Popular streamer Imane 'Pokimane' Anys sent shockwaves through the Twitch community earlier this week when she announced that she would be introducing a donation cap of $5 on her stream. Her reasoning? That with thousands of subscribers all making regular monthly donations, she'd rather see her fans' money go towards supporting and growing other channels.
"I worked with [livestreaming software company] StreamLabs in order to create a custom donation cap of $5 on my channel," she explained during a recent stream. "I think this might be the first time they've ever done that. I'm not sure. I just really want to thank you guys for supporting me when I was in high school, when I was $20,000 in debt in university, to the very, very lucky place where I am today and where I consider anything more than [$5] just unnecessary."
It's also worth noting that unlike many Twitch streamers, Anys is big enough that donations are far from her sole source of income. She also has her own merch, brand partnerships, and an exclusive deal with Twitch itself said to be in the millions. Considering all that, this donation cap surely can't be seen as anything other than a wonderful gesture worthy of our respect... right?
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The good news is that's what most people seem to think. The overwhelming majority of fans and supporters have praised Anys for her decision on Twitter, with a few major streamers confirming they'll now consider following her example.
"I love this! Would be great to have this option for anyone who wants to enable it," Twitch streamer and YouTuber Tucker "Jericho" Boner wrote in response.
Of course in this day and age no good deed goes uncriticised on the internet, and it wasn't long before a raft of naysayers arrived to try and poke holes in Anys' new strategy.
Overwatch pro and Twitch streamer Félix "xQc" Lengyel warned that while what Anys is doing is clearly good, it will likely lead to other streamers getting attacked for not doing the same as her.
"Every time that one creator does something that's good, for some reason-I don't know why-everybody, instead of going 'Oh that's good,' you know what they do? They don't do that," he explained during a stream. "They say 'Holy shit, all the other ones not doing it, they're bad,' and that's a really odd way of thinking and doing things...We never, ever celebrate anyone doing something good. We always shame others for not doing it."
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There were also one or two (or three) other users - more than likely trolls - who hit out at the news with sarcasm, disdain, and images of Pepe The Frog - a surefire sign that you're a complete and total ass. Seriously, why on Earth would anyone have a problem with this? I can't wrap my head around it, though I suspect the issue at play rhymes with 'flexism'.
Fortunately, for the most part, Anys' replies were filled with respect, praise, support, and plenty of love - as it should be. Will other streamer's follow suit? That's of course up to them, and we should all respect the decisions of each individual streamer... but there's no denying Anys has set one heck of an example.
Featured Image Credit: Twitch/PokimaneTopics: Twitch
