Schedule Transparency

Good morning Blackbirds!

I just wanted to put out some quick notes about my procedure so that all members can be clear about how to get the postcards they want and/or are owed — with particular regards to coming and going from the Patreon. I know it’s a tad tedious, but please read this!

— Postcards are delivered to people who were successfully charged on the 1st of the month. That’s why the last day of the month is my cutoff for receiving next months postcard. You’re charged on December 1st, you get December’s postcard, and so on. People who join ON the first (or at any point after) are not charged and are therefore ineligible for that months postcard (though you can contact me to possibly make an arrangement if you’d like.) I am genuinely uncertain how Patreon decides the EXACT cut-off time (re: time zones and varying midnights), but if you’re not sure whether you slid through the door or not, the question to ask is “did Patreon charge me?”

— After the 1st, Patreon spends the next several days battling with peoples banks and credit card companies. It takes about 2 days for THEM to decide they’ve finished up, but I’ve had payments come through as late as the middle of the month. I usually wait until about the 5th of the month to run the script that gathers my addresses, to give everyone time to sort out their declined payments and such. If you have trouble and are charged later than the 5th, you need to contact me to let me know or my script will have missed you.

— So I’ve gathered all my addresses around the 5th, but I do not usually actually send postcards until the second or third week of the month. That means if you change your address in the middle of the month, you also need to contact me.

— Finally, you are welcome to come and go as you please, but if you leave the Patreon after you’re charged on the 1st but before I gather addresses on the 5th, my script also may skip you as a non-active/declined member. I ask, for my own clerical peace of mind and the assurance that you’ll get what you’re owed, that you stay for the duration of months that you are expecting a postcard, and leave towards the end of the month, rather than skedaddling right away after you’ve been charged.

(I’m also going to issue another warning that sometime soon I will be issuing permanent caps on all tiers, which will make coming and going (specifically the ‘getting back in’ part) a little bit trickier and less guaranteed! So if you are someone who pops in and out for certain postcards, watch for that!)

— Your Society President, Penpal-in-Chief, and Delirious Manager of Administrative Nonsense Before I’ve Had My Tea, Marlowe Lune