scrap heap (computer country)

Books are here! anaisfae.art/shop

Hey, so, Patreon is lying to you about Apple forcing their hand.

Patreon is getting rid of 1st-of-the-month/per-creation billing, claiming a new decision by Apple has forced their hand. This will hurt a lot of creatives, and their excuse is bullshit. Allow me to explain.

In 2018, Patreon tried to impose a new ill-considered fee structure on everyone that would have cost creators a lot of smaller pledges. They ended up apologizing for this profusely; they have now deleted this apology from their website and unfortunately I was unable to find it on the Internet Archive. This was shameful, but to their credit they backed off quickly when things got ugly.

Back in 2021, Patreon discussed plans to force all creators into a rolling bill structure and get rid of first-of-the-month/pay-up-front billing. The community once again very decisively shouted them down, and they had to walk it back again. This whole fiasco damaged the already shaky trust between Patreon creators and staff.

This week, Patreon announced that, along with extra fees, Apple's policies were supposedly forcing them to move everyone over to the rolling fee structure that they first tried to get us to agree to in 2021. Patreon will tell you they are not happy about this. As a person who spent a long time watching Patreon make terrible decisions, I can tell you-- they are probably very happy about this, because it's exactly the smokescreen they needed to do what they've been trying to do for years, which is pull ALL Patreon creators away from 1st-of-the-month and per-creation billing.

The spin in the news I've seen so far is "Apple bullies Patreon, boo hoo hoo poor Patreon". This is very obviously not what's happening. Mind you: Apple does suck, and they are doing something bad here. Fuck apple. But Patreon and Apple are BOTH the asshole in this situation; Everyone Sucks Here. Patreon has options: they can make the iOS app a reader app and do billing through the browser to avoid the restrictions and the extra fees (Netflix and Amazon, notably, both do this), or they can allow creators to opt-out of iOS billing if they want to use billing models that don't work with it.

It seems most likely to me that the Apple situation is a real fire that Patreon has chosen to use as a convenient smokescreen to do what they've been wanting to do since at least 2021, and maybe since 2018.

What do we do?:

They have a feedback form specifically about this.

They also have a creator discord.

And they have lots of social media pages where they probably really, really hope that this doesn't blow up again, because they never learn. The incidents I've described here aren't the only two other times Patreon has pissed off their creators. They know if they don't contain the noise it'll be harder to get away with it, so make some noise. They've done a lot of work to spin this cleverly so you'll have sympathy for them and they won't get the kind of backlash they know they deserve.

Please don't misuse these links and make threats or spam or something. All you have to do is give well-reasoned feedback. Patreon hates feedback. Make sure they get a nice heaping helping of their least favorite vegetable.

And you know what this is all about? still that same friggin fee structure.

I'll explain: the whole purpose of patreon was that patrons were billed on the first of the month in one charge. That meant a patron could pledge to multiple creators and still get charged only once a month; and then the payment processing fee for that one charge would be divided between the creators (patreon calls that "shared membership"). So creators would get a regular income and lower fees.

When patreon first tried to change the fee structure, the gist was that the fees would be added on top of each pledge and paid by patrons instead of creators. But these fees were much higher than what creators paid at the time, especially for small pledges. Why? because the fees would be charged per pledge, basically removing the shared membership benefit.

After the backlash, patreon backpedalled. Not for long though. In 2019, they introduced a new fee structure similar to what they tried previously, only that it would be paid directly by creators. It was only for new creators though, so almost no one talked about it.

Later (I believe in 2020), patreon started supporting new currencies, both for patrons to pay in, and creators to get their payouts. But if a creator switched their payout currency from dollars to whatever, they'd be forced onto the new fee structure (when I switched to euros, my processing fees literally doubled even though the pledges from my patrons were still exactly the same)(yeah, I am still salty about that).

The fees are explained in this article: https://support.patreon.com/hc/en-gb/articles/11111747095181-Creator-fees-overview

(note that I took that screenshot in 2023, when I switched currencies in 2020 there was no mention anywhere that I'd lose the shared membership benefit. I am still technically on the founders plan, but with the processing fees of newer plans)

And now, patreon is getting rid of the first of the month billing. Sure, it doesn't change anything for current patrons, they will still get charged on the same day. But new patrons who don't pay attention and pledge to several creators on different days will get several different charges.

