Problem

When requireMention: false is set on a Slack channel, the bot receives top-level channel messages without needing an @mention. However, thread replies are not delivered to the bot even when the bot has already posted in that thread.

This makes conversational flows awkward — if the bot asks a question in a thread (e.g. onboarding questions), the user must @mention the bot in every reply rather than just continuing the conversation naturally.

Current behavior

1. User @mentions bot in a channel → bot responds in a thread
2. User replies in the thread without @mention → bot does not receive the message
3. User must @mention bot again in the thread → bot responds

Expected behavior

If the bot has already posted in a thread, subsequent thread replies should be delivered to the bot without requiring @mention — regardless of the channel's requireMention setting.

Suggested approach

A new config option like thread.autoFollow: true that, when enabled, makes the bot receive all messages in threads where it has at least one prior reply. This is scoped and predictable:

• Only threads the bot is actively participating in
• Does not affect threads the bot hasn't joined
• Does not require requireMention: false on the whole channel

Environment

• OpenClaw version: 2026.2.15
• Channel: Slack (Socket Mode)
• Config:

  {
    "channels.slack.groupPolicy": "open",
    "channels.slack.thread.inheritParent": true,
    "channels.slack.replyToMode": "all",
    "channels.slack.channels.<id>.requireMention": false
  }

None of these settings enable thread auto-follow behavior.

Use case

We run customer channels (#customer-*) where the bot is the primary point of contact. The bot asks onboarding questions, follows up on issues, etc. Requiring @mention in every thread reply breaks the conversational flow.