#even if i wanted to support a 'small' creator i just can't afford it. I'm broke as shit bro.

[astramachina]

........... Watcher. I mean. I get it. But what the hell. I love you guys but I can't do it. I can't pay for another subscription. ):

Like I get it, youtube as a platform doesn't lend itself well to this kind of media but damn. Damn.

[evil-peanut-butter-addict-sam]

@shelbygraces

shut your bubble gum dumb dumb skin tone chicken bone google chrome no homo flip phone disowned ice cream cone garden gnome extra chromosome metronome dimmadome genome full blown monochrome student loan indiana jones over grown flint stone X and Y Chromosome friend zome sylvester stalone sierra leone auto zone friend zone professionally seen silver patrone big headed ASS UP You and your splotchy hair dye you can't ever choose what color you want, like make up your mind, lovejoys music is better then what you will ever make because you have made NOTHING against them you have been on YouTube for what over 10 years and almost 20 years? And your just now getting 100,00? Sad that just shows that your own 'supporters' aren't even supporting you and just sending absolute shit on us. For God's sakeI had a BLOODY TAMPON tell me to kms all because I had a Wilbur Soot costume you need to learn to control your subs everyone else can why can't you? With how far apart your eyes are I would be way to long to get from one eye to the other I would have to get a pit stop on your nose before anything, your fashion style is practically equivalent to a 7 year old girls closet. The only reason why they replace William with you in QSMP is because you would have never made it when everyone else got a invite, I'm surprised you even got the amount of support you have gotten because you weren't even known even after the relationship with Wilbur you only started getting your fame is because your a selfish little bitch that doesn't know when to stfu. On the selfishness side of you why didn't you give your fans the merch you absolutely promised them? Was it because you where too small of a creator even then to collaborate with someone? "I'd settle for a gun-" Yeah Wilbur we all would settle for the gun them having to hear her loud annoying voice, Shelby you wanted to say it's weird to be friends with minors because Wilbur was friends with tubbo and Tom when they were kids still but your in your early 30S AND FRIENDS WITH AIMSEY WHEN SHE WAS A MINOR you hypocrite "He had a ant infestation" Oh? Now did he? I would like proof on that. Or if I'm gonna be honest you probably don't even have proof like EVERYTHING ELSE and if you did have proof you would have showed it in the first stream. Wil said that he has many different pieces of proof showing you consented but he's not showing them for YOUR OWN PRIVACY AND SAFETY. " hello! My name is Shubble and welcome bsck to my channel" YOU SOUND LIKE STITCH IN YOUR INTROS WTF?? AND YOUR INTRO VOICE LITERALLY HASNT CHANGED IN THE PAST SIX DAMN YEARS? GET CREATIVE MAKE SOMETHING NEW. "I have alot of opinions about sounds in minecraft, what are the best sounds, what are the worst sounds" 1. Damn right you have opinions i think its obvious with the amount of time you have come out with almost every single popular ex of yours and there's suddenly something that went wrong in every damn one. 2 you are the worst sound not just on minecraft but in mankind. 3 William gold has the most iconic and funny ass minecraft sounds. "Just another thrift hall!" Why? Because you can't afford full priced clothing? "I will not be dying mu hair anymore" Then why the hell is your hair orange rn? Me and MULTIPLE people thought you weren't gonna say anything about ILGWIS because the song it literally directed towards how shitty you are/had been but NO you had the clout Shelby, you had to piss people off like me. "Stream my stream instead" Yeah that's all we can do because one again you have no music to stream. Fuck you Shelby, you clout chasing bitch.

VICTIM MORTALITY AND FREEDOM OF SPEECH

[velvetvexations]

I understand the instinct behind it to a degree but it really does worry me how fast people in progressive spaces are willing to buy into conspiracy level thinking about there being shadowy groups of transphobes plotting to freeze other trans people out or like, that every big news story or movie/tv/book release is planned to distract us from Sudan or Gaza, cuz like quite often things are just coincidences? The most insidious thing about systemic oppression is that it's so self-sufficient it doesn't NEED people to conspire to fuck over xyz demographic, it just does that on it's own. The instant you buy in to conspiratorial thinking you're in danger, and that includes painting a large group of queer creators as active, intentional transmisognists who should be shunned forever and ignoring the realistic read which is that it's clearly an unfortunate coincidence that can be fixed! It's the whole "if the building was designed to be inaccessible even if everyone working there loves disabled people the building is still inaccessible" thing, for a lot of reasons not a lot of trans and queer people end up even in the line to possibly be front and center in a show or two, and Dropout is clearly working to change that and include queer people, but it's slow going and the system is stacked against trans people and no one is perfect and Dropout is also still a VERY small company all things considered trying to build themselves up from almost nothing, they need support so they can offer space to more trans people and transfems! Like what good does spreading a bullshit rumor about the main cast all being closet raging transmisognists do aside from tear down one of the only queer platforms we have??

