The ongoing hot tub controversy has spawned a number of takes and opinions. Some target the women that choose to monetize their bodies viaTwitch, while others are upset that Twitch’s lack of clear guidelines has caused such a loophole. Streamers like Amouranth have been wildly successful with hot tub streams; she evenpassed up Pokimane as the biggest female streameron Twitch. But not everyone is happy to see these content creators find success. Many are hoping Twitch takes down any sexually suggestive content on Twitch once and for all.
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Why This is Problematic For Twitch Streamers
Many use content creation, including full-time Twitch streaming as a form of income, includingPokimane. Many turned to Twitch and other types of online content creation during the pandemic, and for some lucky folks it turned out to be a viable way of supporting themselves in the long run. Pulling ad revenue from their videos can potentially be quite harmful.
But the bigger problem, as the cosplayer Amouranth explained, is thatTwitchmade this change to her channel without warning, she claims. If Twitch had warned her prior to taking action, she could have decided to address the issue and change her content before getting ad revenue pulled completely and indefinitely.
Additionally, it’s unclear what this means for streamers that aren’t part of the hot tub meta but have been issued short bans for NSFW content, such asbody painter KK Sparkles. According to Twitch guidelines, there shouldn’t have been a reason for her strike, KK Sparkles stated on Twitter, as her content isn’t sexual in nature. As Amouranth pointed out, there are no clear guidelines that state what is considered “advertiser-friendly” or not, so there’s little guidelines for streamers to protect themselves.
Meanwhile, when it comes to hot tub streams, it’s clear what the sexually suggestive content is referring to, and Twitch has yet to draw a clear line as to what is allowed on the platform and what is not.
RELATED:Twitch Has Reportedly Banned the Words ‘Hot Tub’ From its Channel’s Chat
Why This Won’t Satisfy Twitch Users
Again, the true issue regarding Amouranth’s situation is that Twitch has yet to address the hot tub meta. Previously, Twitch attempted to host anew series called Let’s Chatat the height of this controversy. The Let’s Chat streams were supposed to be an open forum for Twitch’s users to ask questions and bring up concerns. However, it became clear that Twitch wasn’t expecting the onslaught of negativity after djWHEAT refused to take a firm stance on the issue. Instead, Twitch is recommending the use of the “Not Interested” button on its platform.
Likewise, many content creators such as Pokimane, as well as Twitch viewers, have pointed out thelack of clarity in Twitch’s guidelinesregarding sexually explicit content and simply want an answer. Is it allowed on Twitch, or isn’t it? Pulling ad revenue without prior notification doesn’t address this question, but does take away the incentive to do it.
It’s unclear why Twitch would choose not to warn its users that it might pull ad revenue from their channels if they keep creating content deemed not “advertiser-friendly,” as Amouranth was told. But in this case, quietly pulling ad revenue and continuing to be non-transparent is likely hurting theTwitchcommunity more than it’s helping.
