Live Drops

Hello all! Thank you for participating in our poll to decide on how we should proceed with the Live Drops. The vast majority seem to be interested in us continuing the Live Drops but just starting them early so that those who do not wish to participate can keep watching like usual.

This means that starting this weekend, the Live Drop will happen with enough time for it to finish before the usual publish time at 9pm Pacific Time.
Because videos vary in length, the Live Drop will start at different times each week. But most episodes are around 2-2.5 hours. So it'll usually be around 6-6:30pm Pacific Time.

Those who wish to watch Live with your fellow Patreon members and chat about the episode can do so. After the Live video ends, the post will then essentially be a normal video post.

For those who want to watch the videos like usual, you will be able to do that starting at the usual publish time of 9pm Pacific Time. The only difference you'll see is that the video will say "Just Dropped" at the top and it will be pinned to the top of the home page for 24 hours. After 24 hours there will be no noticeable difference between it and all videos posts. By 9pm Pacific Time, the post will operate 100% like a normal video post.

This change will also allow for those on Eastern Time to participate more since it won't be happening so late at night.

We know that those in the UK and elsewhere still won't be able to participate. We will look into options on how we can make the Live Drops more accessible for some of the more anticipated episodes. But that is always dependent on editing and when the episode is complete and ready to be uploaded.

We have reached out to our Patreon point of contact, asking them about the Live Drop emails and notifications that seem to be in excess. Hopefully, they can find a way for members to have more control over the emails and notifications they receive. Or at the very least send less reminders about the Live Drops.

When it comes to the comment section, if you prefer not to see the comments from the Live Drop, they are distinctly marked and separated with a line so that you can avoid having to read through them.

We know that not everyone will be happy with this decision. Change is always a little uncomfortable. Please keep in mind that enough of your fellow Trek fans find value and community in this new feature that it is worth giving them the ability to enjoy it even though some annoyances may come with it. The episode will still be 100% the same as it's always been in the past as soon as it finishes playing the Live video.