Suspending contest (ಥ﹏ಥ)

Yeah... I was blocked on Deviantart for two weeks, because I drew Yuri with girls 17 years old. My account was deleted for naked Ariel at Artstation. It's very strange for me that they punish for drawing a fictional character. I am indifferent to Loli, the main thing is they are not babies, lol.

Prywinko

I'm rather curious about the child pornography bit, especially given the number of artists that deal almost exclusively in it. There's even one on here, lol. I guess this means no Evangeline. T _T Unless you would do a private commission for me. *wiggles eyebrows* Sucks to hear about, though.

Amira

Thank you so much! You helped me!

Prywinko

Shame. Still, better safe than sorry on these issues.

pato

Pry, here's a crash course on the issue. While I'm not an attorney, I've done professional work in this exact area of law and can provide you links to the relevant laws. Patreon is located in San Franciso, so I'll presume they're operating under California law. Like most states, California makes a distinction between games of skill and games of chance. If you pay in money for a chance to win a game based purely on your luck, then it's gambling. If either (1) you didn't pay in or (2) the game is based primarily on skill instead of luck, then it's NOT gambling. Think of it like this. Let's say I run a cereal company. I sell 1,000,000 boxes of cereal for a contest. One of them has a winning ticket in it. So to win, someone has to pay me money (i.e. buy cereal) for a chance of getting the winning ticket. And the dominant factor in the game is just luck. They buy a box and hope it's the winner. This is gambling, so most states won't let me do it. If I want to get around that, I have to pass one of the two tests I listed above (no pay-in or not a game of chance). Most companies opt to do the first option: get rid of the pay-in. If you can win without giving me money, then it's not gambling. That's why companies that do this always add on, "no purchase necessary to win," and have an address you can write to for a free shot at winning the contest. Maybe I sell 1,000,000 boxes of cereal with game tickets, but I actually print another 100,000 that I don't put in the cereal boxes, and one of those (which someone could just mail in and get for free) might be the winner. Since you COULD win without paying me any money, there's no longer a required buy-in, and therefore it's no longer gambling. My other option is to change it into a game of skill. Instead of just putting random tickets in the boxes, maybe I run a poetry contest. You have to write a poem on the back of the cereal box and mail it to me. Since the game is now won by skill and your own actions, it's no longer a game of chance, and therefore no longer gambling. So let's talk about your situation. Since this is Patreon, obviously you can't get around the buy-in. We're all paying you money. So if you want to keep this contest from being gambling, you need to change the other part. Instead of a game of chance, make it a game of skill. If this contest is based on our skills and actions, then it's not gambling. For example, you said you wanted a name for the community. What do we call ourselves? Well, if you let us take a stab at naming the community—and the one you pick is the winner—that's an act of creativity and skill. Therefore, it's no longer a game of chance, so it's no longer gambling.

Lizardman

So this system works with a regular poll. And I want to give a chance to get an original character or a favorite character, even if others did not vote for him!

Prywinko

Ah, I hope so. But we will find a way to do something fun!

Prywinko

That's bogus! I wonder if the guy misunderstood. Everyone that pledges to you gets SOMETHING. This is just an added bonus, a fun lottery to get something not included!

Ne0natomy

I suggest a "Vote Character to Draw NSFW" by Poll System ... higher tier pledge has more vote points

Frank Leo

Hope dies last! I think to choose a character by comment will be OK

Prywinko

I think it will be interesting!

Prywinko

No restrictions. It can be an original character, an anime character and so on. It is important that he was an adult (18+).

Prywinko

Damn that sucks, was hoping maybe of getting some quality Holo pics (if I won lol)

Say, as for suggestions, are you up for drawing a monster girl? (Like more a monster looking girl than the "typical" monster girl that's just an anime girl with like horns or bird wings for arms XP)

Barcod

Are there any limits on what character I can pick beyond just 18+ I should be aware about?

Kim Åkerman

Yes, it's sad. Some laws are strange(

Prywinko

Yes, I was going to do it randomly. I'm just afraid to say it out loud XD

Prywinko

Hmm, I like the idea of just choosing a suggestion in a thread, and you could even make the choice at random for effectively the same result.

Paul

Yeah, I tend to dislike that about California. =_= Such a nanny state... Because they know better than we do what's good for us. Hmm... As for ideas, I'd submit Ayane or Christie from DoA. I still wanna see you do an adorable rendition of Nina from Breath of Fire 4, though. °-° She's so cute! x3

Cyril Vaxx

I'm afraid that I will not be able to call it a contest. But I think so, it will be the best way out.

Prywinko

Do you mean to hold a contest not only among patrons?

Prywinko

(づ￣ ³￣)づ

Prywinko

Thanks! I still have the hope that I will be able to hold a contest

Prywinko

I agree :(

Prywinko

About lottery, I don't know exactly for the US but in some European countries, lottery or other random games needs specific authorizations and sometime supervision by bailiff because of the random fact that cannot be checked, otherwise it's illegal. So I think that your idea to simply choose a character in the comments is very good but the rewards may be also need to be available for all patreons.

César

Dawwr. I'm sorry, everyone seemed really excited. I'm somewhat surprised, I thought I've seen several other Prateon artists with a monthly drawing. Maybe we could all submit names of a character we'd like to see drawn, the names of the characters (not necessarily the patreons) goes into a (metaphorical) hat, and a character can be drawn from the hat as a winner?

JayDoubleDee

awww :( good thing you got warned in time. A big thx to Antsstyle and hugs to all

Miku

awww, super sorry to see that, the U.S is super strict gambling laws, it sucks :( hope you can find a good work around <3

Barcod

lame hope somthing can be worked with... i hate when fun things are turned into "illegal or Legal" issues shows you how up tight the worlds become =(

Lachdanan

Thank you! I'm waiting for a response from the support, whether such an option is legal (ಥ﹏ಥ)

Prywinko

I add screenshot. Holding a lottery is illegal and I can not randomly choose the winner. I'm waiting for an answer, can I choose the winner myself, that this is not a lottery and it was legal

Prywinko

I'm so sorry the contest cannot happen as stated before, but I'm glad there are other options! I think you selecting one character from comments on another post is a great work-around!

Sublime

Wha?