Foxyzilla☀️ · @Foxyzilla
27th Jun 2020 from TwitLonger
What happened with Twitch and Mixer.
Kotaku interviewed me a few days ago. Here is the full interview <3
Hello, I'm a reporter with Kotaku, and I'm working on a story about what Mixer streamers are doing now that Microsoft abruptly decided to shut down the platform, seemingly without telling many streamers. Some questions for you, if you've got the time/bandwidth to answer them during what is obviously a very difficult time .
1) Q- When did you first find out that Mixer was shutting down? Did you hear the news at the same time as everybody else yesterday, or had you heard rumblings before that?
A- When I heard the news, I’d been up all night on a voice call talking to two very brave, very strong women about assault they’d experienced from men in this industry. I barely slept, then went straight to my computer to watch a stream where people were discussing these stories.
Many of us had been watching and talking about this for over 15 hours; we were all exhausted, emotionally and physically. About ten minutes into the stream, everything started lighting up and everyone started to panic. It was all “Look at Twitter, LOOK AT TWITTER!” Obviously, I immediately looked at Twitter to see what was happening—that’s how I found out about Mixer shutting down. I had no prior knowledge, no warning at all. The whole thing caught me completely by surprise—and with everything so raw after that difficult, sleepless night, it was a surprise that came at the worst possible moment.
2) Q- How long had you been on Mixer? What drew you to the platform in the first place?
A-When Twitch banned me four years ago, I honestly thought the ban would be quickly reversed once they investigated what happened. In the meantime, I streamed on Hitbox for about a week. I hated it. Someone told me about YouTube Gaming, so I gave that a shot. It was better than Hitbox, but had its own issues, mainly related to the fact that it’s a platform made for video creation, not live content. I didn’t feel happy on YouTube, so I decided to check out Mixer. I gave Mixer a shot, but I never fully dove into the platform, mainly because a lot of my community was reluctant to give it a chance.
I was partnered quickly on Mixer, but decided to keep streaming on YouTube. About 8 months in, YouTube dropped the YouTube Gaming App—a move that destroyed everything that made YouTube streamable for me. I made the decision to completely stop streaming there and to dive completely into the Mixer community.
I started branching out, and as I connected with other creators, I felt my passion return, which was wonderful. I was on Mixer for about a year, maybe a little more, and I felt excited to stream, excited to grow my family. Because ultimately that’s what drew me to Mixer: its community. The people I met and the passions we shared were what got me out of bed in the morning.
3) Q- How is your audience reacting? Do you think many of them will follow you to a new platform?
A- At first, we were devastated. There was a lot of frustration and tearful calls with my Moderators, trying to navigate Facebook Gaming. I don’t think many of us have slept properly since Mixer announced it was closing up shop.
I have no doubt that almost all of my community will follow me to a new platform. They followed me from Twitch to Hitbox to YouTube to Mixer, then back to YouTube and finally to Mixer again! They’re family, and family sticks together. They have my back, and I have theirs.
4) Q- You were banned on Twitch and seemed very concerned that you'd never be able to stream on the platform again. What happened? How did you get banned? Now you've been unbanned. How did that happen? How are you feeling about all of it?
A-Shortly after I was partnered on Twitch, someone subscribed to my channel hundreds of times using what turned out to be stolen credit cards. These were fraudulent transactions, Twitch made a business decision to terminate my partnership and my channel.
Like I mentioned, I was in a very raw, very emotional state when I heard the news about Mixer shutting down. For me, Mixer was more than just a streaming platform. It was a space for me to be me, to express myself and to build amazing friendships. It was my therapy, my happy space. I knew when I clicked that “go live” button that I would not be alone, because I had a group of wonderful people I call family to hang out with every single day.
When I heard the news about Mixer, I started thinking about how many of my community would go to Twitch, and about how so many friends I enjoyed watching would go there as well. I’d lose my connection with almost everyone. Facebook is too connected to our personal lives. An online alias is important to many of us for safety reasons, and there are just too many privacy concerns with Facebook. In addition to that, like YouTube, Facebook wasn’t built for streaming. It’s difficult to navigate. I knew straight up I wouldn’t feel the same passion and spark that I had with Twitch and that was reignited by Mixer.
As you know, I posted a very raw, unfiltered video showing my reaction and how desperately I wished Twitch would just respond to my appeals. I have to be honest: I’m too embarrassed to watch that video. I’m not even really sure what exactly I said, but the video went viral. Some amazing people reached out to me, and sent the video on to the right channels.
My suspension from Twitch was lifted because everyone came together to support me and help me get heard and seen by Twitch. I’d like to name just a few who deserve very special thanks: Keemstar, MsVixen, Tipster Gaming, The Mixer Magic, and Fwiz.
I was lying in bed, overwhelmed with emotion when I got the appeal response via email. I immediately sat straight up, in shock, and started bawling and shaking. My heart felt like it was on the floor. I honestly could not believe it; I felt like I must have been dreaming. Then I simply got up, hopped in the shower, rinsed off my tears, washed my hair . . . and felt all of the difficult emotions turn to excitement. My sadness turned to inspiration, and I have not stopped smiling.
I feel incredibly motivated, and just ready to take on the day. I want to be the best version of myself, and most of all I want to inspire others to do the same. I am so ready to take back control of my life. After receiving this incredible news, I sat in voice chat with my community all night, and I just kept bursting out into little giggles of excitement. I can barely contain myself right now, and it’s a good feeling!
Over the past four years, I’ve learned a ton streaming so many different places. I intend to take all that I’ve learned and apply to my streams on Twitch, so stay tuned.