Live streaming platforms give viewers a variety of ways to support their favorite broadcasters, be it by subscribing to their channel, gifting subs, or directly donating — but some streamers have high standards for their fans, as Ninja has pointed out.
Although many streamers provide fans with certain incentives to subscribe or donate to their channels, some have lashed out at their audiences for not taking monetary action in support of their careers.
One such streamer went viral in January, going by the handle ‘BadBunny,’ who received a wave of backlash online after lashing out at her viewers for not subscribing — but it’s not an isolated incident, as Mixer star Ninja pointed out in a March video.
In a Twitter clip, Ninja directly addressed streamers who guilt-trip their viewers for not donating or subscribing, calling them “horribly toxic” and pointing out how fans help grow streamers’ channels by simply watching and recommending their broadcasts to friends.
“…let’s say you have 700 viewers,” he explained. “200 are subbed. 500 aren’t. Those 500 viewers who aren’t subbed are following your channel, they might be telling your friends about your channel. They are active members of your chat. …they might be getting their friends to subscribe to your stream. Maybe they don’t have enough money.”
The streamer continued by reminding such broadcasters to remain humble and remember that they all began without a subscribe button, relying on views alone to grow their channel to Affiliate status.
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“Basically saying that if you don’t donate or subscribe, you aren’t supporting the stream, and like F you, is just a terrible mindset,” he continued. “You’re gonna be doomed to fail because your viewers are where you started.”
Second video I’ve seen about a streamer ripping their viewers for not subscribing or donating. A couple of words for streamers out there that don’t understand how important normal viewers are. pic.twitter.com/lF1TiqFwyI
— Ninja (@Ninja) March 21, 2020
While Ninja finished his statement with a lighthearted joke about “ligma,” the streamer’s words certainly contain a grain of wisdom, echoed by other fans and streamers in the Tweet thread.
His message also comes nearly a month after Call of Duty streamer “wingsofredemption” demanded even more money from his viewers to keep broadcasting, upping his original $10 per hour price point to $25.
While still others make a joke of such demands, guilting viewers for money doesn’t seem to be an issue that will go away anytime soon, as live streaming sites continue to boom in popularity.