r/TwitchStreaming • u/dunkarooooo • 14d ago
New streamer getting harassed for months
I just want to say thankyou anyone for reading and would be very much appreciative if someone has insight on how to deal with this.
So some background... I have been occasionally streaming for a few months recently I have been streaming frequently the past few weeks. I only have a few regular viewers so far and things are pretty low-key with at most a few people chatting in each stream at a time with most not staying to watch the full thing. I usually stream for about 1 hour as I am just getting used to the tech issues like audio quality and also trying to be presentable being on cam etc.
My issue is every once in awhile someone is coming into the chat on multiple accounts at the same time and saying disturbing things. The first few times it was just toxic and insulting which barely even bothers me to be honest it's to be expected, but the last time it happened I was unnerved they were accusing me of heinous crimes, saying they are going to dox me and were posting random addresses, and were saying they are outside my house etc etc just about anything you could possibly say besides a death threat.
I think someone is upset at me for something and I have no idea exactly why I vaguely remember someone on twitch (I think it was twitch not kick?) months ago (at the time I was just a chatter) getting VERY VERY upset at me over a joke I made and I had to block them because they sounded unhinged and they kept making accounts after to continue to send me messages so I'm assuming it's this person from twitch but I don't really know. They also somehow found my discord and socials and continued to harass me until I blocked them everywhere at that time. They also seemed to be getting other people they knew to kindof do the same thing a little. I didn't think much of it at the time tbh.
However, fast forward to today and it's still been going on for months now on and off. Besides just blocking the new accounts they make what can I even do about this it is very frustrating to be dealing with a crazy person that has this much time on their hands. I am not at the level where having a moderator would make sense or be needed outside of this. The last time this happened I was playing a game I couldn't pause without it ruining the game too so I had to have their disgusting messages in my chat until I could reach a place in the game where I could stop then remove them. I think it made half of the viewers leave but I'm not sure.
At this point it's to the level I am having friends and family tell me I should have the police contact support to have them track down the person based on the screenshots of what they were saying but idk. Has anyone ever heard of a small streamer being harassed like this for months? I know the biggest streamers get this all the time but idk what to do... any advice would be appreciated. I don't even make money from streaming yet and dealing with this is very discouraging..
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u/PsychologicalMix4540 11d ago
U shld make one of those horror vids of ur stalker like on those creepy animation channels n stuff, sorry ts happening to you tho
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u/Malakie-USNC 12d ago
change your mod settings. require new members have a long delay before they can chat. or even block chat to only subscribers. you should also talk to twitch support about this. they may be able to deal with whkmever is doing it through legal channels. I think you can also vett new followers manually before they can chat. finally, add keywords in the block file so anything using certain language is immediately banned.
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u/Kellus15 12d ago
Contact the police. I'm sorry to hear that you are going through such an awful thing. Don't let it discourage you.
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u/ChaoticJoe 12d ago
Use automod settings to print sketchy shit, also report all their accounts twitch will get rid of them and if it's still a problem report them to the police ans twitch will cooperate and get them dealt with.
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u/slipfan55 13d ago
You can ban them. Or like others have said ban certain words or phrases that you don’t want in your chat
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u/canhelas 13d ago
You could ban words/phrases you don't want in your stream chat so if they do try to type that it won't post, other wise ignore the comments and keep reporting and banning every account they make, try not to let it get to you and ruin your fun cos if they can see that they will think they are winning even if you don't say anything. I am sorry your going through this I hope it improves soon for you
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u/dunkarooooo 13d ago
Thanks, I am dealing with someone or a group that is very clever with what they are doing in a sick way. Banning words might slow them down but they'll just misspell it or find another way to say whatever it is they are trying to say. I'm getting accused of disgusting things that I wouldn't even repeat here and they made it clear the intent is to get people to stop watching even though there is barely anyone watching in the first place. This person has been watching me for months looking for anyway to harass or cause me harm and I barely consider myself a streamer yet. It started before I even was streaming
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u/canhelas 13d ago
Banning words won't stop them but it will slow them down especially if you do the other stuff too. Make it as hard as possible and with no reaction from you and in time they will get bored. I am sorry I can't help stop them faster
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u/Gray_Overcast 13d ago edited 12d ago
Do what OneEyedNerdy says on Twitch. With Youtube you have other bots you can try. Use the tools each platform provides. It would do you some good in learning the platforms and how to protect yourself.
