The banned word list

Midjourney AI is an art generator that was created by a research lab called Midjourney. It creates art from text-to-image prompts using a dataset of text-image pairs. Anyone with a Discord account can use Midjourney for free. 

All you need is a Discord account and a list of text-to-image prompts. Instead of preparing the text prompts one by one, you can use free Midjourney prompt generators.

Before using the Midjourney AI, you must know the code of conduct. Otherwise, your access to the Midjourney AI will be revoked.

In this article, you will learn about the rules and list of banned words in Midjourney AI and a few tips to escape from the Midjourney filters.

Unlike the competitors Dall.E and Craiyon, Midjourney strives to make its content to be PG-13. The statement of #rules channel is as follows,

Do not create images or use text prompts that are inherently disrespectful, aggressive, or otherwise abusive. Violence or harassment of any kind will not be tolerated.

No adult content or gore. Please avoid making visually shocking or disturbing content. We will block some text inputs automatically.

To prevent non-PG-13 images, Midjourney has implemented a filter that automatically filters and bans exact words or similar words listed in this article.

Midjourney Rules

By enrolling in the beta version of Midjourney AI, you are agreeing to the privacy policy and rules outlined by Midjourney Inc. This means that Midjourney Inc. has the right to suspend or ban your access at any time if you breach the code of conduct.

Remember to go through the #rules channel once you have joined Midjourney Discord Server.

In general, Midjourney will not allow prompts that include or are related to violence, drugs, harassment, adult content, gore, aggressiveness, and abusiveness.

Gore

A gore image is any image of deformed bodies, severed limbs, blood, violence, detached body parts of humans or animals, cannibalism, pestilence, etc.

• Blood
• Bloodbath
• Crucifixion
• Bloody
• Flesh
• Bruises
• Car crash
• Corpse
• Crucified
• Cutting
• Decapitate
• Infested
• Gruesome
• Kill (as in Kill la Kill)
• Infected
• Sadist
• Slaughter
• Teratoma
• Tryphophobia
• Wound
• Cronenberg
• Khorne
• Cannibal
• Cannibalism
• Visceral
• Guts
• Bloodshot 
• Gory
• Killing
• Surgery
• Vivisection
• Massacre
• Hemoglobin
• Suicide

Female Body Parts

Adultery Words

Clothing 

Taboo

• Fascist
• Nazi
• Prophet Mohammed
• Slave
• Coon
• Honkey

Drugs

• Cocaine
• Heroin
• Meth
• Crack

People

Other

The other category includes prompts that are inherently disrespectful, aggressive, or otherwise abusive.

• Torture
• Disturbing
• Farts, Fart
• Poop
• Warts
• Shit
• Brown pudding
• Bunghole
• Vomit
• Voluptuous
• Seductive
• Sperm
• Hot
• Sexy
• Sensored
• Censored
• Silenced
• Deepfake
• Inappropriate 
• Pus
• Waifu
• mp5
• Succubus
• 1488
• Surgery

Tips to Escape from the Midjourney Filter

Trying to escape the filter is subjected to the risk of banning. Hence, use it only when you really need it for good purposes.

If the word that you want is not allowed, try to replace it with other words.

For example, 

• vaccine -> vaccination 
• Succubus -> Succubi
• Veiny -> Veins

Conclusion

Since Midjourny is an open Discord community, it is essential to obey the code of conduct. Even, if you are using the service in ‘/private’ mode, you need to follow the code of conduct.

The code of conduct is not only being in the realm of PG-13 content but also being kind and respecting each other and staff.

To know the up-to-date list of banned words, you can check out this Google sheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13r7AB6WOPhrt3sZIbwi54NOIRoMVC0pTHKaSfE_oJA4/edit#gid=377237055. This Google sheet allows anyone to update the banned words.

If you find this article useful, you might like 75 Text-to-Image Prompts for AI Art Generator Midjourney: A Visual Treat Inside & Complete List of Banned Words in DALL.E 2 AI.

This might be frustrating but let me share the words you can’t say on Twitch in 2022.

You must avoid these words as you may get banned and also because it keeps the community and streams safe.

Now, this is important to know if you are an experienced or either a beginner streamer on Twitch.

In this article, I will share the exact banned words on twitch and categories as well.

List of twitch banned words that are considered as harmful slurs and you can’t say are

• VIRGIN
• SIMP
• INCEL

These are the list of words that are restricted both for streamers and viewers to use on Twitch as of December 16, 2020. 

According to Twitch, negative words like a virgin, simp, and incel are used to insult someone in the chat in terms of someone’s sexual practice.

You can also not use terms and commands of !blind during the gameplay.

