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Twitch removes 'Blind Playthrough' tag after disability criticism

Homura

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Aug 20, 2019
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kotaku.com

Twitch Removes 'Blind Playthrough' Tag After Disability Criticism

Since 2018, Twitch has had a tag system that allows streamers to categorize their broadcasts according to their content’s contents and give viewers an at-a-glance idea of what they’re about. Tags also tie into Twitch’s still-rudimentary (but increasingly prominent) recommendation system. Until...
kotaku.com kotaku.com

Since 2018, Twitch has had a tag system that allows streamers to categorize their broadcasts according to their content's contents and give viewers an at-a-glance idea of what they're about. Until very recently, "blind playthrough" was one of these official Twitch tags.
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"Blind playthrough" was meant to be applied to first-time runs through games, frequently with the implication that streamers didn't want chat spoiling key story elements or trying to backseat game. Streamers and other content creators use the term pretty frequently. Recently, however, Twitch removed the "blind playthrough" tag following concerns about ableist language.
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Jamix012

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Oct 28, 2017
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I hadn't heard this was an issue, but better to listen to others in this case. Did they replace the tag with something else like "First Time Playthrough"?
 
ItIsOkBro

ItIsOkBro

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The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
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that's nice and in accordance with a bunch of language updates as of late
 
Caiusto

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Oct 25, 2017
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That never occurred to me but man it makes so much sense, glad to learn before it's too late.
 
Eeyore

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I think this is cool but I wish if they actually tried to get some of their most popular streamers to stop using the r word too.

Edit: I realize this is much easier to do.
 
CloudsFromSpace

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Mar 8, 2018
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Good change.

Aside from the clear benefits to inclusiveness, "no-spoilers playthrough" or something to that effect is more descriptive anyway. "Blind" playthrough could feasibly mean multiple things.
 
Saty

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Oct 27, 2017
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Then let's also stop using the following phrases:

- Blind to the truth.
- Love is Blind.
- Turn a blind eye.
- Blind spot.
- Fly blind.
- Blind date.

This is dumb.
 
jwk94

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Oct 25, 2017
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What's the correct sub for this? I feel like first playthrough isn't quite it. Anyone playing a game for the first time is going to have a first playthrough, but going in "blind" implies you know little to nothing about the game before starting.
 
Eeyore

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Pankratous said:
They said not JUST disability. It means other things.
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We have other words that can describe this don't we? Great thing about language, especially English, there are a ton of words that can be used.

Saty said:
Then let's also stop using the following phrases:

- Blind to the truth.
- Love is Blind.
- Turn a blind eye.
- Blind spot.
- Fly blind.
- Blind date.

This is dumb.
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We should. I don't see why there is so much pushback when people ask us to do so? Also the irony of using the word 'dumb' in this thread.
 
Ravelle

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It's an easy fix if there's people concerned with the term, coming up with a different term shouldn't be that difficult.
 
McFly

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Nov 26, 2017
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Nothing wrong in being proactive rather than reactive. There are various other ways to convey the same idea. First playthrough being the most popular i see on youtube and twitch.
 
Zephy

Zephy

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Oct 27, 2017
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English is my second language and I didn't know "lame" actually referred to a disability, I thought it only meant what people usually use it for when they don't like something. Just learned that from the tweets linked in the OP.

Saty said:
Then let's also stop using the following phrases:

- Blind to the truth.
- Love is Blind.
- Turn a blind eye.
- Blind spot.
- Fly blind.
- Blind date.
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I think this is the idea actually.
 
Bobbyleejones

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Zephyriel said:
English is my second language and I didn't know "lame" actually referred to a disability, I thought it only meant what people usually use it for when they don't like something. Just learned that from the tweets linked in the OP.



I think this is the idea actually.
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Hold up.... lame is a disability. Not once in my lifetime I heard that
 
Eeyore

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EvilChameleon said:
So you're also in favor of changing the name of Ori And The Blind Forest then?
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I assume this is a slippery slope argument? I have no idea of how my personal opinion relates to Twitch changing a category on their site. People are acting like you can't say the word 'blind' when streaming when you obviously can. Hell some of the biggest streamers on the platform like Lirik still drop the r word.

