Building a More Safe, Adult-Only Space: Why We’ve Paywalled All Patreon Content

Due to our concern regarding the rampant insurgence of minors attempting to sneak into our community and spaces, we reached out to Patreon for guidance. In our direct correspondence with Patreon support staff, we were explicitly informed that as creators of 18+/NSFW content, all posts—regardless of whether they contain SFW content—had to be and should have always been behind a paywall. We were previously unaware of this requirement, as it is not clearly stated in their policies and guidelines on their website. In response, we placed all Patreon posts behind at least the $1 USD A Nibble tier. Regarding the comparison of our situation to other NSFW/18+ content creators, it brings to mind the age-old question: "If your friends jump off a cliff, are you going to jump off a cliff too?" What other content creators are willing to do or the risks they take with the possibility of having their pages removed is their concern. Our primary concern is ensuring that we properly adhere to Patreon guidelines and protect the adults within our community and provide a space free from as many minors as possible, a paywall is one of the few barriers we have to bar entry, until Patreon incorporates more robust features to verify the ages of its members.

As for the lack of communication, the studio head had been ill with the flu for a few weeks leading up to this day, and the IP creator was also grappling with their own mental health struggles, compounded by their computers and drives crashing, which did not help their mental health in the slightest. Very few people have access to or the authority to speak in their stead, so it was decided that it was best to allow both of them to recover enough to ensure a proper announcement could be made.

The primary understanding we wanted to get across to everyone is that we are changing how we operate from now on so that we can be able to better pace and accommodate ourselves and as a result communicate with you all more transparently and frequently.