Along with these words, related emotes will be also banned. If you are a streamer you must be also aware of banned games on Twitch to avoid a ban.

SIMP – This is one of the negative words becoming popular on Twitch. Simp is used in the chat for the people who are desperate for the female’s attention in the chat.

Using these words for anyone in the chat can really embarrass an individual.

INCEL – Incel is another word used in twitch chat mostly for men.

The word is used with an intention to describe a man who blames others for his failure.

For example, a man who never had sex but blames women for this.

VIRGIN – Now as these entire 3 twitch banned words are against twitch T&C and this can really hurt someone in reference to sexual practice.

Though Twitch decided to not use these words or any related emote.

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Related Articles – How to Watch Multiple Twitch Streams at Once

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What kind of words you can’t say on Twitch

Twitch has clearly mentioned avoiding all offensive and discrimination words falling in categories like

• Religious and Political beliefs
• Ethnicity or Race
• Bullying, Sexism, and Homophobia
• Gender and Gender orientation

You must be aware that any words coming under this category would be against Twitch T&C.

Twitch clearly says you must respect all religions, races, and gender.

So making any negative content or discussion under these categories is strictly prohibited.

There are still many racial slurs (nigger) used by the people against racism and I think there should be some strict action or rules to totally ban such discrimination words.

Religious & Political beliefs

On twitch stream, viewers can be from different religions and may have different political beliefs.

I have a question here?

We come on twitch to enjoy streams related to games and music, so why do we start these out of the topic discussions.

Let me tell you that there have been many cases where people even tried to suicide just because of harassment.

Love your religion and beliefs but also respect others.

Ethnicity or Race

This is another category where twitch asks you to keep ethnicity or race out of the discussion.

Avoid asking someone about religion and race both from streamer or any viewers.

This becomes really painful when someone is enjoying the stream and suddenly a discussion is diverted towards racism or any other kind of discrimination.

Any discussions under these categories are the words that you can’t say on twitch.

Sexism or Homophobia

Twitch is a platform that welcomes streamers from different religions, races, and sex.

Streamers work hard to grow on twitch by showing their skills.

Recently many streamers got some abusive messages and hate raids just because of their sex and orientation.

This is the reason twitch recently banned words like simp, incel, and virgin.

You are not allowed to have such a discussion with any streamer or viewers.

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Related Article – How to Link Twitch Account to Epic Games

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How to Ban these words on Twitch

Now being a streamer when you focus on your gameplay rather than on chat you are not aware of where your audience is from and the kind of mindset they have.

Just because of them you might get banned even if you are not responsible.

So it’s better to ban these words

Follow the below steps to ban these words on Twitch.

1. Open the Twitch website and log in with your account.
2. Click on the profile picture located at the very right-hand top and choose “Creator Dashboard” from the suggestions drop-down.
3. From the Creator dashboard, left-hand menu options click on Settings and then from the drop-down click on Moderation.
   
4. Now on the top, you will find “Blocked terms and Phrases” click on it.
5. Here in the box of “Search for a term to block” type the words that you want to block.

Additional tips on words to avoid on Twitch

• Also, add words that are similar and misspelled or any slanged words.
• Make a list of banned words to assure you have not left any.
• Always set rules for your twitch chat to want viewers creating those discussions.
• Use Auto Mod and other moderators to keep an eye on your chat.

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Related Article – Monkaw Twitch Emote Meaning & Use

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Frequently Asked Questions

What words should I ban on Twitch?

If you want to know or wish to add more words to the twitch banned list then you can add words like

• Heretic
• Dialect
• Pollyanna
• Bam

And many more related to the above categories and explained above. You better work on it and make a list of banned words and then add them to the twitch blacklist.

How do I see banned words on twitch?

Go to creator dashboard on Twitch and from the left-hand menu options click on Settings and then on Moderation.

Here you will find Blocked terms and phrases, click on them and check the words.

Final Words

So hopefully you know now about the words you cant say on Twitch in 2022 and why to avoid these words.

Viewers avoid these words as you may get banned and more important this can be really painful for others.

Streamers better create a list of these blacklisted words and add in the banned words of Twitch.

Let me know if you still have any doubts in the comment section.

This is a list of words that are a big no-no on GameFAQs. Note that this page was included for historical purposes and is not actively maintained. In most cases, however, all of these words are prohibited from use on GameFAQs in some way.

