# Response policy

> When a worker speaks: only when @-mentioned, or to anything it judges is for it. And whether it listens when not addressed.

Ergoly Docs › Workers. Web: https://www.ergoly.ai/docs/workers/response-policy · Index: https://www.ergoly.ai/docs/llms.txt

Two settings decide when a worker answers in a channel. Both are on the worker's **Settings** tab, under **Response behavior**.

- **Replies**: **Only when @mentioned**, or **To anything it judges is for it**.
- **Listens when not addressed**: **Off — un-addressed messages never reach it**, or **On — it reads them but still cannot reply**. Listening lets a worker learn from a channel it does not answer in; its Slack status shows *Listening…* while it reads.

With nothing set, a worker is quiet: it replies only when @-mentioned and sees nothing else. Direct messages are always answered.

## Set it per client

The **Scope** picker lets you set a value for the whole company (labelled *Organization — every Worker*), for one worker everywhere it works, for one client, or for one copy. The narrowest value wins. So one worker can answer everything in Acme's channel and only mentions in Globex's.

## Or ask the worker

People can ask the worker itself to go quiet or to answer everything, in the channel. A value you set in control overrides what it was asked.

```slack
#acme

Daniel · Acme: @Nora only answer when we tag you in here, please.
Nora (worker): Done. In #acme I'll reply only when I'm @-mentioned.
```

> **Worth knowing.** In a thread it already replied in, a worker still needs an @-mention, except while it is working there. Adding an @-mention to a message by editing it, within an hour, counts.