HTML How to make sure Patreon doesn't delete your game?

Hagatagar

Well-Known Member
Oct 11, 2019
1,142
3,277
There are many cases where content creators with ToS-breaking content (unaware or not*) have been on Patreon for a long time without being discovered.
Basically all that has happened is that Patreon now checks more closely what content is being offered, and thus tighten the noose for those who have ToS-breaking content.
Maybe they finally checked all the reports they got.


* Of course there are people who, with full knowledge, went on Patreon with prohibited material. But there are also people who are not aware that what they are offering goes against the ToS.
A good example is mind control sex, which is basically sex against one's will and is therefore rape and thus categorized as such. Many people seem to be not aware of this.
 

MarshmallowCasserole

Active Member
Jun 7, 2018
700
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What are actions one can take to keep Patreon from deleting the game?
Do not have rape in your game. Do not have incest in your game. Do not have bestiality in your game (furries are allowed). Do not have real porn in your game.

TT broke at least two of these.
 

Ungawa

Well-Known Member
Apr 16, 2017
1,527
4,624
People aren't too familiar with the fact that Patreon is a ticking time bomb. They use it because it's the largest source for funds quickly since there amasses a group force but it's also a HUGE issue where you need to be ballsy enough to secure funds through other revenue streams.

Subscribestar is kind of the last one standing the test of time where the more niche kinks can not worry about it.

Other than that, I have no idea what else is out there.
 

Pr0GamerJohnny

Conversation Conqueror
Sep 7, 2022
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People aren't too familiar with the fact that Patreon is a ticking time bomb. They use it because it's the largest source for funds quickly since there amasses a group force but it's also a HUGE issue where you need to be ballsy enough to secure funds through other revenue streams.

Subscribestar is kind of the last one standing the test of time where the more niche kinks can not worry about it.

Other than that, I have no idea what else is out there.
Is that really true though if people don't partake in the categories marshmallow above you listed? Genuinely, is there a history of games that don't have some kind of either rape, incest, or loli stuff that still see issues?
 

Lunarius

Member
Dec 30, 2018
275
635
Make sure they follow ? From the tags, Taffy Tales broke a number of them.
Well yes, but - the community guidelines 1) aren't always clear, and 2) are subject to change.

There was last week, and it's no coincidence that games like Taffy Tales and Kingdom of Subversion were banned just a few days later.

Taffy Tales had been living on the edge for years now, yes - but the fact remains that the rules can change without warning, and that previously permitted content can now get your project banned. Remember how they banned incest in 2017?

Frex, the latest version of their rules even bans live action porn. Patreon hasn't banned porn as whole yet, but the rule changes are only getting more and more restrictive.

There also seems to be some iffy stuff going on, though. Word has it that Kingdom of Subversion was banned not because of any content in that game itself, but because the same dev had another project that did have rulebreaking content (in this case, incest). Now that's just a rumour, but Patreon's track record isn't exactly spotless when it comes to how they treat their content-producing clients.

Soooo, to answer OP's question...

https://f95zone.to/threads/taffy-ta...n-my-official-statement.200133/#post-13223079
Recently a game I followed got deleted from patreon.


What are actions one can take to keep Patreon from deleting the game?
There's really only one surefire solution: don't have any porn in your game at all, and don't have any other pornographic or potentially rulebreaking projects on Patreon.

(...even then you still have to be careful about the other rules, because the rules against "human abuse" and "animal abuse" are uncomfortably vague)

That said; the most vanilla categories should still be safe for the foreseeable future.

Unlike their counterparts at Gumroad, the Patreon executives still have enough working braincells to realize that porn is the cornerstone of their business.

OTOH the push for tightening the rules didn't come from Patreon, but from the creditcard and payment processor oligopolies. Patreon's hands are kinda tied here, and it appears that the creditcard companies aren't being very reasonable or sympathetic towards Patreon. So Patreon made it policy to err (read: ban) on the side of caution. And because of that, it's entirely probable that there'll be further restrictions in the coming years.
 

peterppp

Active Member
Mar 5, 2020
763
1,349
a few corrections...
There was last week, and it's no coincidence that games like Taffy Tales and Kingdom of Subversion were banned just a few days later.
kingdom of subversion was not banned a few days later, it was banned before. it was suspended february 20 or 21.

Frex, the latest version of their rules even bans live action porn. Patreon hasn't banned porn as whole yet, but the rule changes are only getting more and more restrictive.
real porn was banned in the old guidelines, it's nothing new. the new guidelines are mostly just about clarifying the rules, and most of this stuff we already knew through their communication. as far as how actively they enforce the rules, that is another matter. they do seem to be more active lately
 

Ungawa

Well-Known Member
Apr 16, 2017
1,527
4,624
Is that really true though if people don't partake in the categories marshmallow above you listed? Genuinely, is there a history of games that don't have some kind of either rape, incest, or loli stuff that still see issues?
For the most part, I see vanilla stuff stay on Patreon such as STS with no issues. They hit the incest route which started all the stepladder nonsense you see. Big one on THAT particular side of the fence is DMD and that got a re-route. So really, I can't say there's no games that haven't had that issue. Patreon puts down a policy, everyone reworks to comply and that's been a thing since 2017 onwards.

Unless you're like a force of nature like Studio FOW who are doing Streemster or something else, you just don't have that kind of clout with solo devs.
 

Lunarius

Member
Dec 30, 2018
275
635
a few corrections...

kingdom of subversion was not banned a few days later, it was banned before. it was suspended february 20 or 21.
Ah, my bad! Thank you for pointing it out.

