So...I don't know it you've heard or not, but Patreon has begun a new round of purges. No, I wasn't one of them...I'm nowhere near that noteworthy. But the thing is...I am fundamentally against what they're doing.

Here's why: Creative people tend to be fundamentally transgressive. We push and cross boundaries in order to explore and present ideas...and sometimes mock them. That's really the job description, but it's not always a profitable one. So when something like Patreon comes along with the potential to make that part easier, it's really no wonder so many will jump at the opportunity. Myself included.

For myself, Patreon really hasn't ever been profitable for me, and their activities over the past two years have raised serious doubts for me about their continued viability. They were pretty much the only game in town, though. And, as the saying goes: I had to play. On one hand, that's no longer true. There are other crowdfunding sites...until someone Patreon booted switches to them, and then the payment processors go "Nope!" and Patreon's competition founders--which should look suspiciously like collusion to anybody paying attention to this. How did Mr. Conte put it? Oh, yes...it's "manifest observable behavior."

For the record: I'm not a big voice. Never have been (much to my ego's chagrin), but it seems to me that when organizations start to limit the big voices...there's a serious problem with those organizations, and it's time to withdraw your support (however minimal) from them. Also, that it's only a matter of time before they come after the small voices. So I've shuttered my Patreon account. Not a hard decision as it wasn't doing much for me, but it does pose a problem. Where to now?

Well, I'll figure it out, and rumor has it some folks with access to some actual resources are working on this problem from their end. So I'll be keeping an eye out.