I wasnt downplaying it.
The chat here goes thru the same things. Long conversations, then quiet.
When Ive moderated (channels, chats, moos, muds, MMOs, etc) bots had a varied level of definition altho the new pre-packaged bots for IRC does tend to clarify things. In many cases we have considered a bot to be anyone not immeadiately attentive to their screen. Especially if it has automated responses. Heck, in the chat here in the forum Im a bot (usually from around 6am-9pm PDT)