This is bad for patrons and discourages them from supporting multiple creators, and also creators still on the founders plan will lose the shared membership benefit.

See here: https://support.patreon.com/hc/en-gb/articles/8779192853261-Subscription-billing-FAQ

Also note the last part: "Processing fees from shared members already being charged on the 1st of the month will still be split among that member’s creators who are on founder’s pricing."

Which means that if a patron pledges to 2 founders + 1 other creator on the same day, they get charged once and the processing fee from that transaction is divided between the 2 founders... and the other creator still pays the full fee directly in patreon's pockets.

And I'm not even touching on how the processing fees that patreon charges are most probably higher than what the payment processors (paypal, stripe etc) actually charge.

hell forged, heaven blessed

managed to do this sketch of my tiefling OC last night that i like enough to maybe color later. every time i draw their face, it looks slightly different 😂

Taylor touched on it, but yeah webcomics are EXTREMELY not the scene they were when a lot of people our age got into it (people our age now being in the position of having enough work behind them to 'abandon' it meaningfully).

Almost everyone I know who used to run a webcomic back then still cares a lot about those stories. Some people have moved into different mediums, some have rebooted their work and repackaged it for places like patreon or aggregators, a lot of them still produce free work for their audiences in one form or another even if it's not a continuation of their original 'one big story'. And some of them ARE still plugging away at the same projects, the same way they always did. But the skills that got people into webcomics 10-15 years ago are not the skills you need to get any kind of attention in today's market.

I complain a lot about 'hustle culture' taking over artistic spaces online, and that grievance really roots from what happened to webcomics more than anything else. There is no reason that you should need to be a marketing guru to publish an free indie comic online. There is no reason that you should be expected to update daily, or three times a week, or even once a week if you don't want to. There was genuinely a time when some of the best examples of the genre (and best known among Webcomic Likers) were uncategorisable experiments published one page at a time every other phase of the moon on wordpress blogs or static html sites.

If you were excited by webcomics as a medium in 2010, you were probably excited by qualities of the scene that simply don't exist any more - or at least certainly don't exist in the same form, or to nearly the same extent. Project Wonderful and webrings meant tiny comics still had shared readerships, and an avenue for connecting with new audiences through peers with similar interests. Micro-forums and comment sections meant each comic had its own little mini community, often full of other artists who were excited to talk process. Maybe the defining artistic relationship of my whole career, which has opened up more job opportunities than my actual degree, was forged in a webcomic forum with about 8 regular users.

The biggest loss I felt, personally, was the disappearance of spaces for talking about art with amateurs who really cared about experimentation and expression. A lot of it was super goofy, but bouncing off other teenagers with messy over-ambitious ideas about infinite canvas and found-object comics and branching storylines really ignited my passion for trying things. There were always parallel conversations about how to find an audience, whether merch was worth it, which conventions made money, but they were just as questing and experimental. Today, creative spaces are (somewhat necessarily, by nature of the way the internet has changed around us) dominated by marketing talk. The question hanging over every creative question for webcomic artists today seems to be 'but will it drive engagement'. And that's fucking miserable.

Anyone who got into webcomics before the shift to algorithmic feeds, omnipresent adtech and the premeditated murder death of Project Wonderful has probably looked around at some point and thought 'where the fuck am I?' Some artists have adapted comfortably, but a huge proportion of those who were most invested ten years ago were just never going to be interested in the skills that drive the current webcomic market. Because it is a market now, not an art scene. People have always needed to make money, and webcomics have never been especially profitable, but there was a time when they were an outlet - something you did after your shift at the bar, because it came with broad possibilities and a vibrant social scene. Now they are a second job.

Here's my point: when you notice the great proportion of long-running comics that just faded away or stopped altogether at some point, it is worth recognising that this wasn't just burnout. It was an extinction event.

Also, you're competing with billion dollar, AI-using corporations for readership now.

