It's hard to do that officially when a big chunk of users are minors. Neither Twitch nor the streamers of this content want to admit that they make money serving softcore porn to kids. Cause that'd be weird.
Can you imagine going back in time and telling your dad while he's playing on his commodore 64, "In the future sex and video games will go hand in hand."
I'm fine with that, provided they lock it behind a separate paid tier payable only via credit card. That's the best age gate imo because you have to be 18+ to get a credit card and parents should be tracking their statements anyway.
People in this thread really pretending they have kids in order to get upset about implied nudity. It does not get more american does it? Some chick showing lots of boobie sure seems to be the same like a girl getting banged by big dick to many here.
Also if you actually think that some nudity will wreck your kid but watching gta does not i am not sure why anyone bothers arguing with you.
It's funny to be when the moral compass types let their misogyny show so clearly. Like you're not going to even try to hide that while trying to claim the moral high ground?
Yes there are bad sexy streamers there are also good sexy streamers, but you can't even imagine that a sexy girl could also be intelligent, funny, and entertaining. Compared to the dudebro react streamers and souless gameplay streams you normally have to wade through they're a much higher class of entertainment, at least they're making their own content and showing some personality.
I know of families who walk naked around the house. No kids under 10 were harmed by this. Nudity is natural. Reacting to it in an unhealthy manner is not.
Nudity is not strictly porn, but not all nudity is strictly harmless. Platforms like these are for clickbait and attention whoring, and there's no better way to get attention on the internet than sexual content (especially on a website mainly used by kids/teens).
And it's basically universally accepted that porn is harmful to children. We all watched some of it when we were young, but most people had circumstances that limited their exposure or access to it. A modern mainstream addiction machine like Twitch serving softcore porn to children under the guise of "artistic nudity" is going to fuck people up. That's not even mentioning the "cam whore" aspect to it, which does frequently fuck up the lives of fully grown adults.
What sites are parents supposed to allow their kids to access if rules like this start slipping in? Short of invasive AI scanning, it's not possible to monitor every single thing your child watches on a site at all times.
It's hilarious to me seeing comments like this because in your head there's no room for doubt, you know exactly what these streams will be like and can firmly declare that in public - it doesn't even come into you mind at all to consider they're popular things which mean a lot of people will have done something you haven't and actually watched them.
I'm surprised how much pearl clutching there is in this thread. This seems like a good thing. It's all supposed to be clearly labeled, and if people want to watch streams with nudity, what's wrong with that?
The twitch boob meta always fascinated me. It's literally trivial to not watch thirst streams if you don't like thirst streams. But people on the internet get so fucking upset about it, and I assume at least 100% of them consume actual porn.
For me it's how popular and accessible twitch is for kids.
I've never really used twitch for anything except getting drops for games (160p and muted lol) but every time I see titty streamers getting recommended despite never watching any
The problem, at least to me, is the wildly inconsistent application of the rules. Plenty of streamers have gotten bans for inappropriate content for far, far less than this, and been told to shove it when they tried to appeal. I can guarantee you nobody would be up in arms over this if twitch just treated it as a free for all, and didn't care if people streamed tits. The problem is that it isn't, and lots of people get banned, while the big thirst streamers get given a free pass on everything
Also, If this goes through, the "banned games" list is going to need some real pruning.
My only problem with it is that it's always on the homepage under recommended, despite the fact I've never watched any streams like that. Even if I tell the site "not interested" it still shows the content. I only get on twitch to watch content for one game and from a small number of creators.
The thing is, teens with accounts set to 18+ do access twitch. And they are going to be diverted there more and more which can draw viewers away from genuine streamers who are just gaming.
It destroys the brand. The more nudity makes it on the site the more it changes the user base, advertisers change, the whole thing just takes a turn into something completely different
That’s not all; certain dances, such as “twerking, grinding, and pole dancing” are now allowed to stream on Twitch without a label, and broadcasts that are labeled with “Drugs, Intoxication, or Excessive Tobacco Use; Violent and Graphic Depictions; Gambling; and/or Sexual Themes” will no longer be allowed on Twitch’s home page.
This is what got me: Now you can have tits out and twerking, but no longer smoking?
