Genealogy of a Hate Raid

The document, "Genealogy of a Hate Raid," critically examines the evolution of "raiding" from its origins in Multi-User Dungeons (MUDs) to its contemporary manifestation as "hate raids" on livestreaming platforms like Twitch and community platforms such as Discord. The central thesis is that hate raids represent a contested zone between emergent playful behaviors and platform policies, challenging established notions of permissible online conduct.

The analysis employs a mixed-method comparative platform studies approach, drawing from multi-sited ethnography and critical discourse analysis. This methodology traces the raiding metaphor across MUDs, Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs), Twitch, and Discord, highlighting how the meaning and implications of raiding shift across these digital spaces. The paper defines a hate raid as a symbolic event that can be goal-oriented, such as white supremacists using bots to spam streamers of color, or spontaneous, where viewers sent to a channel begin to harass or frighten a streamer without prior planning.

Key findings indicate that the platformization of raiding, particularly in the transition from MUDs to MMORPGs, involved formalizing and monetizing collaborative gameplay through systems like World of Warcraft's Dragon Point Kill system, which aimed to stabilize player behavior. On Twitch, while raids are often used to stabilize viewer attention and foster community, they can also become unwanted and offensive, especially for marginalized streamers. The document highlights a tension between platforms like Twitch, which formalize raiding for engagement, and Discord, which discourages it, leading to confusion and the emergence of hate raids. These events exploit three specific tensions: the distinction between labor and leisure, differing perceptions of safety among players, users, and livestreamers, and contradictory platform policies designed to manage safety expectations.