When College Humor got bought by Sam they could only afford like ONE employee, do we want to have to wait years and years and years for another new platform to arise that has the money and power to represent us?? I'd rather uplift and push to be better a platform that is run by queer people who want to do better for all of us even if they don't always succeeded than sit here begging Disney to acknowledge that we exist while spreading horrid rumors about every legit queer creator who wants to platform us secretly being a huge bigot in disguise.

It's so awful, I hate how every time someone works their ass off to make a fucking difference for queer people all the terminally online progressive queers have to rip them to shreds for not being 100% perfect in every way until we have nothing but sanitized corporate overlords who don't think we deserve to be on screen at all. Every progressive queer creator gets put through this eventually and I'm so sick of it. The Vlogbrothers, The McElroy Family, Nightvale Presents, She-ra, Steven Universe, Chappell Roan, Becky Albertalli, it KEEPS happening!! And we will never get anywhere if the slightest misstep or honest unfortunate coincidence is enough to deem the only people who are trying to represent us, many of which ARE us, as irredeemable bigots who should be crucified in the town square.

Imo this is just a massive case of people always falling for conspiratorial thinking out of a refusal to actually understand how systemic bigotry works in favor of the "everyone is always secretly intentionally conspiring against us" lie and refusing to give queer creators/allies ANY grace or room for error or the benefit of the doubt because like. I guess destroying other queer people and our allies is what some of us do best. The fact that it's only ever queer people and allies who get this treatment makes me sick. We can't let ourselves have anything, it's perfect or it's evil. What the fuck is even the point of queer rep anymore if all of it is going to get treated like this eventually?

.

[northwest-cryptid]

So I have had this debate with a few of my streamers friends for a while now and I'm genuinely curious as to what the stance here is; so I'd like to ask you a question and I really want you to take a moment to think about it and answer honestly. Remember it's all anonymous numbers so it's not like I or anyone else can judge you for what you pick, the data being collected here is actually really helpful for understanding the situation better.

See the argument/debate in question is whether or not people are "just being stingy" when it comes to stream donations. I've often stated that I believe it's more along the lines of people not having the funds, rather than not wishing to support people. Others have told me it has more to do with the fact streaming isn't seen as something that requires funding. Some have even said that people just refuse to donate to small streamers out of being stingy with their money because "it doesn't get them anything." So I'm genuinely curious here;

Please understand if you pick the bottom most option I'm still looking for a yes or a no.

And now for all the annoying tags I hate putting on things but I am genuinely curious and as it might help me better understand donation culture I really do need to know (I'm physically disabled to the point I can hardly move around or even drive and I can't get on disability because I literally can't afford the court case so I live and die by streaming and I hardly ever get donations unless I beg for them which feels shitty for a lot of reasons so I'm trying to better understand.)

[idrellegames]

How do you maintain love in your playerbase knowing that some of the people there are the same selfish people who are leaking or trying to leak/pirate the hard work of indie devs and writers? Ngl my project was nowhere near as big and popular as yours but something like that happened to me and I slowly lost interest in my project. I still keep up with IFs I like but can't ever seem to manifest the interest and love I used to have for my work after it happened the first time. People say things like giving up is just "letting them win" or that we should just be happy that someone out there enjoys our game and hearing "reasons" like that make me realize it's hopeless to get any respect for my work

First of all, I'm really sorry your project got leaked. It is an unfortunate side of being a creator - especially an online one. Regardless of the form, regardless of whether you're an hobbyist or a professional, art is a hot commodity. People want high quality entertainment, but they don't want to pay for it.

I've been avoiding addressing the IF leaks outside of this post because I don't think it's productive to throw any more attention on the situation. Leaks happen, they are always going to happen--if someone wants something and they can't afford it or don't want to pay for it and they want it badly enough, they will find a loophole. At the end of the day, it's a very small community of people who are pirating and shoving them into the spotlight is only going to draw more people who were maybe on the fence about downloading pirated content into doing it.

I am pretty steeled when it comes to this topic now. IF isn't the only place where I have experienced my work being leaked. I come from a theatre background and it is very easy for your original work to get produced without you even knowing about it.

