What to do about Patreon?

Friends: 

Like me, I'm sure many of you are aware that Patreon recently banned the political commentator Sargon of Akkad for what they termed violations of their terms of service. Many of you have expressed concerns about this situation. 

I share your concerns. 

I'm very appreciative of Patreon, which has allowed me to build a viable content business while staying independent of sponsors. But I also care a great deal about free speech and an open exchange of ideas. 

I have only basic familiarity with Sargon of Akkad and it seems that I don't share the majority of his views. Still, his banning is troubling, especially since he didn't (to my knowledge) advocate violence toward a particular group or do anything dangerous (although many of his activities appear to be very distasteful.)

During this whole dust-up, Sam Harris has pulled out of the platform, and I take this move very seriously. Although my own public work is non-political and largely non-philosophical, I am a former academic and I pay a lot of attention to issues surrounding science, ethics, democracy, and free speech. Harris is one of my intellectual heroes and he's changed my mind on a lot of topics. His departure gets my attention. 

But here's the thing. I need the money that Patreon brings in. I'm not exaggerating. I need it. 

Since I've moved toward full-time content creation, I've let my furniture and fabrication business lapse. I don't seek out new clients and I only take on work when I absolutely have to make the mortgage payment. 

It's that serious for me. Patreon helps pay the bills for my family. While the money I get from Patreon isn't huge, it combines with YouTube, book sales, merchandise, and other income streams to keep my young business viable. My Patrons are reliable consumers of my videos, and purchasers of my t-shirts and books. You all do more than you know. 

Patreon has also allowed me to serve exclusive content in a streamlined way. It's a good communication platform. It's not perfect; I've never liked its community section. Many things could be improved. 

I know alternatives are coming along, but I'm afraid of what happened to Etsy. Once upon a time, Etsy was THE place for handcrafted stuff, but they messed up in many ways, broke their brand, and allowed many competitors to take away market share. Now, there are many places to sell handmade items instead of a single, good platform. 

I'm afraid this will happen with Patreon. There will be many alternatives. None will emerge as the best. Creators like me will either have to be on many platforms (which is a huge drain on time and resources) or we'll have to pick one platform and miss out on all the potential supporters who don't like that platform. Up until now, Patreon was pretty good and more-or-less universal. 

Now it might be neither of those things. Drag. 

Here's what I propose: 

1.) Stick with me on Patreon for now. They take a VERY small amount of your support and when you pull out, I get hurt far more than they do. 

2.) Keep me informed about how you feel and what you want to see. It could well be that Patreon will take the hint and re-draw its terms of service. Formerly-banned creators might return. Or, a single, really good alternative might emerge. I'm all for moving platforms if it means my Patrons stay happy and I get to keep doing what I do in an environment where free speech is protected. 

If there's going to be a move. Let's do it together. I'll take your input and perhaps even do a poll. For now, may I humbly suggest that we ride this thing out a while longer and see how things shake out? 

Thanks for your time and Happy New Year!

--Rex