OctoWow - Forums

Hey everyone!

I wanted to share a small addon I've been working on, but first, a little story about why I decided to make it.

A while ago, during the DDoS attacks on OctoWoW, the server population dropped to fewer than 100 players at one point.

And something unexpected happened.

World Chat stopped being its usual stream of trading, dungeon groups, guild recruitment, and summoning advertisements. Instead, people started having actual conversations. Random topics, stupid jokes, pointless discussions — just people hanging out and enjoying themselves.

It was honestly one of the most enjoyable World Chat experiences I've had in a while.

And it got me thinking.

Why can't we have that whenever we want?

Don't get me wrong. There's absolutely nothing wrong with people using World Chat to find groups, sell items, or recruit guild members. It's a natural part of the game, and I understand why everyone does it.

But sometimes I just want to log in, play the game, and have World Chat feel like an actual community chat rather than a constant stream of advertisements.

So I decided to make something that would let me switch between those two experiences with a single click.

Introducing World Chat Filter v1.0.0!

World Chat Filter is a lightweight, client-side addon for Vanilla-style WoW that automatically hides advertisements from the World channel while keeping regular conversations visible.

Rather than simply blacklisting certain words, guilds, or players, it uses a context-aware, rule-based filtering system to identify advertisements.

Features:

• Smart Advertisement Detection: Filters Trade, LFG, Guild Recruitment, and Services, including summons and crafting advertisements.
• Three Sensitivity Levels: Careful, Balanced, and Aggressive.
• Custom World Chat Colors: Four presets and a full RGB Color Picker.
• Statistics: See how many advertisements have been hidden, both during your current session and overall.
• Easy Controls: Minimap button and a simple settings menu.
• World Chat Only: Trade, General, LookingForGroup, Guild, Party, Raid, Whisper, and other channels remain completely unaffected.
• Standalone & Lightweight: No external addon dependencies.

Everything is handled locally. The addon doesn't change what other players see or prevent anyone from sending messages.

And of course, you can disable it whenever you want to return to the unfiltered World Chat experience.

A quick note about AI:

I want to be transparent about the fact that this addon was built with AI assistance.

That said, I don't consider it AI slop. I've spent hours manually testing it in-game, collecting real World Chat advertisements, identifying missed detections, reporting bugs, and refining the filtering logic through multiple iterations.

The AI handled the coding, while the idea, direction, testing, and decisions about how the addon should behave came from me.

Of course, that doesn't mean it's perfect. There will probably still be cases the filter misses, and I'd genuinely appreciate any feedback or bug reports.

My goal was simply to create something I'd actually use myself, and hopefully something others might find useful too.

Download & Source Code:
World Chat Filter on GitHub

Latest Release (v1.0.0):
Download World Chat Filter v1.0.0

Screenshots:
View Screenshots & Features

Installation:
Download the release ZIP, extract the WorldChatFilter folder into your Interface/AddOns directory, and type /wcf in-game to open the settings.

World Chat Filter v1.1.0 — Released!

Hey everyone!

WorldChatFilter v1.1.0 is now officially available!

Developed for OctoWoW 1.18 (Vanilla 1.12 addon API), this release introduces personal filtering options, several quality-of-life improvements, and a completely redesigned interface.

For those unfamiliar with the addon, WorldChatFilter automatically hides advertisements, recruitment messages, and other unwanted spam from the World channel only, while leaving normal conversations and other chat channels untouched.

What's New in v1.1.0

1. Quick ON/OFF Macro

• Added /wcf toggle to instantly enable or disable filtering.
• Assign it to an in-game macro for one-click control.
• Existing /wcf on and /wcf off commands remain available.
• Your existing preferences are preserved when toggling.

2. Custom Player Filtering

You can now personally block players from appearing in World Chat.

• Right-click a player's name in chat and select Block from World Chat.
• Use Unblock from World Chat to reverse it.
• Manage blocked players through the new Custom Filters panel.
• Blocked players are saved per character.

Important: This is NOT the same as WoW's Ignore feature. Players blocked through WorldChatFilter are hidden only in World Chat. Their whispers and messages in Party, Guild, and other channels remain visible.

3. Custom Words & Phrases

Create your own filters for messages you don't want to see.

• Add individual words or entire phrases.
• Choose between Partial Match and Whole Word matching.
• Matches are case-insensitive.
• Add and remove entries through a dedicated interface.
• Enable or disable custom filtering independently.
• All personal filters are saved per character.

4. Redesigned User Interface

The addon now features a unified Dark Arcane Blizzard artstyle with darker panels, bronze accents, Dusty Gold highlights, and improved readability.

The redesigned Custom Filters window includes separate tabs for Blocked Players and Words & Phrases, convenient entry management, and matching options.



5. Improved Statistics

The Statistics panel has also received a complete visual overhaul.

• Separate session and all-time counters.
• Statistics for Trade, LFG, Guild, Services, Repeated Messages, and Custom Filters.
• Redesigned Reset buttons.
• Confirmation required before resetting all-time statistics.

6. New Help / Commands Panel

Typing /wcf help now opens a dedicated in-game window instead of flooding your chat with commands.

Commands are organized into three tabs:

• General — Basic settings, filtering controls, and sensitivity.
• Custom Filters — Player, word, and phrase blocking.
• Tools — Color settings and diagnostic commands.

Useful Commands

• /wcf — Open addon settings.
• /wcf toggle — Enable/disable filtering.
• /wcf custom — Open Custom Filters.
• /wcf custom on|off — Enable/disable personal filters.
• /wcf block player NAME — Block a player from World Chat.
• /wcf unblock player NAME — Unblock a player.
• /wcf block text PHRASE — Block messages containing a phrase.
• /wcf block word PHRASE — Block whole-word matches.
• /wcf unblock text PHRASE — Remove a blocked phrase.
• /wcf stats — Open Statistics.
• /wcf help — Open Help / Commands.

Download & Installation

Download WorldChatFilter v1.1.0 — GitHub Release

To install:

• Download WorldChatFilter-v1.1.0.zip from the release page.
• Extract the WorldChatFilter folder into Interface/AddOns/.
• Restart the game.

Existing users can update without deleting their SavedVariables. Your settings and statistics will be preserved.

WorldChatFilter runs entirely locally and does not require any external services.

Feedback, bug reports, and suggestions are always welcome!