Siddic – The Troll, The Myth, The Man

Siddic passed away tonight (December 29th) and we all got together to say good-bye in Pharewing’s stream. It was hard to even get onto the stream let alone to hear what was going on. It was good to see that there were many in the same pain, shock, disbelief, and great sadness that I was in as well. We drank, played his favorite game, and even took pictures of drinking, our cats (pussies for Siddic) and Rat dogs. We cried, bit bombed Phare, and even some glorious asshole gifted Phare subs like Siddic did.

Siddic was a person that wanted you to think he was a mean person, and yet he was really a man with a golden heart. He did what he could to get a reaction. Not just scaring you in your channel, bit bombing or subbing an insane amount of people to your channel. He was there for you to listen to you, talk with you and even offer sage advise when you needed it.

Siddic was a classic troll. He didn’t troll to make you angry, sad, or in any negative way. He trolled to show he cared. He had a deep heart that he didn’t let anyone really know or feel; and yet we all knew. He was the troll that pulled you out of your funk, depression, and bad place and reminded you that life sucked but you didn’t have to be alone in the suckage.

Siddic made you smile, laugh, flick him off, and made you glad when he popped into channel to say Hi. His constantly saying your name over and over again (Junie, JUNIE, JUNIEEEEE, JUUUUUNIEEEEE ….. Hi) was something classic that got you to laugh and smile. He knew how to make your day; just by adding to the conversation. I have so many clips thanks to that man.

I can’t begin to describe the pain, sadness, and the shock that many communities within the Creative side of Twitch is going through. Many of us didn’t just lose a viewer, subscriber or community member; we lost an amazing friend and family member. The pain of his passing will be felt for some time to come.
If you can, I would humbly ask you to light a candle or some fire (safely) because he adored it (Svava’s request). If you could send some local artist either in your community in real life, or on twitch; throw some bits, gift a subscription, even cause some happy chaos in memory of him.

He might be gone from this world, but he will be in our hearts forever. And remember that fucker left us in the state we’re in and going “Now, see I am the center of attention, yes yes let me bath in it.” Please cherish the time you have with your family and friends because you never know when they might slip away; and you might miss the opportunity to say what you really feel like me.

Thank you Siddic, I love you like some crazy little brother that at times I wish I could have just bonked on the head for being a dick.

Best Wishes,
Junie

Twitch Creative – Art over Hobby

Hello everyone, great to see you again.

I know I tweeted a lot today and yes first it was a knee jerk reaction but as I talk to more creators on Twitch. I have come to see it’s not just a knee jerk reaction. It’s a statement of who I am and who the Creative community is as streamers on Twitch. I’m rather sad to see that the Twitch think tank seems to show that they aren’t clearly understanding the rift that they are starting. How has this come to be?

Well, today Twitch brought up what they are going to do to creative come in Mid-September. They are bringing new ‘categories’ into play. This will break up creative and end the creative collective whole. It is their definition of two such tags are causing a rather large stir. To put the “categories” as they call it as such:

“Art – For the artists creating paintings, illustrations, animations, comics, photography, and more, whether you’re using digital or traditional methods or techniques.”

“Hobbies & Crafts – Use this category when you’re crafting real world objects or working on DIY projects. Includes making costumes, sewing, sculpture, LEGO, woodwork, metalwork and more.”

This is a great disservice to many in creative that are professionals in their field to be brought down to a craft or hobby level. This means those that are professionals and have made their skill and art; are being labeled as nothing more than a weekend crafter that does it for fun.

People make money doing this and live off that money. I can name at least a dozen people that make their art a passion to fund their living and to put them in a craft category because Twitch doesn’t understand is wrong.

Let me show you a few things that would have been labeled ‘hobbies & crafts’ and you tell me if this isn’t art.

