Yes but the trade-off is that it then becomes even harder for folks to be discovered on Nostr. 

Replying to people & zapping is a way for a new user to be discovered & build some trust. 

Using a WoT to filter replies builds in a kind of invitation system to your social network.

I'm not saying that it's not the best approach but that there are tradeoffs. This is especially true if most clients implement this functionality. 

 Yeah I hadn't considered that downside.

This will be a tricky problem to solve. I'll continue to brain on it  

 I treat the bot replies as a small distraction from an otherwise very pleasant experience. 

It is a problem that needs to be addressed but it currently doesn't bother me too much. 

 Same here. When I think about the bots it's mainly about possible future issues.

At the moment it would be a very inexpensive and simple way to attack nostr.

In fact I think that's a large part of why we are not ready for any serious adoption.  

 Wen bot killing Ai for relays? 

 Maybe the #wot collaborative filtering could be more curating a blacklist instead of only white listing. New accounts would get a chance as long as as they are not muted by more than three trusted npubs.  

 Ist that exactly how human trust relationships work?  

 Without a trustworthy reputation I won't get easy access to attention (eg speak at a conference). With some #pow I might have a chance though