If you want everyone to read a book, ban it. That’s what they say at least. It looks like the same logic applies for using a word, in this case, the term “simp.” Since Twitch announced that the word will be banned in their new Terms of Service, usage of the word has more than doubled.
Here’s what the word means, why Twitch is banning it, and why people are using it so much more.
What does Simp mean?
The term simp is generally used to describe someone attempting to impress a girl. For example, if someone makes a donation to a female Twitch streamer, others will often refer to them as a simp or say they are “simping” for the streamer.
While this may seem relatively harmless, Twitch apparently doesn’t think so. In their new terms of service, using this term the terms “incel” and “virgin” are punishable offenses. These three words are all similar in nature.
So far, people are using the word more
Announcing their new terms of service hasn’t exactly gone as planned for Twitch. According to Stream Hatchet, chat mentions of simp doubled compared to the previous 15-day average on December 16. Such a sizable increase can only be attributed to one thing — the new terms of service.
While this increase may seem unsurprising after such a bold move, it raises the question: does Twitch actually plan to punish everyone using the term? It seems unlikely that people will stop using these words, especially given how commonplace they are in the Twitch community.
This Week's Meta: term "simp" banned on @Twitch
Following its ban, chat mentions of "simp" doubled compared to previous 15 day average.
Read our post for more chat analytics and insights:https://t.co/DiNZtRTimb pic.twitter.com/tfk7W0Ahwa
— Stream Hatchet (@StreamHatchet) December 18, 2020
It will be interesting to see how Twitch will handle people violating their new terms of service with the ban on “simp.” If they handle it as strictly as they claim, viewers and streamers alike might have to get used to having a filter.
