I am just curious - when you live stream do you get permission from your group / subjects first, or at least warn them so they can keep things PG13 or opt out? Or in today's 'post everything' society is it just assumed there is no privacy, anywhere, even in games?
I happened to be in a fun filled crazy non-typical group on P99 green this weekend with lots of /ooc and some /say chatter along with the usual shenanigans / antics. A Druid in wolf form (not in my group, but hanging in the same dungeon) who had been shadowing us sans any conversation suddenly mentioned she had been streaming us for the past hour. Along with the obligatory link to her channel and a request to subscribe.
Probably showing my age (I know - many of you are thinking 'okay boomer' about now) but that bugged me. Thoughts?
Hey, Kumu. Fellow boomer here.
I'm totally at a loss to understand the attraction to watching someone else play a game - unless of course it's dev or pre-release like the ones VR has been doing with selected streamers.
But I think it's a given that what we do in game is not private. Don't do or say anything in-game that you don't want repeated on a stream or YouTube video.
It would of course be courteous to let people know you intend to record/stream, but courtesy seems to be as outdated as flip phones. :-)
If you stream while in a group you don't have to get their permission as long as you aren't recording their voices/ vocal interactions with you. I'm not really sure what the rules are regarding including their actual voices, but I think you have to at least warn your group and if anyone objects then you can't (or at least you can't record them specifically). As for keeping things PG-13 on their end, there is no way to control that. If they want to start a chat conversation that is NC-17 and you are streaming during this period then that is now in your stream.
As for your channel (provided you are a streamer), there should be self-stated rules on your end regarding the environment that you are trying to cultivate. For example, if you know there is a chance that mature themes will be presented you should probably do a disclaimer under the channel rules and create a youtube video (and provide a link) stating the channel rules to cover yourself. It also doesn't hurt to clearly state who your target audience (are they 13+ or 17+). There is a general audience rule that covers content creators should someone under the age of 13 decide to view their content, even if their channel is aimed for ages 13+.
As for personal information. The burden to protect this information isn't on the streamer but the people around the streamer. If you were to mention your address, age, plans for the weekend and address for that event in a game it could be argued that you made this information public domain as it was stated through an unsecured means of communication. If you were to state these things in a discord setting and didn't know you were being recorded you might be able to present an argument (again I'm not 100% sure about those rules).
As for people knowing your age or voice, I wouldn't be too concerned as long as no other personal information that could be used to track your location was shared. The only way to get this information at that point would be for someone to hack into your accounts, and I can assure you that most people watching the streamer aren't doing so in hopes of finding someone to pray on.
@Celandor as for why people watch streamers: Streamers are entertainers, performers, teachers, information sources, and community builders. Most people who end up watching streams aren't really watching the gameplay. They are there to connect with the community, enjoy the presence that the streamer brings, maybe pick up on something they didn't know about before, and most importantly feel like they are being included and being heard in discussions that arise.
@kumu
Frankly there are no rules.
There may be written guidelines/rules but people routinely ignore them and are not punished in any manner. In a legal sense that means there are no rules.
Twitch has taken the attitude that they have written all the 'laws' into their streamer agreements so if you violate them that is on you. If you commit a crime on-stream then those who are damaged by it have to pursue legal action against you. Of course if something goes viral and there is large out-cry then Twitch might do something, but normally they will not.
The glaring example is the use of copyrighted content in streams. Music, video, artwork, etc.
Playing copyrighted music in a stream is and always has been 100% illegal. There is no middle ground, no fair-use. Copyright law has a long history of precedent. There are corporations that function purely for the sake of suing violators. Yet most streamers do it. Additionally most streamers use a music source such as Spotify or Youtube, which now doubles their violation as both platforms explicitly state that their content is not for use in any way other than for personal use. Not for re-streaming, not for personal enrichment.
So now streamers are violating the law twice and are all open to criminal action.
There is a reason Twitch mutes copyrighted music from VODs, as it is discoverable and re-playable, making Twitch in violation of copyright laws. A legal argument could be made by a smart lawyer that since Twitch does not suspend or ban users they find violating copyrights, they are enabling them, and thus co-conspirators.
Another dirty secret is the vast number of underage children playing games, illegally. This is potentially a much more serious legal violation by Twitch. Young teens exposed to all manner of racism, biogtry, mysogony, pedophilia and more. Additionally many of these children are the source of such actions, such as racism. Children acting out, trying to get reactions like to use shock and vulgarity.
One has to look no farther than toxic content from CSgo, Tarkov, ArcheAge, every MobA being played, etc. But the dirty secret is all the pedophiles fishing by streaming childrens games, and games appealing to the underaged. Predators go where the prey are.
So given all this illegal content happening constantly on streaming platforms, is it no surprise people care little about using your personal privacy for their use and exploitation?
Whenever in any platform such as Discord, or other VOIP and in-game VOIP, ALWAYS temper your language and give out no personal information. Period.
Reports to Twitch mean nothing. They ignore them until they need something to actually ban someone. They operate in much the same way any businesses HR dept. does. They are not there for your protection, but the protection of the business.
I really don't understand the draw of watching others play a game either (unless I'm waiting to play the winnner). I guess as long as that druid wasn't there to train wipe my group for a "funny" video then I guess I wouldn't really care.
Kinda boggles the mind though, to follow someone else around watching them play a game, so others can watch you watch them isn't on my list of fun.
I'm not a streamer, although my youngest daughter keeps trying to get me to start a streaming channel on Twitch....
My thought on it is that, no, it's not required. That said, if I were actually streaming, I'd let everyone in the group know. Not so that they would censor themselves or what-not, but just to be polite about it.
Trust me - I don't share private information in any game. I usually group with family / close RL friends and always keep things appropriate for the age group with whom I am interacting.
I was just surprised (again - boomer, so different mindset) that someone would follow ANOTHER group around and broadcast their play without informing us (well, without informing us for the first hour anyway). That just seems wierd and a bit rude to me - it's her channel, wouldn't she prefer to get her own group going? I'd be the first to admit that my friends and I are fairly entertaining {grins} but still....
Kumu said:Trust me - I don't share private information in any game. I usually group with family / close RL friends and always keep things appropriate for the age group with whom I am interacting.
I was just surprised (again - boomer, so different mindset) that someone would follow ANOTHER group around and broadcast their play without informing us (well, without informing us for the first hour anyway). That just seems wierd and a bit rude to me - it's her channel, wouldn't she prefer to get her own group going? I'd be the first to admit that my friends and I are fairly entertaining {grins} but still....
To be honest, I think it's for the "entertainment value", including color commentary, more than watching the actual gameplay. The streamers that seem to do well have "more personality"; define that how you will. Think of it like watching [insert professional sport of your choice] with an announcer/commentary crew.
As a streamer, I wil be streaming this game if there is no NDA when Alpha or Beta access becomes possible. My channel is built around community and enjoing what I do as part of a team and community overall and not a stremer who is only trying to do a cash grab from viewers on the next big MMORPG. I rather have people come discuss the game they enjoy and other aspects of it with me and others who share that passion.. I am will be streaming this for the love of game and and the interaction it brings along with it. So for me streaming is not a cash grab but sharing my experances with others in the community. and I would tell people before they join that I am streaming so not to upset people from not being in the spotlight.