Twitchcon has officially kicked off and already Twitch are coming under fire for the seemingly shambolic organization of their Partner Party. The biggest complaints are the removal of a quiet area and the house party style 'open bar.'
Attendees are unimpressed, with many feeling the drinks system is a huge safety risk, especially for women. There are also many reports that the lack of quieter areas, something that has previously been available at these events, means Partners are unable to network since they can't even hear themselves think, let alone speak.
The situation started gaining attention after AnneMunition, a Partner who has over 565,000 followers on the platform, tweeted a photograph of the 'bar' along with her thoughts.
Last year Twitchcon upped event security after the tragic shooting at the Madden Tournament in Jacksonville, FL in August. Attendees were comforted, feeling like Twitch was taking safety seriously. This move has now led many to believe that Twitch doesn't actually care as much for their safety as they thought.
Comments on the post are mostly expressing shock. Women, in particular, are very uncomfortable about the setup as the vast majority of us have been brought up to always watch our drinks and never leave them unattended.
Unfortunately, slipping drugs into drinks is far more common than many people realize, with women often being the primary targets. There are even stories on the thread of people being drugged at similar, or smaller, events. While this is the main concern of many, there are also other questions that this setup raises.
Twitch Partners vary in age and anyone over the age of 18 can become a partner with no need for parental consent, and presumably attend this event. While one of the comments does state that there are bartenders around, it's difficult to see an obvious presence in the photograph. How are they monitoring underage drinking? This setup would suggest that quite frankly they probably aren't.
It's good to see they are still accepting tips though, just in case you want to give them cash in exchange for a flat beer that probably has goodness knows what floating in it.
This latest misstep is just one in a long line of seemingly bizarre decisions Twitch have made in the last few months. As Ninja's move to Mixer continues to build hype around their competitor, Twitch is going to have to start assessing their actions, before it's too late.