Banned

• shit
• tits
• twat
• pussy
• jism
• jizm
• nigger
• fag
• bitch
• asshole
• cunt
• clit
• arse-hole
• ass-hole
• dildo
• pussies
• ibtl (acronym of «in before the lock»)
• nigga
• lesbo
• arsehole
• ass hole
• arse hole
• ‹^› («ASCII art» middle finger)
• fuck
• shiz (commonly used bypass for shit)
• WWWWWWWWWW (lamers used this string to stretch topic lists)
• wigger (slur for a white person that tries to act black)
• wigga
• gook (slur for Vietnamese people)
• urbandictionary (users were flooding this site with bad definitions)
• jizz
• titties
• titty
• @@@@@@@@@@ (lamers used this string to stretch topic lists)
• outpimp (website that was spammed too much)
• format c: (part of a phrase which causes problems for anti-virus programs)
• lurkerfaqs (website that archives topics from CE and other boards, allowed potential board stalking)
• fcuk
• ngger (used on Next-Gen Gaming)
• nggr (used on Next-Gen Gaming)
• huntard
• retardin
• ritard
• wiitard
• narutard (naruto + retard)
• /b/tard (/b/ + retard)
• pihb («pee in her butt»)
• kike (slur for Jewish people)
• wootability.com
• TR4Q («tiers are for queers»)
• tw@ (TW@ is a location in GTA4)
• ……………………………………………………………………..
• lockerz (website that was spammed too much)
• cheathappens
• shat
• rapistberger (offensive nickname for Ben Roethlisberger)
• rapistburger (offensive nickname for Ben Roethlisberger)

Auto-flagged

All auto-flagged words are banned from topic titles and user profiles and are automatically flagged for review by a moderator when used in messages, but they are not added into the moderation queue until another user also marks the message.

• cock
• penis
• vagina
• masturbate
• masterbate
• jack off
• jackoff
• feck
• fock
• goatse (bad website)
• chink (slur for Chinese people)
• prick (another word for penis)
• masterbating
• masturbating
• wank (British slang for masturbate)
• retard
• fook
• fuk
• dyke
• FOAD (fuck off and die)
• tubgirl (bad website)
• masturbation
• masterbation
• masterbat
• ghey
• ?referer= (often used in referral links)
• ?refer=
• ?ref=
• ?referrer=
• fap (fap fap fap)
• r-tard
• rtard
• ?ref_id=
• nagger (variation of «nigger» used on South Park)
• retart
• lmgtfy (stupid website)
• tinypic

Topic titles

These words are disallowed in topic titles, but are allowed in messages and user profiles.

• sux
• whore
• douche
• http:// (problems caused by URLs in topic titles)
• &shy (used to make blank topic titles — unknown status due to use of htmlspecialchars)
• https:// (problems caused by URLs in topic titles)

Whitelist

While these words contain banned or auto-flagged words, they are allowed in topic titles and messages and will not automatically be flagged for review by a moderator.

• ashita
• atwater
• babcock
• cockatrice
• cocked
• cocker
• cockney
• cockpit
• cockroach
• cocktail
• cocky
• Cofagrigus
• dirtwater
• fagen
• fastwater
• gamemarketwatch
• gobbledegook
• gobbledygook
• hancock
• hitchcock
• matsushita
• mcconaughey
• middlesborough
• octopussy
• peacock
• pricked
• pussycat
• riftwatcher
• ritardando
• rootwater
• sagashite
• saltwater
• scunthorpe
• shatigon
• shizo
• shizu
• swank
• vandyke
• wristwatch
• yoshitaka
• yoshitsu

Removed

These words were formerly on the banned/auto-flagged lists, but have since been removed by the GameFAQs administration and are now allowed on the message boards again. This list is not intended to be complete.

