TwitchCon 2019 is underway, bringing with it a slew of the site’s top entertainers – as well as its CEO, Emmett Shear, who made some divisive comments regarding Twitch’s moderation policies.
Shear appeared during TwitchCon 2019’s opening ceremony on September 27, where he discussed the ongoing conversation around the site’s controversial moderation decisions, such as Amouranth’s ban for an accidental wardrobe malfunction, among other such offenses.
“When we’re applying the Community Guidelines, we very specifically take context and intent into account,” Shear explained. “So, if someone walks up to you on the street and shoves you, that’s one thing. If someone walks down the street and they trip, and they push you… it looks the same, but it’s not the same. Your intent matters.”
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However, much of the net was displeased with Shear’s allegory – including former Twitch star Tyler “Ninja” Blevins, who notably left the platform for Mixer in early August.
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“Alright, so here’s what you did wrong,” Ninja criticized. “You took an animal, and you just threw it over your head, so that’s – that’s a violation there.”
Watching the twitch con opening ceremony and hearing them talk about more transparency with bans and such. First thing that came to my head pic.twitter.com/vPYUisVJft
— Ninja (@Ninja) September 28, 2019
This wouldn’t be the first time Ninja has referenced Alinity’s lack of a ban as a jab toward Twitch, either: the Mixer star made a similar comment during a stream on September 25, after being asked by a fan if he would release TwitchCon-specific merchandise.
“Yeah, I’m gonna have a shirt that’s gonna have a picture of a cat getting thrown,” Ninja answered. “And then a picture of a cat spitting out what appears to be water. It’s gonna say, ‘TwitchCon 2019.’”
Twitch has come under fire as of late for a multitude of confusing and unclear bans, including the ban of one streamer for an entire month by “mistake,” as well as a slew of others for unexplained “fraudulent charges” after they received large donations from fans.
Despite his apparent clarification of Twitch’s moderation process, Shear’s comments have stirred divide across the site’s community – resulting in a major statement from one of its (former) biggest stars.