Michelangelo’s David – Marble Sculpture (https://bit.ly/2Mfu3Ur)

Chicago’s Picasso – Metalwork Sculpture (https://bit.ly/2Mfu3Ur)

Susan Spencer Crowe – Fabric Metalwork Sculptures (https://bit.ly/2nqgXGb)

With these examples alone, each having one or more keywords in Hobby & crafts; do you agree that this is art? I would love to have someone tell Michelangelo or Picasso that this was a hobby, or it was a craft. Things would quite different if those people were tagged in a different category.

To define Art by Webster’s is in one definition “the conscious use of skill and creative imagination especially in the production of aesthetic objects.”

To define Hobby by Webster’s “an activity done regularly in one's leisure time for pleasure”.

To define Craft by Webster’s “an activity involving skill in making things by hand”.

In defining these three words out, all artists are crafters but not all crafters are artists. To then state that crafters with hobbyists; you are forgetting those that do this for a living. They might do it for pleasure, but they are not using their leisure time for it. It is their job so then to define them artists you would then have to say who is the artist and who is the crafter.

Guess what? You can’t. Not all artists you have defined as ‘traditional art’ are living from their art, and are really hobbyists. However, you are then belittling the ‘crafter hobbyist’ who is the professional chain mailer, quilter, cross stitcher, knitter, crocheter, wood turner who lives from their job and has had many years and dollars sunk into their profession.

Another point as well, as an average the Creative community has about five to six thousand viewers in a day. If I’m wrong with this statistic, please let me know. I don’t understand the point of breaking up a rather small community in comparison to say League of Legends, World of Warcraft, and DOTA to name a few. We are 1/8th their size and mostly a self-contained non-toxic community.

We promote pretty much positivity, creative and inventiveness; help and promote each other and support one another. Why break that up? Creative has had its hashtags taken, our view spot removed from the front page, and many other things done to make us smaller and smaller. And yet we thrive, grow, and have helped other artists join the community.

If you’re really about the community, about the creators that stream on your platform, and about supporting us as we grow,  then please listen to us. We have fought for every nickel and dime for what we do. It might seem to be a craft or hobby to you; but its our lives. That’s not defined by Webster’s, and you want to know why?

To be an artist you must have passion, drive, skill and an immense love for your art; you’re going to spend hours on end, money you don’t have and all the skill in your body to produce perfection. That’s not a category you have on Twitch and it’s not a dollar sign you can slap on it to sell.

I design my own patterns, I work on them myself. I create things for other streamers and pass my love for my art on to others. To tell me I’m nothing more than a weekend crafter, you’re wrong.

I’m a single mother of an autistic child going to college and trying to make ends meet in a two-bed apartment in Chicago. You think I have money to throw into a craft or hobby not to make money? Not to help support myself and my child? Think again, Twitch.

I’ve been a cross stitcher and designer for 13 years, a paracord designer for 7, a digital and traditional drawer and painter for over 20 years. Don’t cop this crap on me that you’re going to make our small community even smaller because you don’t understand what we do.

Hint: Don’t kill the Creative category. Let the ‘tag’s you have be sub tags, like what #hashtags used to be.

We are a small passionate community that wants to keep together. Keep the support, love, positivity and family alive. Please rethink this, and if you need help, I know a few professional artists that would love to be a part of your think tank to help you through it.

Best Wishes,

Junie

When the Good gets Mad and turns things into Ugly state of Affairs.

Good Morning,

I’m sure many of you are wondering why did I take my notifications off last night, or why I turned off the notification ticker. Why was I thanking for free follows and there was a nervous jitter in the air. Well boys and girls, sit down while I tell you a tale of a griefer.

For those of you who don’t know who I am, my name is Junie. I am a broadcaster on Twitch and I am one of many women being targeted by a griefer. What’s a griefer? It’s a person that harasses, provokes others on line in a demeaning manor to spoil the enjoyment of others. Now why did I do the things I did last night.

