SubscribeStar: Patreon Alternative/Backup

Hey all,

Quick post here about a subscription alternative for anyone interested and a possible backup account to Patreon.

https://subscribestar.adult/aaryn

TLDR: At Bottom

I've created a secondary account to post official game updates and donation-based releases over on SubscribeStar and it should eventually somewhat mirror this Patreon account. For those that may not be aware, SubscribeStar is an alternative website that allows NSFW content-- in fact they sorta specialize in it moreso than Patreon does. Unfortunately, Subscribestar doesn't allow free "following" like Patreon does; only subscribing but if you want to bookmark that backup just in case, you're more than welcome. You can also find it listed on my LinkTree page so you could always access it via that if needed.

Atlernative/Backup: Primary Reason

I started Patreon back in 2017, and later added an Itch.io  page but their UI doesn't really allow for the type of additional content I post here. Honestly, the monetary side of this is the last thing I like to think about so I've been dragging my feet on doing this for a long time. I just really don't like talking about the financial side and I don't like associating my projects with money.

But in an age where a lot of modding is performed by bots, it's not unusual for random Patreon accounts to just be wiped and banned with little to no appeal system. So it just makes sense to have a backup account where I can post the same content rather than waiting for an emergency.

Additionally, some people may not like Patreon for whatever reason. So the SubscribeStar account will be another safe option for future downloads and posts for anyone interested.

This is my sole source of income. This project and the donations literally keep me alive so it just makes sense to diversify more since the internet has been in a constant state of fluctuation over the past few years.

Political Shyt

It's no secret the political landscape in the US is pretty labile and unsteady. Prior to the US election, publications indicated an intent to target adult creators legally and even punish them with prison. This means, projects like Straight!? could be in the crosshairs in the future-- the fact that it deals with gay themes just makes it even more of a target. We've already seen Patreon and other platforms targeted by MasterCard last year that caused some pretty absurd rule changes regarding games, stories, and art. So we've already seen some early steps like this taken-- it's just unsure how far it will or could go. In the event that Patreon is targeted, a backup could hopefully buy me some time to try and figure out alternatives.

Why SubscribeStar?

I specifically chose SubscribeStar as the backup because they typically allow a lot of content that other websites do not. This would hopefully be a safety net if larger platforms like Patreon were targeted to remove content. Hopefully, the sites that allow more extreme stuff, would allow my vanilla romance.

Should You Subscribe to Both Patreon and SubscribeStar?

God no. The posts over there will be exactly the same. I copy/paste. It's just an alternative and backup in case you don't like Patreon, want an alternative, or this page is removed for whatever reason. There will not be exclusive content on SubscribeStar versus Patreon-- that's shady to try to entice people to subscribe at two places. Not gonna happen unless I lose this page. Honestly, Patreon will always have more content technically since I will not be copying old devlogs over there. Just the new stuff moving forward. I do want to eventually move pics sets like the Selfies and Shorts but I haven't got to it yet.

If you have questions, lemme know.

TLDR: It makes sense to have a backup account for posts that is a mirror to Patreon for safety reasons or in case Patreon is targeted like it was last year to reduce or limit adult content. I've made a SubscribeStar account, a website that usually allows almost anything, as a backup. There's no reason to subscribe to both SubscribeStar and Patreon. Both accounts will be used moving forward. It's just a backup/alternative. If Patreon is nuked, I would move everything over to SubscribeStar then adjust from there.