Regarding Third-Party Reuploads (Patreon)

Hey all! For the past several weeks I've been rolling this topic around trying to figure out how to approach it, and I decided that the best course of action would be to be transparent about it. Within the past month, one of the higher tiers' digital rewards have been scraped and the entire archive reuploaded to a third-party site. This third-party site serves as a free "archive" for Patreon pages- though functionally it's more or less just run-of-the-mill piracy. I would specify which site this is, but as a courtesy to other creators who actually are suffering from reuploads- and to discourage further traffic on their behalf- I will not be sharing the site name in this post. I also kindly request folks don't share the site name in the comments. Or maybe you're reading this post from said site? If so, howdy!

Now, I would like to clarify that I have no revenue concerns surrounding this even with this reupload removing the Patreon paywall- as evidenced by my earnings information which is publicly visible. I also have a steady income outside of Patreon, so even if all my patrons disappeared overnight, I'm not threatened by this financially. And with my stance on spoiler culture (that being a good story will still be worth reading even if spoiled), I'm not particularly worried about that either. Most of my concerns are privacy based, which I'll be getting into later in the post.

I have considered either speaking with or just outright banning the potential parties involved, but I hesitate with bringing the axe down. If anything, this has me pondering about what needs are not being met with the page. The automated tools from this site do genuinely offer a lot of perks- it can serve as an efficient way to archive content folks paid for and are worried about losing access to, it has accessible file compression, is easy to share with friends, stacks multiple images in a readable post rather than a javascript gallery format, it offers a paginated view of content rather than Patreon's dumb infinite scroll view that slowly loads one post at a time... Really, a lot of quality-of-life improvements that can especially help folks with poor internet connection. Perhaps I could try offering content in different formats as a means for accessibility? And I certainly don't mind folks sharing pages with friends. What about a link to a drive to go along with each post (when applicable)? Or maybe host on another platform entirely? The main reason I haven't is due to the hassle of moving the entire archive of content... along with being lazy about the learning curve for new platforms, hehe.

Though, I also understand that sometimes mistakes happen. The anxiety that surrounds web archival is not unwarranted- with sites like Gumroad that end up retroactively banning content, trying to maintain access to a lot of paid content all at once can be a scramble. Automated tools are valuable for scraping files quickly, especially those with large file sizes and when there is very little notice ahead of time. Maybe this reupload got swept up while trying to archive another Patreon page- whatever the reason, I don't feel the need to speculate very far.

What This Means for Patrons

In addition to this site archiving the content itself, it also archives comments left on each post (which includes Patreon display names). Display names are already automatically opted-in to credits on the comic's site and print runs. That itself shouldn't create new concerns, but you all should be aware that your comments will be visible without a paywall. As with anywhere else on the web, be sure to practice internet safety and avoid sharing sensitive information. I have no means of removing comments left on the archive site, and content reuploaded to the site can very easily be found via Google search.

At this time, I have no intentions to either pursue removal of this content or change the delivery method of digital rewards like comic pages. I just plan on trucking along like usual, my little fanfics aren't impacted by this and there's no need for me to expend extra mental energy trying to defend their honor.

And though this is a longshot, for the person involved in this reupload, you're welcome to reach out via DM (I wouldn't recommend doing so in the comments to avoid dogpiling) and let me know what I can do to improve your experience with your patronage. Though I promise not to ban/call-out anyone over the reupload, I understand that you probably wouldn't want to take my word for it. Just make sure you're careful out there. The site's scraper (claims to) have encryption to help protect privacy, but exercise caution when sharing your session ID online as it's a pretty big security risk- especially on sites where your payment info is involved. I'd much rather give you a zip file or something that you can reupload to a drive for sharing/reading/archival purposes, just to make things a little more secure for everyone.

I know many people value their privacy, and I wouldn't blame anyone who is uncomfortable with the idea of continuing support now that they have this information. Others may feel as though this devalues their reason to support the page. Either way, I completely understand if anyone wishes to discontinue their contribution. At the end of the day, I don't expect the uploader to come clean, and I don't expect the reuploads to stop. I appreciate everyone's support (including the uploader), and hope you all enjoy the stories to come!