Edit: I personally don't use Twitch nor mind it when nudity becomes more normalised, but as I said in my other comment it's mostly about weed or just smoking a cigarette while doing something else.
Makes sense. Normalizing smoking isn't cool. It's one thing if it's in a movie or TV show, but Twitch has the pretense of being real people who can have parasocial relationships with their fans and influence their behavior. Kids don't need to see or be influenced on that level. At least the nudity or sexuality will be properly labelled.
I don't think that's what it's saying given that "sexual themes" is on this list as well. Seems more like they're saying "we're allowing more sexual content if it's properly labeled, but we're going to start keeping those labels off the home page, and while we're at it we'll take off a bunch of other objectionable content"
Nothing wrong with streaming nudity, but Twitch is specifically marketed to children for the purpose of watching people play video games. Blending porn in that with an algorithm that throws new videos in your face is a recipe for disaster.
Your "supposed to be clearly labeled" argument is really doing a lot of the heavy lifting here and ignores the reality of people gaming the system or finding loopholes and we all know there aren't going to be any real people moderating the site just like every other social media/video streaming site.
They really should have split it up into two different sites because I see this blowing up in their face spectacularly.
I’ve never once seen these girls on my twitch feed. Also, adult channels would obviously be excluded from children’s feed if they’re set up with parental settings.
Also, anyone who has access to the internet has access to porn if they seek it out.
“Think of the children” is such a boring argument. Grumpy old conservatives said the same thing about music videos in the 80s. Now we’ve got incels raging over naked people on the internet.
To be honest, you're making a lot more wild assumptions in this comment than anything I said.
If you're right, then maybe the system will need some improvements. But it's all just speculation your part, so I don't see any reason to worry about it for something so inconsequential to begin with.
I wonder how many non-nsfw streamers are rejoicing because they no longer have to be paranoid about modded games and nudity. Prior to twitch relaxing rules regarding nudity, you could get banned for a split second of nudity in a modded game, and official nudity/sex scenes in M-rated games were playing with fire (technically allowed, but up to an admin's discretion if you were trying to "stream porn" or just playing the game as intended). At least I'm assuming these new rules will include further relaxing the game content rules. It wouldn't make sense to allow full "artistic nudity" if you're still banning streamers because of a few frames of modded tiddy.
I remember watching a streamer do a nudist run in. CK2 or CK3 (forget which), and they were super nervous about what might show up on screen on accident.
Imo, that's just ridiculous, so I'm glad they have relaxed the rules a bit. That said, I'm also sad that Twitch is courting so much non-gaming content, they really should just have that under a different brand. Maybe labels will help, but I really don't want to have to wade through so much non-gaming stuff to find a new streamer to watch.
3; 2 didn't have body models, only 2D faces (and event artwork, but there was no nudity in that).
3 has full 3D body models, which are used for events, court, and so on, and it's not unusual to encounter characters (often your own) who prefer to be in the buff, for religious or cultural reasons or due to specific events, traits, or bugs.
From what I understand, this change will disallow any stream with these tags showing up on the front page. Though, I believe this will still be at the top of the "just chatting" category, so really it's the same problem.
They were just tired of fielding questions of why the camgirls were exempt from the rules everyone else was following. Now it's because it's "artistic".
I think a large part of it is the parasocial aspect. People get to know streamers (or at least, the streamer’s persona) and form attachments to them over time. The same way someone wants to see how their favorite character’s arc plays out in a show, people want to watch streamers because they feel a personal connection to them.
Even though that connection is almost certainly one-sided, (except maybe for smaller streamers who actually interact with all of their viewers on a regular basis,) it doesn’t stop the viewers from forming those emotional connections. And that somehow makes them more “real” than some random piece of ass on pornhub.
I think a lot of it stems from loneliness, and wanting a personal connection. Pornhub is great for porn, but it’s undeniably commercialized porn. Lots of people will likely end up viewing nude twitch streams the same way they’d view nudes from a significant other. Even if the quality isn’t as good as pornhub, it may be considered more desirable simply because the viewers feel like they know the person.
