With Twitch, the chat is everything. It’s the very core of what makes the platform so engaging and it’s the best way to interact with your viewers while you stream.
Without chat, there’s less to get excited about and no way for people to express themselves when playing the next big release or going for that hard-to-get achievement.
The thing is, Twitch chat rules need to be implemented before you can get going.
Without rules, people tend to run wild and it can create a toxic atmosphere that no one wants to be part of.
You don’t have to lay down the law with a tome that reads more like a terms and services page, but a few basic rules will make the experience better for everyone involved.
What are the Best Chat Rules for Twitch?
The chat rules will be displayed to new viewers and chatters in the form of a very obvious pop-up box before they start typing away on your stream.
But when you are setting up your own chat rules it can be a little tricky to know where to start.
As a good foundation, Twitch has rules for their own channel that read as follows:
- Be kind
- Respect other humans
- Include everyone
- Listen to the moderation team
A lot of the time, rules come down to common sense which definitely makes things easier. As a result, you might want to include rules along these lines:
- No bullying, sexism, racism, homophobia, or hate-based chat
- No ethnic, sexual, religious, disability, or transphobic slurs
- No spoilers to a game, TV show, or film
- Use the language(s) spoken by the broadcaster (so they can engage with you)
- No advertising or self-promotion
- No backseat gaming
The way to look at rules is by thinking about the Twitch chat as a party that you have been invited to in real life.
If you walk in and you see someone being bullied, a group spoiling the guest appearances in Multiverse of Madness, and another group that’s just arguing mindlessly, you’re going to leave.
The chat is exactly the same – that’s why the rules are in place.
What we have above are good Twitch chat rules, but you’re also going to want to personalize things to suit your channel as well.
For example, if you run a family-friendly stream you will want to put a stop to swearing and other adult conversations.
Rules also need to be simple and clear. Don’t make them long-winded and overcomplicate things because then it’s a lot easier for them to be broken by accident.
Short, sweet, and to the point will get you a much better reaction than leaving people scratching their heads.
As a side note, if you have a Discord server make sure the rules are the same there as well.
9 Twitch Chat Rules Examples You Can Use for Inspiration
A little inspiration goes a long way, so allow us to inspire you with some Twitch stream rules that might help you out a little.
- No Sexism, Racism, Homophobia, Bullying, or Hate
This is a very common rule and for a good reason – in this day and age no one wants to see any of this displayed in chat. It’s immature, narrow-minded, and negative energy that will have people leaving pretty quickly. Not only that but talking like this in your chat can get you banned, especially if it isn’t enforced.
- Keep Things Positive
I like this rule, and it promotes a chilled place to chat and vibe while you stream. It sets out your expectations for how people should behave while they are watching, and while you are going to have to enforce the rules a few times you’d be surprised by how effective this simple rule is.
- Swearing
This is really up to you and depends on the kind of stream you have, your audience, and also your personal preferences. However, you need to have your stance on swearing and adult themes made clear in the rules or people aren’t going to know if they are allowed to or not. Don’t forget that Twitch lets swearing fly but they can bring the ban hammer down if things get sexually explicit.
- No Self Promotion
One of the most common rules across the internet, it’s actually a pretty important one to have. You don’t want to see other people throwing links to their own stream or social media platforms in the chat because, honestly, it’s rude. It’s not just that it can take away from your own audience, it’s a distracting thing to do and just so impolite. You don’t do this kind of thing IRL.
- No Spamming
Spam is the bane of all existence, and you don’t want to see people going crazy with it in chat. It clogs up the chat and ruins the flow, making it hard for you to keep up with the people that are actually talking and also causing viewers to lose track of their own conversations. If it’s a case of people being really chatty and not spamming, you can enable slow mode on your stream.
- No Religion or Politics
You’re going to want to enforce this one because when religion and politics are brought to the table things get really messy. No one wants to see any of this when they are just trying to enjoy a chill stream, so make it clear in the rules that you don’t want any of this discussed. It’s such a polarised field that you’re going to want to remain as neutral as possible on the topic.
