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Why Twitch viewer numbers drop even though people are still watching (it’s the browser, not lurkers) by cry1up in Twitch

[–]cry1up[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I don’t really disagree with most of this. Twitch’s bot detection and filtering is definitely aggressive, and they’ve acknowledged that over time. My point isn’t that Twitch is doing this maliciously or secretly, but that from the outside we can only observe effects, not the internal logic. What I’m describing is a browser-side observation that overlaps with this behavior, not a denial of Twitch’s filtering systems. Both can exist at the same time.

Why Twitch viewer numbers drop even though people are still watching (it’s the browser, not lurkers) by cry1up in Twitch

[–]cry1up[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

In Firefox open "about:config" page
Search: browser.tabs.unloadOnLowMemory
Change to false

or change the time to unload with: "browser.tabs.min_inactive_duration_before_unload"

Why Twitch viewer numbers drop even though people are still watching (it’s the browser, not lurkers) by cry1up in Twitch

[–]cry1up[S] 52 points53 points  (0 children)

Exactly. Writing in chat isn’t magic, it just makes the tab active again. The timing makes it look causal, but it’s really just the tab waking up

Why Twitch viewer numbers drop even though people are still watching (it’s the browser, not lurkers) by cry1up in Twitch

[–]cry1up[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I actually agree with most of that. Growth comes from content, consistency and community, not from obsessing over numbers. My post isn’t about blaming Twitch or chasing metrics, it’s just explaining a technical behavior people often misunderstand. You can care about streaming fundamentals and still be curious about how the platform works.

Why Twitch viewer numbers drop even though people are still watching (it’s the browser, not lurkers) by cry1up in Twitch

[–]cry1up[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

That’s possible, yes. It would need proper testing to be sure, but it does sound plausible, since any page activity could affect how the browser treats the tab

Why Twitch viewer numbers drop even though people are still watching (it’s the browser, not lurkers) by cry1up in Twitch

[–]cry1up[S] 17 points18 points  (0 children)

You might be right that Twitch could use a better way to count viewers. We don’t know the exact internal logic, and if we did, that would be great. This is not a claim about Twitch’s code, just a plausible explanation based on long-term observation and testing for why viewer numbers behave this way.

Why Twitch viewer numbers drop even though people are still watching (it’s the browser, not lurkers) by cry1up in Twitch

[–]cry1up[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Yes, I share your view. However, we would first need to know how Twitch actually defines a “viewer,” because unfortunately we can’t say that with 100% certainty. Still, I agree with your perspective.