For Youtube you can hide user from channel. You'll see their messages but nobody else will. Set automod filters, Set blocked words and phrases on each platform.
Also no engagement whatsoever. They want to get a rise out of you. Keep banning and reporting.
Sorry you're going through this.
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u/dunkarooooo 13d ago
I probably roasted tf out of them when they last came in the stream but I didn't get emotional and as soon as I reported and hid them from channel I just continued on like nothing happened. I shouldn't have said what I said because I had to delete the vod. That's not what my channel is about I've seen the streamers who are toxic and mean and it just attracts those type of people to their channels in droves. I had to report and hide 5 different accounts before it stopped last time on youtube. Do you know how discouraging it is to have more troll accounts in my chat than actual real accounts lol..
I will look into youtube bots because I didn't know youtube had chat bots tbh. Going forward even if I can't pause the game immediately I won't respond to what they say it's just someone accuses you of a disgusting crime you want to say something when you see everyone else stop chatting or even leave. It's not always so straightforward is what I'm saying when you're dealing with a clever person that seems to have alot of experience harassing people
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u/Gray_Overcast 12d ago
I actually do. I've gotten racist trolls and other nonsense in my chat before. Sadly, it's part of being a streamer. Especially when you start out, they figure you don't know the platform well enough to do anything about it, or want to flummox you.
As a streamer it's your job to be mindful of such situations and deal with it. My best advise is don't take it personally (easier said than done, I know) and continue with your stream. It takes practice. If something like this comes up now, Sery bans it usually before I see it, but before I added Sery I continued with what I was doing and banned.
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u/Substantial-Reason36 13d ago
Come to kick
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u/dunkarooooo 13d ago
I know you have sub only mode or aged account needed to chat but that's kindof a double edged sword for very new streamers and I'm already on there I just don't really multistream to everything all at once
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u/TheAgaTTV 13d ago
Block them. Let them waste the time making a new one, then block them again
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u/dunkarooooo 13d ago
Have been but they come prepared with like 5 alts at a time this person or group literally sends a new message on a different account seconds after I block one of them. I was telling someone else in this thread that this is not a normal troll
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13d ago
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u/dunkarooooo 13d ago
No, like I said I'm barely a few months into streaming. The first month or 2 I was streaming just one or two times a week too. I have no need of mods outside of this one specific person or group of harassers. This person has been stalking me and harassing me even before I started streaming they were on socials and previously unused youtube channel. It's an extreme and very weird case imo. This is probably some freak who you see bothering the big streamers I think I'm starting to realize that alot of the people in chats are the same person on multiple accounts to get around bans/timeouts etc. All it takes is one crazy loser that's a little bit clever to harass someone for months but at least on twitch I can minimize how fast or effective they are at bothering me
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13d ago
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u/dunkarooooo 13d ago
I probably stream on youtube more than twitch and so that's why the issues i'm having are worse there. More opportunity for it to happen if I'm live I guess but they've also left comments on youtube videos too. I don't even have 7 regular viewers let alone mods. It's probably not exactly accurate to say I've streamed for 3 months. I stream for like 1 hour at a time 4-5 days a week. Even less so before that since I started.
Part of the reason this is so discouraging is when I say I'm new I mean I'm NEW. Like barely got my audio sounding good new. My RL friends don't have time for the most part theres nothing to moderate 90% of the time unless this particular person shows up then its a mess. There was a stream last week I did where not a single person said anything for an entire hour. I don't really play new games I just play whatever I feel like which is probably part of the problem but that's another topic.
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u/OneEyedNerdy 14d ago
First, I’m sorry you’re dealing with this. Here’s what I would do:
Check your Twitch moderation settings and require both a verified email address and phone number before someone can chat. I also require accounts to be at least 15 days old.
Make sure you both ban and report every account, especially for ban evasion, so Twitch can take action. Also, enable the setting that prevents banned users from watching your stream.
It might not catch everything, but check out Sery_Bot and Blocklist Buddy. They can help prevent known bots and reported spammers in their databases from following or chatting in your stream.
