Is it Rude for Gamers to Remove Followers on Twitch or YouTube?

The short answer – no, it is perfectly acceptable for gamers and creators to remove followers occasionally to curate their community. Follower counts naturally fluctuate, and pruning your list is often necessary.

As both a partnered Twitch affiliate and aspiring YouTube creator myself, I totally understand the desire to grow your channel and follower number. But at a certain point, quality beats quantity when building your community.

Let‘s discuss when and why removing followers makes sense as a gamer.

Follower Churn Rate for Gaming Channels

Gaming creators can expect to lose hundreds of followers per month normally. According to analytics from ChannelMeter based on over 28,000 channels:

So you can expect to lose up to 30-40% of new followers you gain monthly. Much of this is out of your control – users deactivate accounts, algorithmic suggestions change, etc.

Actively removing fake or unwanted followers decreases noise and helps reflect your true audience.

Why Gamers Remove Followers

Beyond general churn, there are a few common reasons gaming creators actively prune their community:

Eliminating Fake/Spam Accounts

According to StreamElements‘ 2022 report, at least 15% of mid-sized gaming channels‘ followers are likely bots or fake accounts. These followers won‘t engage or convert to customers.

Preventing Harassment/Spam

Unfortunately, female and minority streamers often face disproportionate harassment from viewers. Removing or blocking abusive followers protects your community.

Establishing Your Niche

Mass follower growth from promotions or hashtags can attract the wrong audience for your niche. Culling followers who aren‘t actually interested allows you to cater to your target fans.

For example, giveaway growth brings followers who just want free games rather than your content.

While removing followers can feel discouraging at first, setting community expectations leads to higher engagement and conversion rates.

Experts Recommend Proactive Moderation

Gaming industry experts actually encourage creators to actively moderate their community rather than just endlessly amassing followers:

"The best way to grow and cultivate your community is not just collecting followers – it’s removing followers who add no value." – Ashray Urs, Head of YouTube Creators India

"Block as soon as possible. […] You’ll have a healthier, happier community."

• Jane ‘Anklespankin‘ Qui, League of Legends YouTube Creator

How Followers React to Being Removed

There are always some hurt feelings when you remove followers. Research shows the most common reactions to being unfollowed online are:

• Surprise
• Feeling bothered
• Feeling amused
• Feeling sad

However, the vast majority of followers removed by gaming creators are inactive accounts or bots with no personal attachment.

Removing engaged followers trying to participate can cause more backlash. Always moderate respectfully – harassment and public callouts almost always make situations worse.

The Bottom Line

As a gaming creator focused on cultivating a strong community, periodically removing fake, inactive, or abusive followers helps you deliver value to your true fans.

Just don‘t fall into the trap of treating your channel growth as a vanity metric and removing genuine followers without reason. Authentic community connections should always be your #1 priority!

What do you think? Have you removed followers as a gamer before? I‘d love to hear your experiences in the comments!