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Let’s Talk About Hot Tub Streams

blog.twitch.tv

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Re: Let’s Talk About Hot Tub Streams

#141

Post by TheAdamAndChe »

Traster wrote: post #33
autocorr wrote: post #10

> Community and advertiser feedback made clear that we need to offer more ways to control the content that’s recommended as well as where ads appear. So, we’re introducing a new category: Pools, Hot Tubs, and Beaches. If you have chosen swimwear that is allowed under the “Swim and Beaches” contextual exception to our standard Nudity and Attire policy, you should stream into the Pools, Hot Tubs and Beaches category. P…

They don't want to be a porn site. The problem they have is that the porn content drives away advertisers and non-porn related contant. So they have to steer away from porn, but wherever they draw the line there are going to be people testing the line, and there's an audience for it. So the compromise they've clearly come up with is they don't allow porn, but if you happen to be sexy wearing practically nothing, that…

I saw the same culture policing from advertisers warp the foundation of YouTube too. Why are advertisers like that? Why don't they just go where the people want to go?

Re: Let’s Talk About Hot Tub Streams

#142

Post by frosted-flakes »

belinder wrote: post #51
acidbaseextract wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Probably the lost ad revenue. No company wants to advertise on those streams. By breaking them out in way where advertisers could opt out of that stream category, suggestive streamers (a huge segment of traffic) would lose money for Twitch.

But isn't that already exactly what they're doing by breaking it into hot tub category and letting advertisers opt out of that category? So the question is if they let advertisers opt out anyway, why this hot tub category instead of an explicit suggestive category.

Because if Twitch becomes known or associated with explicit content, it will drive advertisers away, even if their ads are only shown over non-explicit content.

Re: Let’s Talk About Hot Tub Streams

#143

Post by degenerate »

soared wrote: post #127
thinkingemote wrote: post #85

The main thing is these are not "hot tubs" they are indoors, in a normal room, an apartment, in a kiddies play pool, with kiddies inflatable equipment. The water is, additionally, cold and a few inches deep. No-one in the world does this type of activity privately or in public. It's so obviously soft core pornography and way away from the sensible "appropriate behaviour and clothing rules" that it's absurd. Now there…

Twitch is certainly aware of your argument because it’s true. Twitch doesn’t think there are actually hot tubs in peoples living rooms. They know it’s basically soft core porn. They’re definitely not going to call it that. But they’ll separate it out from the rest of their content and let users and advertisers opt out of it.

I think this is the best option, at least for now. Shove all of these streamers into one category so they are now compete against each other. Previously, you could choose any game or category and scroll down until you inevitably found a streamer in a bikini. Now the entire category is bikinis, so there is a lot less uniqueness to their stream. It's a good solution to a problem that might go away on its own with the new rule.

Re: Let’s Talk About Hot Tub Streams

#144

Post by sleepybrett »

KapKap55 wrote: post #97
Manuel_D wrote: post #46

I think there's a significant amount of nuance in this situation. On the one hand, I don't object to people steaming and monetizing suggestive (or even explicit) content. These content creators should be able to produce and monetize this content without stigma. On the other hand, I do think the juxtaposition of this content with the rest of Twitch content is problematic. I think putting this content in the same categ…

Twitch does not see it as a problem. Advertisers (the actual important group in this discussion) and the gaming side of the Twitch community do care, for different reasons. This situation has been ongoing for awhile with individuals pushing the boundary of sexual content, but this response from Twitch only occurred after a partner who creates this type of content pissed off Twitch's advertisers.

Twitch does see a problem. In the past they have handed out bans for people streaming in low cut blouses. Yet somehow now women in bikinis dry-humping pool toys in a portable hot tub set up in their living rooms is cool.

Like facebook or twitter they just need to have CONSISTENT AND CONSISTENTLY APPLIED rules. I can make a judgement on your platform when those two things are happening.

Re: Let’s Talk About Hot Tub Streams

#145

Post by hellotomyrars »

oliwarner wrote: post #118
Traster wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They don't want to be a porn site. The problem they have is that the porn content drives away advertisers and non-porn related contant. So they have to steer away from porn, but wherever they draw the line there are going to be people testing the line, and there's an audience for it. So the compromise they've clearly come up with is they don't allow porn, but if you happen to be sexy wearing practically nothing, that…

No, they don't want to admit to being a porn site. Tying themselves in knots with silly rules like this means they're just a gateway for people to promote their OnlyFans pages. If they want to be a game streaming site, why allow player video at all? Pare it back to what it was actually for.