Please read what's in the policy update. Nothing actually changed, they just clarified what their policies actually are.
And you're just going to take their word for it without comparing the guidelines with ? That's a bit careless.

Just compare what the current version and that archive snapshot from September last year have to say about consent. On the topic of drawn/animated stuff, the old version has this: "We also do not allow other fringe sexual fetish creations, such as incest, necrophilia, or fetish creations that are hard to distinguish from non-consensual sex." ...and, that's it.

Meanwhile, the new version has this:

It is paramount that Adult/18+ creators demonstrate consent in all works (real or animated; photo, video, written, audio) between adult participants or characters; specifically, a freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous indication of consent by a statement or by a clear affirmative action. Additionally, participants and characters must be able to give consent (i.e. not be under the influence of alcohol, drugs, hypnosis, blackmail). “Consensual non-consent” works, in which participants or characters engage in simulated non-consensual encounters, are not permitted. Accompanying a work that features a non-consensual encounter with a statement claiming that the encounter was consensual is a violation of Patreon guidelines.
The new guidelines make demonstrable consent an explicit requirement in any 18+ work. That puts the bar much higher than "we don't permit fetish creations that are hard to distinguish from non-consensual sex".

The old rules just specified content like rape, rape-play, and mind control. But if you go by the letter of the new rules, anything where one of the parties is even slightly uncomfortable or impaired (alcohol, drugs, aphrodisiacs, you name it) can now be construed as rule-breaking. Frex, even deceptive but otherwise consensual sex with a shapeshifter would now technically break the rules.

It's not a major change, I'll admit that. But making consent an expicit requirement like this is a policy shift rather than a mere clarification, regardless of how their policy update post claims otherwise.

Call me a cynic, but I won't be surprised if this new version of the rules is going to get some creators in trouble who would not have gotten in trouble under the old rules and policies. (though I also suspect that this consent requirement et al will mainly be used to go after 'problem creators' who already have a habit of skirting the rules)
 

Pr0GamerJohnny

Conversation Conqueror
Sep 7, 2022
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For the most part, I see vanilla stuff stay on Patreon such as STS with no issues. They hit the incest route which started all the stepladder nonsense you see. Big one on THAT particular side of the fence is DMD and that got a re-route. So really, I can't say there's no games that haven't had that issue. Patreon puts down a policy, everyone reworks to comply and that's been a thing since 2017 onwards.

Unless you're like a force of nature like Studio FOW who are doing Streemster or something else, you just don't have that kind of clout with solo devs.
I don't even mean "Vanilla" stuff as so much as specifically non-incest, non-rape based fetishes. It seems like everything there is a non-issue, no? Like you can have any number of fetish things in your game as long as they dont involve forced sex scenarios, underage stuff or incest.
 

Ungawa

Well-Known Member
Apr 16, 2017
1,527
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I don't even mean "Vanilla" stuff as so much as specifically non-incest, non-rape based fetishes. It seems like everything there is a non-issue, no? Like you can have any number of fetish things in your game as long as they dont involve forced sex scenarios, underage stuff or incest.
I haven't really looked into it as much as I should in years. I just don't know. You can possibly find those fetish and when they get large enough, Patreon gives them the "Senpai noticed you" treatment of denying them service. The constant changing of service terms is to make it harder to allow those niches onto the platform. As it stands, you have to take a chance that they won't notice you or find something and only Subscribestar is still around to my current knowledge of the landscape.
 
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peterppp

Active Member
Mar 5, 2020
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The new guidelines make demonstrable consent an explicit requirement in any 18+ work. That puts the bar much higher than "we don't permit fetish creations that are hard to distinguish from non-consensual sex".

The old rules just specified content like rape, rape-play, and mind control. But if you go by the letter of the new rules, anything where one of the parties is even slightly uncomfortable or impaired (alcohol, drugs, aphrodisiacs, you name it) can now be construed as rule-breaking. Frex, even deceptive but otherwise consensual sex with a shapeshifter would now technically break the rules.

It's not a major change, I'll admit that. But making consent an expicit requirement like this is a policy shift rather than a mere clarification, regardless of how their policy update post claims otherwise.

Call me a cynic, but I won't be surprised if this new version of the rules is going to get some creators in trouble who would not have gotten in trouble under the old rules and policies. (though I also suspect that this consent requirement et al will mainly be used to go after 'problem creators' who already have a habit of skirting the rules)
as you touched a bit on in the final paranthesis, we can't say for sure if this is an actual policy change, or just a clarification of the previous non-con policy in order to give patreon wide room to rule on non-con and have the guidelines explicitly back it up. until we can see if there is a change in the enforcement of the non-con guidelines, the new guidelines do not definitively make a change to their previous internal policy in which non-con was not allowed, but was not enforced much except in extreme cases like rape.
 

MarshmallowCasserole

Active Member
Jun 7, 2018
700
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The new guidelines make demonstrable consent an explicit requirement in any 18+ work. That puts the bar much higher than "we don't permit fetish creations that are hard to distinguish from non-consensual sex".
No? The hard-to-distinguish part was referring to CNC content, so nothing changed.

If you think it through with at least a bit of legal perspective in mind, it's obvious that if they didn't permit fetishes that are hard to distinguish from non-con, then sure as fuck actual non-con was never permitted. The new edition just explains what that means. Always has meant.
 

averagehtmlenjoyer

Currently enjoying succubi
Game Developer
Jan 8, 2023
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You'll have to be lucky to fly under the radar, and don't mention real porn/incest/bestiality or post any of that on your patreon