Not Quite Spring, Not Yet Summer or, A Weekly Recap

There are some big discussions happening this week on and about Patreon. But before I talk about that, here's your recap.

In April, we'll be exploring our favorite hypnosis tropes, and thinking about what some of yours might be now might be useful to you then.

If this is your first visit here, and you’re reading this via a link you found on my twitter, tumblr, or bluesky accounts, please take a moment to look around and decide if you are interested in becoming either a free subscriber or a pledged patron. There are benefits to both! As a free subscriber, you’ll have access to at least one free file a month, these weekly recaps, and posts related to my monthly (or seasonal!) themes that won’t be obviously available to people who only look at my social media. For April, I've planned another sort of "adventure" activity to celebrate tropes and as a subscriber you'll get told about that before anyone else!

Pledged patrons receive access to weekly files - the higher you pledge the more files you get! If you've enjoyed my monthly re-release of free files and haven't pledged yet, I encourage you to do so now to gain access to hundreds more.

I'm livestreaming fairly often on my YouTube channel, which you can find here: https://www.youtube.com/@leeallurehypnosis/streams  - I've also added the option to join my YouTube community for a very small monthly fee - and my YouTube VIPS also have extra privileges so be sure to check that out!

My kitchen renovation (that was meant to start and finish 4 years ago, but was delayed because of the Covid lockdown) is nearly finished! Yes, this means that my Whisperroom home recording booth is finally built and usable! You may already have noticed that video and audio production has resumed. When you visit my YouTube page, don't forget to look through all the posted videos - I’ve released 32 of my early Discord Chats in video form, and it’s a great way of getting an idea of what my style is like before you commit to pledging my Patreon. (And don't forget to like and subscribe so that you'll be notified when I post new content!)

Last week I released 1 file:

15 March 2024 -- Echoes (Original Version) (released for Patrons pledging $10 and higher) - Would you like to be confused? Would you like your unconscious mind to be able to use your confusion against you? This file might not make that much sense to you when you listen to it, but that won't matter! NOTE: Having listened to this file may be helpful during next month's adventure...

Be ready this coming Friday for "Magical Moments", a subject empowerment file that focuses on exploiting your own happiness!

And now, current events.

As some of you are probably aware, certain payment processors are trying to outlaw depictions of hypnosis, which they (and the people who are putting pressure on them) claim is mind control that takes away people's ability to consent. Patreon has updated their Terms of Service in what seems like an attempt to clarify their stance on hypnosis but they actually created even more questions.

Here is a link to their guidelines if you'd like to read them for yourself: https://www.patreon.com/policy/guidelines

Please send Patreon feedback on this policy here: CreatorPolicy@Patreon.com and let them know your thoughts.

Here are excerpts in which hypnosis is mentioned, if you don't want to use the link:

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Consent

It is paramount that Adult/18+ creators demonstrate consent in all works (real or animated; photo, video, written, audio) between adult participants or characters; specifically, a freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous indication of consent by a statement or by a clear affirmative action. Additionally, participants and characters must be able to give consent (i.e. not be under the influence of alcohol, drugs, hypnosis, blackmail). “Consensual non-consent” works, in which participants or characters engage in simulated non-consensual encounters, are not permitted. Accompanying a work that features a non-consensual encounter with a statement claiming that the encounter was consensual is a violation of Patreon guidelines.

Sexual violence

Patreon has zero tolerance when it comes to works, real or animated, that glorify non-consensual sexual acts such as rape, sexual assault, or coerced consent (e.g. under the influence of drugs or alcohol, hypnosis, blackmail). Personal accounts or survival stories involving sexual violence, however, are permitted.

***

I strongly object to hypnosis being placed in the same category as drugs, alcohol and blackmail, and while I do firmly believe that hypnosis can change your life, and I do what I can to make chose changes to be positive and fun ones, that not everyone sees the fun and fantasy of some of the files in the same way I (and hopefully you) do.

I also want to emphasize that I don't think I have ever done any files with sexual violence (but please let me know if you think there is a file with that in it!) and that I'm a strong advocate for subject agency, with the accept, reject or adjust files I've done in the past.

Patreon is having a sort of open house conversation today with creators to answer questions about this policy, so hopefully I will have more information or at least some clarification about these guidelines soon.

While we're waiting to find out how this Patreon might be affected, we're taking some steps to try and keep it safe. These have mainly been changing post titles, files names, post descriptions, and tags in order to avoid certain key words. For example, you may have noticed a recently re-released file has had a name change!

We hate to do it, but as a precautionary measure we've also deleted some posts, namely the Sparkling Clean Choose Your Own Adventure series from Last June and my recording of DJ Pynchon's excellent story "Clickbate". (And if you're paying attention you've just discovered one of the key word changes we're working on as well.)

Hopefully these guidelines will not affect us here too much, but right now it's too early to tell. DJ Pynchon, EnScenic, and I are in the process of starting a podcast, and we plan to talk about this issue in our first regular episode, so be on the lookout for that soon.

In the meantime, enjoy Not Quite Spring!