How do you cope with Patreon?

[Bassmass]

Hi all,

Sorry if this in the wrong place but I had to post something, basically I just want to know if anyone has had the same experience with Patreon as me. About a week ago I started development on a game, RPG/TCG but based around pornstars. Thought I'd make a Twitter and Patreon not for the money but as a way of posting an ongoing dev diary and if someone is interested they can chuck a quid to speed it up. But today I got nuked by them, I had some drafts of the cards, showing different types which I used porn for. Rookie mistake as I was unaware that porn is an absolute no, thing is on my actual Patreon all I back is smut.

Was asked to remove all the offending content (everything bar the initial pitch post). Then on second review I was told I had to either delete the porn on my twitter ( same concept images) or unlink it. They have a zero tolerance policy on anything linking to porn.

' These Guidelines apply equally to off-platform activity that is funded through Patreon. '

How the fuck do adult games go under the radar there?

I know I fucked up and will have to try to peddle my smut elsewhere, but Christ I didn't realise they were such prudes.

Any answers or insults appreciated

 

[Winterfire]

The general way of "coping" with Patreon is to read their guidelines, which is also how you "cope" with any other platforms.

Real Porn (Actresses) is not allowed, nor is showing NSFW in public pages (it is only allowed behind a paid post).

 

[Bassmass]

The general way of "coping" with Patreon is to read their guidelines, which is also how you "cope" with any other platforms.

Real Porn (Actresses) is not allowed, nor is showing NSFW in public pages (it is only allowed behind a paid post).

Well to be honest the amount of adult content I've seen on there I figured it was alright, I back adult game devs that link to what would be classed as porn in their posts but yeah behind the paywall. You're right though, should have done my homework. I didn't want to charge for anything at this stage as I was more interested in getting the feedback etc.

 

[Winterfire]

Well to be honest the amount of adult content I've seen on there I figured it was alright, I back adult game devs that link to what would be classed as porn in their posts but yeah behind the paywall. You're right though, should have done my homework. I didn't want to charge for anything at this stage as I was more interested in getting the feedback etc.

That can be done if you apply censorship (Boobs and Genitalia), but it still wouldn't have been all right since you use real actresses which is a big no no.
Some do manage to fly under the radar, you are right, but that's solely based on luck. I wouldn't trust it, since I am not a lucky person.

 

[Bassmass]

That's fair enough I suppose, ironically one I was backing a while ago was using actresses in a TCG, abandoned and not quite what I wanted hence the dev of this game. I think I'll just build a site to host my diary haha. It's the linking to anything classed as porn that gets me, how are you even supposed to link builds if that's the case?
Appreciate the replies by the way

 

[Count Morado]

Yeah, don't use real people in your work if you are developing adult products if you want to list on Patreon. Also, yes, don't use materials that are under copyright, trademark, registered mark, etc without express permission of the owner, even if it is artwork. There are possibilities for "free use" but if they get a complaint by a holder, your page is going to be on lockdown until that complaint is cleared - if it ever is. If they get a complaint by a non-holder, they might still put your page on lockdown until they make their own internal decision.

 

[Bassmass]

Yeah, don't use real people in your work if you are developing adult products if you want to list on Patreon. Also, yes, don't use materials that are under copyright, trademark, registered mark, etc without express permission of the owner, even if it is artwork. There are possibilities for "free use" but if they get a complaint by a holder, your page is going to be on lockdown until that complaint is cleared - if it ever is. If they get a complaint by a non-holder, they might still put your page on lockdown until they make their own internal decision.

Yep learned the hard way, thing is the amount that have Patreon that use real porn or images of real actresses for art in game I figured it was acceptable, naïve and silly I know. Some even have the actresses (clothed admittedly) in the banner.
I'm still going to make the game, will just figure out another way of keeping track of progress, was never doing it to raise funds etc just have the time and knowhow.

 

[Count Morado]

Yep learned the hard way, thing is the amount that have Patreon that use real porn or images of real actresses for art in game I figured it was acceptable, naïve and silly I know. Some even have the actresses (clothed admittedly) in the banner.
I'm still going to make the game, will just figure out another way of keeping track of progress, was never doing it to raise funds etc just have the time and knowhow.

Well, it's good you aren't doing it to raise funds because you'll find you're limited there, as well. PayPal, Stripe, Square, and the like don't allow porn payment processing, either. You're looking at CCBill or similar higher fee, lower exposure processors, if so.

You can also look at Subscribestar as a Patreon alternative - but read the TOS.

 

[Bassmass]

Yep have set up Subscribestar today, not posting any image of smut, all text with empty card windows just to show progress of how the game is played. It'll be many a moon before a demo is available so I'm just going to play it safe. Will probably do the Same on Patreon if they let me out of jail.

 

[fidless]

Hi all,

Sorry if this in the wrong place but I had to post something, basically I just want to know if anyone has had the same experience with Patreon as me. About a week ago I started development on a game, RPG/TCG but based around pornstars. Thought I'd make a Twitter and Patreon not for the money but as a way of posting an ongoing dev diary and if someone is interested they can chuck a quid to speed it up. But today I got nuked by them, I had some drafts of the cards, showing different types which I used porn for. Rookie mistake as I was unaware that porn is an absolute no, thing is on my actual Patreon all I back is smut.

Was asked to remove all the offending content (everything bar the initial pitch post). Then on second review I was told I had to either delete the porn on my twitter ( same concept images) or unlink it. They have a zero tolerance policy on anything linking to porn.

