Twitch has removed the “blind playthrough” tag following criticism and complaints. Since the introduction of tags — which are used for identification and the streaming platform’s recommendation system — “blind playthrough” has been a tag to indicate the streamer is playing through something for the first time. That said, while the tag has been there since the inception of the feature, it’s no longer an option for streamers.
Recently, the tag came under fire, with critics citing its use of ableist language. Responding to this, Twitch has removed the tag. Relaying the news is Twitch’s Erin “Aureylian” Wayne, who noted the decision was to encourage more inclusive language within the Twitch community. Wayne follows this up by noting that streamers can use “First Playthrough” or “No Spoilers” or a combination of both to relay the same message.
“Happy to see Twitch has listened to everyone who shared feedback and removed the ‘Blind Playthrough’ tag to encourage more inclusive language for our community,” said Wayne. “You can still use ‘First Playthrough’ or opt to use it in combination with ‘No Spoilers’ for the same sentiment.
Responding to this response, many have been quick to applaud the change, including Steven Spohn, the COO of the AbleGamers Charity, who has spoken about the issue with the phrase in the past.
I’m happy to see Twitch following through on promises to address and resolving issues and concerns from the disability community. It’s just the beginning.
For those who will ask what’s wrong with “blind playthrough” this the thread that started thishttps://t.co/c3uN9LtRQb https://t.co/1y7DGqcFZ0
— Steven Spohn (Spawn) (@stevenspohn) December 4, 2020
Of course, there’s also been some backlash about the change. In fact, the majority of replies and quote tweets are negative, but this is always the case when Twitch does anything in the name of inclusivity.
As always, feel free to leave a comment or two letting us know what you think or, alternatively, hit me up on Twitter @Tyler_Fischer_ and let me know over there. What do you think of this change by Twitch? In the meanwhile, for more coverage on all things gaming — including all of the latest news, rumors, and leaks — click here.
