After some uproar within the streaming community, Twitch apparently felt compelled to speak out on the issue
The trend that has been prevalent on Twitch for a few months now of sitting in the bathtub scantily clad and talking to the audience was met with incomprehension by the majority of Twitch fans. Especially the fact that in the past Twitch was often tempted to ban larger streamers for trivialities and allegedly creating "pornographic content" made one or the other streamer cry out with regard to the hot tub streams. Now, Twitch has announced in an official blog post how the events are to be classified and how misunderstandings are to be avoided in the future.
A new category for hot tub streams
Until now, the bathing and lightly clad water rats were inevitably placed in the categories "Just Chatting" or "IRL" and even though hot tub streams theoretically fit into both categories, the classification seems somewhat questionable because the content, especially in visual terms, is very different from that of "normal" streams. Because this was a problem for many users and misunderstandings arose again and again in connection with streams that could not be clearly defined, Twitch decided to introduce a brand new category. Pools, Hot Tubs & Beaches is now intended for streamers who like to loll around in paddling pools or other bodies of water in front of the camera. Those responsible announced that the new category is intended to serve as a kind of transitional solution until new ways can be found to deal with the topic in the best possible way. Twitch also made it clear that the general guidelines, which of course still apply unchanged to all creators and must be adhered to unconditionally, will not change in relation to the change.
New filter allows to exclude certain categories
In addition to the introduction of Pools, Hot Tubs & Beaches, Twitch has decided to give users the option to apply filters to immediately exclude categories of their choice so that they can no longer stumble across them while browsing. Applying this filter should also ensure that the Twitch homepage is free of deselected content. This innovation, especially in combination with the implementation of the new category, should make it easier for many users to keep unwanted content at bay. However, it remains to be seen whether this solution will prevent the discussion in the media and in the community about the basic raison d'être of these streams in the long term.