I have never used Patreon, so my observations are “from a distance,” as it were. I think it started out fine. However, there are two trends that I really don’t like:
-
The attempt to add a “tax” on donations (eg, $0.38 on a $1.00 donation), in addition to the fees charged the recipient. I understand that venture capitalists want a good return on their investment, but this is the wrong approach, & Patreon backed off after numerous complaints. Nevertheless, I’m wary of the future.
-
The silencing of some authors based on non-politically-correct views. It’s not like they are Twitter, where every author can have a huge audience. Rather, in my opinion, it’s more of a “cancel culture” type of action.
So, Patreon gets NONE of my money, if I can possibly help it. And I can, in this case.