So what exactly is a "bot"? Well, it really depends on who you ask:

An Internet bot, also known as web robot, WWW robot or simply bot, is a software application that runs automated tasks over the Internet. Typically, bots perform tasks that are both simple and structurally repetitive, at a much higher rate than would be possible for a human alone.

-- Wikipedia

Bunch of Twitter usernames that are not controlled by people, but are just robots that are programmed to release the information related to all these different things. And that's really interesting.

-- A user experience tester

In essence, an online bot is a program (sometimes simple, sometimes more complex) that does something a human would otherwise do, like post pictures on Tumblr or retweet Tweets that talk about cats.

Bots can be funny, useful, artistic -- but also annoying and spammy. This site, and our Botmakers community, are dedicated to the friendlier of the online bots.

Feel free to browse the bots below -- by categories or by the network on which they operate, check out the tutorials, read bot-related articles or just use the search on top of this page, if you're looking for something specific.