Twitch streamer banned for 'harassment via username' slams the platform
A content creator was left fuming after Twitch handed her an indefinite ban for 'harassment via username'.
Twitch streamer 'yourmotherisafish' was banned by the streaming platform on 11 April, leading her to take to Twitter to rant.
The streamer wrote: "There's no way @TwitchSupport I just got banned LIVE for my username, even though you've used my clip with it before and it was fine?"
Alongside the tweet, she shared a screenshot of the email informing her of the ban, in which Twitch affirmed they were committed to 'keeping the community safe for everyone'.
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Fish's content had been previously featured in promotional material by Twitch, such as a 2020 tweet.
Thankfully for her, Fish had her ban lifted the next day, with Twitch reaching out to her on Twitter to apologise.
The Twitch Support Twitter account wrote: "Hey Fish, our team doesn’t work directly on safety issues such as this, though a member of the Safety team has informed us that this suspension has been removed.
"Apologies for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience whilst the relevant team investigated this."
This isn't the first time a Twitch user has run afoul of the rules regarding inappropriate usernames.
In 2020, one user found himself slapped with a ban after going by the alias 'Piece of Sheet', while another was hit with a ban for 'Pajja'.
It's possible that some of these bans are automated due to Twitch attempting to crack down on harassment through the use of distasteful usernames.
In the past, bot accounts with hateful usernames have been used in 'hate raids' in chats, as their offensive names weren't picked up on like messages would be.
Twitch fans were left baffled by the events that led to 'yourmotherisafish' being banned.
One tweeted: "Why da f**k would they even ban her in the first place," as another joked: "I can't believe you didn't censor her name. I feel harassed now."
A third person suggested: "Pick a better username? Twitch is the most sensitive platform nowadays."
Somebody else sarcastically remarked: "Thank you for banning them @Twitch. My mother has been crying for weeks because of this evil person's Twitch username."
Responding to her ban being lifted, Fish thanked her supporters.
She tweeted: "Thank you for interacting here, sending DMs or even discussing on Reddit through LSF [Livestream Fail].
"It's very nice to know the community has got my back.
"Here's hoping that the whole system improves, there are so many unjust bans."
UNILAD has reached out to Twitch for comment.
Ben Thompson