• offiz.bei.t-online.d (link to an annoying scrolling page; enter «e» at the end to complete the URL)
• ravenblack.net (website that was spammed too much)
• dave allison (owner of CheatCC)
• david allison
• youdontknowwhoiam (website that is loaded with computer crashing HTML and spyware)
• sd6/ (outwar-type referral links)
• modfiles (users were begging for a bunch of moderator-only pages that were leaked)
• mod files
• modpics
• mod pics
• 68.13.103 (IP address for an FTP server which was used to steal cookies from its visitors)
• gfnostalgia (part of a URL that redirects to darksidelegion)
• lue2.tk (LUE’s former porn site)
• suprnova (popular piracy website that is now shut down)
• cjs mom (banned to prevent GTA:SA spoilers)
• cj’s mom
• cjs mother
• eurogamer (conflict between users on that site and GameFAQs)
• luecide (alternate spelling for LUEicide)
• lueicide (account suicide fad started on LUE)
• gmail (an obsession that must be suppressed)
• god damn
• god dammit
• tricksteronline.com (website that was spammed during a «spread the word» contest)
• ?r= (often used in referral links)
• ………………..
• gay
• homo
• hitler
• nazi
• suck
• dick
• gameforcesite
• emmessenn
• cheatcc (website owner received death threats on the boards for copying guides without permission)
• cheat code central (same as cheatcc)
• 12712 Julian Ct
• pornstarguru (bad website)
• hiphop-pirate.com (website with illegal content)
• freeipods.com
• freeipod.com
• freedvds.com
• freecds.com
• freevideogames.com
• freegiftplanet.com
• freecondoms.com
• freeflatscreens.com
• gamefaqsascii (website owner mass-spammed the site)
• gfascii.com (new location of the GameFAQsASCII site)
• agasonex. (blocks multiple links to the GameFAQsASCII site)
• vgameforce (website that was spammed too much)
• ogrish (bad website)
• megamassmedia
• freepsps.com
• igeworld.com
• soap-23-83-2czp-71
• 23-83-2czp-71-9f
• play-asia.com/soap (used in referral links)
• ra sho wei na po (chain message that was spammed too much)
• ra-sho-wei-na-po
• ra-sho-weina-po
• legion of legato (website that was spammed too much)
• legion_of_legato
• ippomails.com
• blue-maniacs.com
• dollarsmaker.net
• woo-mails.com
• gamefaqs2.com (spinoff site)
• lotrogold
• board213 (spinoff site)
• maplestorymob.com (website that was spammed too much)
• rick-gardiner.com (fake Brawl updates)
• myex.ath.cx
• ihateyoujulia.com
• x213.net (spinoff site)
• sturly.com (link redirector website)
• queer
• worksucks (bad website)
• truth.org (website with offensive content)
• tinyurl (link redirector website)
• snipurl (link redirector website)
• makeashorterlink (link redirector website)
• hd loader (HDLoader is a device that can be used for PS2 emulation)
• hdloader
• N560NCIsaS8 (id of one of the YouTube rickroll videos)
• 7sK3AqFYAWQ (id of one of the YouTube rickroll videos)
• cool story bro
• cool story, bro
• umad
• i’m 12
• i am 12
• oHg5SJYRHA0 (id of one of the YouTube rickroll videos)
• f2b1D5w82yU (id of one of the YouTube rickroll videos)
• STFU (shut the fuck up)
• GTFO (get the fuck out)
• encyclopediadramatic (bad website; enter «a.com» at the end to complete the URL)
• ebaum (conflict between users on eBaum’s World and GameFAQs)
• luelinks.net (spinoff with inappropriate links)
• ass****
• ***hole
• kevan.org (website that was spammed too much)
• sash.rar
• bukkake (Japanese word for a semen shower)
• outwar.com (website that was spammed too much)
• kingsofchaos (website that was spammed too much)
• echo j (part of a phrase which causes problems for anti-virus programs)
• lue2.com (website that was spammed too much)
• mp3players4free.com
• ds4free.com
• (void*)shellcode (part of a phrase which causes problems for anti-virus programs)
• netbux
• treasuretrooper (website that was spammed too much)
• rewardhits
• gaminglagoon.com (website that was spammed too much)
• n_gger
• donkeymails.com
• no-minimum.com
• internetisseriousbus (rickroll website; enter «iness.com» at the end to complete the URL)
• rialliance.net/test.
• 2g1c (acronym of 2girls1cup)
• 2g1f (acronym of 2girls1finger)
• 2girls1finger (bad website)
• 2girls1cup (bad website)
• swap.avi (bad video)
• myminicity (website that was spammed too much)
• 2girls 1cup
• 2 girls 1 cup
• raygoldmodels.com
• potd.com
• mybrute.com (website that was spammed too much)

These words were formerly banned from usernames, but the automatic censor has been removed.

• 666
• 69 (a popular sexual position)
• CJay
• CJC
• CNet
• GameFAQs
• God
• JayC
• Jesus
• Laden
• Ladin
• Osama
• Pimp
• Powerman (Powerman was a banned user)
• Rape
• Sex
• Shadota (Shadotak is CJayC’s wife)
• Shadowta
• Trc (TRC was a former KoS user)
• T rc (common bypass for accounts made by TRC)
• Tr c (common bypass for accounts made by TRC)
• T r c (common bypass for accounts made by TRC)
• Txrxc (common bypass for accounts made by TRC)
• Usama
• Webmaster

These words were formerly banned from passwords, but the automatic censor has been removed.

