It’s time for Twitch to reveal why Dr Disrespect (and all streamers) have been banned

It’s no secret that Twitch acknowledges it has a problem with its bans and wants to be more transparent, but that transparency should be for everyone, not just streamers.

In the Summer of 2020, Twitch’s greatest mystery began when Dr Disrespect was suddenly banned without any explanation from the site – or Doc himself.

Years later, we still hardly know anything about what happened. Although Dr Disrespect revealed he found out why he was banned and attempted to sue Twitch, the case ended with neither party admitting to any wrongdoing.

Twitch has remained mum on the topic… for the most part. In March, CEO Dan Clancy was asked about the Dr Disrespect situation and joked that the two-time had to be banned to prevent an alien invasion and “save civilization.”

It’s not just Doc whose ban has been met with confusion. Many other streamers, such as Amouranth, have been hit with surprising bans and received little to no feedback from Twitch.

Twitch does send out emails to streamers with a small explanation for its decision, but these are rarely ever useful. Often streamers (and viewers) will have no idea what infraction was committed during an hours-long broadcast. Unless the action is extremely obvious, such as a streamer running over a dog while reading chat, bans can turn into a big guessing game.

The appeal process is also a complete pain. I was once even indefinitely banned for posting a copypasta joking about being 12 and having a two-paragraph essay due in the morning. The ban lasted until Twitch got back to me months later, and I even had to prove my age with official documents.

Twitch never publicly discusses individual bans, and in my opinion, it’s time for that policy to change. There’s no reason why a banned Twitch channel can’t disclose more information about the suspension. Instead of “Sorry. Unless you’ve got a time machine, that content is unavailable,” or “This channel is temporarily unavailable due to a violation of Twitch’s Community Guidelines or Terms of Service,” more info should be given about why.

It’s not just viewers who would benefit from this in deciding who they want to watch, but potential advertisers and sponsors, too. Some viewers may not want to invest time into watching a streamer suspended for racist remarks. Maybe a sponsor would rather work with a creator who has a completely clean record.

Every single ban and the reason for it should be publicly available. Twitch also has one of the best clip features on any platform and should make use of it. Don’t just tell us why someone was banned — show us.

Obviously, showing won’t be possible for every ban, as off-platform behavior can result in a suspension, as well. But this leads us back to the crux of the matter: Dr Disrespect.

Doc’s final Twitch stream was almost as much of an oddity as the ban itself, with the two-time signing off in a bizarre fashion. There have been so many theories and rumors about the ban, such as how he possibly used an offer from Microsoft’s now-defunct platform Mixer to leverage a Twitch deal.

Unfortunately, until either party decides to reveal the real reason, Dan Clancy’s alien joke is the closest we’ve come to an official explanation.

Twitch, it’s been four years. If you want to be better and be more transparent, the solution is simple. Just tell us why Doc, and everyone else, have been banned.