Nominations for the 2018 ’Ringo Awards have been announced. Nominated for Best Webcomic are:
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Dave and I are thrilled to welcome our longtime friend and Webcomics Weekly co-host Scott Kurtz to the show. Ten years after collaborating on the How To Make Webcomics book (along with Kris Straub), we sit down and open up about the greatest goals we’ve yet to accomplish.
BUT FIRST… in true Webcomics Weekly fashion, we spend the first part of the show catching up for lost time.
Patreon has released its Benefits Manager feature to help creators track the rewards they’re sending their backers.
Here’s how it works…
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After a long beta-testing period, the Charge Upfront payment option is now live for all Patreon creators. Anyone who wants it and switch to it now. It is strictly opt-in, but you can’t change back once you’ve opted in. Here’s how it works…
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During the June 2018 Patreon Hang Time, a video chat hosted by Patreon CEO Jack Conte and marketing executive Taryn Arnold for content creators, Conte clarified Patreon’s stance on adult content.
As noted here earlier, Conte reaffirmed Patreon’s commitment to adult-content creators. However, that comes with some tricky territory…
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For the past week or so, it has become quite regular to see a NSFW creator go through the following stages on Twitter.
The biggest problem seem to be that there are a number of issues that could flag a Patreon page for suspension — but there doesn’t seem to be a clear repository of exactly what those issues are. Worse yet, there doesn’t seem to be a warning phase. It’s straight to suspension with any pages that fall outside of the rules.
Patreon’s Community guidelines regarding NSFW content include the following…
We ask creators to flag themselves as Adult Content if they create any content that has mature themes such as sexuality or graphic violence. When you are flagged as Adult Content your page is removed from our search. We also require that all public content on your page be appropriate for all audiences. Content with mature themes must be marked as a patron-only post.
…Lastly, you cannot sell pornographic material or arrange sexual service(s) as a reward for your patrons. We define pornographic material as real people engaging in sexual acts such as masturbation or sexual intercourse on camera. You can’t use Patreon to raise funds in order to produce pornographic material such as maintaining a website, funding the production of movies, or providing a private webcam session.
If you have doubts about whether to mark your page as Adult Content or not, we always recommend that you do so for the sake of precaution. This is especially important as Patreon welcomes different communities with different sensitivities. You can read more about the Adult Content flag here.
Patreon’s section on the Adult Content flag reaffirms the company’s support of adult content. It goes on to list a few areas of content that they will not allow — rape, sexual violence, bestiality and sex involving minors. Also, no incest, necrophilia or other “fringe” sexual content is allowed on Patreon:
First, we have a zero tolerance policy for content that sexualizes minors in any way. Second, there is no place for the glorification of rape, and sexual violence is not allowed. This includes beastiality. Finally, We also do not allow other fringe sexual fetish content, such as incest, necrophilia, or fetish content that is hard to distinguish from non-consensual sex. Patreon reserves the right to review and remove accounts that violate these guidelines.
We understand the topics of rape and sexual violence are a little bit more complicated because these situations are, unfortunately, part of real life. As a result, when reviewing this type of content, the Trust and Safety team will take into consideration context including personal, historical or educational narrative.
The problem is that NSFW content creators have seen their pages suspended without warning for issues that may not be directly covered in the Community Guidelines.
In an effort to address that, I am compiling a list of reasons given for suspending Patreon pages with NSFW content. They are as follows:
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Dave Kellett and Brad Guigar tackle another bushel of questions from creative professionals! FIRST, they share advice for people who are starting their first steps into cartooning later in life. How do you do comics with a spouse, kids, a mortgage and, well… a life? NEXT, what’s the best way to support a comics creator? THEN, if you came of age in a Web 2.0 environment of message boards and forums, how can you hope to build community these days? PLUS, the prevailing advice is to find your niche and stay there. It helps Amazon’s algorithm, according to conventional wisdom. So… should you? FINALLY, Are you undervaluing your Patreon pledge tiers? And, if so, what should you do?
BUT FIRST: After living out of a suitcase for a few weeks while his family moved into a new house, Dave realizes he needs just a little bit to live happily. And a little bit more. And a little bit more.
Show notes
Project Wonderful, the auction-style web-advertising broker that once thrived in the webcomics community has announced that it will close down on August first.
Even if you’re not using Project Wonderful, this news has significant relevance to you…
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BUT FIRST… Speaking of humor writing, Brad’s older son, Alex, has become fascinated with writing comedy. And that has resulting in a strange combination of pride and fear for dad.
During the Patreon On Tour conference in New York City, representatives mentioned plans for getting Patreon more involved in helping creators ship physical merchandise. Today, the company announced it has acquired Kit.com — a start-up company that allows creators to group products into curated packages.
Here’s what that may mean to you…
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