When someone comes to me and asks me not to use a word because of its negative history I see no reason not to comply. It's a really easy thing to do. So if someone puts forth a hypothetical list of things that we should probably not say, I'm gonna be like yeah we probably should. Will we? Probably not. I still struggle not to use the words 'lame' and 'dumb' in certain circumstances.
 
Kiryani

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I stand with the blind people that weren't consulted on this, unfortunately I think this is a case where people have (with the best intentions) got offended on blind people's behalf, but ultimately marginalised them even more.

It's very important that we remember that even with the best intentions, we do not stand in their shoes and we broadly do not understand how much of an impact things like this have on their self esteem.

I'm heartbroken for the girl in the tweet who feels as though she's been made to feel like a weak person due to this when in fact she's incredibly strong.
 
subpar spatula

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Oct 26, 2017
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But they will allow you to use "autism" as the 2020's gamers version of "gay". Twitch is extremly inconsistent with how they handle these things
 
Menchi

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This seems a bit... overkill. The term "blind play through" has context in the same way a "blind trial" for a drug test works. "First time play through" doesn't give the same connotation, at all. It isn't an issue for me that it has been changed, and if it does alleviate concerns for blind people, then sure, go ahead, but I'm not entirely sure there was an outcry amongst blind people for it to change either?
 
DeadlyVenom

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Apr 3, 2018
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Was this an actual concern in the blind community or is this people being offended on other's behalf?
 
Saty

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Eeyore said:
We should. I don't see why there is so much pushback when people ask us to do so? Also the irony of using the word 'dumb' in this thread.
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No we shouldn't. It's not a slur, it's not derogatory and it's not insensitive.
A person's specific over-sensitivity to certain literal definitions shouldn't dictate what's the accepted norm of language usage. It's not unethical, immoral or bad form to use those phrases.
 
Zips

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Oct 25, 2017
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I mean... I guess?

This does seem to be a step too far. The word has different meanings and has for countless years now.
 
EvilChameleon

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Eeyore said:
I assume this is a slippery slope argument? I have no idea of how my personal opinion relates to Twitch changing a category on their site. People are acting like you can't say the word 'blind' when streaming when you obviously can. Hell some of the biggest streamers on the platform like Lirik still drop the r word.

When someone comes to me and asks me not to use a word because of its negative history I see no reason not to comply. It's a really easy thing to do. So if someone puts forth a hypothetical list of things that we should probably not say, I'm gonna be like yeah we probably should. Will we? Probably not. I still struggle not to use the words 'lame' and 'dumb' in certain circumstances.
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When I was in high school a kid at my lunch table told me she found the r word offensive, and gave an impassioned argument as to why she thought that, and I immediately stopped using that word.

I haven't seen anyone come to me and say we should stop using "blind playthrough" to reference a playthrough of the game where you know no information going in though. In fact, I've seen the opposite. From blind people, to boot.
 
mysteriousmage09

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This just seems like like half-assed attempt at twitch wanting some good pr among the sea of shit that is their ads and dmca handling. Just out of nowhere doing this to show they "care", when they've been showing how much they care for streamers and viewers in general this past year is quite frankly laughable.

Not to mention, people will just put "blind playthrough" in the damn title.
 
Greenpaint

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Oct 30, 2017
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"Ableist language is inserting a disability in place of a negative word"

I get that this would apply when you use a phrase like "blind to criticism". But I am not sure why "blind playthrough" is a negative context. I personally get excited when I see a gaming personality doing one.

That said I am fine with using some other word for it. "First" isn't appropriate though, as a first playthrough isn't always equal to a "blind" playthrough. "Unspoiled" doesn't feel right either, as not all information of a game is considered a spoiler.

I'm struggling to find a word that conveys the concept equally well. "Discovery playthrough"?
 
purseowner

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How about blackout playthrough or dark playthrough?

If you talk about stopping looking at prerelease footage you call it media blackout or going dark, so it wouldn't be a terrible synonym.
 
jfkgoblue

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Oct 27, 2017
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Uhh blind means more than just the literal disability, in this context it has nothing to do with the disability at all.

I don't get it.
 
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