January 9, 2023
Managing chat, interacting and being on camera while playing a competitive game can be overwhelming. With all of this going on, a toxic comment in the chatbox can ruin your mood. Veteran gaming streamers eventually grow a thick skin, but with time, even trolls are getting smarter with their insults. Sometimes, it’s just too much to handle.
Imagine you’re having a terrible day in, let’s say, Call of Duty. You already feel like tossing your keyboard across the roam, and a random user named KissMyAxe999 calls you a noob, followed by highly inappropriate, personal slang. Not fun, right? It doesn’t matter if you’ve been streaming for ten years; trolls can get into the thickest of skins. Live streaming is a challenging job.
So, how to handle them?
1- Avoid giving attention to the trolls
Calling out a troll is different. If you feel you have the mental capacity to be equally mean to a toxic person online, go ahead. But, engaging in arguments is never a good idea. Refrain from feeding an online troll by interacting with them continuously and giving them unnecessary attention on your screen time. Instead, call them out once if someone is being toxic, and then move on.
Engaging will only set a precedence that anyone can get your attention by being mean in the chat.
2- Insta-ban
Timeout works for new viewers who are likely just testing the waters by being slightly toxic. But, sometimes, an instant ban is the best course of action. If you’re having a bad day, waiting for the toxic person to start behaving will not pan out well. So, before you run out of patience, swing that ban hammer and clean your chat of toxicity.
This is another way to set an example on your channel. In the future, trolls and fans will both watch out before they spew hate in the chat box.
3- Create a solid, loyal community
If you think there are better approaches than banning viewers, confronting them through your community might work. Having a loyal fanbase that knows your values and channel rules can help educate or call out a troll. In addition, teaming up is a great way to avoid being singled out on your own livestream.
Value the regular viewers and repeat your rules on the livestream. Then, when an unfortunate incident happens, your dedicated fanbase can help drive away the troll by making it clear that the streamer isn’t alone. When singled out, the toxic viewer will leave on their own.
4- Get a moderator
For larger channels, moderators are essential. Your mods can be loyal viewers who want to volunteer or a pro at quick actions you may hire. A mod can help filter out viewers with shady usernames and keep them under the microscope. It reduces the chances of toxicity before it even happens.
A mod can save you from reading or acknowledging a toxic user. Quick actions like timing out, banning, or deleting a message are typically a moderator’s job. You won’t even have to see a toxic message if your mod is good at their job.
5- Have a rulebook
If you can’t afford a moderator if your channel is not big enough, you can still run with a rule book. It’s less effective but a cheap way to proactively tackle trolls. Create a list of channel values, rules, and warnings that everyone must read before interacting in the chat room.
Here are some rules you may consider adding:
- No bullying, sexism, racism, homophobia, or other hate-based chat
- Don’t spam words
- Respect other people in the chat
- No advertising or self-promotion
- Don’t ask for shoutouts
- No backseat gaming
- Don’t be toxic
- Be kind
- Listen to the mods
6- Ban words and phrases
Banning words is another great proactive approach to dealing with trolls. You may already know the classic troll phrases if you’re an old-time streamer. Create a list of ban words that the stream would automatically remove. This feature is available on both YouTube and Twitch.
Voila! you’re good to stream in a wholesome and positive chat. While there’s no foolproof way to stop the trolls, it’s possible to minimize the chances of ruining your mood during the live stream and churn out entertaining content.