On the internet and social media, people can create any name for themselves, and live with that name as if that name is their real name.
The thing is, those made up names can often use words that are inappropriate. The internet has long experienced such issue, and the video streaming website Twitch is one of the many. This time, it has enough of it.
The platform has updated its policy to ban usernames that have explicit references to sex and hard drugs.
According to a blog post on the Amazon-owned platform, "usernames really matter on Twitch."
Because usernames have high visibility across the platform, Twitch believes that usernames "must be held to a universal and higher standard than other places people express themselves — like chat, for instance."
"We want to make Twitch the kind of place where everybody feels at home. And we know curbing hateful conduct and harassment is a vital part of making Twitch a safe and fun place to spend your time," said Twitch.
To make this happen, Twitch is updating its Username Policy to set "a higher bar" for what’s acceptable.
"This updated policy establishes consistent, stricter guidelines for removing existing inappropriate usernames and it will help prevent the creation of new offensive usernames when leveraged alongside machine learning at signup," explained Twitch.
On its updated policy that details usernames that violate its Community Guidelines, Twitch said that usernames that show hate speech, threats of violence, and personally identifiable information are not acceptable.
Twitch is also removing reported usernames if they have references to sexual acts, arousal, fluids, or genitalia, and references to hard drugs - excluding alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana
Under the updated policy, Twitch knows that the change may affect its long-standing members.
This is why it is introducing a tiered enforcement approach, so users can adjust to the updated standards.
Here, if users' existing username violates its guidelines, Twitch requires users to reset their usernames.
If users existing username violates this updated policy, but is not a clear violation of our wider Community Guidelines, Twitch shall flag the account, and lock the user until the username is changed.
"We built a dedicated, self-serve name change tool allowing you to change your username while maintaining account history, subs, follows, and bits. Once you change your username, you can resume using the account with no strikes applied," explained Twitch.
And for those who try to create a new username that violates this policy, Twitch said that its machine learning model should automatically flag that username, and users have to create a different one.
"But, since machine learning isn’t perfect, you may come across a username that violates this policy. If you do, please report it. Once reported, a member of our safety team will investigate. In the meantime, you can ignore or block the account if you don’t want to see the name," Twitch added.
The platform is popular among users, particularly gamers, who with to stream the games they play to their audience.
And here, usernames are essential on the platform.
More than often, users include certain words inside their usernames to portray hate and to harass others.
On Twitch, users using usernames with abusive terms often harass other streamers, particularly those from minority communities.
Twitch said that it has removed many reported, and offensive usernames, but believe that "establishing a stronger standard is needed to cultivate a diverse, inclusive global community on Twitch.
Twitch is giving all users until March 1st, 2022.
A few weeks in advance means that users should have time to think of a new name and fix their branding, without having to disrupt their streaming activities.