It's All About the Twitch - Streaming and Hate Raids

I have been taking a break from streaming these past two weeks. The next three months are going to be busy as hell for me - between transporting both kids back and forth to school, writing, video editing, and taking care of every thing else, I have to maybe knock a day off from streaming. Maybe.

However, my break happened to coincide with some unnecessary drama unfolding on Twitch that affects a large portion of the platform. That is, the large but small streamers that platforms like Twitch and YouTube like to pretend aren't there because we aren't making them the big bucks.

That's just business though and the reality of anything that makes any kind of money. They make the money so that we, the creators, can create and have a platform to use. I don't completely begrudge them this. I understand. Until it starts affecting my personal comfort and safety. Then I have a problem with it.

Let me explain what is going on. And I will be fair to Twitch here because I know they are actively working on solutions to this particular issue.

So about maybe a month or two ago, small streamers started getting hate raids. What is a hate raid, you ask?

Well First, What are Raids?

A raid is when one streamer is ending their stream and decides to bring their viewers to another streamer. This is basically "sharing the love" so-to-speak. Many streamers will raid their friends or a follower who is also a streamer. Some larger streamers will often raid smaller streamers. It's the Twitch way of Networking.

Through these raids, streamers gain new followers and even some subscribers (subs cost money). So the streamer welcomes new people into their community and all thanks to another streamer "sharing" their viewers through these raids.

So Then What Are Hate Raids?

A hate raid is the negative affect of raiding. A group of people set up fake accounts on Twitch and even on YouTube (because YouTube has live streaming too), and with these fake accounts, the "streamer" brings them to another streamer as a raid. During this raid, the raider brings all of these fake accounts (and some that are not fake) into the chatting section to spew all sorts of racist, sexist, bigoted, and just absolutely hateful language.

This is where it gets a little messy. I'm no expert but it seems that the point of these so-called raids is to get the streamer so distracted and upset that they stop streaming or they get so worked up by it that the raid party has a good laugh at the streamer's expense.

But There's More...

I have had personal experience as a viewer of one of these streams. One of my favorite streamers/YouTubers is a trans person. Oh yeah, these hate raids specifically target minority groups. People of color, Women, Disabled (if that is advertised because they go looking for it), and the LBGTQ+ community.

They raided the person I was watching and the ugly, disgusting things they said were specifically to get under her skin and to upset her. They tried to shame her for being a trans person. She handled it pretty well but it didn't matter how she handled it. This group of people were hell bent on making her life miserable.

Oh, But It Gets Worse...

This group decided to doxx her! They got her information and during another stream, ordered a pizza and had it delivered to her. This was to confirm it was her address. When she got up to answer the door and told her viewers about the pizza, that was their confirmation. So now they have her address.

And She's Not The Only One...

As if that wasn't enough to make me paranoid, I saw a tweet the other day that really sent a cold chill down my spine. Another streamer, another woman in fact, got one of these hate raids. Shortly after, she was doxxed. Then these assholes proceeded to not only go after her but they went after her children. HER CHILDREN!!! I'm guessing her kids are online or they found out where her kids go to school, I'm not sure but that was all I needed to hear.

So Now It's Time to Block Raids

I love getting raided. This is how I get 90% of my followers. I have built a nice little community that is safe and welcoming and we love to laugh and have a good time. However, my paranoia is now at an all-time high. Not because of myself but because of my kids. They are my top priority! So until Twitch has dealt with the problem (and I know that they are working on it) I will no longer allow raids on my channel unless they come from a friend or someone I am following.

But There Are Complications to This

These raids may be started by actual people who seem to really get their rocks off by sending a bunch of fake accounts/bots to small streamers but these guys are hackers. They know how to get around all of the firewalls and other tools that sites like Twitch and YouTube have.

That's not to say that these sites can't do better. They absolutely can! But where does it stop? These asshats are determined and clearly have nothing better to do with their lives than to interfere with others in the attempt to spread misery and hate.

IN SHORT, THEY'RE BULLIES!!!

And I HATE BULLIES!!!

I will still stream. It may not be as often as I would like but I very much enjoy streaming and I won't let anyone take that away from me. I will have my own thing set up to try to block these jerk offs from coming into my stream in their sorry ass attempt to try to spoil everyone's fun.

In all honesty though, every time I go live on Twitch now, I am nervous. Maybe I have nothing to worry about but worry I do. Regardless whether I need to worry about this or not, I will be prepared.

Thanks so much for reading!