I started watching Twitch almost two years ago. The first caster I watched, NommyNomm, taught me the basics of Twitch and made me discover Jay/Brotatoe (You’ve probably read his Twitch 101 posts about broadcasting, and if you haven’t, you should do it now!). I was given Moderator status by Jay on August 16th, 2014, only a few weeks after I started watching him. Being modded in a rather large channel is an honour, and I still am humbled by the trust he put in me. And here I am now, after a year and a half of being active on Twitch. Over thirty casters have modded me; smaller casters as well as bigger casters. I consider them all my friends and I am thankful for everything they’ve done for me. I would like to give special thanks to Jay and Nommy, for they made me who I am today. But anyway, this post isn’t about me. It’s about moderation on Twitch. I may not be the best mod out there, but I have experience, and I would like to share it with you.
First off, if you’re a Moderator in a Twitch chat, ANY chat, the best advice I could give you is to be as kind, as respectful and as positive as you can. While we are authority figures, we don’t want to be feared. We may inspire respect, but it doesn’t give us the right to mistreat chatters. “Lead by example, not by force”. Be friendly to everyone: it will make you feel good, it will make people’s day better, and it will make the chat a better place.
Secondly, and I feel it’s important to mention it, as I’ve seen a lot of mods do it… Just because you’re a mod in a big channel doesn’t mean you should abandon the smaller casters who trusted you with moderation in their chat. If you can, multitask and mod for everyone at the same time. It’s what I do, and it works well. If you can’t, I would recommend always modding for the casters who need it the most, not the ones with the highest amount of viewers.
For those of you who know me, you’ll find the next sentence a bit ironic, considering the amount of time I spend on Twitch. Moderating isn’t your job. No matter how important it is to you, it’s not what pays the bills. That being said, broadcasters always appreciate seeing their mods enter the chat. Even if you don’t have much time to give them, just the fact that you’re here for them means a lot. So remember to come by when you’re available! It’s the least mods are supposed to do.
I’ve seen a lot of people on Twitch who associate “being a good Moderator” with “deleting many messages”, when in fact, moderating isn’t only about timing out chatters who misbehave. Interaction is much more important, especially if you follow my first advice. Greet the chatters, make them feel welcome, engage them in conversation. Not only will it make their day, but it will also give a great first impression to newcomers, and who knows? Lurkers may also start chatting if they enjoy what they’re seeing in the chat. I know I’m more likely to say something in a chat where mods are interactive than in a chat where everything is a <Message Deleted>. It also makes the caster’s job easier, in large channels where most of the chatters are trying to get their attention.
One last thing. If someone mods you and you don’t want to be modded for whatever reason, just tell them. It’s much better than just leaving their chat without saying a word and never coming back, trust me. Now, this may seem obvious, but I’ve noticed that not everyone knows how to react in this situation. Broadcasters always prefer having an active chatter than a mod who lurks or doesn’t come by at all.
I think that about wraps it up! Thanks for reading this, I sincerely hope it helped you. If you’d like to share your modding experience with me, go ahead, feel free to contact me on Twitter! I’d love to hear from you.
JugoLama, Twitch viewer/moderator