I've been making one page a week because that's literally all I can manage between paying work. No one's paying to read my webcomic, they're paying me to letter someone else's comic, and I need money to live. So the webcomic story I'm passionate gets 5-6 hours of labor a week, if I'm extremely lucky.

Finally feel like I can say something coherent, so here goes... I say this without a shred of exaggeration: Akira Toriyama was legitimately one of the most important creative figures of the last 50 years. His work, especially Dragon Ball, has influenced SO much even outside its own medium. Movies, TV, cartoons, comic books, video games, MUSIC... all of it. You can see his fingerprints in so many other works. Even now, artists and writers, voice actors and animators, musicians and game devs are all mourning him and reflecting on the impact he had on their own work. Titans of anime and manga are sharing in this pain. The craziest thing about this though? The humility he had in spite of it. He was always reluctant to be in the spotlight, preferred to keep his head down and just work, never really worried that much about public perception of himself. Part of what makes him such an icon, man. Losing him is losing a piece of our shared history. It's something that resonates deep in the hearts of everyone his work touched. This is just... such a loss. And I can't even begin to imagine what his family is going through right now. Praying for them all. Rest in Peace to a literal Legend, an absolute Icon, and a personal inspiration in more ways than I could ever express properly.

its official: tumblr is selling our data to Midjourney

we'd been hearing rumors about this for a bit but now its open and out there. some details from this article

it goes without saying, but if @staff goes through with this its going to be an utter shitshow and im all but certain the website will not survive it.

everyone go enable this immediately. it can be a bit hard to find because “visibility” is under blog settings instead of general settings or privacy. you have to do this individually for each separate side-blog

if you can’t find it on the app then the update probably hasn’t rolled out to you, and you’ll have to go through the web browser. what a truly wild way/time to implement this

Good news, fellow artists! Nightshade has finally been released by the UChicago team! If you aren't aware of what Nightshade is, it's a tool that helps poison AI datasets so that the model "sees" something different from what an image actually depicts. It's the same team that released Glaze, which helps protect art against style mimicry (aka those finetuned models that try to rip off a specific artist). As they show in their paper, even a hundred poisoned concepts make a huge difference.

(Reminder that glazing your art is more important than nighshading it, as they mention in their tweets above, so when you're uploading your art, try to glaze it at the very least.)

Everyone reblog! Spread the word so more and more artists learn that in addition to Glaze that coats art against ai scraping mimicry there's also an offensive tool now, able to skew and poison data pools.

Now poisoning will need many artists to nightshade their art and it's most important to get this ou to those the most at risk of being scraped. Reblog!

noor hindi, author of the poem ‘fuck your lecture on craft, my people are dying,’ is sending people print copies of the poem for every donation made (with receipt) to palestinian aid. please consider participating if you’re interested!

list of charities for anyone who just wants to donate

the poem is very powerful and beautiful, worth sharing as well.

Medical Aid for Palestinians

Palestine Children's Relief Fund

The World Food Programme

Doctors Without Borders

UNRWA

BIG PSA: if you're an artist, I wouldn't recommend using @inprnt . If you already have, archive all your work until this is resolved. They aren't giving satisfactory responses (if any) or being clear why many of us aren’t receiving payments until MONTHS after their ETA for balance withdrawals, and only respond after numerous emails, if they ever do.

If you sell a print on @inprnt as of summer 2023, you'll have to wait 30 days until the money appears in your site balance, and then potentially up to 4 MONTHS for your withdrawal request to appear in your paypal account. As a reminder, the site's service terms still say withdrawal requests "should take" 3-10 business days.

If you're a supporter of artists, I'd recommend not buying prints from @inprnt. They need to explain what is going on

this all being said, I am no longer offering prints on @inprnt until they come clean or this issue is taken care of.

Disappointed MAJORLY by @inprnt. Sorry to the people I suggested it to a year or so ago.

tencent: yeah we’re developing faceID AI algorithms to identify people in protests and riots

everyone: jesus that sucks

tencent: also here’s an AI art generator that can turn your selfies into anime!

everyone, apparently: fuck yeah let me get in on that

PREORDERS ARE NOW OPEN!!

