Twitch is a very easy service to love, yet the contents of the website are what bring millions of viewers a month; Twitch itself is merely a backdrop that offers people an opportunity to stream. The channel that originally arose as a service known as Justin.TV rebranded to Twitch, and was recently purchased by Amazon is admittedly difficult to screw up.
Keep streamers in the spotlight, enable said streamers to make solid content, and rake in the money. A strong idea from the Amazon-owned tech company is in danger of collapsing, merely two days after being formally announced as thousands of Twitch-users are infuriated at being labeled by a member of a new Twitch-selected council.
First, the council itself; On May 14, Twitch made a blog post that stated they’re introducing a new team called the Twitch Safety Advisory Council. Selected from mostly well-known streamers that have been with the service for an astonishingly long time, the council was formed to keep the Twitch community both safe and healthy as it exponentially grows.
We’re taking a big step forward for community safety. Meet the new Twitch Safety Advisory Council.
Made up of Twitch creators and online safety experts, the council will advise us on policy updates, new products, healthy streaming habits, and more: https://t.co/HwPo0aanCr pic.twitter.com/l7XIhibsht
— Twitch (@Twitch) May 14, 2020
The team appears to be in charge of more than a few things inside Twitch, however; drafting policy updates and new policies entirely, helping develop products and features, protecting the interests of marginalized groups, and identifying emerging trends in the bizarre environment know only as Twitch.
I joined this initiative to help bring three main things into this process:
– Transparency: Between partner and Twitch and Twitch and the public.
– Consistency: In the offenses that are picked and the penalties delegated
– Fairness: All partners treated on the exact same level https://t.co/hnROZcO4bR— Cohh Carnage (@CohhCarnage) May 14, 2020
The team itself isn’t anything to shake a stick at, either: including famous streamers such as CohhCarnage, Cupahnoodle, and more than a few members who hold a Ph.D., everything seemed on the up-and-up. The largest streaming platform ensuring the inclusion and safety of everyone that visits is difficult to look at in a negative light.
the Twitch Safety Advisory Council was announced a few hours ago and has already pissed off a bunch of streamers and portions of the competitive gaming community
off to a good start
— Rod Breslau (@Slasher) May 15, 2020
Until last night, when one of the council members opted to speak her mind about gaming hobbyists and enthusiasts.
A Twitch Safety Advisory Council member known as FerociouslySteph took a brief respite during an Enter the Gungeon playthrough to speak her mind about what she believes gamers are.
I think a lot of you gamers are actually white supremacists. Sorry. Just a fact, of how I feel. – FerociouslySteph, Twitch Safety Advisory Council member, March 15 2020.
The comment has sparked outrage among the wide variety of users of the Twitch platform that many feel understand, at a root level, what gaming culture is all about. Some have theorized that FerociouslySteph is making a closeted comment about others that may be on the Twitch Safety Advisory Council.
https://twitter.com/jsbavixnfs/status/1261442798810574849
This isn’t exactly new territory for gaming hobbyists to be painted with a large brush as a group of somehow insidious beings; from allegations that the majority of gamers are rapist’s and sexists to that we’re simply stupid, it’s simply not bold new territory anymore to attempt to bully the group that embraces a diverse core.
Unfortunately, the Twitch Safety Advisory Council has joined in on bullying their primary demographic. For a group that is supposed to be concentrated on ensuring inclusion and healthy communities, it seems that they’ve wildly missed the mark. Many are calling for the streamer to resign from the group, and many more are requesting Twitch makes an official comment regarding them pandering entirely to white supremacists.
