Twitch is one of the biggest live streaming platforms in the world, but unfortunately such a large number of users has led to toxic behavior on the platform. In this article we will discuss why Twitch can be toxic and what you can do if you are annoyed with toxic Twitch users.
Is Twitch Toxic?
Twitch itself is not a toxic platform, but with so many users it has become increasingly difficult for Twitch to control toxic behavior, especially on larger channels. Unfortunately there have been instances of racism, sexism, homophobia and other toxic behavior on the platform that at times goes unpunished.
Why is Twitch Toxic?
Twitch has grown in popularity over the years which has made it increasingly difficult to monitor and stop toxic behavior such as racism or sexism on the platform. This kind of toxic behavior is against Twitch’s TOS, but it is often difficult to control behavior on a large live streaming platform.
Unlike Youtube, Facebook or other large social media platforms, the main source of engagement on Twitch is live chatting. It’s difficult to stop someone from going into a channel on a new account and typing in horrible things for everyone to see.
It is much easier to filter out inappropriate language through a comment section than it is through a live streaming platform.
Although Twitch has made major improvements through the years to reduce toxic behavior, it unfortunately still occurs and is an ongoing issue that Twitch continues to deal with.
Another reason for toxic behavior on Twitch is that all the engagement that happens on the platform takes place virtually and so people feel emboldened as to what they can say.
You may have heard of the term “keyboard warrior” which is someone who is very brave with a keyboard, but would never dare to say some of the things they say online to someone in person. Let’s just say there is a lot of that going on in Twitch.
Lastly, video games and online gaming have always been known to be slightly toxic. And I am not saying toxic in the sense of using racist or homophobic remarks. This type of toxicity is obviously never ok under any circumstance.
In this case I am referring to the toxic trash talking that may occur during online gaming. For example, your team is horrible and you are getting beat bad in a game you play and so someone on your team holds no punches in telling you and your team how awful you all are at the game.
Or someone messaging you after an online match and telling you that “you stink.”
This type of toxicity isn’t all that bad, and may not even be considered toxic, but some gamers and streamers definitely take it too far and cross a line when gaming.
Who is the Most Toxic Twitch Streamer?
Loltyler1 or Tyler1 was banned from Twitch from 2016 to 2018 and was nicknamed “The Most Toxic Player in North America”. He earned this nickname for his behavior while he played League of Legends, but he has since changed his ways and is far less toxic.
According to news articles he would purposefully lose games in high ranked matches if the games weren’t going how he wanted them to. And this included games he was winning. He would also rage and harass other gamers and streamers while streaming.
Although this title may not be something to be proud of, his antics are what helped him get recognized and grow into one of the largest streamers on Twitch. They are also what got him banned ironically.
But he is back now streaming and claims to be changed or “reformed.”
Tyler1 may have earned the title of the most toxic streamer, but really how toxic a streamer is or isn’t is really up to a Twitch viewer. Some viewers may see certain behavior as super toxic where as others see it as entertaining.
Certain behaviors are obviously unacceptable and should not be promoted, but others are really up to the Twitch viewer to decide.
But if you are a streamer who is dealing with toxic behavior, or if you are noticing toxic behavior on Twitch then below are some tips to help you address toxic behavior.
How to Deal With Toxic Behavior on Twitch
The best way to deal with toxic behavior on Twitch as a streamer is to time out users who are being toxic in chat and then ban them if necessary. As a viewer you can block other Twitch users so their messages won’t appear for you. Lastly, you can report users to Twitch who are acting inappropriately.
As a streamer myself I prefer to time a user out a few times before I ban them. I will usually time a user out if they are being extra spammy or if they did something in chat that I asked them not to do.
If they continue to do that behavior even after I have asked them repeatedly to stop then I will drop the ban hammer on them. Or if they came into my chat and started using inappropriate language that is against Twitch’s TOS then I will ban them instantly.
I understand that as a small streamer we may be hesitant to ban someone because we don’t want to lose them as a viewer, but you have to understand that keeping these people around may end up hurting your stream in the long run.
You should always strive to build a community where people can go to to have fun and not worried about being bullied or harassed by another user.
If other people don’t feel safe in your streams then they will most likely not return so holding onto one viewer could cost you several others.
If you need help setting up rules for your chat then you can check out my article here. Also, emote only chat and slow mode are other things that you can use to help mitigate toxic Twitch behavior and I linked those articles above.
If you are a Twitch viewer, and someone is being wild in chat or you are just annoyed by their behavior then you can block them. This user’s messages will no longer appear on your screen and they will not be able to whisper you.
Blocking a user also removes them from your follow list, your friends list, makes them unable to sub or gift subs on your channel etc. etc. As you can seeing blocking someone really gets rid of them.
If you want more info on blocking a user, as well as how to only block a users messages on your screen without all the other stuff, then check out my article here.
Lastly, if you feel that a user has broken Twitch’s TOS or if their behavior is very troubling to you then you could report them to Twitch. Reporting is easy and should be done if you are truly concerned for a user’s behavior.
For more information about reporting someone on Twitch you can check out Twitch’s page here to help walk you through it.
For even more streaming tips and how-to content check out my Youtube channel here. And if you want to check out my streams then stop by my Twitch channel here.
Eric streams 3 days a week on Twitch and uploads weekly to Youtube under the moniker, StreamersPlaybook. He loves gaming, PCs, and anything else related to tech. He’s the founder of the website StreamersPlaybook and loves helping people answer their streaming, gaming, and PC questions.
How To Block/Unblock Someone On Twitch: PC and Mobile – Streamers Playbook
Tuesday 7th of September 2021
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