LivestreamFail subreddit changes policies to prevent cyberbullying

The popular LivestreamFail section of Reddit is undergoing some changes following the death of Byron “Reckful” Bernstein yesterday in an effort to prevent cyberbullying.

In the wake of Reckful’s passing, many people on social media shined a light on the issue of mental health with a focus on the effects of cyberbullying. Due to the way streamers attract a combination of positive and negative attention on places like Twitter and Reddit, the nature of the LivestreamFail subreddit became a talking point in the community.

Though the Reddit page isn’t exclusively a place where users can see streamers “fail,” it’s certainly a place where a streaming clip will end up if a content creator happens to do something particularly embarrassing.

As a way to combat the atmosphere that could foster the cyberbullying of streamers, LivestreamFail moderators have announced a few changes that they’re making to the subreddit.

“The rules are in a sorry state, with lots of grey areas for individual mod biases to hide in, and strange inconsistencies that are (understandably) very confusing from a user’s perspective,” the mods wrote. “These inconsistencies make it appear as if harassment is allowed against some streamers but not against others, or as if we are defending abhorrent behaviour while censoring the good people.”

Some of the changes the moderation team is considering include a more “concise infraction system” and allowing streamers to “opt-out” of being posted about on the Reddit page.

While the moderators’ statement acknowledged that a previous internal vote vetoed the potential for streamers to avoid being put on LivestreamFails, the “recent drama” of the past few days is forcing the team to reevaluate this idea. 

Additionally, the moderator crew said they’re looking to add more moderators to their ranks to help enforce the changes they’re working on. 

Though LivestreamFails’ moderation team didn’t provide a plethora of details, the decision to take action is the first step in a process that could improve the subreddit and gaming community’s environment as a whole.