From 5c9839926ddb4c59c4ad39e72bbab20c7d746204 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: jjbrunton <jamie@jbrunton.co.uk>
Date: Sun, 9 Aug 2026 09:14:52 +0100
Subject: [PATCH] Screen all older fallback candidates

---
 src/services/monitor.ts | 28 +++++++++++-----------------
 tests/monitor.test.ts   | 12 ++++++------
 2 files changed, 17 insertions(+), 23 deletions(-)

diff --git a/src/services/monitor.ts b/src/services/monitor.ts
index 7148c9a..49d9cbe 100644
--- a/src/services/monitor.ts
+++ b/src/services/monitor.ts
@@ -19,7 +19,6 @@ interface ListingScreeningSummary {
   eligible: number;
   outsideRecentWindow: number;
   deferred: number;
-  deferredReason: 'selected-recent-candidate' | 'older-than-fallback' | null;
 }
 
 /** Coordinates permanent polling disablement across account runtimes. */
@@ -52,9 +51,10 @@ export class MonitorService {
     const recentCutoffSec = prioritizeRecent
       ? Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000) - this.config.reddit.recentWindowMinutes * 60
       : 0;
-    // Older posts found while prioritizing recent ones — used as a fallback
-    // so the bot still has something to do if no recent posts exist anywhere.
-    let fallback: RedditPost | null = null;
+    // Older posts found while prioritizing recent ones. Screen every eligible
+    // older candidate so seller and recipient filters are applied consistently,
+    // then select the newest one only if no recent post exists anywhere.
+    const fallbackCandidates: RedditPost[] = [];
 
     for (const subreddit of subreddits) {
       try {
@@ -70,7 +70,6 @@ export class MonitorService {
           eligible: 0,
           outsideRecentWindow: 0,
           deferred: 0,
-          deferredReason: null,
         };
         let selected: RedditPost | null = null;
 
@@ -140,18 +139,15 @@ export class MonitorService {
           if (!prioritizeRecent || post.created_utc >= recentCutoffSec) {
             selected = post;
             summary.deferred = newestFirst.length - index - 1;
-            summary.deferredReason = 'selected-recent-candidate';
             break;
           }
 
-          // This is the newest eligible post in this subreddit. Keep it as a
-          // possible fallback, then move to the next subreddit to look for a
-          // recent candidate. Older posts in this batch cannot improve it.
+          // Keep every eligible older post. We deliberately finish screening
+          // the listing rather than stopping at its newest fallback candidate:
+          // later posts may be rejected, and this keeps the fallback decision
+          // based on the full set of available posts.
           summary.outsideRecentWindow += 1;
-          if (!fallback || post.created_utc > fallback.created_utc) fallback = post;
-          summary.deferred = newestFirst.length - index - 1;
-          summary.deferredReason = 'older-than-fallback';
-          break;
+          fallbackCandidates.push(post);
         }
 
         this.logListingSummary(subreddit.name, posts.length, summary, selected !== null);
@@ -179,6 +175,7 @@ export class MonitorService {
       }
     }
 
+    const fallback = fallbackCandidates.sort((a, b) => b.created_utc - a.created_utc)[0];
     if (fallback) {
       this.logger.info(
         `No posts within last ${this.config.reddit.recentWindowMinutes}m — falling back to newest available (r/${fallback.subreddit})`,
@@ -259,10 +256,7 @@ export class MonitorService {
       `${summary.outsideRecentWindow} outside recent window`,
     ];
     if (summary.deferred > 0) {
-      const reason = summary.deferredReason === 'older-than-fallback'
-        ? 'older than eligible fallback'
-        : 'not evaluated after selected recent candidate';
-      counts.push(`${summary.deferred} ${reason}`);
+      counts.push(`${summary.deferred} not evaluated after selected recent candidate`);
     }
     this.logger.info(`r/${subreddit} listing: ${counts.join('; ')}`);
   }
diff --git a/tests/monitor.test.ts b/tests/monitor.test.ts
index 3dc63f3..745ef2d 100644
--- a/tests/monitor.test.ts
+++ b/tests/monitor.test.ts
@@ -345,7 +345,7 @@ describe('MonitorService', () => {
     expect(result[0].id).toBe('t3_old');
   });
 
-  it('labels deferred listing posts as older than the eligible fallback', async () => {
+  it('screens every older fallback candidate before selecting the newest one', async () => {
     const now = Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000);
     const fallback: RedditPost = {
       id: 't3_fallback', subreddit: 'sub1', author: 'u_fallback', title: 'Fallback',
@@ -360,14 +360,14 @@ describe('MonitorService', () => {
         recentWindowMinutes: 60,
       },
     });
-    monitor = new MonitorService(
-      createMockRedditApi([fallback, older]), createMockPostsRepo(), createMockMessagesRepo(), config, logger, 0,
-    );
+    const redditApi = createMockRedditApi([fallback, older]);
+    monitor = new MonitorService(redditApi, createMockPostsRepo(), createMockMessagesRepo(), config, logger, 0);
 
-    await monitor.getUnprocessedPosts();
+    await expect(monitor.getUnprocessedPosts()).resolves.toEqual([fallback]);
 
+    expect(redditApi.isSellerProfile).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2);
     expect(logger.logs).toContainEqual(expect.objectContaining({
-      message: expect.stringContaining('1 older than eligible fallback'),
+      message: expect.stringContaining('2 eligible; 2 outside recent window'),
     }));
   });