Twitch Will Ban Use of „Simp” and „Incel” as Insults
From new year on, Twitch will crack down on sexual insults seriously. The new rules will include a ban on the use of words such as „simp”, „incel”, „virgin” etc. in this context.
- Twitch announced a ban on words like "virgin", "simp", "incel" etc. when used as invectives;
- This change will be part of a major platform reform that will tighten the rules on sexual remarks;
- The ban will apply only to excessive use of these and other expressions in harassing manner.
In recent months, streamers have had to deal with the considerable turmoil on Twitch. First of all, there matter related to copyright on the music and the resulting massive, long-term deletion of clips and recorded streams. Then the platform banned the use of the word "blind" to describe streams from streamers first playthrough of a given game. This is not the end of lexical restrictions. Sarah Clemens, Twitch's Chief Operating Officer, announced that she was planning to ban the use of words such as "simp", "incel" and "virgin" on the platform (at least in some context, as you will read further). The announcement was made during a recent broadcast - you can find the clip here.
Adding these words to the list of forbidden words will be part of a major change in Twitch's rules. For years, the platform has been criticized for turning a blind eye to content on the verge of pornography and for de facto vulgarisms during streams. Hence the April tightening of rules on nudity. In turn, with the ban on "simp" etc. Twitch also intends to introduce stricter rules regarding sexual insults, allowing for more efficient banning of both streamers and viewers displaying this type of behavior.
As you can guess, the Internet has responded to these announcements in its specific way, the best example of which is a funny post from Twitter. During Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev's last broadcast, the streamer allegedly changed his nickname to "le" in order to "adapt to the new rules," as Allan claims. Of course, it's only a joke - the rules enter into force only on January 22. Besides, it is necessary to refer to a correction that has appeared in the meantime. The Verge learned that the ban on "simp", "incel" and similar expressions is about using them to "negatively address the sexual practices of another person. Twitch will not punish the use of these expressions in themselves, only when they are used in a "harassing" manner:
“We will take action against the use of terms like ‘simp,’ ‘incel’ or ‘virgin’ specifically when they are being used to negatively refer to another person’s sexual practices. Using these terms on their own wouldn’t lead to an enforcement but we would take action if they were used repeatedly in a harassing manner.”
Twitch is not the only game-related entity that has recently declared to battle lack of culture when gaming. Just a few days ago, Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo announced that they will work together to stop toxic behavior of players. Even earlier, Electronic Arts had taken a similar initiative, and Amazon plans to force "culturally-disabled" people to play with similar users. The only question is whether these actions will bring the desired results and whether players will look at these limitations of freedom on the web in the same manner as some streamers?
