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Some Twitch viewers tune in to passively observe the stream while they do their other business. Perhaps they need some background noise while they surf the web, or they want something to watch on the screen while they get other things done. They have a name for people who watch Twitch streams but don’t comment or interact with the streamers. Lurkers are the name for these people who lurk. It is possible to “lurk” on a Twitch channel without participating in the conversation. Lone viewers, or “lurkers,” watch a Twitch channel but don’t interact with the streamer or other viewers.
Why Lurk?
There are various lurking motivations. As for me, I like to lurk in channels all day long while I’m at my desk. I have things to do, but I enjoy listening to and occasionally watching a stream on my second screen as I go about my day. People often wrongly assume that viewers who don’t actively participate in the conversation are view bots. Many Twitch viewers prefer to watch content passively, without commenting or interacting with other viewers. If a viewer isn’t actively participating in the conversation, don’t automatically assume they’re a bot just because they aren’t talking.
The streamer may have implemented a special! Lurk command in their channel so lurking viewers can let everyone know they’re still watching. The usual response to this command is for the channel to announce something like, “John is now lurking in the shadows! When viewers want to show support for a streamer but don’t want to engage in conversation, they can use the lurk command.
Twitch Lurk Feature
Will the views get counted if lurking in the channel?
If you’re lurking in the channel to show your support, remember that your views won’t count unless you watch at least two streamers. It’s impossible to watch 30 different streams at once and have each one identify you as a unique viewer. Also, if you mute the site or the stream, you won’t be counted as a viewer. Using Firefox, you can silence the tab without losing your view count.
While watching a channel on Twitch, you are under no obligation to engage with the host or other viewers. You can watch the stream without feeling obligated to engage in conversation, vote in polls, or communicate with the streamer. The act of “lurking” does not violate Twitch’s rules.
You violate Twitch’s terms of service if you’re using bots to lurk in channels. Using bots to inflate your or another channel’s viewership artificially is a violation of Twitch’s rules, resulting in disciplinary action. It’s a terrible strategy for expanding a channel’s audience. If you want to succeed on Twitch, stick to tried-and-true methods instead of trying to cut corners.
In conclusion, lurkers will forever be a part of streaming, which is in no way a negative thing. It would help if you did not discourage people from lurking on your channel because some of your biggest fans may be lurkers. The ideal situation is when lurkers become active participants in the channel’s conversation when they either become more comfortable there or find the time to do so. Hopefully, you’ve gained a better grasp of Twitch lurking after reading this!