Twitch users have only a few short weeks to get all of the 'simping' out of their system. It was revealed that Twitch would soon be banning the term 'simp' on its platform. This is part of the service's upcoming overhaul of its harassment policy that will take effect early next year. Along with 'simp', the use of 'incel' and 'virgin' as insults will also be banned as they fall under the service's new sexual harassment guidelines.
This specific part of the new policy was first spotted on Twitter by Rod Breslau, known as "Slasher" to the streaming community.
Breslau and many of the people commenting on his thread felt that the banning of the term 'simp' was unnecessary. Many feel that the term is used so commonly in jest that has lost all of its negative connotation or "power" to hurt someone. As such, a spokesperson for Twitch commented to clarify the new rule stating, "We will take action against the use of terms like 'simp', 'incel', or 'virgin' specifically when they are being used to negatively refer to another person's sexual practices." However, seeing as these terms are specifically related to a person's sexual practices, with 'simp' being a man that is desperate for a woman's attention, it is likely that every instance of their use will be flagged in some form or another.
Along with the terms, Twitch is also banning any emotes that include them as well. All of this, which is under the new policies for harassment that will take effect on January 22, seems to be part of an attempt by the streaming giant to eliminate the toxic culture that seems to have emerged on Twitch. After so many have come forward with stories of sexual harassment through the gaming and streaming industry it looks like change may be finally happening. In fact, Twitch recently implemented changes to its tags to encourage more inclusive language on the site.
However, there is no concrete answer as to how Twitch will monitor and enforce the ban on such terminology. Looks like only time will tell whether these new policies will have any effect!
Source: Twitter