The German community on Twitch has copied an idea from the Americans and launched their own server for the survival MMO Rust . However, a discussion about a sexist remark, “Do you want to sit on my face?”, has overshadowed the event so far.
What is this event about? The German streamer Rumathra has opened his own Rust server and invited many German Twitch streamers to play with him.
As he himself says, he “stole” the idea from the Americans. Rumathra kindly reminds his fans that Twitch Prime is free.
The idea is:
- As many streamers as possible play together on one server in the survival MMO Rust. Games are played daily from 5 PM to 1 AM.
- In Rust, people can kill each other, plot intrigues, or play peacefully side by side, crafting and developing their characters.
- In Rust, it is possible to play hardcore PvP or engage in peaceful roleplay.
- Everyone brings along their viewers, creating an event-like atmosphere.
- The streamers benefit from it because more people are watching. This leads to more Twitch Prime subscriptions, more money, and more followers for everyone.
Based on this model, 2 streamer projects on Twitch have already worked and Rust, a game from 2013, has become the current hype game on Twitch. Now the German Twitch streamers also wanted to profit from the hype.
“Do you want to sit on my face?”
This has dominated the discussion so far: On the first day, there was an incident. The streamer Tinkerleo was asked by the streamer daannyy: “Do you want to sit on my face?”
The incident caused a stir. A discussion broke out that essentially had two sides:
- Some defended the streamer. Such behavior is really unacceptable. That is sexual harassment. People should be given a safe space and treated with care and respect.
- Others criticized the streamer: She shouldn’t be so sensitive. It’s just a joke. People talk like this online. This exaggerated sensitivity is ruining society. “Soon, you won’t be able to say anything at all.”
This is what happened afterwards: The streamer who made the remark has apologized to Tinkerleo. He was banned from the Rust server for one day.
The “Do you want to sit on my face” became a meme that was further spread as a joke.
The Twitch streamer Shurjoka has withdrawn from the project: She said that people were being bullied away from the server. Anyone who commented on the subject was attacked by the “scum of the internet”. She doesn’t want to put up with this anymore (via twitter).
I simply can’t get out of my skin, and I don’t want to at this point. What happened to Tinker was uncomfortable and inappropriate. What has happened since then on Twitter, YouTube, Twitch, and Instagram to her and everyone who has commented on it is the scum of the internet, and I am disgusted by all the streamers who wallow in it and revel in it.
I thought the drop was already licked after the apology on Twitter [from Dany], but the wave of hate had only just begun, and since then more and more streamers have jumped on the “meme train,” and the comment sections are flooded with trolls and anonymous disgusting people spamming “Just sit on my face.”
Excerpt from Shurjoka’s statement
She urges streamers to intervene when injustice occurs. Because often the “cool people just look away.”
Above all, the German streamer and YouTuber “Hand of Blood” is at the center of the conflict. He defended the streamer and received some hate comments for it. He says that a troll network has become aware of him.
The largest German streamer MontanaBlack has announced that he will also play Rust now and ironically invited every female player to “sit on my face.”
This is what lies behind it: It shows that people like MontanaBlack see this as a joke and don’t think much of it. However, others who are specifically affected by sexism take such remarks seriously and feel excluded, hurt, and bullied by such statements.
That there is still mocking about the response only makes things worse.
It is a sign for Twitch streamers that this Rust event is not for them, but only for “the guys” and their communities. Streamers who take the side of women are often attacked in a truly disgusting manner.
This is not just a German phenomenon: A misogynistic tendency can be seen in parts of gaming and live streaming that keeps resurfacing. Platform operators and many streamers are trying to address this, but it is a laborious process. As the streamer Shurjoka writes, many of the cool people just look away because they know what unpleasant baggage of problems and discussions comes with it.
This is the problem that Twitch recently tackled when it banned terms like “simp” .
Update 16:12: The operators of the German Rust server have now decided to take the server offline for the time being.
For all of this, read here: Server for Rust is a huge hit on Twitch, but is going offline for now: “I am very disappointed” .
Especially the largest German Twitch streamer MontanaBlack has been at the center of sexism discussions multiple times. He received a ban after behaving poorly while on vacation in Malta:
Twitch bans Germany’s biggest streamer: “Stupid and questionable” .