• 123456
• Dragon
• GameFAQs
• Nintendo
• Password
• Pikachu
• Pokemon
• Qwerty (first six letters on most keyboards)
• Any part of your username that is up to 6 characters long

2023 Banished Words List Press Release

We Kid You Not: GOAT Tops Inflection Point, Quiet Quitting, and Gaslighting
As Greatest of All Time Words and Terms That Lake Superior State University Banishes for 2023

The History of Word Banishment

Back in 2012, in a possibly unasked-for departure from his usual writing on food (classic Kenji!), Kenji published an article called «Our Secret List of Banned Words,» in which he shared the words and phrases that the Serious Eats staff agreed were so trite, ridiculous, or unpleasant to the ears that they should never, or practically never, appear in these pages.

Despite having nothing to do with food per se, the article generated an astonishing number of comments—214 at last count, more than Stella’s article on toasted sugar or Kenji’s very first AHT post, a chronology of reconstructing the Blumenburger—with most writers chiming in with the words they personally loathed. Apparently an audience of exacting cooks and eaters includes many who are particular about language as well, and I can’t say I’m surprised.

When I started freelance-editing for SE, in 2015, I received a link to this post, along with our style-guide documents, to put me on the lookout for the offending terms. On one hand, I was relieved: If we could spark heated discussion with a piece so clearly about words, not food, maybe I—accomplished in wrangling the former, not so much the latter—had a place here after all.

On the other hand, some of the words that had been locked away in this virtual Giftschrank, and the explanations offered for their banishment, raised my eyebrows. The idea that till can mean only a cash register, for instance. Or that the word addicting is verboten, but only because it’s used interchangeably with addictive and shouldn’t be, although Merriam-Webster thinks otherwise. Or that luscious is…bad…for some reason?

If there’s one thing the original article confirmed, it’s that people with opinions about language tend to hold very strong opinions about language, and (okay, two things) that those opinions are often just…opinions. Sometimes well argued, sometimes not. I’m not saying this to scold Kenji, or anyone who commented on his piece—strong feelings about words are my jam!—but when your only reason for proscribing a phrase is «UGHHHH,» you’re not presenting an airtight case.

With all that in our minds, joined by the fact that usage, over-usage, connotations, and priorities around language naturally change over time, we decided to attempt a revision. The list below isn’t comprehensive, but it should give you a more accurate view of our current attitudes than the 2012 post does. In a few years’ time, I fully expect that someone else on staff will stumble upon this article and start composing their own takedown. If one of our readers hasn’t already beaten them to the punch, that is.

The Newly Banned

«Banning» Words

Kenji already touched on this in the small print in his article, but I’m going to go further: Completely cutting words or phrases out of a publication’s vocabulary without good reason is unhelpful, and I say that as someone who has edited out phrases like «step up your game» and «the next level» possibly more than anyone else who works here. Overuse to the point of meaninglessness? That’s a pretty good reason. Being personally grossed out by the word moist (perhaps the most tired word opinion in the English-speaking world)? Get over it, people.

You’d be surprised at how hard it can be to find an appropriate (i.e., not archaic or unintelligible to the majority of readers) synonym in food writing when you need one. If I’m describing the texture of a cake that’s adequately hydrated, may I just as well call it humid or dewy or damp or dank or clammy or muggy? Is there any word for the job other than moist?

None of my colleagues have suggested, or would suggest, shunning that particular word, but our original list certainly took a lot of words off the table for no other stated reason than that they were «icky» or «ma[de] our stomachs churn.» Which is just another illustration of the point that the sound and feel of language are highly subjective.

That said, and it’s a big «that said,» the proliferation of words spilled about food these days, including full articles by formal publications online and off-, social-media posts, discussions on subreddits and similar forums, and even video captions and metadata, means that overuse is a very real problem for those of us interested in or tasked with maintaining standards for food writing. A good writer should be aware of the likely culprits, and steer clear of them as much as possible, but sometimes a reminder is warranted.

When we have decided to ban strongly discourage a word or phrase, the most common reason is overuse. But hey, if we all mutually agree to avoid a word like nomtastic, eventually we’ll be using it a lot less, and one of these days it might feel fresh and new again. Language is unpredictable like that.

Offensive and/or Outdated Terminology

It’s not that Serious Eats embraced insulting, ignorant, or casually (or blatantly!) racist language at any point in the past. But, as I probably don’t need to tell you, what’s considered offensive changes drastically over time, even, perhaps especially, in the past seven years.

Again, this is highly subjective territory, and I encourage all SE writers and editors—really, all writers and editors, full stop—to get a second opinion from a colleague if they’re unsure about whether something they’ve written draws from outdated stereotypes or uninformed, perhaps harmful generalizations. It’s not possible to avoid offense 100% of the time, but here are a few unfortunate usages we’re going to be extra vigilant against from now on.

