There is a barrier to participating in the chat of an ongoing broadcast, namely registration+login. This barrier is high enough for me to forego participating. Perhaps it is for other people as well, and this is why the chat tends to be so quiet.
(I bumped into this while watching @ErikSchierboom’s stream.)
Is it desirable+possible to remove the login requirement?
It is not possible, no.
This is probably a good thing, definitely cuts down on “trolls”, but those that we know, having a presence on the forums (or on Slack) could comment there if we had a dedicated “do not use x-service” but like and trust Exercism’s spaces, where you are known. So there are ways to work around being heard even if you really do not like the hosted video services.
It is definitely a thing to have that “ugh, not yet another login/account to create” syndrome.
Some streamers even require accounts to be verified with a phone number in order to chat