From 85a17dd6fdbeed3e70989da826c8b7115d74674e Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Remington Date: Tue, 7 Nov 2023 17:56:11 +0000 Subject: [PATCH 1/2] Update ViewCounts.md FYI it's not possible for viewers to count for the Path to Partner achievement just by refreshing or clicking a link, but they still count for discovery purposes. Also mentioned clips and featured clips. --- ViewCounts.md | 52 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++------------- 1 file changed, 39 insertions(+), 13 deletions(-) diff --git a/ViewCounts.md b/ViewCounts.md index 8a4bfa0..7f412ec 100644 --- a/ViewCounts.md +++ b/ViewCounts.md @@ -13,11 +13,17 @@ the different numbers even mean? In general, a "viewer" is someone presently (or recently) consuming the video stream. So long as the actual video is playing, that person should be counted. -Be aware that some browsers will pause videos in background tabs if they see -that it's not achieving anything; one way to ensure that your view is still -counted is to keep the volume up far enough that the tab shows a "speaker" icon -on it. You can then mute the entire tab or site if you choose, and the video -will continue to play even if the tab is in the background. +Some browsers will unload tabs to conserve memory for tabs which are visible, +which would stop the video player. In Chrome, for example, you can turn off +this behaviour entirely in the Settings/Performance screen, or you can leave +it turned on and allow only certain sites to remain active. + +An engineer who worked for Twitch confirmed that you can leave the video +player muted and you should still count as a viewer. In practise, however, +when the video buffers in a tab which isn't visible, the video player will +usually not resume playing until you switch back to that tab. If you're +going to switch between viewing a few different streamers, you may need to +switch to that tab every so often. To minimize the bandwidth a background tab consumes, you can lower its video quality, as long as the stream has [transcoding](Glossary#transcoding) active. @@ -42,14 +48,34 @@ This is not an official term, but the viewer count has one special case: the achievement required for a partnership application involves an average of 75 viewers, "excluding Hosts, Raids, and Embeds". All other definitions of view count include those subcategories, but for this specific calculation, anyone -who is watching your stream with "?referrer=raid" in the URL will not count; -nor will people watching your stream using some forms of multi-twitch (which -count as "embeds"), or those seeing your stream hosted elsewhere. - -So if you've just raided someone who's pushing for partnership, do them a -favour and click on their channel name to remove the referrer tag! Some -streamers have a convenient bot message that provides a link that will do the -same thing, bringing you into the stream itself without the tag. +who has raided into your stream will not count; nor will people watching +your stream using some forms of multi-twitch (which count as "embeds"), or +those seeing your stream hosted elsewhere. + +At some point it was thought that removing the ?referrer=raid parameter +from the URL or refreshing the stream or even clicking on the channel name +or a link to the channel would make you count for this calculation. Maybe +it did at some point, but the same engineer who confirmed that it is fine +to mute the video player also said that none of these things work. + +For clarification, parameters in URLs may change what you see on a site, +like when you want to sort from lowest to highest, but they do not +actually change the data on the site. Whatever Twitch does to track who +raided in is data on their site which can't be manipulated. + +However, the viewers who are part of a raid do still improve the chance +for the stream they raided to be discovered. Viewers who might never have +clicked on the stream before may see the stream recommended to them on +the front page of Twitch in one of the shelves, or in the category the +stream is in. + +Instead of telling viewers to refresh the stream or click on a link, a +streamer should probably focus on being a welcoming host, and encourage +their viewers to make clips. The best clips are a great way of showcasing +the best parts of a streamer's channel, and can be made into Featured +clips which can be discovered on the front page of Twitch. This isn't a +guaranteed way of bringing in new viewers, but it's built-in and free, so +why not use it? ### Total Views From f7ccd3e89b5f9d8ca6bc9b051ac85a068875aa59 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Chris Angelico Date: Wed, 8 Nov 2023 05:38:16 +1100 Subject: [PATCH 2/2] Workshop update for brevity and hint at an upcoming page --- ViewCounts.md | 49 ++++++++++++++++--------------------------------- 1 file changed, 16 insertions(+), 33 deletions(-) diff --git a/ViewCounts.md b/ViewCounts.md index 7f412ec..0eaf7b0 100644 --- a/ViewCounts.md +++ b/ViewCounts.md @@ -14,16 +14,14 @@ the different numbers even mean? In general, a "viewer" is someone presently (or recently) consuming the video stream. So long as the actual video is playing, that person should be counted. Some browsers will unload tabs to conserve memory for tabs which are visible, -which would stop the video player. In Chrome, for example, you can turn off -this behaviour entirely in the Settings/Performance screen, or you can leave -it turned on and allow only certain sites to remain active. +which would stop the video player; prevent this by keeping the volume high +enough that the tab shows a "speaker" icon on it. -An engineer who worked for Twitch confirmed that you can leave the video -player muted and you should still count as a viewer. In practise, however, -when the video buffers in a tab which isn't visible, the video player will -usually not resume playing until you switch back to that tab. If you're -going to switch between viewing a few different streamers, you may need to -switch to that tab every so often. +An engineer who worked for Twitch [confirmed](https://twitter.com/Fugiman/status/1401052105989771267) +that you can leave the video player muted and you should still count as a +viewer. If the video buffers and the tab is not visible, the player may not +resume playing, however, so to ensure that you continue to count, switch back +to the tab periodically. To minimize the bandwidth a background tab consumes, you can lower its video quality, as long as the stream has [transcoding](Glossary#transcoding) active. @@ -52,30 +50,15 @@ who has raided into your stream will not count; nor will people watching your stream using some forms of multi-twitch (which count as "embeds"), or those seeing your stream hosted elsewhere. -At some point it was thought that removing the ?referrer=raid parameter -from the URL or refreshing the stream or even clicking on the channel name -or a link to the channel would make you count for this calculation. Maybe -it did at some point, but the same engineer who confirmed that it is fine -to mute the video player also said that none of these things work. - -For clarification, parameters in URLs may change what you see on a site, -like when you want to sort from lowest to highest, but they do not -actually change the data on the site. Whatever Twitch does to track who -raided in is data on their site which can't be manipulated. - -However, the viewers who are part of a raid do still improve the chance -for the stream they raided to be discovered. Viewers who might never have -clicked on the stream before may see the stream recommended to them on -the front page of Twitch in one of the shelves, or in the category the -stream is in. - -Instead of telling viewers to refresh the stream or click on a link, a -streamer should probably focus on being a welcoming host, and encourage -their viewers to make clips. The best clips are a great way of showcasing -the best parts of a streamer's channel, and can be made into Featured -clips which can be discovered on the front page of Twitch. This isn't a -guaranteed way of bringing in new viewers, but it's built-in and free, so -why not use it? +Note that asking your viewers to remove parts of the URL, or to click on +something, or anything like that, has no benefit other than placebo. Focus +on making the best quality stream you can, and don't stress about the things +you and your viewers can't change :) + +Remember, too, that the viewers who do not count to the 75 will still improve +your stream's discoverability. Everyone is helping there and they don't have +to do any work at all! There are a few other ways that viewers can go over +and above though - see [Discoverability tips](discoverability) for some ideas! ### Total Views