• Addictive, addicting, and other terms that make light of addiction. While the previous article argued that these words shouldn’t be used interchangeably (a dubious claim), we’re focusing here on the careless and common habit of comparing a tasty snack to a destructive disease. Yes, you’ll find a thousand instances of these usages on Serious Eats, but we’re doing our best to avoid them going forward. Even worse, though we’re far from the first to point it out: saying a food is «like crack.»
• Casual uses of OCD or other mental illness–related terms. It’s one thing to call Daniel’s attention to vegetable-arranging detail delectable; we even have a whole series of interviews with people drooling over food things. But fascination in the colloquial sense is not OCD, just like a restaurant that combines disparate cuisines and doesn’t quite seem to know its identity is not «schizophrenic» and does not suffer from «multiple-personality disorder.»
• Ethnic as a lazy catchall for non-Western food. Referring to «ethnic food,» as if all the cuisines outside your home country can be lumped into a single category, or as if «ethnic» is a term that applies only to people who don’t look like you, is childishly reductive and frankly rude. Speaking of «Asian flavors» or «African cuisine» falls into a similar boat of generalizing about huge and diverse regions of the world; it’s not only offensive but simply incorrect.
• Kaffir lime. For a long time, this was the default term among cooks for Citrus hystrix, whose fragrant leaves, zest, and fruit are used in culinary and other applications in its native Southeast Asia. In recent years, however, some folks have rightly called attention to the fact that kaffir is used as a slur against black people in South Africa and elsewhere, the equivalent of the N-word here. Though the etymology of the word is unclear, and though you’ll still find it on packaging and signs in grocery stores, there’s simply no reason to use a pejorative when makrut lime—the name used in Thailand—will do just as well. NB: We have lots of older content on our site that still uses the term kaffir lime, and we’re aware that we have some retroactive cleaning to do.
• Waitress and other words with unnecessarily gendered endings. This isn’t strictly food-related, but waitress is a good example. While plenty of servers may not mind being called «waitresses,» the practice of adding a feminine ending to a profession is old-fashioned and unnecessary. Consider comedienne, actress, and editrix (this felt new and cute circa 2008; no longer). Why highlight gender when the role performed is what’s important?

The Really, Truly Overused Ones

• When it comes to ___. E.g., «When it comes to steak-cooking methods, butter-basting is absolutely my favorite.» «When it comes to ___» is a roundabout way of bringing something up, and it continues to be used to death. I admit it adds a certain pleasant rhythm to a sentence in limited cases, but usually there’s a more straightforward way to introduce a topic.
• In a similar vein, as far as ___ goes. E.g., «As far as sweetness goes, this cornbread is on the savory side.» Or…how about «This cornbread is more savory than sweet»? Or even just «This cornbread is on the savory side»? Does «as far as sweetness goes» add anything at all here? It’s unnecessary and overused. The same goes for in terms of ___.
• Step up your game, step up your ___ game, up your ___ game, game-changer. In marketing, advertising, and editorial copy, everything is a game, and all of us merely players, screaming in desperation for the game-speak to stop. My vendetta against «up your game,» in particular, is well known in the SE office. Personal-opinion alert: «Up your game» sounds like an insult on Welcome Back, Kotter.
• Amp up, meaning «strengthen,» «energize,» «improve»…or lots of other things, apparently, because it’s all over the place.
• Make(s) for ___. I swear that when I first started at SE, no one used phrasing like «This tart with eggplant and goat cheese makes for a great cocktail-party snack.» Then, suddenly, about a year or so ago, it was everywhere. There’s nothing wrong with it per se, but (as in the above example) you can often remove «for,» and the sentence will do just fine.
• Hello, ___! As in «You can save any remaining lime juice for another purpose (hello, margaritas!).» It’s been done before, many, many times.
• The same goes for ___, anyone? As in «You can save any remaining lime juice for another purpose (margaritas, anyone?).»
• Go-to, meaning «preferred» or «preferred one.» Nothing intrinsically wrong with it, but considering all the synonyms out there—favorite, old standby, tried-and-true, reliable, dependable, the aforementioned preferred, et cetera—this term should not be as overused as it is.
• Unctuous. This was added to the old list with a note reading «use sparingly.» My official position on unctuous is neutral, and I really don’t want to get into «ugh» territory, but I have to concur that unctuous is pretty gross-sounding.

You may still see any of the above pop up from time to time, but my hope is they’ll be rare.

The Un-Banned

The next two sections don’t address every single item from Kenji’s original post, but I’ve done my best below to explain why some of the original outcasts aren’t as bad as all that (and, in the section that follows, to explain why some others actually are).