That is what has always boggled my mind about all this softcore stuff, like why are you on twitch with your dick out anyway? If you want to jerk off why not just do it properly lol
People listen to music without dancing, it's the same thing - it activates pleasurable parts of your brain which trigger various biochemical responces. I normally work with video essays on in the background but when things get complex and stressful I switch to hot people dancing or similar, trying to juggle a dozen variables and get all the code loops right can be mentally taxing so when my brain in churning over my options it can be good to have a nice juicy butt to rest my eyes on, watch sway and pop and grind... It's not going to interrupt my train of thought but it holds it.
Also something that no one seems to consider possible but there are some really interesting and funny women that enjoy showing off their body, the music is often great and the atmosphere fun and light hearted - the notion that because it's sexy it can only be low tier, base and worthless is just puritan nonsense, it's good content.
And no you don't have to jerk off the second you see a sexy butt, I think that way of thinking might be more puritan baggage. You can just feel good about seeing sexy bodies gyrate.
Viral topless "meta"??? I haven't heard about any topless meta. What have I been missing? The article only references a single instance in which a streamer got banned, and that hardly makes a meta. What has the Twitch streamer community response been?
Heck, I'd say if they are actually playing a game and streaming it, then that's legit... but I can tell you that I've seen a lot of "stretching" and "exercise" streams where it's basically just strategic shots of a girl's arse. As in, that is genuinely the purpose of the stream. There is no actual exercise happening. Some streamers even have "!phub" in their description, suggesting users type that for more info about the streamer... And the ASMR category seems to be a 25-75 split between people actually trying to do ASMR, and people doing a kind of soft-core porn show.
The worst thing is that if you watch one of those streams, for curiosity, or if you were just in the mood for it, Twitch then makes your recommendations look like a porn site for the next couple of months. (I'm not against porn; but I definitely don't want to be getting porn recommendations when I go to twitch.)
These comments are wild and mostly sexist as fuck.
If you have kids and you give them complete unfettered access to the web I'm sure they have seen more than a boob. If that bothers you perhaps try being a parent. Maybe getting involved with your child's online activity. Maybe don't use the Internet as a fucking babysitter.
Hell if you want to use the internet as a babysitter all you have to do is install one of the many commercially available parental control blockers. Obviously it would be better to actually be engaged in a child's life, but if that's not an option for you then there is software that can help.
I have absolutely no idea how effective it is of course but I'm sure there are reviews online.
I’m kinda surprised there’s no NSFW version of Twitch tbh, I’d imagine it would be the easiest pile of money if they could capitalize on how much porn these Twitch gals are doing as a separate brand or something.
EDIT: Should clarify, I meant an Amazon-owned NSFW Twitch using Twitch branding. I know cam sites exist and also got lucky on Omegle a few times.
I think it has to do with the fact that some investors, payment providers and banks refuse to associate with anything that could be seen as sex work. That was why even OnlyFans was about to ban sexually explicit content 2 years ago.
Yes, the clearest way would be to launch a separate “Twitch 18+” or smg, offer integration of accounts for users and content creators, and go ahead. But they don’t actually want to do that, they want to blur the line, capitalize on the thirst of the audience, without fully committing to the idea for PR reasons.
It basically means trend. It's sorta evolved from the concept of "metagaming" where you're not just playing the game, you're gaming the game. People now use "the meta" to refer to the collection of viable strategies for a game, and "the current meta" to refer to what is popular at this moment. This could be types of decks in a card game, character builds in an MMO or a MOBA, or other things like that. Presumably, for twitch, "the meta" is referring to not strategies of playing games, but strategies of gaming twitch. In other words, strategies to maximize viewership and income, and specifically, what is working at any given time.
I've seen some people debate whether "meta" means "applying a concept to itself" or "most effective tactic available". In gaming, both kind of make sense. But in the context of business models for twitch streams, only the second definition works. (even though it originated from the word "metagame", where "meta" wasn't an acronym)
Other policies that were once prohibited and are now allowed with a label include “fictionalized …fully exposed female-presenting breasts and/or genitals or buttocks regardless of gender,” “body writing on female-presenting breasts and/or buttocks regardless of gender,” and “erotic dances that involve disrobing or disrobing gestures, such as strip teases.”
