Twitch has indefinitely disabled the paid boost feature from its site. The promotional element, which was created to help streamers reach the front page of Twitch’s website through monetization, was removed yesterday following a number of incidents in which inappropriate content was being promoted. Twitch’s enforcement of its terms of service has been called in to question a lot in recent years, with Twitch making controversial bans on certain channels and taking little-to-no action with others.

The promotional feature, formally called “Boost This Stream,” was introduced in October 2021 with the intention to help smaller streamers publicize their channels by paying real-life money to obtain a spot on the site’s front page. “Boost This Stream” was not received as well as Twitch had hoped, with many streamers and viewers voicing concerns about unsuitable content possibly being displayed on the site’s front page. Others worried that already-established Twitch streamers would abuse the system and continually hold a spot on the front page, taking away any chance of promotion for small up-and-coming streamers. Twitch would end the controversial “Boost This Stream” element in late-2021 and would introduce “Boost Train” in March 2022, a new feature that would promote channels based on their viewers’ financial support (subscriptions, bits, etc.), all in an effort to ease worries and ensure fairness on the platform.

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The supposed “fix” to the problems caused by “Boost This Stream” would end up causing more issues, so Twitch indefinitely disabled “Boost Train” altogether yesterday. GamesIndustry.biz reported that the decision was made following incidents in which streams displaying pornography were being boosted by viewers, in-turn causing the channels to be advertised on the platform’s front page. Twitch’s terms of service prohibit any sexual content, so the channels involved were immediately suspended and likely will never come back. Seeing as too many issues were being caused by the feature, Twitch made the decision to remove it entirely.

Twitch boost this stream feature

Twitch’s choice was welcomed by those who had opposed the feature from the very beginning, with many seeing the feature as too big a risk to consider keeping on the platform. Twitch has found itself against its userbase for similar reasons in recent years, with the company making questionable decisions regarding the enforcement of its terms of service. The company had to create a new “Pools, Hot Tubs, and Beaches” category in response to outrage over suggestive sexual content being streamed in the “Just Chatting” section. The “ASMR” section has also received a lot of negative backlash from the Twitch community, with many of the platform’s users calling out Twitch’s inaction against channels streaming ASMR content that is obviously sexual in nature.

Twitch’s decision to end monetary channel boosting is a big step in the platform’s journey to regain the trust of its users. Although smaller streamers will no longer have access to a tool that would help bring in more viewers, there is always a chance that Twitch may be working on something to replace the Boost Train. Now that Twitch understands what could possibly happen when a paid boost feature is implemented for everyone to use, it could use the experience to build something even better to help promote streamers who are looking to expand their viewer base.

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Source: GamesIndustry.biz