What to enable before your first broadcast
Basic protection is configured once and covers most problems:
- Slow mode. Stops one person from flooding chat with ten messages in a row.
- Link blocking for non-subscribers. The main spam channel on any platform.
- A banned word list. Start short, because long lists catch ordinary words and irritate viewers.
- A caps and repeated character filter. Removes the noisiest kind of flooding.
Keep subscriber-only mode off. It is an emergency switch rather than a permanent setting, and on a small channel it simply kills the chat.
Timeouts and bans are different tools
A timeout temporarily removes the ability to write, from seconds to hours. A ban is permanent. Almost always start with a timeout: it works as a warning and does not create conflict.
A sensible ladder: a short timeout for a first offence, a long one for a repeat, a ban for deliberate provocation. Banning instantly for a first rude word is a reliable way to build a reputation as a channel where people are treated without discernment.
Deleting a single message is often better than any punishment: it removes the problem without touching the person.
How to appoint a moderator
Appointment happens through channel settings or a chat command. A moderator gains the right to issue timeouts, delete messages and ban.
Choose from regular viewers you have known across broadcasts for months. The main criterion is not activity but composure: a moderator who gets into arguments creates more problems than they solve.
Agree on boundaries in advance: what counts as a violation, when a timeout applies, when a ban, and in which cases to call you.
What to do during a raid
A raid is when a group of people enters chat simultaneously with identical messages. The sequence:
- Enable subscriber-only mode, which instantly cuts off strangers.
- Set the maximum delay between messages.
- Do not respond to provocation on air, since a reaction is exactly what they came for.
- Issue bans after the broadcast, calmly, from the chat log.
- Return the normal settings after a while.
What not to do
- Keeping subscriber-only mode on permanently: new viewers cannot write and leave.
- Banning for criticism. Criticism and insult are different things and viewers see the difference.
- Discussing every violation aloud on air: it breaks the rhythm and draws attention to the offender.
- Building a banned word list with hundreds of entries, which starts catching ordinary speech.
Chat and channel growth
A live chat retains viewers: someone who wrote and got an answer is likely to come back. So on a small channel willingness to talk matters more than strictness.
But somebody has to write, and for that the broadcast has to be found. On Kick streams within a category are sorted by viewer count and a new channel sits at the bottom. A starting push helps lift it, with Kick viewer services collected in the catalogue. One limitation matters: such viewers raise the position but do not write in chat. Live conversation only comes from live people the broadcast then attracts organically.