Implemented Can we get an alternative to Patreon?

Jemini

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 27, 2019
Messages
1,897
Points
153
So, there was a fairly explosive case with Patreon a few months back where they, for the second time, decided to kick someone off the platform who had not violated their terms of service in any way. And, from the best one can tell, it is purely because they didn't like this person's politics.

You do not have to disagree with Patreon's left-right scale politics in order to see why this would be something incredibly disturbing. Anyone on the libertarian end of the spectrum is going to be disgusted to even consider having a Patreon account if they know about what they have done. Politically based censorship is one of the later steps down the road to totalitarianism, and is not something that should ever be tolerated. As such, I absolutely could never have an account on Patreon. However, the monthly subscription service they offer is incredibly useful, and something the likes of PayPal for one time payments just doesn't cut it.

I have an account with Subscribe Star, one of the Patreon alternatives that became famous in the wake of Patreon's second case of political censorship due to it being the place the person in question went after his Patreon was terminated. Its services are not quite as versitile as Patreon's but it IS the Patreon alternative that the largest number of people know. Right now, I am getting by by just linking my Subscribe Star page at the bottom of each chapter of my story I release manually, but it would be a major help if someone on the staff could simply code in the same support for a good Patreon alternative in the same way Patreon is supported in order to just make the button appear at the bottom of every one of my stories, and those of anyone else who wants to use their service.

It does not have to be Subscribe Star in particular, if someone can suggest a more versatile Patreon alternative that offers services closer to what Patreon does, then that would be great. However, I would really like to see at least one such service that is an alternative to Patreon supported on this site due to the highly disturbing track record that the company has.
 

ars

trash bin
Joined
Jan 29, 2019
Messages
105
Points
83
Have you looked into Ko-Fi? They recently added subscriber features I believe, though since I don't really use it, I can't vouch for how effective it is as a substitute.
 

Jemini

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 27, 2019
Messages
1,897
Points
153
Have you looked into Ko-Fi? They recently added subscriber features I believe, though since I don't really use it, I can't vouch for how effective it is as a substitute.

I haven't but I will check it out. Since I started on the request, I figure the least I can do is check out the options people offer so that, if there is a favorable response from the staff, the research will have already been covered.

I will give my impressions once I have taken a good look.

EDIT: Ok, found a problem with Ko-Fi already. You need to pay up front for a gold account in order to post supporter rewards. I have not looked up what their transaction fees are, so it could actually be a good deal for people who get a high subscriber count, but even if the transaction fees are zero that is going to be a barrier for entry for new people starting off who don't even know if they are going to get enough subscribers to make the service worth it.
 

Tony

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Dec 21, 2018
Messages
704
Points
133
So, there was a fairly explosive case with Patreon a few months back where they, for the second time, decided to kick someone off the platform who had not violated their terms of service in any way. And, from the best one can tell, it is purely because they didn't like this person's politics.

You do not have to disagree with Patreon's left-right scale politics in order to see why this would be something incredibly disturbing. Anyone on the libertarian end of the spectrum is going to be disgusted to even consider having a Patreon account if they know about what they have done. Politically based censorship is one of the later steps down the road to totalitarianism, and is not something that should ever be tolerated. As such, I absolutely could never have an account on Patreon. However, the monthly subscription service they offer is incredibly useful, and something the likes of PayPal for one time payments just doesn't cut it.

I have an account with Subscribe Star, one of the Patreon alternatives that became famous in the wake of Patreon's second case of political censorship due to it being the place the person in question went after his Patreon was terminated. Its services are not quite as versitile as Patreon's but it IS the Patreon alternative that the largest number of people know. Right now, I am getting by by just linking my Subscribe Star page at the bottom of each chapter of my story I release manually, but it would be a major help if someone on the staff could simply code in the same support for a good Patreon alternative in the same way Patreon is supported in order to just make the button appear at the bottom of every one of my stories, and those of anyone else who wants to use their service.

It does not have to be Subscribe Star in particular, if someone can suggest a more versatile Patreon alternative that offers services closer to what Patreon does, then that would be great. However, I would really like to see at least one such service that is an alternative to Patreon supported on this site due to the highly disturbing track record that the company has.

Sure, you can add your SubscribeStar info here: https://www.scribblehub.com/account/?type=author
 

Llamadragon

Active member
Joined
Jan 19, 2019
Messages
171
Points
43
That would be very interesting... I’m not sure how reasonable it would be legally speaking since this sounds like a huge workload of legaleze. But a website where people can upload their works, with a BUILT-IN patreon-ish service... that would be a bit of a gamechanger.
 

Jemini

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 27, 2019
Messages
1,897
Points
153
That would be very interesting... I’m not sure how reasonable it would be legally speaking since this sounds like a huge workload of legaleze. But a website where people can upload their works, with a BUILT-IN patreon-ish service... that would be a bit of a gamechanger.

I really like the idea. However, as you say, that would be a lot of work. It would definitely also attract a lot of writers though. (I know I would post to a site with a feature like that.)
 
Top