Twitch’s “hot tub meta” has caused a lot of controversy over the last few months, and now Imane “Pokimane” Anys has decided to weigh-in. In a recent Just Chatting stream, Pokimane took Twitch to task over the company’s lack of clarity when it comes to the actual rules. The streamer claims that there needs to be better understanding about what is and isn’t allowed, otherwise suggestive content could become much more prevalent. The streamer did not advocate for a strict ban of the material, but she did argue that there needs to be human moderators who make sure the content is viewed more closely.
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“People toe the line so much that you need to have someone who can just, as a human, go to a stream and be like, ah, this is suggestive, and do something about that. That doesn’t mean a ban. But do something about that so that it’s not just suggestive streams that kind of take over the whole platform,” said Pokimane. A clip of Pokimane’s comments can be found right here.
Pokimane’s comments came shortly after Twitch head of creator development Marcus “djWHEAT” Graham’s comments on the meta. In an April 28th stream, djWHEAT stated that the meta itself does not violate the platform’s rules, but Twitch “will take action when that is reported to us.” From the sounds of her comments, Pokimane feels that doesn’t go far enough, requiring Twitch viewers to police the streams, rather than those in charge.
Pokimane is just the latest streamer to weigh-in on the hot tub meta controversy. Last month, Felix “xQc” Lengyel took to Twitter, where he referred to the meta as “trash.” However, Rachel “Valkyrae” Hofstetter fell on the opposite side of spectrum, arguing that the meta “isn’t harming anyone,” and questioning why some people seem to be making such a big deal out of it.
It will be interesting to see where things go from here. With so many big-name streamers commenting on the meta, it seems like just a matter of time before the streaming service is forced to take greater action to intervene. That might require a direct effort on the part of the platform, but time will tell whether that will be the case.
Do you think Pokimane is right that the rules need to be better enforced? What are your thoughts on the “hot tube meta?” Let us know in the comments or share directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!
[H/T: Dexerto]
