Twitch Moderation: Exchanging Empathy for Banning
Research originally conducted at the New Jersey Institute of Technology by Dr. D. Yvette Wohn, who was recently appointed as the inaugural chair of the Department of Technology, AI and Society (DTAS) at Stony Brook University, explored Twitch moderation of toxic behavior in chat to maintain a healthy community space.
Although her findings focus primarily on the gaming category, the DJ streaming category faces many of the same challenges, including misconduct, harassment, and view botting.
I agree that empathy de-escalates negative behavior in isolated events. However, viewers should not be expected to endure prolonged hostility while waiting for that approach to work.
Moderators are pressed to make timely judgments to ensure the safety of the chat. Research credits empathy over reaction as the strongest tool. At times, empathy alone won’t manage toxic behavior in real time.