The hoss00312 problem

Today we are going to be exploring the 'hoss00312' problem that has been plaguing twitch streamers. Although I'm not 100% sure who or what is responsible for this. There is something shady going on over at twitch tv and I would like to talk about it.

Bots, bots and more bots

I'm sure most of you are aware by now there are a ton of bots on twitch. Some, such as Nightbot, can be added to a stream by a streamer and can be really helpful. They can perform a ton of different functions from chat commands to timed messages. If you are new to twitch I'd recommend checking out Nightbot.tv There are also a few different but similar tools.

From helpful bots, we move on to more neutral bots. Their presence can be somewhat confusing to new streamers on the platform. An example of this bot will be called 'Anotherttveiwer'. This bot just seems to hang out on streamers channels and you can find it if you check on users in the chat. There are also a few different usernames that will appear on your stream. Don't panic if you see them, they just lurk. They don't count as viewers but will be visible on looking at the viewers in the chat.

Spambots you might have encountered from time to time although it does seem like twitch has clamped down on them more and more. In essence, these bots will drop a message in your chat along the lines of 'Wanna be famous, go to ......' This was nothing more than annoying and in till recently I found would pop up fairly regularly. Not only have I see these messages a countless number of times on my own stream but other streams as well.

A new bread of bot

Until recently those were the only three types of bots that existed to my knowledge on twitch. All of them are harmless except the spam ones but ultimately that was just annoying. I don't think anyone will visit a website claiming to get you famous? Don't do it. They won't make you famous. Now twitch streamers have to deal with a much more serious issue the 'hoss' bots.

These new bots are on another level. Not only do they seem to be relentless they seem to be rather nefarious. Most streamers will have follower alerts turned on so that they can celebrate new followers to their streams. These 'hoss' bots do not spam the chat they now spam the follower alerts. Because there are just so many different accounts it easily clogs the alerts up. The bot account names aren't offensive but weirdly named. Such as 'hoss00312_owns_twitch' and 'hoss00312_is_after_you'. Slightly creepy one might say. The biggest problem twitch has with these bots right now is the fact that some of the accounts have been regarded as malicious and if you click on their profile it can potentially grab your IP address. Right now no one is exactly sure of all these bot accounts purposes, but going by the names of some of the accounts it isn't worth taking any chances.

These are some of the names of the bot accounts I have encountered so far. I will try to update this list when I can however, I feel in some respect that will be futile because of the sheer number of new accounts that seem to be made. Not to mention if they are getting banned or not. Just copy and paste this list in your own twitch chat to ban them. Please do not visit their channel for your own safety:

/ban hoss00312_lllIIllllIlllII

/ban hoss00312_elite_race

/ban hoss00312_llIIIllllIIlll

/ban hoss00312_lllIlllIIIlll

/ban hoss00312_lllIIllIlllllI

/ban hoss00312_lllIIllllIllllI

/ban hoss00312_llllIIIllllIIll

/ban hoss00312_lllIIlllIll

/ban hoss00312_llllIIIllllII

/ban hoss00312_pogchamp

/ban hoss00312_hello!

/ban hoss00312_has_won

/ban hoss00312_owns_twitch

/ban hoss00312_giver

/ban Hoss00312_is_not_abot

/ban hoss00312_is_after_you

/ban hoss00312_is_alive

/ban hoss00312_pogchamp

/ban hoss00312_back

/ban hoss____00312

/ban hoss00312_host

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In summary: Whether you're a twitch stream or twitch watcher if you see an account named 'hoss00312' with some variation be careful. If you do get follow botted by them remember to use /ban and never visit their channels.

If you decide to follow me on twitch and your name begins with an H I might just ban you. Only kidding. Stay safe.