They will run from December 21st to January 15th! You can click the bold above or find us here: https://ofthenightzine.bigcartel.com

of the night is a Final Fantasy XV fanzine focused on Noctis Lucis Caelum, the one Chosen King and man who would bring dawn to the world. Inside you will find contributions from 25 talented artists and 7 writers, each with their own themes and motifs.

We’re also doing a giveaway for one lucky winner to win a full bundle! Reblog/like for a chance to win! One entry per person per platform! Winner be announced after preorders close!

Be sure to check out our tiers and stretch goals posts for further information!

Thank you to everyone who participated and has helped to support us along the way!

Artists:

@killermage ☆ @gigglincactus ☆ @cdrart ☆ @diaxyz ☆ @driftwoodwolf ☆ @erionmakuo ☆ @goodluckjoy ☆ @anisotasart ☆ @nai-kasumi ☆ @nowritena ☆ @islandofmangos ☆ @masozii ☆ @hoshi-megu ☆ @mintfoxmimi ☆ @peach_oniisan ☆ @neviesketches ☆ @catchingsunraysart ☆ @suaveassassinart ☆ @burbled-xv ☆ @backseatfishing ☆ @snail-drop ☆ @zeroshadows ☆ @treindraws ☆ @dovaldraws ☆ @tierciel

Writers:

@astramaxima ☆ @puddingcatbae ☆ @brosura ☆ @lady-of-rohan ☆ @mikkalia15 ☆ @myoyakodon ☆ @ivelostmyspectacles

Sharing this here because my art is in this (i’m listed under my fandom account @backseatfishing)! If you like Final Fantasy 15 or if you’re just a huge fan of Noctis, here’s your zine, haha. Everyone’s work is AMAZING!

Big Bettas are Back! I’ve made new ones (plus two new designs) and they’re available here: https://www.palaeoplushies.com/ I gave the pink one googly eyes. They’re plastic safety eyes just like the others, but they’re GOOGLY.

the she-ra reboot makes this video relevant again which means we are in the best timeline

the kids these days dont know this masterpiece…they will learn

This post is titled “John Fiorentino is a Scumbag Trying to Take Advantage of Mentally Ill People.”

You might remember the Gravity weighted blanket kickstarter that went viral last year. I watched as production and fulfillment turned into a nightmare and John and his customer service team ignored the many people who had problems. There are over 3,800 comments on that page and most are from unhappy backers.

But John decided everything was sunshine and butterflies, ignoring anyone that said otherwise, and recently launched a campaign for the Moon Pod. The Moon Pod is basically a slightly different version of a Yogibo, a microbead beanbag chair. He claims that this beanbag chair helps with anxiety and depression. It is a selling point for him. He backs it up with the flimsy claim that it reminds him of floatation therapy, aka where you float in a saltwater tank set to body temp in the dark as sensory deprivation. He uses the science and studies behind floatation therapy to say his magic beanbag will cure your depression. And also that naps are good for you, so his beanbag is good for you, so give him hundreds of dollars even though he has used this tactic before and left many people unhappy.

Then there is his instagram. There’s a photo linked from his instagram account @johnhuntfio in the Moon Pod campaign. Actually, the whole link text is    My whole life I’ve been an entrepreneur. I’m obsessed with building products, improving customer experiences and making the people in my life smile.  

So I clicked on it and found some pretty fucked up things. Most pictures of what look like homeless people that John decided to post to his instagram for whatever reason. Personally it seems like he thought his hashtags were clever at the expense of his subjects. There was also a photo of Marilyn Monroe on a screen with only the caption “Deserve”, which he also liked to use as a caption for vehicles. 

This was not a secret personal account. It is public and he linked to it in his kickstarter campaign. Within 20 minutes of mentioning it he deleted many of the posts. Then kickstarter deleted my comments, so I’m making this post. All of this would still be on his public account if I hadn’t said anything. 

Don’t give John Fiorentino hundreds of dollars because he says his beanbag chair will help your anxiety and depression. He’s a scumbag.