Add message batching (debounce) for rapid-fire senders

Buffer messages per user+channel and wait for a configurable window
(batch_window_seconds: 3) before analyzing. Combines burst messages
into a single LLM call instead of analyzing each one separately.
Replaces cooldown_between_analyses with the debounce approach.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

cogs/sentiment.py

@@ -21,12 +21,22 @@ class SentimentCog(commands.Cog):
         self._dirty_users: set[int] = set()
         # Per-user redirect cooldown: {user_id: last_redirect_datetime}
         self._redirect_cooldowns: dict[int, datetime] = {}
+        # Debounce buffer: keyed by (channel_id, user_id), stores list of messages
+        self._message_buffer: dict[tuple[int, int], list[discord.Message]] = {}
+        # Pending debounce timer tasks
+        self._debounce_tasks: dict[tuple[int, int], asyncio.Task] = {}
 
     async def cog_load(self):
         self._flush_states.start()
 
     async def cog_unload(self):
         self._flush_states.cancel()
+        # Cancel all pending debounce timers and process remaining buffers
+        for task in self._debounce_tasks.values():
+            task.cancel()
+        self._debounce_tasks.clear()
+        for key in list(self._message_buffer):
+            await self._process_buffered(key)
         # Final flush on shutdown
         await self._flush_dirty_states()
 
@@ -75,21 +85,67 @@ class SentimentCog(commands.Cog):
         if not message.content or not message.content.strip():
             return
 
-        # Check per-user analysis cooldown
+        # Buffer the message and start/reset debounce timer
-        sentiment_config = config.get("sentiment", {})
+        key = (message.channel.id, message.author.id)
-        cooldown = sentiment_config.get("cooldown_between_analyses", 2)
+        if key not in self._message_buffer:
-        if not self.bot.drama_tracker.can_analyze(message.author.id, cooldown):
+            self._message_buffer[key] = []
+        self._message_buffer[key].append(message)
+
+        # Cancel existing debounce timer for this user+channel
+        existing_task = self._debounce_tasks.get(key)
+        if existing_task and not existing_task.done():
+            existing_task.cancel()
+
+        # Start new debounce timer
+        batch_window = config.get("sentiment", {}).get("batch_window_seconds", 3)
+        self._debounce_tasks[key] = asyncio.create_task(
+            self._debounce_then_process(key, batch_window)
+        )
+
+    async def _debounce_then_process(self, key: tuple[int, int], delay: float):
+        """Sleep for the debounce window, then process the buffered messages."""
+        try:
+            await asyncio.sleep(delay)
+            await self._process_buffered(key)
+        except asyncio.CancelledError:
+            pass  # Timer was reset by a new message — expected
+
+    async def _process_buffered(self, key: tuple[int, int]):
+        """Combine buffered messages and run the analysis pipeline once."""
+        messages = self._message_buffer.pop(key, [])
+        self._debounce_tasks.pop(key, None)
+
+        if not messages:
             return
 
+        # Use the last message as the reference for channel, author, guild, etc.
+        message = messages[-1]
+        combined_content = "\n".join(m.content for m in messages if m.content and m.content.strip())
+
+        if not combined_content.strip():
+            return
+
+        batch_count = len(messages)
+        if batch_count > 1:
+            logger.info(
+                "Batched %d messages from %s in #%s",
+                batch_count, message.author.display_name,
+                getattr(message.channel, 'name', 'unknown'),
+            )
+
+        config = self.bot.config
+        monitoring = config.get("monitoring", {})
+        sentiment_config = config.get("sentiment", {})
+
         # Build channel context for game detection
         game_channels = config.get("game_channels", {})
         channel_context = self._build_channel_context(message, game_channels)
 
-        # Analyze the message
+        # Analyze the combined message
         context = self._get_context(message)
         user_notes = self.bot.drama_tracker.get_user_notes(message.author.id)
         result = await self.bot.llm.analyze_message(
-            message.content, context, user_notes=user_notes,
+            combined_content, context, user_notes=user_notes,
             channel_context=channel_context,
         )
 
@@ -128,7 +184,7 @@ class SentimentCog(commands.Cog):
             channel_id=message.channel.id,
             user_id=message.author.id,
             username=message.author.display_name,
-            content=message.content,
+            content=combined_content,
             message_ts=message.created_at.replace(tzinfo=timezone.utc),
             toxicity_score=score,
             drama_score=drama_score,

config.yaml

@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ sentiment:
   context_messages: 3  # Number of previous messages to include as context
   rolling_window_size: 10  # Number of messages to track per user
   rolling_window_minutes: 15  # Time window for tracking
-  cooldown_between_analyses: 2  # Seconds between analyzing same user's messages
+  batch_window_seconds: 3  # Wait this long for more messages before analyzing (debounce)
 
 game_channels:
   gta-online: "GTA Online"