Embodiments include identifying unusual activity in an IT system based on user configurable message anomaly scoring. Aspects include receiving a message stream for the IT system and dividing the message stream into a plurality of intervals, wherein each interval corresponds to a time period. Aspects also include identifying and removing one or more intervals from the plurality of intervals that include a startup or a shutdown of an element of the IT system, identifying and removing one or more intervals from the plurality of intervals that correspond to a standard level of command activity and an elevated level of user complaint activity, and identifying and removing one or more intervals from the plurality of intervals that correspond to an elevated level of command activity and an standard level of user complaint activity. Aspects further include creating a training set of intervals that consists of the remaining labelled intervals.