Well Twitch in their ever benevolent wisdom changed their TOS as of March 9^th. With that, Twitch is holding the broadcaster accountable for a lot more in their channel. Sadly, this allows some complete and utter fuckwad to start griefing women broadcasters both on the gaming and creative platform. How you may ask? Well by using offensive names, or turning around and commenting in channel about our physical appearance or saying racist or defamatory comments about the broadcaster. This has been going on for over a MONTH! Yes, a MONTH!

Have we complained? You bet your pretty ass you’re sitting on right now we did. Have we reported him? You bet your sweet fingers you’re using to type on your keyboard we did. It has gotten to the point where broadcasters are calling the police due some of the names this complete dickless clown has used. Twitch’s response as of present is to block him and ban him from our channels. To ignore the threats and the actions of this individual. Now ask if me if this has this been effective?

NOT ONE FARKING BIT!

What Twitch fails to realize is that this complete and utter moron can make an account faster than they can let their cozy new name vetting process can work. Oh and about that cozy new name vetting process, it DOESN’T work! When you’ve been able to talk to Twitch staff about this, you get a healthy dose of Mansplaning,

“Oh, you can block them and ignore them.” “Don’t worry, he’s getting his jollys off and then he’ll leave you alone.” “Do you really think he can dox you and come to your home?” “It will pass soon, just keep on ignoring and banning him, I’m sure he’ll get the message.” “You signed up to be a Twitch broadcaster, you should have known what you were signing up for.” What the actual fuck is in the god damn kool-aid Twitch?!

These aren’t questions I SHOULD have to FARKING ANSWER! We’ve ignored, we’ve REPORTED TO TWITCH; several broadcasters have called the police to get them involved because Twitch won’t do a thing about it. Am I pissed? YES!

I SIGNED UP TO BE A BROADCASTER AND TO BRING ENJOYMENT INTO PEOPLE’S LIVES. I DID NOT SIGN UP TO BE TARGET PRACTICE FOR PREBUPESENT BOYS THAT THINK VERBALLY THREATING WOMEN IS THE PATH TO MANHOOD!

I shouldn’t have to worry about the safety of my child nor my friends while being a FUCKING streamer! Seriously, the fark Twitch. You are letting some farking little asshole threating the safety of broadcasters and their FAMILIES! We signed up to broadcast, have fun and bring some enjoyment into people’s lives. We did NOT sign up for getting trolled, griefed, threated and even put our safety both physical and mental at risk to broadcast.

Isn’t your brand new sparkling TOS supposed to protect me from this shit?! You’re more worried about my tits hanging out, doing a nipple slip, maybe seeing my vagina; than stopping some mother farking griefer hurting amazing and talented women out there. Is Twitch worried that banning a fucking griefer will hurt their wallet?!

I’m sorry, is the BRO-CODE more important to your wallets than the things I can do for Twitch? I’m sorry because I have tits and a vagina doesn’t mean that I’m not valuable. I am not a person and I am not someone that needs to be protected. That you would rather protect those masochistic, women hating, toxic, vile asshole of a popular MALE streamer than protect the women streamers out there that don’t bring in as much money as this asshole of a Male streamer does. (Stage whisper: Actually the women on Twitch collectively bring in a lot more money to Twitch than ONE vile male streamer does.)

Twitch, you don’t get to pick and choose who you can protect with your precious TOS, you need to protect us all. This griefer isn’t going to stop with just picking on the women of Twitch. Will you react when he starts to grief men? Oh if you do, how fucking WHITE KNIGHT of you!

Its sad, VERY SAD to see the platform that I love, the platform that I adore and highly praise turns a blind eye to the women of Twitch that get harassed, terrorized, threatened and tormented by a griefer they could have permabanned a MONTH ago. How many more will be griefed, hurt and turned sour because Twitch doesn’t care about their broadcasters as much as they care about the revenue that we can provide them.

Thanks Twitch, I bleed purple but what do you bleed? Green?

Best Wishes,

Junie von Esch