APPRO
patreon
Some Changes Regarding Future Uploads!
🕑 Added 2024-07-02 12:15:58 +0000 UTCHey y'all, there's gonna be some changes regarding future uploads on Patreon starting with this week's comic! Why? Well, unfortunately it has to do with the big P: Piracy.
I recently found that my content was being leaked onto an unsavory website which conglomerates pay-walled Patreon content under the guise of "archiving". Now, I'm not so stupid as to not understand that piracy is often a necessary evil in this industry, and in the past, I have even agreed with it to some extent. However, this is a different situation. Rather than uploading 1 or 2 of my exclusive comics to somewhere like e-hentai, this person has ripped my entire Patreon page and uploaded it wholesale to this website.
I take issue with this for 1 reason, really. This hobby takes me time, that's no secret. Naturally, I would like to be compensated for this work, but I feel uncomfortable asking for large amounts of money to view it. I also understand that the nature of my content is global, and I want to ensure that it is accessible to as many people as possible, while still allowing me to fund the creation of it. I would much rather have a larger following at $1 a subscription than a smaller following at $10 a subscription. It irks me that somebody (I do know who they are based on sign up dates and upload dates) is taking advantage of the generous price-tag I have, and using it to steal my content wholesale.
So, what is going to be done?
Well, starting with this week's upload, I will begin uploading the comics as a zip and pdf that are password protected! I will put the password in the welcome notes of my page! This will, of course, be in addition to the monthly drive link! I know many of you may actually enjoy this change, as it seems Patreon's image serving can be spotty at best. If so, I am glad to have helped, even if it comes due to the bad actions of others! Silver linings, right?
Finally, a very big thank you to those of you that support me. It's especially in times like these where I appreciate your support the most! If you have any other ideas on how to protect against piracy while ensuring that your experience as a paying customer stays the same, please let me know!
Thanks as always,
APPRO
Comments
spam Connor
Hey there, I totally understand where you’re coming from! Like I said in the post, it’s not necessarily regular piracy that upsets me, moreover the wholesale ripping of my content onto that site! I understand that it’s kind of a fact of life in this industry and into some extent works in your favor, but to rip everything at once and post it all in one conglomerated place kind of removes any incentive to support my content for most people!
Toma Dandan
I am one of those who archive images that I find good but are not yet on that site. I don’t do it all the time, just for some that are good enough. Yes, I know it’s wrong, but seeing how things have been lately, with artists disappearing because they get banned and all their art vanishing, it makes me sad. That's why I ended up doing it. There are other places like EH, but I find them quite complicated, so I use that site instead. My point is, yes, piracy is bad, but it can’t be completely eradicated. It also brings more publicity to you, and maybe some people like me, who only enjoy pirated content, will support the artists when they can afford to. Using passwords and other drives is also a good idea because places like Patreon, Fanbox, and Fantia usually have strict rules. At least you’ll have your backups somewhere else, not just on one site. I noticed you moved from Muses8 to Pixiv and Patreon. I found out through Pixiv, seeing that your work is quite rare. Sometimes it’s good, but other times it’s not. Then I saw someone archive it again on EH, but it didn’t seem like the full version. This made me curious about your art, and I eventually found it on that site. While piracy is bad, it made me more aware of your work and interested in it. So yeah, having a password is a good way to make us curious at first, then reveal the real stuff. Not to mention, it’s only for $1. I do dislike it when artists charge $5-$10 for just regular content and take a long time to create it. But for $1 or maybe $2, which is still cheaper than $5, I think that’s reasonable, because after all, your niche art rarely has high-quality pieces. However, not many might support it considering it’s a niche genre. Even I just made a Patreon today to start commenting and maybe supporting in the future. I hope I can support you more. Sorry for the bad English. Keep making girls into horrible mammals.
Unwarrented Hatred
One last thing about password protecting, you really will want to keep it dynamic, it's very easy for them put that password inside the details of the website, so keeping them inside a drive or mega folder that changes passwords every post, while mildly annoying for the subscriber, will further deter people from being able to just easily upload it and be done with it. Which, frankly, most of the people posting it on these sites don't wanna do, they wanna paste in a code and have the website archive it for them, so having to go back over and over to resync it to update the password bugs the hell out of them.
Unwarrented Hatred
I'm pretty sure that I know which site you're referring to. As far as I'm aware one of the easiest way to get around it is uploading a lot of content on discord. They have a discord importer, but it's absolute dogshit to say the least. Another good option might be a switch to Fantia. Obviously it's not ideal, but the option to limit what is shown to subscribers based on when they join is pretty great. Password protecting is another good option, ESPECIALLY if you change it every time you upload a new comic. These sites only update when you update unless someone manually requests it, so delaying the password update to the archive or just deleting the archive and making a new one tends to fuck with these people. Sorry for the yap session, I get pissed about this stuff. I understand doing it for people that are charging absurd amounts or only posting every 6 months, but for someone who's giving a good price while also delivering consistently, it just shitty.
Ephieites
Do what you have to do. The image view here can be pretty annoying at times so I appreciate the change!
