What you need to know
- There have been numerous questionable issues involving streamers on Twitch over the last few months.
- On top of this, there was a recent issue involving streamer Ninja's Twitch channel, which was being used to promote other Fortnite streamers and (indirectly) promoted NSFW content including pornography
- The accumulation of these events have led users on Twitter to start the hashtag #TWITCHISOVERPARTY
People are angry with Twitch. That in and of itself might not be surprising, since people find ways to get angry about quite a bit. All that anger has boiled over into a hashtag movement with #TWITCHISOVERPARTY and there's a few different reasons behind it all. From percieved favoritism with certain streamers to the casual "whoops" of allowing pornography on a former streamer's channel, there's a ton to dive through.
To start off, for some time now there's been a growing sense that Twitch does not enforce its rules fairly across all streamers. Twitch user Alinity tossed her cat over her back and allowed her cat to taste vodka out of her mouth in two seperate incidents that were both livestreamed. Cats can't have alcohol and are prone to liver failure or even death upon consuming the substance.
The reaction online was vitriolic and Animal Protection Services eventually investigated. According to their findings they determined "that there was no malicious intent in any of the reported incidents, and the owner expressed genuine remorse" while Twitch did not comment on the situation or reprimand Alinity in any way.
Another Twitch user, Amouranth, has come under fire for what many are saying was the use of a racial slur during a stream. Amouranth has defended herself on Twitter, saying she in no way intended to make any offensive statement and it was due to her slurring her words because of her braces.
In grocery stores-
I apologize if any of it even remotely sounds racial to even one person. but it’s not what I said. I stream 12 hours a day, 7 days a week for the last 3 years. I’ve streamed 90% asleep. I don’t have bigoted beliefs. There’s nothing to slip out.In grocery stores-
I apologize if any of it even remotely sounds racial to even one person. but it’s not what I said. I stream 12 hours a day, 7 days a week for the last 3 years. I’ve streamed 90% asleep. I don’t have bigoted beliefs. There’s nothing to slip out.— Amouranth (@Amouranth) August 7, 2019August 7, 2019
Amouranth has previously gotten in trouble while livestreaming herself exercising and stretching at a gym when she refused to move her camera so families wouldn't be seen in the background. When asked to leave the gym, she stated it was "because she was white."
With all of this being said, it's important to note that some are predictably using this hashtag as a chance to promote their nasty vendettas against women in general. So it's important to note that this didn't come about purely as a result of women streamers but the enforcement of rules on Twitch (or lack thereof) period, as was the case with Dr Disrespect.
Guy Beahm, better known as Dr Disrespect on Twitch, is one of the platform's top streamers, with over 3.2 million followers and over 20,000 paid subscribers. Winning Trending Gamer of the Year at the Game Awards 2017, Guy Beahm was banned from E3 2019 following a livestream of himself using the restroom at the event. Following this, he was banned from Twitch...for a week.
His return confused and irritated many, who pointed out that someone with a smaller following would've been banned for a longer period of time, if not permanently. By taking these confusing actions and either not enforcing their rules to the same degree or at all, many believe Twitch is sending the message that the rules won't apply if you're making them a ton of money.
The most recent event and the one that made this whole pot boil over was in regards to 'Ninja' Tyler Blevins' Twitch channel. With Tyler leaving to stream exclusively on Mixer, Twitch was now using his channel to promote other Fortnite streamers. Unfortunately, this meant that when a channel began a stream of pornography, it was promoted through Tyler's now-defunct channel. Pornographic content is against Twitch's terms of service and if shown to children with no age restriction on the channel, would possibly be violating multiple laws.
Twitch did take action, striking the offending channel permanently and the CEO of Twitch offered an apology on Twitter. For many however, this was the final straw and #TWITCHISOVEPARTY has broken out.
With Ninja leaving for Mixer, Microsoft has found itself garnering more and more attention. Mixer's community guidelines, while more strict, so far appear to be evenly enforced and the platform is looking appeal to those put out with Twitch and the inconsistency of its moderation. If Twitch continues to be contradictory in its handling of these different situations, time will tell just what the results will be.
