One of the best things about Twitch is chatting it up with friends. But, sometimes chat can get a little wild, especially if you are not laying down the law. So what are some good rules to have on your Twitch chat?

Best Chat Rules for Twitch

The best rules for Twitch chat will depend on what kind of things you want to allow in your Twitch chat. Things such as racism, sexism or any other forms of discrimination are obviously strictly prohibited on Twitch chat; however, things such as language, religion and politics are, for the most part, up to the streamer to decide what is allowed.

Many streamers though tend to ban discussions on things like politics and religion because it can cause a lot of division and toxicity within the chat.

Chat can already be a bit chaotic at times so adding things like religion and politics may only add fuel to the dumpster fire that can be Twitch chat.

In my Twitch chat for example, I ban profanity, religion and politics. I want my Twitch chat to be a place where people of all backgrounds and beliefs can come and chill.

I want the discussions to be solely about gaming or something uplifting or funny. I want people to get along and enjoy the good vibes of my stream. 

I know that a lot of streamers want nothing but good vibes on their channels, but I also understand that this isn’t always easy. Especially if you have thousands of people chatting on your stream. 

However, laying out the rules and expectations of your Twitch chat can help to detour others from coming into your Twitch chat and going wild. 

Let me explain below some of the most common Twitch chat rules:

No sexism, racism or other forms of discrimination

This should be a way obvious one. When are these things ever allowed anywhere? I wouldn’t get near anything that is, or could be perceived as sexist, racist or otherwise discriminatory. Not only is it just not cool, it could also get you banned on Twitch for good. Don’t even allow that kind of talk in your chat. 

Any talk that is racist, sexist or otherwise discriminatory is against Twitch’s terms of service. Besides the fact that this kind of talk is totally not cool, it could also get you in big trouble with Twitch. This is a rule I would definitely put in my Twitch chat.

Good Vibes Only, Positive Talk, Uplifting Talk etc. 

I like putting this one in my Twitch chat rules. I think that it just sets the tone and lays out how you expect others to behave in your chat. It’s also important that you follow this rule as well. If you want a channel with good vibes, you can’t be going into your streams all complainy and whiney. 

Also, just because you set this as one of your chat rules does not mean that people will always follow it. You will still have some negative Neds and Nancys coming in and being major downers; however, if you have ever been in a position of leadership then you know that having rules and expectations is important.

You are the captain of your Twitch channel and so setting the expectation that you want good energy is important. 

Language (Profanities/Cussing)

When it comes to language, it is really up to you to decide how much of it you will allow. Twitch is pretty lenient when it comes to swearing. It’s not like the movies where you are only allowed so many curse words.

If you have watched Twitch then you know that some streamers just let it fly. Every other word is a curse word and as far as I can tell, Twitch is cool with that. 

How much profanity you allow will largely depend on what audience you are trying to appeal to. If you are targeting a younger audience, you will want to tone down the swear words. I’m sure a lot of parents don’t want you to be the one who teaches their kid the F-word.

However, if you are targeting an older audience, like 18+ then you are probably cool to let the bleep bleeps fly. Majority of people in that age range won’t really care. 

If you do intend to broadcast a pretty clean stream, like I do with mine here on Twitch, then you can add a family friendly tag on your stream to let people know that your stream is safe for mom, dad, kids, grandmas and grandpas.

One last thing to add; Twitch is lenient on cuss words, but not so lenient on sexually explicit content. So if you are talking about sexual things in a detailed way then you could get in trouble. Don’t talk about that stuff on your stream and don’t allow it in your chat. 

No Self Promoting

You’ve probably heard this one before. This just means that you don’t want people promoting their content on your channel. This could be their Twitch, Instagram, Youtube or even their Myspace (only 90’s kids will understand that last one).

Think of it like this, if you went to a restaurant and started passing out flyers for another restaurant, would the owner be cool with that? Definitely not. So don’t allow it.

There are filters on Twitch that allow you to block people from posting links on your channel so I recommend enabling them to help get rid of some of these self promoters. 

I personally don’t allow self promos but maybe you are ok with it. It’s your choice, but most streamers don’t allow self promos. This is my restaurant and we are gonna eat my food! Yum!

No Spamming

This is one of the most important rules to have in my opinion. People can get crazy with the spams if you let them. Spamming clogs up your chat and ruins your chat flow. When people spam, it makes it difficult for anyone to get a word in. 

Don’t let people spam in your chat. If they do, you should time them out and if it continues then  maybe consider banning them. Spam is super annoying and can ruin a channel if you allow it to. Let people know up front it won’t be accepted and it will deter people from spamming in your channel. 

If people are not spamming, but just really talkative, then consider enabling slow mode on your channel. It slows down how often people can chat on your stream. For more info on slow mode and how to enable it, check out my article here.

No Religion or Politics

Many streamers don’t want religion or politics brought up in their chat and honestly, can you blame them? These things are extremely divisive and could cause huge divisions within your channel.

This doesn’t mean that Twitch streamers don’t hold political or religious beliefs, it just means that they don’t feel like Twitch is the place to be sharing those things. 

If people start fighting all the time on your channel about these topics then you will have to be the moderator and that is no fun. 

I recommend not discussing these things on your stream, but that does not mean that these things are banned topics. Some people have entire channels dedicated to religion and politics. You are more than welcome to discuss these things in an appropriate way on Twitch, but just know that any stance you take on the topics of politics and religion will turn off a bunch of people.

The choice is yours, but on my channel I set chat rules against these type of discussions and I know a lot of other streamers do as well. 

Anything Else You Want to Add

When it comes to chat rules, apart from a few exceptions, the choice is really yours as to what kind of rules you want to have.

Some streamers have rules where they don’t want any back seat gaming. Other streamers don’t want certain subjects about their personal lives discussed. 

It’s really your channel and your call. Create chat rules that you are comfortable with and that you feel like will create the best streaming experience for you and your viewers.

As always, if you have any questions or just want to hang with me, stop by my Twitch channel here and say what’s up!

There are some things that are completely off limits on Twitch, but for the most part what is and isn’t discussed on your channel is up to you. 

There are lots of chat rules that streamers commonly use, but that doesn’t mean that you are required to use them. Create the stream that YOU want and don’t worry what other people think. 

Good luck out there with the stream dreams my friends!