On Patreon's Adult Content Creator Policies
Added 2021-10-13 21:55:25 +0000 UTCHey everyone,
As many of you may or may not be aware, Patreon has decided to go through with closing the fist around adult content creators on their site, stating that they're just trying to stay current with Mastercard's policies. Here is a link to the announcement they made on their blog:
Adult content creators will have to start uploading their government-issued ID's to "a secure third party company" who will somehow keep that information safe. We're not enthused by this idea, especially since they refuse to say which company it is in any of the documentation. So, there's no way for us to know if we can hold that company liable for any information leaks. We're guessing the answer to that question is a big fat "NO."
So! What does that mean for OwliGator Studios?
Well, it basically means that we'll be closing up shop here on Patreon in the coming weeks. Since we are already adult content creators, Patreon isn't going to demand that we submit our information exactly on Friday (though they might, we really have no idea), so we'll keep the Patreon page open for as long as we can. When they do ask us for our ID, we'll close the page down so that it doesn't keep collecting money from our patrons for no reason.
In the meantime, we're looking into alternative options, wherever those might safely be found. Currently, you can find content for OwliGator Studios at the following sites:
FurAffinity: https://www.furaffinity.net/user/owligatorstudios/
Weasyl: https://www.weasyl.com/~owligatorstudios
Twitter: https://twitter.com/OwligatorStudio
Telegram Channel: https://t.me/AgroAlbaNews
Discord Server: https://discord.gg/bheXdnEY
When we have information on an alternative to Patreon, we'll definitely let you all know as soon as we possibly can. Don't worry, we'll keep you in the loop.
In the meantime, we hope you all have a pleasant rest of your week. <3
Comments
Yeah, we've been eyeballing this site, too. We'll definitely explore it as an option before making any decisions.
Agro Alba & Segremores Moon
2021-10-14 14:46:29 +0000 UTCDunno if its been said already or not but SubscribeStar might be an option? I don't really know anything about it, its just a site I've heard used
ChompaRo
2021-10-14 05:13:27 +0000 UTCPatreon is technically not an adult content-based company, so they get around PayPal's no adult policies by doing all of the money collection themselves. Then, they payout the money to the PayPal creator's accounts. So, technically, the money is coming from Patreon and not directly from patrons paying for adult content. Plus, PayPal says they have a strict no adult content policy, but they turn a blind eye because they know that PayPal is basically used mostly for adult content-related payments.
Agro Alba & Segremores Moon
2021-10-14 04:41:25 +0000 UTCYeah, like we said, we'll definitely let everyone know what's going on well in advance of anything happening (at least, we hope we have the ability to let everyone know ahead of time)!
Agro Alba & Segremores Moon
2021-10-14 04:38:26 +0000 UTCThat's even scarier than we anticipated, and also basically gives some fuel to our original fears on the matter. It's a scary time to be an adult content creator these days, that's for sure. We're still gonna do it, though, of course. 0:)
Agro Alba & Segremores Moon
2021-10-14 04:37:33 +0000 UTCSomething I find concerning about this unnamed company that will be collecting private information: Patreon identifies them as certified to PCI Service Provider Level 1, but PCI-DSS certification is limited to assessing the adequate protection of payment card information; it isn't comprehensive enough by itself to ensure the effectiveness of an overall security program for non-payment card information, which is what artists are being asked to disclose. This was found to be a fault in the PCI certification of Equifax following their data breach in 2017. A lot of their security deficiencies came to light following the leak. If this database being collected of adult artists leaked, who would be accountable? And how would artists even know their private information had been leaked if they don't even know the organization collecting their information? The entire thing just seems sketchy.
Peameal
2021-10-14 02:34:59 +0000 UTCDamn and I just joined too. Oh well, glad you guys are doing the right thing and respectful of us. Hopefully when you do I'll be happy to tag along.
Alex Gelantra
2021-10-14 00:22:10 +0000 UTCHuh, I thought PayPal was a big No on adult content
Jaggerfrost
2021-10-13 23:30:09 +0000 UTCPatreon pays us through PayPal, they don't submit any tax information, nor do they have our tax ID information.
Agro Alba & Segremores Moon
2021-10-13 23:12:51 +0000 UTCNobody should ever give a copy of their ID card to anyone they don't trust to keep that information safe. Patreon is basically asking us to give them that information so that they can give that information to another company that we don't know, who may or may not be liable for keeping it safe and secure. The risk of identity theft is too great to be okay with handing over that information on a vague promise that it'll be safe.
Agro Alba & Segremores Moon
2021-10-13 23:10:23 +0000 UTCThanks, Peameal! We'll definitely keep everyone in the loop. :)
Agro Alba & Segremores Moon
2021-10-13 23:04:20 +0000 UTCI also have another point. You had to submit Tax info for income. So they already have sensitive info from you.
Jaggerfrost
2021-10-13 23:00:03 +0000 UTCI'm lost on the whole idea why you don't trust them for submitting an ID.
Jaggerfrost
2021-10-13 22:56:07 +0000 UTCYour reasoning makes sense. If you find an alternative to Patreon, I'd be happy to sign up. You do great work and I'd love to keep supporting it.
Peameal
2021-10-13 22:53:48 +0000 UTCYeah, we feel like we worked pretty hard to get the following we have now. Gumroad is looking pretty promising, though, their membership system needs to be tested a bit more before we can really finalize anything for sure, but if it works as well as it looks like it might, we may just be switching to that.
Agro Alba & Segremores Moon
2021-10-13 22:52:58 +0000 UTCYeah, this was a real disappointment, despite being 100% what I expected. I may move temporarily to releasing art packs on GumRoad. Although I know I won't be able to make as much there as I am on Patreon, because of the higher level tiers and the way people can pledge additional amounts. Patreon really is ideal for amortizing payments over time to allow for the longer term development of projects like comics. It's not really possible to get that outside of a subscription site. I may try a move to SubscribeStar, but it's disheartening to know I'll be taking a major hit—and potentially never reaching the same level of income I currently have on Patreon.
Pulsar
2021-10-13 22:24:09 +0000 UTCYeah, we are, too. We wish things could have been different, but it is what it is. We'll do our best to find another site to provide this content on, Patreon isn't the only game in town!
Agro Alba & Segremores Moon
2021-10-13 22:09:12 +0000 UTCSorry things happened this way
Randy Hoss
2021-10-13 22:04:44 +0000 UTC