' These Guidelines apply equally to off-platform activity that is funded through Patreon. '

How the fuck do adult games go under the radar there?

I know I fucked up and will have to try to peddle my smut elsewhere, but Christ I didn't realise they were such prudes.

Any answers or insults appreciated

Read rules. TOS. It clearly says "Real life porn is not allowed". I'm sure you got even a warning for it?
Incest, bestiality, rape (or anything without consent) is not allowed too. And the pornographic depiction of children (young teens). I think that's all (or the main reasons why people get banned there). If you comply with TOS, you'll be OK.

 

[Bassmass]

Read rules. TOS. It clearly says "Real life porn is not allowed". I'm sure you got even a warning for it?

Yep I know that now, was up for a week then a very nice lady called Blaire explained it to me, I'm currently in Patreon Jail so I'll take that as my warning.

In addition to real people having sex it's also this
' This also includes any genital play, erect penises, or play with sex toys and the like. Spreading or otherwise emphasizing genitals in a sexual way such as focus or cropping of the image also falls under pornographic material '

Which is interesting

Also the other thing I was told off for was that my linked twitter had smut on it, which I'm sure most devs do.

 

[fidless]

Yep I know that now, was up for a week then a very nice lady called Blaire explained it to me, I'm currently in Patreon Jail so I'll take that as my warning.

In addition to real people having sex it's also this
' This also includes any genital play, erect penises, or play with sex toys and the like. Spreading or otherwise emphasizing genitals in a sexual way such as focus or cropping of the image also falls under pornographic material '

Which is interesting

Real-life porn*

Patreon operates under "radio-broadcast" government rules etc. Your page has to be children-friendly, meaning all pornographic content has to be hidden from public view and marked as "patrons-only".

As for your quote, they emphasize what is real life porn to differentiate it from cosplay girls and stuff who uses their own bodies to grow supporters. Simply put, real-life porn is not allowed, but girls can pose as "art" as long as it does not cross the line they put (becoming porn). Showing genitals etc. Although nude art is probably allowed, idk. It's a grey area.

 

[Bassmass]

Real-life porn*

Patreon operates under "radio-broadcast" government rules etc. Your page has to be children-friendly, meaning all pornographic content has to be hidden from public view and marked as "patrons-only".

As for your quote, they emphasize what is real life porn to differentiate it from cosplay girls and stuff who uses their own bodies to grow supporters. Simply put, real-life porn is not allowed, but girls can pose as "art" as long as it does not cross the line they put (becoming porn). Showing genitals etc. Although nude art is probably allowed, idk. It's a grey area.

Yep it's pretty funny the grey area, I suppose it's learning to skirt the rules as close as you can. It's fine though, I was just more perplexed by how many adult game devs use it and surprised how prudish it all is.
Either way I've been a tit but hasn't stopped me making it, also I enjoy your game by the way.

 

[Rafster]

How the fuck do adult games go under the radar there?

Luck, pure luck.

I'm on the same process as you, as I'm going to make public my petreon on my next update, and I'm considering removing all the porn clips/images from my game just to be sure. My game tend to be pretty descriptive, especially on sex scenes, so I guess it can go as a text game.

Now, if fans publish their own media packs...well, you can't do anything about it. Just saying...

 

[Bassmass]

Luck, pure luck.

I'm on the same process as you, as I'm going to make public my petreon on my next update, and I'm considering removing all the porn clips/images from my game just to be sure. My game tend to be pretty descriptive, especially on sex scenes, so I guess it can go as a text game.

Now, if fans publish their own media packs...well, you can't do nothing about it. Just saying...

Crafty craft, so maybe just have card frames etc and have all the media separate as a DIY approach? Or just make it pretty easy to add cards and leave a guide? I'll just be posting text and family friendly cards (items) if I'm ever let out of jail. Or maybe burry everything in a discord and that's all you get. Learning experience none the less.

 

[Rafster]

Crafty craft, so maybe just have card frames etc and have all the media separate as a DIY approach? Or just make it pretty easy to add cards and leave a guide? I'll just be posting text and family friendly cards (items) if I'm ever let out of jail. Or maybe burry everything in a discord and that's all you get. Learning experience none the less.

Whatever approach you take, remove the porn images/clips from the game files. and screenshots on social media they monitorize (for example twitter). You can't control what fans do, look at the mods of any game (sims, fallout, etc...).

The only drawback, are the online forms of your game (itch.io for example) which gonna suffer the removal of the files, and there's no way around it. Also, be careful when you mention porn on your patreon posts, to avoid future problems.

 

[Bassmass]

Whatever approach you take, remove the porn images/clips from the game files. and screenshots on social media they monitorize (for example twitter). You can't control what fans do, look at the mods of any game (sims, fallout, etc...).

The only drawback, are the online forms of your game (itch.io for example) which gonna suffer the removal of the files, and there's no way around it. Also, be careful when you mention porn on your patreon posts, to avoid future problems.

Good thinking, as the whole 'anything you link to' and not technically being able to monetise porn through your Patreon is an odd one especially if you're linking builds of the game or a discord with art/Twitter promoting your game. Current plan is to Disney up my profiles, set up a site or maybe even a portfolio offline to track my progress and as soon as I have a working demo (which will be a long time) stick it on here for people to dogpile me about my taste in porn.

Appreciate the replies