Popular streamer Sebastian ‘Forsen’ Fors was pulled from Twitch. He was sentenced to an “indefinite” suspension in November for displaying a GIF of a horse, sent by a viewer, which the platform deemed inappropriate.
As it was not Forsen’s first suspension, but the third, Twitch’s policy on repeated violations led them to negotiate an indefinite ban instead of a definite time, as is more common.
However, there was a reaction against Twitch for a number of reasons; fans felt they had not taken the context into account (Forsen was unaware of the content before showing it and quickly removed it from view when he realized) and argued that it was a more severe punishment than other similar or even worse violations by others streamers.
Many have brought up the infamous moment when Pokimane accidentally displayed inappropriate content also sent by a viewer and received no suspension, just a warning.
Forsen is one of the most popular variety streamers on Twitch.
Regardless, the ban on Forsen’s account was lifted exactly a month after it was enforced. It is not known whether this was always the intended duration of the ban, or whether the platform reduced it after consideration. Twitch never comments on violations of community guidelines to protect users’ privacy.
Forsen was notified that it would be canceled shortly after Christmas in early December and, in fact, his account was reinstated on Boxing Day.
Thanks for all the birthday wishes and best wishes in dms and shit. It looks like I’ll be slightly canceled after Christmas. Enjoy your vacation and this shit!
– Sebastian Fors (@Forsen) December 16, 2020
Although Forsen is happy to have his account back, along with 1.4 million followers, a forced one-month break for someone with his popularity is still a serious financial blow.
That said, notable streamers who have ‘return’ streams after a suspension generally enjoy an increase in the number of viewers, thanks to the hype and / or drama surrounding their return.
It will also have a catalog of games to catch up on – your viewers might watch a Cyberpunk 2077 game.
Twitch is making radical changes to some of the community’s guidelines in January 2021, mainly around its hate and harassment policies. However, some of these changes have also caught the eye – check out some of the biggest ones here.