First off, the story so far: Earlier this week Patreon suddenly changed it’s Terms of Service with regard to erotic/pornographic content, and that same day took down a number of campaign pages, including several H-game developers’ pages. Some of those pages have been restored after the creators of those pages made changes to how their projects are advertised, others remain in limbo. You can find more details on the relevant Lewdgamer article.
There is a lot of speculation on why exactly these changes are happening now. While I have my own suspicions as to why, the fact of the matter is I don’t know anything for certain, and I have no desire to call attention to Bad Kitty Games’ potential violations of the new terms of service by asking for clarification.
It is also true is that, as it stands, Harem Collector is in violation of the new terms of service. Harem Collector depicts sexual violence and incest, two subjects specifically pointed out in ToS.
However, it is not so simple in practice. It seems that at least part of Patreon’s new terms of service is a “save your ass” move meant to appease some group or legal entity, as multiple Patreon pages have been reinstated so long as Patreon itself does not host or directly link to the content identified as objectionable. These are projects that, by any reasonable measure, flagrantly stand in violation of the new ToS, but have been reapproved after removing particular posts, links, and images.
This kind of “don’t ask, don’t tell”-style content policing personally leaves me feeling very uncomfortable. If it were as simple as having to pack up and find a new service, then fine. Don’t get me wrong, it would suck, but tough cookies. Freedom of expression also means that Patreon has the freedom to choose what kind of content they condone through their service, and I don’t blame them for wanting to maintain a welcoming, family-friendly image. But for the life of our crowdfunding efforts to hinge on the opinion of Patreon’s moderators…. I don’t like it.
For now, we are going to continue operating via Patreon. our campaign has yet to come under review, and our specific posting practices should keep us safe for the foreseeable future. You can rest assured, however, that over the next few weeks Nekochan, Conash and I will be reviewing our options, to make sure that an “escape plan” is prepared in case the worst should come to pass. As always, you can follow this space for any updates, and you can speak to Conash or myself directly via the Bad Kitty Games Discord Channel.
As always, thank you very much for your support and good wishes.
Your brother-in-arms,
NoMoshing
So PATREON got infected of the PC police and SJW presure why, well this is also just my speculation.
Don’t be ignorant. There are a multitude of possibilities that involve legal pressure. For example, California has had a law against pornographic depictions of incest for decades, and Patreon’s headquarters just so happen to be in San Francisco.