One of the most amazing aspects of live streaming is the way in which it brings people together from all over the world. Been fortunate enough to have viewers make a positive impact on the show from the US, Mexico, South Africa, England, France, Australia, Germany, and more. I make it a point to celebrate our cultural differences while bonding over a common love of gaming. Wherever you are, I want you to feel like there’s a place for you here.
Up until this point, we’ve been able to maintain a positive environment with little moderation. However, I was put into a dilemma when an enthusiastic viewer caught me by surprise with a racially-insensitive comment.
My tolerance for any sort of hate speech is incredibly low. If someone were to just come into my chat and and say a comment like the one this viewer said, I would have immediately banned them without hesitation.
However, I knew this person a bit based on their past history on my channel. They ran into a bit of trouble with auto-mod during a few uses of all caps, but this person was well-behaved otherwise. Also, I got the sense that this person was a bit younger in age and may not fully understand the gravity of what they were saying.
When this person said what they said, it hurt me personally. The phrase was a direct attack at people who look like me. But was this person really speaking from a place of hatred? Especially when the comment was directed at people like me, yet he was so enthusiastic to be a part of this community with me at the forefront?
Instead of smacking them with the ban hammer, I gave him a warning. I wish I had a better response at the ready, but I tried my best to communicate that what they said was not okay and that we embrace all walks of life here equally. He apologized, and the stream went on as per usual.
Based on the letter of my law, I should have banned them. But maybe this was an opportunity to teach someone a valuable life lesson and make a long-term positive change on their life. Not just for him, but to everyone that watched that moment. This isn’t exactly what I signed up for when I started streaming, but I think if there’s an opportunity to make others around me better, I have to take it and do the best that I can.
In Third Person 
That’s awesome. I understand the instant ban on something like this (and don’t blame anyone that goes that route) but I hate to just write someone off immediatly without giving them a chance to learn and grow from their mistake. Sometimes its just innocent ignorance, which isn’t an excuse but without caring people to explain why their ignorance is wrong, it can fester in to something worse. It’s hard to know if it is innocent or willful but I’d rather give the benefit of the doubt, at least once, before writing someone off.