• Cook till. This is a tricksy one: It’s true that you won’t ever see the phrase cook till in one of our recipes, but that’s not because till isn’t a real word meaning «until.» That use of the word is firmly ensconced in the dictionary; in fact, as M-W points out on that same page, till was used to mean «to» or «until» at least a hundred years before the word until existed! Nowadays, until sounds by far the more buttoned-up option, while till in this sense has a folksy feel and connotation («till the cows come home»). Because recipes are intentionally written in a rather bland and characterless style, phrases like «cook until golden» are much more standard in recipes than «cook till golden.» None of this has anything to do with putting a cash register in the oven.
• Verbing words. Verbing is, A, lots of fun and B, a time-honored tradition among the linguistically creative. Dig into the etymology of many words that we now use as both nouns and verbs without thinking twice—influence, trade, effect—and you’ll find that the noun version came first. (Though it can also work in the opposite direction.) I think some people get hung up, understandably, on the whiff of smarm in corporate-sounding examples like impacting or dialoguing; others critique verbing as lazy, or redundant. In Kenji’s example of «truffled pasta,» the problem I see is more a lack of clarity: Is the pasta infused with truffles? Served with a truffle sauce on the side, or with shaved truffles on top? In this case, the verbing attempts to supplant a more complete description of the dish, which falls short of our desire for specificity (see below).
• Taste in place of flavor. If one of us really did write «These mussels have good taste,» I’d change it to read «good flavor» (actually, I’d probably say, «Got anything more interesting to say about them?»). But I don’t recall ever seeing any Serious Eats contributor make that mistake. «Flavor» is an acceptable meaning of the word taste in casual writing, although there are more specific definitions of both words that can set them apart. There’s nothing wrong with saying «The taste is similar to Life cereal,» for instance.
• Zing, zip, and oomph. I often edit out these vague flavor-related expressions, but don’t mind their very occasional use in a story otherwise well supplied with specific imagery and explanations.
• On offer. I’m a little torn about this one. It seems that on offer, even if it was once chiefly British, is now used in the US to mean «available,» and I don’t mind the sound or look of it used as such. But if Brits use it primarily to mean «on sale,» I can see how that would be confusing. (If you’re a Brit or have insight into how Brits use this phrase, feel free to email me.)
• Spheres and orbs. Certainly orb is too flowery for frequent use, but if you want to get poetic for a minute over your arancini, who am I to stop you? I have even less of an issue with sphere, which, after all, is an exact synonym of ball. In fact, Daniel’s arancini recipe, published in 2014, instructs readers to «[p]lace a few small pieces of mozzarella in center of disk and fold rice filling around it to form a sphere with the cheese in the center.» Why not?
• Über-. This one also floats in my personal purgatory; I would probably discourage it for reasons of overuse and that annoying umlaut, but I’m waiting to hear why this prefix should be banned while super-, extra-, and ultra- roam free. While there is a bit of an excessive-celebration element to all of these, it feels cruel to prohibit something so common in speech and, therefore, in casual, bloggy writing.
• Decadent. Though we still don’t believe food should be described in the language of sin and guilt (see below), the use of decadent to mean «over-the-top rich» has become so common that its original associations with moral decay and lack of self-control seem distant. We use it sparingly.
• Luscious, toothsome, and mouthfeel. I actually like the words luscious and toothsome, although the latter sounds a bit old-timey for use online. It’s really incredible how few words there are in English for «good-tasting,» and you can use delicious only so many times. Why handcuff yourself? Mouthfeel is a well-established term with a specific meaning that’s highly relevant to our work, so, while it’s still rare on Serious Eats, I’m loath to blacklist it altogether.

The Still-Banned

The item on Kenji’s list that continues to resonate most clearly with Serious Eats today is nonspecific adjectives. Specificity should always be a primary goal of food writing, not just in recipes, where inadequate description of the correct process or desired results can mean out-and-out failure, but in all food-related content. It mitigates problems of careless generalization (as described in the bullet point on «ethnic» above) and conjures more vivid images of the foods, producers, and environments whose stories we’re trying to tell.

Specific writing is just better writing that’s more fun to read, and even though there’s still a place for phrases like «great on pasta!» or «perfect for cookouts» (and even though we do indeed use those phrases all the time), it’s a better practice to seek to describe something in clear terms of what it does: how it tastes, how it smells, how it feels.

The Still-Overused Ones

A number of the originally banned words and phrases remain on the list primarily for reasons of overuse, including:

• ___ to perfection.
• ___ of deliciousness and ___ of goodness.
• ___ the next level (or next-level ___). It’s not that chicken salad can’t have levels; it’s only that overuse can, too, and these constructions have reached…the upper echelons.

