variable available for us in the auto responder automation.
There doesn’t seem to be a built-in variable for accessing the username of the person who PM’ed a group in the auto responder automation. This is a limitation in the current implementation, as other Discourse features (like email templates, AI personas, and the “Send PMs” automation script) do have various user-related variables available.
With that in mind, this is similar to a few other requests we’ve had for this type of feature.
- A request to add variables for users’ real names to the “Send PMs” script
- A feature request for canned reply variables for direct message recipients
If this is a feature you’re interested in, I would encourage you to create a Feature topic, with more information about what type of template variables you would like to see added to this automation. The more people who show interest in a feature, the more likely it is to make it into Discourse. This sounds like a neat idea and we’d love to know more about what you are looking for. 