Twitch has a new "feature" on users' personal Following page that supersedes other, more pertinent info like your list of followed games called "Based on your viewing history" Some people, including myself, have noticed that many of us are getting recommended the same half dozen or so "boob streamers" regardless of our actual viewing history...
Here are some of the reddit threads that I've noticed over the last couple days:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Twitch/comments/4pa12x/how_to_get_rid_of_based_on_your_viewing_history/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Twitch/comments/4pr1kr/wow_twitch/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Twitch/comments/4precg/my_viewing_history_is_wrong/
I personally emailed twitch support about this 3 weeks ago back when it wasn't even as blatant as it is now, just a few random scantily clad female streamers doing arts and crafts and the occasionally anime streamer and even then I knew there was no way it was actually based on my actual viewing experience. Now it has gotten even worse. My email only got a reply telling me to email to a different feedback email address or to make a post on the Twitch User Voice forum. To my knowledge no actual response from Twitch exists regarding this.
I know Twitch makes money off of all streamers' subs and it's probably good for business to push a bunch of teenage boys towards these boob streamers in order to drive up sub numbers, but disguising this blatant marketing as a feature is some of the most transparent fuckery I've ever seen Twitch engage in and I'd be ashamed if I were them.
edit: Making some amendments to this thread to address some frequent, drive-by shitposts.
A. I dislike the term "boobstreamer" I only use it because it neatly encapsulates a very specific type of female streamer that highlights her sexuality and assets in order to garner a male following. (example of a boobstreamer). I am NOT condemning what these girls are doing. It's obviously viable for them to make a living and it's an empowering decision for them to do so. I compare it to exotic dancing, another occupation that attractive women partake in to make a living and it's their right to do so, but like exotic dancing I do not support it because I don't like the type of behavior it elicits in men. I think it fosters a toxic, misogynistic environment that I do NOT want to support or have it advertised to me, which is all this Twitch "feature" is doing, advertising streamers to me, and overwhelmingly "boobstreamers" are being pushed. I would have the same complaint if I saw multiple advertisements for a strip club during prime time television.
2. People who have clean "based on your viewing history" sections are claiming that I (and others, because there are many examples of this) have somehow "accidentally" clicked on said boobstreamers in the past and don't remember and that's how they are tainting our recommendations, and that is 100% not true in my case, and likely in the cases of many other people who have them inexplicably show up on their pages. Feel free to assume what you like, but just because your recommendations are working doesn't mean the system is fully working as intended.
d. There are a lot of theories in the thread about how these same boobstreamers keep popping up on multiple peoples' pages pages regardless of their actual viewing history and/or the level of their Twitch usage and the fact of the matter is nobody knows until Twitch says something about it. Some people don't even have this "based on your viewing history" feature yet. Some people still have the old feature "Most Recent Videos" which actually shows VODs and highlights from your actual followed and viewed channels and I'm envious of them. That feature used to be BELOW the hosted channels and followed games on my following overview page and I much preferred it to this new recommendation feature that placed itself directly below my followed channels, pushing the more useful content lower on the page.
edit2: For anybody that is experiencing this, or who wants the entire feature removed entirely, BrawlPurist has provided a uBlock filter to remove it.
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=208380219&postcount=593
Here are some of the reddit threads that I've noticed over the last couple days:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Twitch/comments/4pa12x/how_to_get_rid_of_based_on_your_viewing_history/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Twitch/comments/4pr1kr/wow_twitch/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Twitch/comments/4precg/my_viewing_history_is_wrong/
I personally emailed twitch support about this 3 weeks ago back when it wasn't even as blatant as it is now, just a few random scantily clad female streamers doing arts and crafts and the occasionally anime streamer and even then I knew there was no way it was actually based on my actual viewing experience. Now it has gotten even worse. My email only got a reply telling me to email to a different feedback email address or to make a post on the Twitch User Voice forum. To my knowledge no actual response from Twitch exists regarding this.
I know Twitch makes money off of all streamers' subs and it's probably good for business to push a bunch of teenage boys towards these boob streamers in order to drive up sub numbers, but disguising this blatant marketing as a feature is some of the most transparent fuckery I've ever seen Twitch engage in and I'd be ashamed if I were them.
edit: Making some amendments to this thread to address some frequent, drive-by shitposts.
A. I dislike the term "boobstreamer" I only use it because it neatly encapsulates a very specific type of female streamer that highlights her sexuality and assets in order to garner a male following. (example of a boobstreamer). I am NOT condemning what these girls are doing. It's obviously viable for them to make a living and it's an empowering decision for them to do so. I compare it to exotic dancing, another occupation that attractive women partake in to make a living and it's their right to do so, but like exotic dancing I do not support it because I don't like the type of behavior it elicits in men. I think it fosters a toxic, misogynistic environment that I do NOT want to support or have it advertised to me, which is all this Twitch "feature" is doing, advertising streamers to me, and overwhelmingly "boobstreamers" are being pushed. I would have the same complaint if I saw multiple advertisements for a strip club during prime time television.
2. People who have clean "based on your viewing history" sections are claiming that I (and others, because there are many examples of this) have somehow "accidentally" clicked on said boobstreamers in the past and don't remember and that's how they are tainting our recommendations, and that is 100% not true in my case, and likely in the cases of many other people who have them inexplicably show up on their pages. Feel free to assume what you like, but just because your recommendations are working doesn't mean the system is fully working as intended.
d. There are a lot of theories in the thread about how these same boobstreamers keep popping up on multiple peoples' pages pages regardless of their actual viewing history and/or the level of their Twitch usage and the fact of the matter is nobody knows until Twitch says something about it. Some people don't even have this "based on your viewing history" feature yet. Some people still have the old feature "Most Recent Videos" which actually shows VODs and highlights from your actual followed and viewed channels and I'm envious of them. That feature used to be BELOW the hosted channels and followed games on my following overview page and I much preferred it to this new recommendation feature that placed itself directly below my followed channels, pushing the more useful content lower on the page.
edit2: For anybody that is experiencing this, or who wants the entire feature removed entirely, BrawlPurist has provided a uBlock filter to remove it.
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=208380219&postcount=593
