Talk given on Mar. 20, 2019 at Northeastern University's Art+Design department. Gaming is a historically toxic environment for women, people of color, disabled and LGBTQ+ folks. But on the world’s largest live streaming platform, Twitch, minority streamers and their allies are creating safe spaces for their communities and keeping the trolls at bay. The proliferation of these groups, which have managed to effectively moderate their communities and monetize their gameplay, while maintaining the values of integrity and inclusivity that are at the core of their identities, represents an intriguing new cultural phenomenon which has not yet been examined in detail. In this talk I will present findings from an ongoing ethnographic study seeking to understand the origin, and influence, of the growing inclusivity movement on Twitch. First, I’ll introduce the different ways in which inclusive communities form around marginalized streamers. Secondly, I’ll detail the shared values and standards of behavior that these communities are developing. Finally, I’ll explore how the affective labor of stream communities is transforming the aesthetic language, economic values, and governmental structure of the service. By critically analyzing the emergence of the inclusive Twitch community, the goal of this talk will be to shed light on, and draw inspiration from, the powerful, co-creative, role this labor force plays on the platform that supports it.

1. Inclusive Streamers
Live Broadcasting Safe Spaces
Johanna Brewer, PhD
co-founder,
Research & Design Studio

2. Land acknowledgement

3. Game culture & the toxic web
Online harassment finally gained
mainstream attention during Gamergate

4. More than a troll factory?

5. The search begins
Ethnographic study
started Dec. of 2017

6. What's Twitch?
The world’s largest
live streaming platform

7. How significant is Twitch?
150 million viewers each month generate
more traffic than Hulu, Facebook and Amazon

8. Kind of a big deal

9. The producers of play
2.2 million streamers
250,000 affiliates
27,000 partners

10. Anatomy of a stream

19. Behind the stream

20. Behind the stream

21. Live streaming represents a
revolution in televisual communication

22. Participatory interactive broadcast

23. Stream community

24. Methodological approach
Seeking examples of diversity & inclusivity
Dec. 2017 - Aug. 2018

25. Methodological approach
Seeking examples of diversity & inclusivity
9 months of immersive observation
Dec. 2017 - Aug. 2018

26. Methodological approach
Seeking examples of diversity & inclusivity
9 months of immersive observation
Watched nearly 1,000 hours live
Dec. 2017 - Aug. 2018

27. Methodological approach
Seeking examples of diversity & inclusivity
9 months of immersive observation
Watched nearly 1,000 hours live
Captured 100s of screenshots
Dec. 2017 - Aug. 2018

28. Methodological approach
Seeking examples of diversity & inclusivity
9 months of immersive observation
Watched nearly 1,000 hours live
Captured 100s of screenshots
Loosely connected group of ~50 streamers
Dec. 2017 - Aug. 2018

29. Speedrunning

32. “What speedrunning on Twitch does, and what
watching these types of events live does,
is it humanizes inhuman abilities.”
–Jared Rae (former Twitch community manager)

33. Methodological approach
Direct recruiting + snowball sampling
Sept. 2018 - Now

34. Methodological approach
Direct recruiting + snowball sampling
All types of streamers (speedrunners, varietycasters, creatives, etc.)
Sept. 2018 - Now

35. Methodological approach
Direct recruiting + snowball sampling
All types of streamers (speedrunners, varietycasters, creatives, etc.)
Semi-structured interviews (~2 hours)
Sept. 2018 - Now

36. Methodological approach
Direct recruiting + snowball sampling
All types of streamers (speedrunners, varietycasters, creatives, etc.)
Semi-structured interviews (~2 hours)
10 participants (6 LGBTQ+, 5 women, 2 disabled, 1 PoC)
Sept. 2018 - Now

37. Methodological approach
Direct recruiting + snowball sampling
All types of streamers (speedrunners, varietycasters, creatives, etc.)
Semi-structured interviews (~2 hours)
10 participants (6 LGBTQ+, 5 women, 2 disabled, 1 PoC)
Video interviews conducted on Discord, recorded with OBS
Sept. 2018 - Now

38. Methodological approach
Direct recruiting + snowball sampling
All types of streamers (speedrunners, varietycasters, creatives, etc.)
Semi-structured interviews (~2 hours)
10 participants (6 LGBTQ+, 5 women, 2 disabled, 1 PoC)
Video interviews conducted on Discord, recorded with OBS
IRL observation at events (TwitchCon, GDQ, etc.)
Sept. 2018 - Now

39. Decentralized movement

40. How do these inclusive communities form?

41. Letting your guard down

42. Seeking refuge

43. Holding the door (open)

44. What values do these communities share?

45. Being genuine & honest

46. Leading by example

47. Collaborating not competing

48. Creating & sharing knowledge

49. Passing the privilege

50. How are these communities transforming
Twitch? What can we learn from them?

51. Streaming is an art form

52. Care trumps capital

53. Amplification reverberates

54. How should this shape my design practice?

55. @deadroxy
netasnook.com
Questions?