Ah, another platform facing the consequences of going SJW.
Level1 should get off patreon too.
7 Likes
Thank you for providing the links and making this thread.
This is really eye opening and … for lack of a better word, sad. The only question I have is, why? Why does Patreon exercise editorial control on their Platform, when the whole point is that people can choose whoom to support? They have no advantage from doing it, rather the opposite. It is more work for them to do so and they (rightly so) make a lot of people uncertain, angry and leave the platform.
(This not only applies to Patreon but also to many other companies and organisations.)
Why?
5 Likes
Quite possibly. Patreon is being threatened by outside sources to do so. And they seemingly are getting away with it.
2 Likes
Either they want to, or they feel they have to pander to the loud minority of extreme sjw types you get around these days (usually). You see it quite often where a small group of people backed by media make it look like you have to bend to their will or take some sort of punishment for it. So its easier to hire people to control your customers than it is to stand up to the media and these vocal people.
They can frame it as racism as they seem to have done with the new york times, and the NYT will publish it as its a narrative they like, regardless of the truth of it. If patreon didn’t someone else would go to the NYT and have them publish a story about how patreon is racist. Even if it was still based on a lie.
The advantage is being on the “right side” of left, aka left of the left. As you’re seen negatively otherwise by those who shout loudest.
That’s my take at least. You obviously haven’t had bias training yet? 
1 Like
This is a slippery slope if I ever saw one. Surely they have to know better than that.
You’ll have to help me out here. What are you refering to?
2 Likes
That’s really upsetting 
I think they (Patreon) made a minor hiccup a few months back, like charging $1 more per donation or something? I thought from the Post Mortem they were going to let good enough be left alone.
Hopefully Level1, Solus, and the handful of others I support on there find an alternative (if the road keeps going downhill). I’d like to think that erratic behavior like this (even just to prove a point) doesn’t last long.
I’ve donated on Twitch to L1T, but it doesn’t feel the same. I’d much prefer a standard contribution platform either via Patreon or PayPal.
4 Likes
A common trend these days especially for larger companies or “hip” companies, is to have HR implement “anti-bias” training to help you manage your inherent bias and racism towards non-white people or people with “differences”. Where its not gone company wide its more commonly implemented on the hiring side. Same “anti-bias” training is given, and usually they throw in extras like your not allowed to see their CV or pre screen anyone.
The result of the latter example is a waste of everyone’s time as HR keep sending you people they desire (e.g. they racially profile people so they can seem more diverse… but that’s not racist), and you end up with people with a degree in drama for a job that needs someone with a degree in laser physics.
Im not kidding.
5 Likes
Thanks for the explanation. Frankly, that sounds horrible, irrational and unnecessarily complicated.
I don’t understand humans. Even though I am one, this behaviour and the reasoning behind it are alien to me. I don’t really know what to say …
2 Likes
We are working on it. Twitch is a decent backup option?
13 Likes
Are you guys building your own? 
3 Likes
Go diverse I say.
Twitch 
Youtube subscription 
Youtube merch bar (displays merch from your 3rd party sites, dont know if it works with the store)
More affiliate options
Other “subscription” payment platforms integrated into the site (some above)
crypto 
You could potentially take away the need for having the patreon subscriber page on patreon by having it on the forum under a subscriber group with access to a subforum/category. That way it doesn’t matter where you subscribe from.
edit: other areas maybe not generating direct income but may be useful like being a discord partner, etc.
8 Likes
History repeats itself.
2 Likes
The problem is the benefits. So stuff like the podcast weekly (although that may be dead) and the concatenated news won’t be available on other platforms, or with diverse platforms, without severe duplication of effort.
I will make a Twitch account and using that instead until L1T (hopefully) comes up with some kind of alternative. Thankfully it looks like L1T is surviving the issue more than a lot of the more political creators.
The most concerning part of this is that it seems like MasterCard is the main force behind this. Crypto needs to get liquid, fast.
1 Like
Floatplane? I’ll just move my patreon dollars from that to FP as I am already on it.
4 Likes
Honestly this would kill two birds with one stone, providing alternatives to both Patreon and YouTube at the same time. Would help me further in the de-Googling process.
4 Likes
As I mention you take patreon out of the equation and do the benifits here on the forum and site.
Yes but I think Wendell has mentioned the problem is the integration. Patreon is hooked up to the site and everything is automated. Automating that for several services would be a decent amount of work. As would manually checking who is contributing money, and what their username is, etc.
2 Likes
Ya know, if they wrote their TOS where language is present that supports these decisions it wouldn’t be such a big issue. But the fact they don’t give a shit about their TOS is not good… the fact they will de-platform for something that has nothing to do with them… again not good. And the fact it can be done whenever and however they like, its really not good. CAN they do this… of course. I doubt anyone with a brain is arguing they CAN’T… SHOULD they though? I really don’t see, for Patreon, where the positives are. But I see a shit ton of negatives.
Only reason I’m sticking on Patreon is for GN and L1T, they shouldn’t have to lose money because the platform have become twat waffles.
2 Likes
I don’t think they should, simply because L1T should be skirting the [albeit ever-growing] swamp of what Patreon find offensive. Politics is banned here in part because people have realised nobody comes here for politics in the first place, we come to the channel for tech related things, and “tech related things” should not be anywhere remotely near whatever drama is happening this week. My personal beliefs are unimportant as to whether Patreon is in the right, the fact is that L1T is not one of these blog channels where free speech is their bread and butter, and so it shouldn’t matter one bit whether they police that aspect foolishly.
On top of already having an established base on a well-known platform which is easy to use, say L1T does break off from Patreon. The famous genius hive-mind of the internet is going to look up from its hentai and Vine compilations, rusty cogs are going to start turning, and out will come the printed response:
“OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, dese guis r leevin Patreonnn, so dey must be wif dat Sargon gui, an an all dose otha guis!1! Dey’re Naziiisssss!!!”
I will guarantee you that is a completely feasible leap of logic for the group warfare that is going on. we do not need to be in the same zip code as that mess, not when the channel is as technical and fluffless as it is.
1 Like
What about Librepay?