The ban of the virtual streamer “fallenshadow” has caused a stir in recent days. Vtubers believe that Twitch has a problem with them. Even the response from the streaming platform does not convince everyone.
What was the ban about? The streamer “fallenshadow” was banned from Twitch on September 14, 2024. The platform justified the ban by stating that she had exhibited “self-harmful behavior”: fallenshadow had spoken about mental health during the stream and had drunk cream liqueur, appearing sad. We have already reported on the ban at MeinMMO.
Twitch suspended the streamer’s channel for 30 days. This means that the subs, the paid subscriptions on Twitch, will not renew during this period. fallenshadow explains that this hits her particularly hard, as she has a disability and supports six family members with her streaming.
The streaming platform showed understanding and lifted the ban after only 40 hours. Nevertheless, not everyone is satisfied with the response.
Twitch insists on decision, community is annoyed
What is the problem now? As fallenshadow reported on September 16, 2024, on X, her appeal against the ban was accepted and the suspension was lifted. However, Twitch insisted that the original punishment was justified. Given the details of the case, the ban could be lifted.
The streamer interprets this as Twitch admitting that they lifted the ban only due to negative feedback. Other Vtubers also view the streaming platform’s response critically:
- Bao The Whale: “That is such an embarrassing response from Twitch. It stinks of passive-aggressiveness and disrespect towards you. […]” (via X)
- SmugAlana: “That’s pretty sneaky snake crap.” (via X)
- Yatoumori: “Absurd… I’ve never seen an attempt to save face after a bad decision completely undermined by gritting one’s teeth and denying that it was a bad decision after the correction.” (via X)
Can this be interpreted differently? Yes, there is another explanation for Twitch’s response. A generous interpretation could be that the decision was justified at that moment, with the knowledge available at that time. However, with the additional context provided in the appeal, the situation could be viewed differently.
For the streamer, it’s a matter of wording: if it had been expressed differently, everything would have been fine. Instead, the response sounds “as passive-aggressive and mean as possible” (via X).
Vtubers believe that Twitch has something against them
What makes the situation so difficult? fallenshadow is a virtual streamer, a Vtuber. She does not show her face but appears as an anime-style avatar. She and other Vtubers feel unfairly treated by Twitch.
Other content creators would get away with much worse offenses while Vtubers would be punished more harshly. In fallenshadow’s case, Twitch is said to evaluate her more strictly because her avatar allegedly looks underage. There are supposed to be additional rules for this, which the streamer herself does not know.
The Vtuber states that she is simply petite and has a high voice, and her avatar reflects her actual appearance (via X).
Moreover, there are apparently rumors in the Vtube community that one or more moderators at Twitch simply have a personal problem with Vtubers and therefore punish them more severely (via X).
On X, fallenshadow comments on the bans of several other Vtubers who have been banned in recent days. It is also pointed out that the reasons for a ban are not always understandable. This has been a problem for some time: Twitch bans a Vtuber and she doesn’t know why: “Losing everything overnight is terrifying.”
