Twitch Announces Stricter Username Policy

pcmag.com:

Twitch has updated its Username Policy to prohibit references to sex and drugs.

"Usernames really matter on Twitch," the company says. "They’re your textual avatar in chat and a crucial piece of channel branding for Creators. Usernames are searchable and have site-wide visibility. Given their usage across Twitch channels, we believe they must be held to a universal and higher standard than other places people express themselves — like chat, for instance."

Twitch says the new policy specifically precludes references to "sexual acts, arousal, fluids, or genitalia" as well as "hard drugs." (It's made exceptions for alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana, so all the users who have appended "420" to their otherwise inoffensive monikers won't have to worry about the new policy.) This standard will be applied to new and existing usernames alike.

The company says it will enforce this policy in three ways: preventing new users from picking names that violate the new standard; forcing existing users to change their names if they reference sex or hard drugs; and indefinitely suspending existing users with "names that are hateful, harassing, violent, or typically representative of malicious behavior."

"We built a dedicated, self-serve name change tool allowing you to change your username while maintaining account history, subs, follows, and bits," Twitch says. "Once you change your username, you can resume using the account with no strikes applied."

The company has also delayed enforcement of these new guidelines until March 1 "to allow Creators to adapt without interrupting their channels." After that point Twitch will rely on a combination of machine learning, user reports, and investigations by members of its safety team to determine