Twitch streamers outraged over new unban request feature

Dozens of Twitch streamers have criticized the Amazon-owned streaming platform after the introduction of a controversial feature that allows banned viewers to get back in contact.

While the vast majority of Twitch viewers get along well, there’s the odd rotten egg that steps over the line. This is why time-outs and bans are both featured on Twitch. Moderators are able to punish viewers for bad behavior, often barring them from select channels as a whole.

From rude messages in chat to pesky spam, bans are there as a safety measure to counter it all. Once banned, there was no way for these accounts to annoy or harass streamers moving forward. That was up until today, at least.

Twitch revealed a new widget on Sep. 30 that allows mods to go through ‘unban requests.’ While it could prove useful for the odd occasion where an account is wrongfully banned, the announcement mainly went down like a ton of bricks.

? Hey Mods!

We've added a widget in Mod View that lets you manage unban requests. Channel banned users can submit an appeal through the Chat column, which you can review and take action on, anonymously.

We'll be bringing the ability to send unban requests to mobile soon! pic.twitter.com/C79dN68YCc

— Twitch Support (@TwitchSupport) September 30, 2020

“Channel banned users can submit an appeal through the Chat column,” the Twitch Support post explained. Through this appeal, moderators can then “review and take action.” This gives pesky accounts a second chance at doing the right thing, but it also sets the stage for even more bother.

Banned accounts can continue their poor behavior through this section. As a result, many content creators were hesitant about the new feature. “I can’t wait to get harassed in my unban requests,” former Twitch staff member ‘retr0ali’ replied.

I can’t wait to get harassed in my unban requests.

— Retro Ali (@retr0ali) September 30, 2020

Twitch soon clarified that spam won’t be permitted through the new system. Accounts can’t spam through the feature as “it is only possible to request to be unbanned once.” Despite this measure, many still wish that it was never added in the first place.

“We need the ability to opt-out of this system ASAP,” Twitch streamer ‘tavi_wolf,’ demanded. “When someone is banned they’re banned for a reason, why would anybody want this feature?” ‘Alanna_Sterling’ added.

When someone is banned they’re banned for a reason, why would anybody want this feature? ? no thank you

— Alanna Sterling (MermaidUnicorn) (@Alanna_Sterling) October 1, 2020

This isn’t the first controversial feature Twitch has added in the past few weeks. On September 15 the streaming platform came under fire for new and intrusive ads.

Perhaps with enough community backlash, the latest addition will come with the ability to opt-out. We’ll be sure to keep you updated with any further developments.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pbHXnqmtp16YvK57xKernqqklravucSnq2isp57BpLSMrKurnZGisrO%2FjKisraqRnLKlec6vnKtlnprEbsHNm5inZaKavrax0q1kn52RqcKzsYxqa2tuZW6BcA%3D%3D