Doesn't this pretty clearly allow Vtubers to get as horny as they want? Their avatars are all fictionalized, but that feels like it's going really far over the line of what Twitch used to be.
I've always heard that twitch is full of softcore was because it was not blocked in various jurisdictions (schools, countries, whatever) that otherwise block porn. I guess this will be a way to test that. If twitch is blocked at the same level as chaturbate, will softcore on twitch be as profitable?
I don't think that's true really, it's popular because softcore has always been popular and twitch is a great platform for moderated chat interaction and community.
And this came right after they banned el_xox, a vtuber, indefinitely for "nudity", though the model they used was just zoomed in so you just couldn't see below the shoulders, instead of actually being naked.
Seems they got unbanned though, but good on twitch to put their more out less already unwritten simp-streamer rules in writing.
No, retro is for those old school upskirts. You know the ones; where this curly haired blond girl is all "eeek!" on a really small stool and the camera is looking right up the skirt.
This has never been correct, it isn't an acronym, it's a prefix. Metagaming is the art of learning how players typically play a game and has been a concept for a long time. The etymology is simple, the greek "Meta-" meaning beyond and "metagame" referring to the way people play a game developing alongside a game. Look at dota 2, the metagame shifts in large ways when the map does not relatively frequently. When we talk about metagaming in card games, it's in reference to which cards see the most play regardless of their impact on the game.
I'm troubled by the term "artistic". Who on earth is deciding what is and isn't art?
Seems like an ethical quagmire that's not really worth their time to be wading into, but they seem to be doing so. Perhaps they haven't thought all the implications through.
I do not understand why they don't straight up just make a 18 plus tab and be done with it. Why do they seem to have this moral objection to how they make money? After all I am damn sure the shareholders won't care.
Isn't the main issue not so much what they will show, but what gets monetized or not? There is always going to be a disconnect with this stuff because twitch wants the content that goes viral to be advertiser friendly.
If they’d just actually manage the endless copy spam channels in some categories that make browsing a chore, that would actually be an improvement. And the underage kids that suddenly show up. All they need is a couple of people dedicated to monitoring and banhammering a few particular categories and it would be mostly taken care of.
edit: hey, at least there’s this
bottom part: “Streams labeled as including Mature-rated Games and Profanity will not be affected by this update unless the streamer has also selected one of the labels bolded above.”
I can't wrap my head around this point of view, could you help?
Why is this asking to be regulated just because of kids? They are also on lemmy, reddit, twitter, youtube, etc so why not shut the internet down to shield them from seeing boobs or whatever. Why should this not be on the parents?
It wouldn't be as much as a problem if it was tucked away somewhere in Twitch, but these nudity streams will be broadcast to the front page. Kids can find whatever they want, sure, but that doesn't mean we should be sticking it in their faces when they come to a traditionally non-porn livestreaming platform. If they come to watch some people play games, they are going to be met with tits completely out of the blue. It is an issue, the excuse 'but kids can go watch porn anyway' doesn't cut it, because they weren't even supposed to be looking for porn in this instance.
Do parents just ban them from using Twitch? Or should Twitch have better systems in place to make it harder for kids to stumble across porn?
Oh the irony, up until now it was basically a bannable offense to be caught topless on stream even if you were a dude, now they're allowing borderline camwhoring (on a website full of children mind you). Really, the only moral or ethics these companies believe in is money.
Add this with AI being used to generate nude photos from images of people and they’re just setting themselves up for a ton of legal ramifications not to mention serious ethical ones.
There was a point 1-2 years ago where the frontpage was literally nothing but softcore porn. Disgusting that they're doubling down on it. The funny thing is they happily ban game streamers if a game shows nudity for a second or two.
Oh God now my YouTube is going to be full of weird zoomers talking over Minecraft about oddly Puritanical nonsence and misogynistic bullshit covered in a thin veil of pseudo-woke word salad.
It's even worse when it's the anti-wokes doing it, pretend to care about the moral cohesion of society just so they can be angry that women are making money.
I think it's great that tech companies are starting to relax on their puritanism, maybe they'll stop being so heavy handed in moderating other content too or at least provide a space for it