The Guilt-Ridden Ones

As in 2012, so today: Terms like sinful, guilt-free, and guilty pleasure equate food choices with morality in a dangerous way. Food should be enjoyed, not used as a tool of self-hatred, and we want to avoid facilitating the latter as much as possible. (I’m less concerned about heavenly, which in food writing is typically used to emphasize how tasty something is and not as a measure of its moral value.)

The Fairly Meaningless Ones

Farm-fresh, artisanal, and mixologist remain strongly discouraged due to lack of meaning. The first two are especially common offenders in the advertising and marketing worlds, where they’re used mainly to overcharge consumers for essentially no real value.

The Ones That Just Aren’t «Us»

The «ugh» habit is a tough one to kick, and a couple of terms do linger on the list just because no one seems to like their sound or connotation. Put more diplomatically, foodie and yummy (plus its newly blacklisted child, yummo) are not on brand for us.

If you’ve read this all the way through, you’re even more of a word nerd than I am, and you probably think we’re gravely wrong about something. Yell at us in the comments below, or, to increase your chances of a response, email us! Make a good argument for why a word or phrase should or shouldn’t be on our list, and we’ll take it into consideration. Hopefully this article proves that we’re willing to adapt our vocabulary to the times, as English itself constantly does, so there’s no reason to think our minds can’t be changed.

Image via Twitch

Twitch is usually not very specific about their prohibited words. Twitch prohibits users from using racial, homophobic, or sexist slurs. Despite that broad wording, Twitch has explicitly forbidden the use of three words, and any streamer or user who uses those words will be automatically banned.

Below are a few examples of behaviors that can lead to a ban. An easy way to remember this is always to be nice to everyone. There are three words that Twitch will ban anyone after using:

• Incel (involuntary celibate) — A person who considers themselves unable to attract other people sexually, typically hostile to those who engage in sexual activity.
• Virgin — A person who has never engaged in sexual activity.
• Simp — Someone who does too much for someone they like who does not reciprocate their feelings.

Twitch specifically named those three terms, which is rare, but they have been banned in the past. In addition, Twitch does not permit slurs of any kind in general.

Related: Best USB microphones for streaming on Twitch & YouTube

What is considered harassment on Twitch?

Streamers and chat viewers cannot marginalize anyone based on their religious or political views, ethnicity or race, gender or gender identity, or sexual preference. While a heated argument may not be fun, it’s usually harassment if someone singles out something about you with bigotry, sexism, homophobia, or racism.

Additionally, users are prohibited from inciting violence against each other. You can’t try to get the chat or streamer to be hostile towards anyone else.

For more on Twitch, check out Popular VRChat worlds for Twitch streamers or How to link your Twitch and Battle.net accounts here on Pro Game Guides!

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Uttering words or phrases that directly conflict with Twitch’s Terms of Service is among the leading causes of bans or suspensions from the platform. As the platform has evolved, Twitch has continually updated its list of banned words, phrases, or sentiments.

Words that are considered harassment, threats, or disparagements can often result in hefty bans. While typically first and second-time offenders are given one-day or week-long bans, Twitch has dealt out more severe consequences for channels spouting hate speech, incitements to violence, or related topics. Twitch’s most-viewed streamers have even caught significant bans for speech, resulting in permanent or indefinite suspensions.

While Twitch’s definitions of prohibited speech may continue to change, these are the specific words and general rhetoric not allowed on the platform and susceptible to bans.

The kinds of speech not allowed on Twitch

Twitch has definite rules against hate speech on the platform and details exactly what constitutes as “hateful conduct” on its official page, extending past speech and imagery. Below are the general categories of speech that fall under the prohibited section.

• Incitements, threats, or advocations of physical harm or death against individuals or groups on the basis of protected characteristics.
• Use of hateful slurs toward individuals on the basis of race, ethnicity, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, or age.
• Expressions of contempt or hatred toward groups of people.
• Expressions of sexual harassment toward individuals.
• Targeted attempts to dox or otherwise surrender personal, undisclosed information about specific users.

Specific words not allowed on Twitch

Twitch has multiple categories of speech that are not allowed. Even outside of racial, homophobic, or sexist slurs, there are several other words that notably are not allowed to be said on stream when used as insults. Added into Twitch’s index of prohibited speech later than many other classified forms of prohibited speech, uttering these words will similarly result in a ban though potentially to a lesser degree.

• Incel
• Virgin
• Simp

Speech is not the only way users can be banned for hateful conduct on Twitch. Specific actions, practices, or use of imagery can result in similar, equally harsh punishments.