5 Red Flags of a bad Twitch mod you should Look Out For
Choosing a moderator can be difficult, especially if you are a busy streamer. Ideally, you want someone you know in real life, someone who has a high EQ (Emotional Quotient), knowing how to moderate a Twitch chat and the know-how of using the bot commands. And at the same time, you need them to be there from start to finish of your stream, and on every time you stream. That’s is quite a demand to fill, and considering it’s a volunteer job, it’s tough for streamers to ask this of their friends, family or spouse.
So instead, they tend to give moderation powers to their followers. And from what I noticed from the female influencer who start using Twitch, they tend to give it to the biggest simp of the group. That one guy who will do anything for the streamers attention. In my years of working with influencers who have started streaming on Twitch, this always leads to disaster.
These tips can be useful to any streamer, but the article is mainly directed to the girl streamers who have done the Xentoza Twitch Course. There seems to be a tendency to recruit what we called “Simp Mods.”
In this article, I will talk about the 5 red flags or signs of a bad moderator. These red flags can be neutralised most of the time by having a chat with your moderator and being very clear with what you want them to do. But if they continue these red flags traits. I highly recommend you remove them as a mod from your Twitch, Discord and anywhere else they might have powers, and I would do this before you give them that final chat.
The Over Protective White Knight
This is the biggest and most common one I see from the female influencers that stream on twitch. With such a big following, it’s no surprise that their first-ever Twitch stream is bombarded by the guys who have been fantasising about them for a while. So in a hasty decision, they Mod a person they never met or spoken to before. And for some reason, they always pick the biggest simp in the group. 90% of the time, these guys have no idea what they are doing and will convince the influencer to mod them by saying something like, “I mod for a couple of other streamers on Twitch.”
One of the main traits of the overprotective white knight is to very quickly delete, ban or get confrontational with people on chat. They feel the main role is to protect thy lady from these unworthy men. This can be detrimental to a streamers growth and will end up deterring any new people from subbing. If you feel your mod is being over-protective then have a meeting with them and be clear on what your ok with and what you are not.
Telling You What To Do
I know some mods might genuinely care about your health and wellbeing and the success of your streams. But at the end of the day, it’s your show, your stream, your life. I noticed some mods who were giving moderator status start acting like the “Boy Friend” of the streamer. Suggestions one thing, but doing it authoritatively in front of the streamer’s audience is another. So don’t let your moderator push you around. If they are doing it on a live stream, joke it off and DM them real quick. Then, after the stream, you can have a little chat with them. And if it happens again, I suggest you relieve them of their duties.
The Notice Me Simpai
Any mod can engage in the conversation and talk amongst your community. Welcoming new people, keeping the conversation going and always directing the attention back to the streamer. But sometimes you see mods that enjoy the attention too much. Remember, you are the star of the show. The audience is there to engage with you. I have seen mods try to take over the stream by talking too much, steering the conversation, constantly asking you or your audience questions.
They start acting like they’re the one streaming and start to engage with your audience as if it’s their own. The best mods are the ones the audience wouldn’t even know are there if they didn’t have that Green Sword icon. If you feel your mod is trying to steal the attention, again, you need to talk to them and be open about how you feel. Give them a chance to adjust, but if they continue… you know what to do.
Confrontational
Twitch mods should be welcoming people to the community. What they shouldn’t do is get into arguments with members of your chat. Nor should they flex their mod powers openly. I have seen some mods frequently say things like, “You want me to ban you? Because I can, and I will” “I can time you out all day.” “Anyone else want me to lay the ban hammer on them?” This type of behaviour breeds toxicity, and as the streamer and leader of your community, you need to stomp this out very fast. If a community member is out of line, the mod should give them a “Time Out”. They will get the message, and if anything needs to be discussed, good mods DM’s that member in private. No need to engage with them or threaten them in public.