I tried to log into Twitch this morning and found out I was banned! They wouldn't tell me why, however, nor was any email sent to me explaining the reason.
A quick search online sees tons of other users getting banned for apparently no reason (likely an automated system is to blame).
I suspect that the cause is that I had been streaming "Big Easy Sleazy" (my game, see post below) and they flagged it as either copyright infringement (because it's footage of a non-finished game) or as non-gaming material (because they don't know what it is).
I've appealed their decision, but I felt like I had to make a post here because I've said a lot of good things about twitch recently, and also streamed some stuff like Crawl, ToME, Dwarf Fortress, GTA3, GTA4, and Need for Speed World. I can't really support Twitch anymore, and I strongly suspect that I'm never going to be unbanned and that I'll never hear back from them. Most others online report that this is almost always the case.
As someone who put a lot of time into developing a small subscriber base (55+ users and over 5k views in a month, thanks!) this is a drag. My time could have been better spent elsewhere. I've read several cases where people subscribed to twitch for the added features, then found their accounts banned with no explanation, no feedback, and no customer support.
This isn't exactly "breaking news" but I'll be fair to twitch. If they send me some response, I'll post it here. If they don't respond in about two weeks, I'll post a follow up. In the meantime: be skeptical of all things twitch.tv.
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3 comments:
If you're searching an alternative to twitch, I recommend Hitbox.tv: lighter, quicker, easier, etc.
Looks awesome, I'll definitely be switching over unless Twitch sends me some explanation and fixes my account.
It's frustrating to realize that if my twitch account could be banned for such a simple reason, and that twitch only wants you bcasting mainstream video games, then I really do need a better service.
What I want to stream myself CODING a video game? Or what about a stream of DRAWING the graphics that go into a game.
Why does twitch care so much about what my viewers want to watch anyway? Why didn't they at least automated email me why I was banned? They had no problem filling my email with other stuff.
I just realized that I am subscribed to about 50 people on twitch, and its set to notify me every time someone goes lives, and because I'm banned I can't change my settings and so therefore cannot stop the tsunami of emails.
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