Don't ban specific words that are not slurs
Twitch plans on soft-banning a handful of words in their next policy update, namely "simp", "incel", and "virgin", in an attempt to ***** down on ****** harassment. They say it will only be in cases where they are used as insults but I want to get ahead of this since community outcry is already bubbling up.
Banning individual words that are not slurs not only lumps them in with genuinely harmful words but also encourages an environment where context is devalued. The above three words are usually used in a joking manner, but I worry that shuffling them into the same category as things like the N word, F slur, etc. will create knee-jerk reactions when moderating; if you're sent a clip of someone saying one of the words to someone and you're unaware of their relationship or their tone is ambiguous, seeing that the word is "banned" is automatically going to push you toward one opinion over the other. You can say they're only going to be banned when used as insults but preemptively sticking a black mark on them leads to bias. Already there are rumors a popular Twitch streamer was banned for jokingly using these words, which, whether true or not, doesn't exactly soothe the community.
It's also important to note that ANY word can be used maliciously because, again, context matters. There are more childish insults that can still end up being used against TOS if it's done repeatedly and maliciously rather than as part of less-serious trash talk and banter. People get called "stupid", "idiot", and a whole host of other insults (both jokingly and not) but no platform is wild enough to outright ban them. Nevermind niche phrases that can be community-specific (e.g. "blue heart" is a serious allegation in one of my circles) that you'd never be able to ban despite their potential for misuse.
The upcoming rule also feels biased: there are other "new"(ish) terms that are actually linked to vulnerable minorities that don't seem to hit moderation's radar, yet something that gets jokingly tossed around a lot like simp that is linked to negative behavior is a bannable offense?
TL;DR Individual words that are not slurs and/or do not have a /serious/ history of misuse should not be singled out in the harassment policy.
-
Excempt commented
the irony is. there are some words, that contain abriviations of other words / slurs and they are banned too.. a perfect example is the word.. ha! can't write it as it's blocked.
add an "S" in the n word. for example.and and u get a really old word that expresses a "laugh in a half-suppressed, typically scornful way:" according to the dictionary
-
xxquackscopedxx commented
You think your doing the right thing but really you are just repeatedly angering/annoying the same people that make you money you are not helping anyone by banning these words. Maybe focus on prejudice toward minority groups and the lgbtq+ community? These people have been dealing with this stuff for years and just now you clowns are deciding to do something because you managed to light a fire under your own *** nice one!
-
Doxzxen commented
So Twitch want's the word SIMP banned so little boys can keep giving ****** twitch girls money so that the website can keep its money going? Wow I lost ALL RESPECT for TWITCH. Video games have been a male dominated hobby for a long time and that is how you view your MAIN supporters, not that handful of women who use it mainly for being a twitch ****. No joke I am spreading that video everywhere and deleting my Twitch account. Twitch FAILED and gave into extremists feminists. If anyone in Twitch is reading this you better overhaul you CEO Management before this company goes broke just like all the other "WOKE" businesses. To censor free speech to keep your money going thru these ***** IS THE LOWEST THING I HAVE EVER SEEN A COMPANY DO. Stooping so low.... But you know Money matters more that Principles. Basically don't want us to shame the boys for their wasteful giving of money to these twitch girls so you censor certain words that would bring lite to the topic that would stop the donations. Basically a Racket.
-
SpicyAesthetics commented
The terms incel, simp, and virgin are hardly offensive since those words can also have other contexts that they're used in especially when they're memes nowadays. Why not just ban actual slurs that are offensive to marginalized folks? Also, why not focus on the DMCA issues you all seem to be constantly having.