- Email Verification
Honestly, this is more of a rule for you than for others. If you have email verification in your settings, that means only verified users can talk in chat. This prevents spambots and trolls from quickly creating accounts to pester you. It’s just better for you in terms of your mental health and stress, especially since we all know how awful people can be when they hone in on a target.
- No Spoilers
This one is so important and not just for games. If the game you are playing has a storyline, you must ensure no one in the chat who may have seen the end spoils it – ruins the fun for everyone. However, this also goes for TV shows and movies that are currently airing because if you’re in a spoiler-free zone you want it to remain that way for everything. Spoilers suck.
- No Links
Hyperlinks are a pain because you don’t have time to check what the contents are and, honestly, you might not want to. Banning links is a good idea, and if you do want to include the opportunity to post them then make it a moderator privilege. So, if people want to share links they have to message a mod first and the mod will approve it and then post the link with credit.
How to Enforce Your Twitch Chat Rules
Enforcing your chat rules Twitch is very important because if people constantly get away with breaking them you’re going to be feeling pretty stuck and will be left with a toxic community. There are a few ways you can enforce the rules and make sure your chat is the way you want it.
The first is that you can moderate the chat yourself.
This can be a little distracting from the game you’re playing, but it works well if you have a small following and don’t mind the extra tasks. If not, there is always the option to use a chatbot which you can set up to scan for content that breaks the rules and ensure that they are enforced.
You can also get some moderators on board to watch over the chat while you are streaming.
Mods are good because they engage with the community as well as make sure that the chat remains a comfortable space for everyone. Good mods are often part of the reason people come back to streams and chat – they love a good back and forth.
With the mods, you just have to make sure that the people you find are trustworthy and dependable. Most of the time, streamers get friends to work as their mods and keep things clean because they know they can trust them with power over the stream and the community. But you know what to use to enforce the rules, but how can you actually enforce them?
Well, users who break the rules can be given a time-out where they are not allowed to interact with the chat for a set amount of time. This tends to be a good punishment, and it’s usually given out after they have had a warning for breaking the rules. The warning comes in the form of a reminder, and a chatbot can also be programmed to give these out to viewers.
If you have a consistent rule breaker or they break a major rule that you have no tolerance for, you can issue a ban.
This bans them from your chat and your channel, so they can no longer interact with the community at all. While bans are pretty serious, some rules just shouldn’t be broken and the ban hammer serves as a good reminder to everyone watching.
Chatbots and moderators can issue bans, which saves you time and hassle when your channel starts to grow. Your chatbot can also be programmed with chat commands that it will respond to when prompted by viewers. Honestly, if you don’t have any mods then a bot really is the way to go – they are so useful and really will take some weight off your shoulders.
Finally, there is one more important aspect of enforcing chat rules. You need to make sure you are following them at all times. It’s not always easy, especially if you have rules against swearing, but you can’t expect the community to follow your rules and respect you if you end up breaking them yourself. That’s the biggest and most effective form of enforcement – practice what you preach.
How to Change Your Chat Rules on Twitch
Now that you’re ready to start writing the rules and get them out there for your viewers, it’s probably a good idea for us to actually tell you how to do it. Your Twitch channel rules are actually very simple to access, so this will only take you a few moments.
- Go to Settings and then open the Channels and Videos tab at the top of the screen.
- Under the Settings header, you will see Moderation – choose this.
- Enter your chat rules into the space that has been provided.
- Save your work and you’re good to go.
Final Thoughts
Chat rules are essential if you want to build a community that is friendly and supportive – both towards you and other viewers. Now that you have a good foundation to work from, you should be able to create a set of rules that people are happy to adhere to.
Now that you have a set of Twitch chat rules for people to follow, you can drive engagement levels higher as people will feel more comfortable chatting with you and each other while you stream.
One of the most important parts of becoming a streamer is being able to boost your views and build a community that you can be proud of and that people want to join.
Stream for a Living is a small team of gamers, full-time content creators, and streamers who are dedicated to helping you grow your stream.