There is clearly value in the experience of being able to see the person playing the game. It might even be inherently important to the gameplay in some circumstances. The whole thing is personality based entertainment for the most part and you get a lot more personality across when you can see the streamer.

I generally don’t enjoy Twitch because of the nakedness (no pun intended)of the business side. Twitch has every aspect of adult cam sites except explicit content and streamers obviously react and are incentives to interact when people toss them dollars but it makes for a poor viewing experience to me. But they are certainly continuing to fumble on where they’re choosing to draw lines on what is or isn’t explicit.

Re: Let’s Talk About Hot Tub Streams

#146

Post by throwaway292893 »

danso wrote: post #121
oliwarner wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, they don't want to admit to being a porn site. Tying themselves in knots with silly rules like this means they're just a gateway for people to promote their OnlyFans pages. If they want to be a game streaming site, why allow player video at all? Pare it back to what it was actually for.

They aren’t just a game streaming site. “Just Chatting” is a huge category, as is live music

Both of those categories are where most of these girls are, they are the bulk of those categories.

Re: Let’s Talk About Hot Tub Streams

#147

Post by Jetrel »

michaelt wrote: post #77
autocorr wrote: post #10

> Community and advertiser feedback made clear that we need to offer more ways to control the content that’s recommended as well as where ads appear. So, we’re introducing a new category: Pools, Hot Tubs, and Beaches. If you have chosen swimwear that is allowed under the “Swim and Beaches” contextual exception to our standard Nudity and Attire policy, you should stream into the Pools, Hot Tubs and Beaches category. P…

Imagine a household where the parents run a porn blocker, while a teenager wants to view risqué things. Twitch wants to keep them both happy: Not so much censorship as to drive the teenager away, but enough prudishness that porn blockers don't censor their entire domain.

This pretty much hits a bullseye.

Re: Let’s Talk About Hot Tub Streams

#148

Post by [deleted] »

logicslave wrote: post #98

My real question is all the young men that will have to marry all these women exposing themselves online for money. Three times in the past week I drove by a car where a girl put her venmo on the window. On dating apps its now common for girls to have a venmo in their profile. This culture is far more widespread than just twitch.

[deleted]

Re: Let’s Talk About Hot Tub Streams

#149

Post by ZephyrBlu »

asdfasgasdgasdg wrote: post #136
ZephyrBlu wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Twitch has no spine. If it was up to Amazon they'd probably ban it though.

It is up to Amazon, right? Don't they own Twitch?

My understanding is that Twitch is a separate org within Amazon. Amazon might oversee Twitch on an org level, but I'm pretty sure they're not involved with stuff like this.

Re: Let’s Talk About Hot Tub Streams

#150

Post by chevill »

Traster wrote: post #33
autocorr wrote: post #10

> Community and advertiser feedback made clear that we need to offer more ways to control the content that’s recommended as well as where ads appear. So, we’re introducing a new category: Pools, Hot Tubs, and Beaches. If you have chosen swimwear that is allowed under the “Swim and Beaches” contextual exception to our standard Nudity and Attire policy, you should stream into the Pools, Hot Tubs and Beaches category. P…

They don't want to be a porn site. The problem they have is that the porn content drives away advertisers and non-porn related contant. So they have to steer away from porn, but wherever they draw the line there are going to be people testing the line, and there's an audience for it. So the compromise they've clearly come up with is they don't allow porn, but if you happen to be sexy wearing practically nothing, that…

What's funny is that they insist on pretending that these streamers aren't trying to sexualize themselves. The streamer that caused this blog to be written basically uses her twitch channel as a front to sell her nudes on another site.

If people want to sexualize themselves for money that's their business, the problem is they keep trying to find loopholes in the conduct policy to transform a site about videogames that children frequent into something sexual.

They mention the tools that allow you to filter channels on their website. They make it really easy to block channels that are recommended to you. Why not extend that functionality to the entire site so you can just click 2-3 times and get rid of any channel for any reason forever? The answer is simple: Money.

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