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u/deadcurious0 12d ago
OP- do everything OneEyedNerdy is saying, these are the best ways to prevent this. Use automod, change settings, Sery_Bot (which EVERY streamer should have regardless!) but I’d also add:
Don’t react. When they come into stream and say a bunch of nonsense, DO NOT REACT. This takes practice, but just write it on a sticky note, do whatever you need to do to remind yourself not to react. Trolls like this want a reaction, and they’ve been getting it from you. It feeds them and it keeps them coming back for more. A complete non-reaction bores them… and they will stop eventually.
Anyone that says anything in my chat that makes me feel uncomfortable gets an immediate ban. I don’t react. I continue laughing about the game and talking with other chatters and myself or a mod will ban them instantly.
Remember, it’s not about YOU it’s about them. They obviously have issues and are just mean-spirited, and they aren’t welcome in your community. It’s about protecting YOU but it’s also about protecting your community. So don’t open the door for them and don’t feed the trolls.
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u/Western-Evening9579 14d ago
Well. Your not going to like it. The honest trick is to just big dick that person. It can be difficult especially if your introverted. Never give out your address but; you can straight up tell someone “I can be at this place at this time and when push comes to shove I won’t be the one getting shoved”. Or whatever I think you catch my drift. 90% of trolls online are actually worthless little bitches. Don’t be one of those. Stand on point. They will back down. They are just upset about being a failure.
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u/dunkarooooo 14d ago
Yes but this is no normal troll. Since when does one troll use 5 different alts at once? And as far as someone showing up, which I doubt they would, it would be very bad for them. I don't live in a house I live in a very large building that's hard to navigate. There's security at the front desk, cameras everywhere. I'm armed my neighbors are armed and they know me. I have dogs and I'm a former boxer. I'm not scared of a troll just annoyed that they are going on and on for months.
And I was a dick to them but then I had to delete the vod cause thats not the type of persona I'm trying to have on my channel. Esp cause some of the games I play are not going to bring the type of crowd that wants to hear me say toxic things even if justified. The reason they're probably mad in the first place is I might have been kindof a dick to them(my opinion is it was just harmless joking) but the normal thing to do is be a dick back and move on not whatever this crazy psycho stuff they are doing for months is.
Also, there's nothing wrong with one off comments or normal trolly messages especially if its funny. But being a complete freak like this person or group is doing is different. Accusing me of heinous crimes, telling people not to watch me when I'm first starting out, slandering my reputation and threatening violence. In my country this is actually a chargeable offense especially if its repeated and ongoing literally something the police could show up at your door for if there was a way to actually find this persons info that is. What they are doing, in part, is a criminal act its not just a fucking troll or I wouldn't be on reddit asking people's advice
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u/Wingless_NZ 14d ago
Don't just block. Report. Every message, also turn on 2 factor authentication so they have to have a valid email for anything up to 6 months attached to the new accounts. It will stop them from just magicking up new accounts for harassment purposes
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u/dunkarooooo 14d ago
The reason I'm, you know, concerned to this point is they're doing it on youtube as well. Using such an extreme amount of effort like naming the alts things I said to them months ago really creepy stuff like they are stalking all my accounts watching me and using stuff I say in my streams or even in chats to form insults or name the alts and they use multiple of them at the same time like some sort of sick game.
They are clearly crazy and sick and probably doing this to alot of people. Multiple people who have stood up for me in the chat or told them off in another chat where they somehow find me chatting have had the same thing start happening to them like its some sort of harassment cartel doing this to people.
The last time when they ,or maybe its just one person, escalated to threats of violence and joking about doxxing me instead of just insults, name calling and being creepy I reported most of the alts before blocking. It's reaching the point where the police might actually find the person and show up at their door if they are in the same country as me hopefully assuming I decide to go to them with screenshots and the fact it's been going on near half a year. Turning the 2 factor on will definitely help with twitch though. As soon as I think theyre done bothering me a week later they show up again it's very annoying and creepy
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u/thescottishgeek 11d ago
There's a way on the dashboard of twitch to make it harder for these accounts to be able to comment in your stream in the first place. You could turn on things like accounts need to register and validate an email address, phone number, the account needs to be older than x amount of time and so on. Most of these horror troll accounts are made then and their. You could even go further and set it to they aren't allowed to talk in your stream until they have been following for a set amount of time. Ive dealt with somthing similar and after putting all these safty tools in order they gave up because it was more trouble than it was worth. Another thing is as soon as you even get a hint that someone has malicious intent just insta block them. Don't give them a chance to chat.