Over the past few months, Twitch has caught a lot of attention for lacking in its support for creators getting hate. After a boycott movement to get Twitch to listen up, it seems theyโre taking the first steps to make the platform safer. While stating that the process has been many months in the making, the request and need for these tools can date back years since the platform started to explode in popularity. Despite not seeming important, these precautions can end up being very vital to the efforts of a new streamer trying to cultivate a safe community. While these are just the first tools, they provided a necessary infrastructure for future community safety. Announced on Twitter was new Twitch moderation tools including email and phone verification. These features attempt to prevent chatting and suppress stream harassment.
Today we're putting more power in the hands of the community, by enabling phone verified chat! Now creators and mods can require viewers to verify their account via phone number (or email) before they can chat. For more information review the blog: https://t.co/TlqCS4OzQC
— Twitch (@Twitch) September 29, 2021
What Do the Twitch Moderation Tools Mean for Users With Many Alternate Accounts?
Alongside one of the biggest requested features is account verification that curbs hate attacks. This is great for the people who are finding themselves on the bad side of a few actors who change accounts that use the same email. Despite not supporting landlines or a VOIP phone number, SMS is still an important step. These changes however do come with some stipulations that can be easily set to not bother long-standing communities. This presents an option for those streamers who want the safety of a spam-less chat room. With specific time labels for long-time followers, chatters, and even all users. The new Twitch moderation tools can also be selectively applied to VIPs, mods, and subscribers if need be. The added layer is surely a better option for security and will end up curbing many spam and harassment waves. Twitch also reaffirms that these options will not have an impact on streams discoverability.
So what do you think about the Twitch moderation additions to curb stream harassment? Let us know in the comments down below!
