The major video game streaming service Twitch says it\u2019s cracking down on some unsavory usernames\u2014but people whose handles reference marijuana are chill.<\/p>\n
The policy update was announced on Thursday, with Twitch saying that it wants to be \u201cthe kind of place where everybody feels at home\u201d and people don\u2019t face harassment or hateful content.<\/p>\n
People can feel right at home if usernames references \u201calcohol, tobacco, and marijuana,\u201d but not for other so-called \u201chard drugs,\u201d the update says. The policy seems to align somewhat with the new position that Amazon, which owns Twitch, has taken toward cannabis in recent months.<\/p>\n
Twitch further put clarified that a ban is in place for usernames that constitute \u201chate speech, threats of violence, and personally identifiable information.\u201d And references to \u201csexual acts, arousal, fluids, or genitalia\u201d are also prohibited.<\/span><\/p>\n We updated our Username Policy to help curb harassment and make Twitch a more welcoming place. <\/p>\n Learn all about it here: https:\/\/t.co\/RPsVHwNHMY<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/sguzfcN944<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Twitch (@Twitch) February 10, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The username policy page<\/a> for Twitch goes into further detail on what\u2019s allowed and not allowed with respect to drug-related references.<\/p>\n \u201cReferences to hard drugs, recreational drugs, and drug abuse (with the exceptions of alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana):<\/p>\n -Explicitly referencing recreational drugs or psychoactive substances, such as peyote<\/p>\n -Explicitly referencing hard drugs, including cocaine or heroin<\/p>\n -Overtly glorifying the abuse of prescription or harmful drugs, including practices such as inhalant abuse\u201d<\/p>\n While it\u2019s not exactly clear why any specific drug reference would contribute to a culture of harassment on Twitch, advocates are encouraged to see a massive platform carve out an exception for marijuana alongside alcohol and tobacco considering that cannabis remains federally illegal, even as it\u2019s being increasingly legalized at the state level.<\/p>\n It\u2019s also not clear why it specifically cited the psychedelic cacti peyote as an example of a psychoactive substance that can\u2019t be referenced in a username.<\/p>\n Marijuana Moment reached out to Twitch for comment, but a representative was not immediately available.<\/p>\n As noted, Twitch is an Amazon-owned company\u2014and Amazon has been making headlines for adopting more progressive policies internally around marijuana drug testing<\/a>, as well as publicly supporting congressional bills<\/a> to end prohibition<\/a>.<\/p>\n But also, logistically, banning marijuana references in usernames sounds like it would be more trouble than it\u2019d be worth. Any person familiar with online gaming knows that \u201c420\u201d is a hallmark of the gamer username lexicon, for example.<\/p>\n In a blog post about the policy update<\/a>, Twitch emphasized that \u201cusernames really matter\u201d on its platform.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re your textual avatar in chat and a crucial piece of channel branding for Creators. Usernames are searchable and have site-wide visibility,\u201d it said. \u201cGiven their usage across Twitch channels, we believe they must be held to a universal and higher standard than other places people express themselves\u2014like chat, for instance.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAlthough we\u2019ve removed many reported, offensive usernames under our current policy, we believe establishing a stronger standard is needed to cultivate a diverse, inclusive global community on Twitch,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n Utah House Overwhelmingly Approves Psychedelics Study Task Force Bill<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Martin Alonso<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Twitch Says Marijuana-Themed Usernames Are Exempt From New Ban, Just Like Alcohol And Tobacco<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
The major video game streaming service Twitch says it\u2019s cracking down on some unsavory usernames\u2014but people whose handles reference marijuana are chill. The policy update was announced on Thursday, with Twitch saying that it wants to be \u201cthe kind of place where everybody feels at home\u201d and people don\u2019t faceContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[99,18],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52874"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52874"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52874\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52875,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52874\/revisions\/52875"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52874"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52874"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52874"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: Twitch Says Marijuana-Themed Usernames Are Exempt From New Ban, Just Like Alcohol And Tobacco<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"