So scrolling Twitch is just one big sigh. You see some streamer just basically stomping away in toxic behavior. Killer calls that probably would get you banned in a kindergarten playground—and you are just wondering how the heck this one person is still allowed to stream. Then you have to mercilessly confirm that their channel has literally been doing this for years. Literal years.
There was this recent callout that provided one more reason to side-eye Twitch. Someone had shared a clip, which was, in fact, a highlight reel of atrocious behavior, with an utterly different intention: ‘The fact that this can go on for YEARS without the platform taking action is just sad really.’ Followed by ‘If Twitch doesn’t care then why should anyone really?’
That really cuts because sometimes it rings true, doesn’t it? Why should anyone want to report anything when Big T just seems to let everything slide forever?
We don’t have the clipped video, but the vibe is real clear. This isn’t just a one-time oopsie. This is a pattern. This is a long-term pattern. A documented pattern of behavior that has in all probability violated Twitch’s very own terms of service. And yet…the stream goes on. Subscribers keep rolling in. Ad revenue probably does too. And all the viewers are left wondering, ‘What’s the point of having rules if they’re never enforced?’
It’s about more than one bad actor: it’s about the system feeling broken. Gamers have been complaining forever. One guy says something borderline; he gets perma-banned within hours. Another builds his whole brand around being a nuisance, and suddenly he’s partner status. It makes no sense.
It’s the years part that really gets people. That isn’t an accident. It’s a choice. Twitch has, time and time again, actively looked away in this particular case. And this speaks volume to everyone else: some people do stand above the rules laid out for others. And if you don’t happen to be one of these people, well, I guess you’ll just have to hope.
It sets a pretty weird vibe for gamers who just wanna chill and watch people play games. You never know what the actual thing that will put someone in trouble is. Is it the slur? Is it the hateful rhetoric? Or is it just… who you are? How big your channel is? Whether you make Amazon enough money?
The last line in the tweet is so beaten that it asks, ‘why should anyone really?’ And you feel it there. Why should players spend their time reporting stuff if less is done about the reports? Why should they trust the process? All it does is create apathy. A platform consisting of apathetic users is a dying one, even though the numbers haven’t yet indicated it.
It’s the very thing that keeps killing a community slowly. It’s not one huge outburst. It’s a million little cuts. One time, a player sees something wrong and reports it; other times, he just sees it and is too tired to report. One more time: A known problem streamer gets a new sponsorship. At the end of a really long day, you’ll just stop caring. You’ll stop reporting. Maybe you’ll even stop watching.
This is a nightmare Twitch has brought upon itself and the third issue. Establishing the incident of disbelieve ruins a platform where people should believe to have, at least, a charitable chance of being safe. Where does one get once all trust is gone? Just a website where anything goes if you are famous enough. Well, that’s a sad end to what used to be the heart of gaming livestreams.
One would hope this tweet will actually be the one to get the ball rolling this time. But, honestly? °With the years of inaction behind them,° it’s really hard to remain hopeful. It’s just sad. Really.