A show I worked on in 2012 has its script available online as part of the library of the university where it was produced. My co-writer and I don't collect royalties from it; the intention is for it to remain free to produce for amateur and university companies. However, because of the political and sensitive nature of the script, my co-writer is very adamant about directors contacting her for permission to produce it and to follow certain guidelines before putting it on. Learning about a production in Australia months after the show closed didn't feel great. It wasn't about money, it was about ethics.

With the IF leaks specifically, I think there's a bit of a disconnect happening here between the people who want to play the games and how they view the indie creator who made them. They see paying a Patreon sub as the same as paying a big company for a product, and if they can't afford to pay it or if they don't want to, then no harm is done by pirating it.

But that's not what the relationship is.

Patreon is not paying for a product, it is supporting the creator's livelihood. I am extremely grateful for my patrons. A game the size of Wayfarer is not something that can feasibly be done in the spare moments between day jobs. But capitalism stops for no one and to make this game, I need to be able to afford rent and groceries. A living wage, as some would say.

Are leaks disheartening? Yes. But I also think that people who play pirated content were never going to sub to Patreon in the first place. And, as mentioned earlier, the number of people involved is relatively small. Thankfully, I'm not that much at risk of leaks actually affecting my income at the moment. But I would be concerned and would take a firmer stance if you Googled Wayfarer and the first search result was a pirated copy (and then I would probably follow the appropriate steps to have that result taken down from the search results).

I think the worst thing you can do as a creator is confront leakers directly. That is only going to blow back on you and put more of a spotlight on the fact that your work is getting leaked. I much would rather focus my time and energy on encouraging my community not to pirate my content than chasing down leakers and making PSAs about it.

For the folks who can't afford a Patreon sub or to anyone considering pirating my content, I would encourage you to apply to be playtesters when applications are open. If you bug test for me, then you can play the alpha content for free.

Outside of that, I take measures to protect my work as much as I can. It's not a perfect system (I don't think it's possible to make your work 100% pirating proof - if people want it badly enough, they will find a way to get it), but I know I've done as much as I can and I am content with that. I don't let it bother me. I have more important things to do with my time.

And for the people who do pirate my work - Bravo! Congratulations! It's very entertaining how petty you are.

[smytherines]

I went through my big Starkid era over the last like six months or so. I had seen Spies Are Forever once a few months back, liked it, but it kinda got buried by life stuff. Maybe a week or two before the tinlightenment kickstarter started up, I remembered SAF and decided to rewatch it, and seeing it again with the context of the full story just really spoke to me in a way I cannot shut up about.

I love Spies Are Forever. I love how funny and tender and gay and hilarious it is. But as much as I love SAF, I'm most grateful that I've gotten to make so many friends bonding over this show. Friends who are working so so so hard to promote the kickstarter because they love Tin Can Bros stuff as much as I do. We have had so much fun on streams, making up ridiculous inside jokes, posting sandwiches and asses in bios and the Sacred Text.

When I found out about the kickstarter I went and liked all the socials, not even thinking about funding it if I'm honest, but I wanted to share stuff at least. That has changed in a big way. I just increased my pledge today, actually!

Anyways I kept rewatching SAF and appreciating it in new ways. I watched Solve It Squad and Grunch and Wayward Guide. I started engaging with the tinlightenment posts. I asked my partner for the 54 Below digital ticket for Valentines Day. I made a new tumblr for the first time in years so I could post hyperfixations about SAF. I made a Diane Lopez-Richter meme that still makes me smile every time I see it, and now I'm just doing as much TCB promo as I possibly can because I really believe in what they're doing.

Theatre is hard. Independent theatre is so much harder. I spent 8 years in a children's community theatre company growing up. My mom did their books in exchange for my tuition. It was always a hustle to keep the doors open. I can say without question that it saved my life. It gave me a space to safely have my big ADHD feelings. Theatre gives you space to feel huge things in a safe way, and TCB provides free, fully original productions to anyone who can access youtube.

I backed the Tinlightenment kickstarter because these original shows and songs and characters are rare and precious, given to us FOR FREE in the hopes that we'll continue to choose to support all of these wonderful creators when they do these big fundraising campaigns.

Corey, Joey, and Brian have spent ten years working hard as fuck to bring us new things for our goblin brains to latch onto, and I want to see more. They have been working so hard on this kickstarter to give us SEVEN events for 200k, which is basically nonsense. An irrationally small amount of money for what they are planning to do. And I want to see them get there.

If you can't back the kickstarter, that's totally cool. Everyone has their own shit going on, nobody is going to hold it against you. We love you we love you we love you.

If you can afford to throw a few bucks towards the kickstarter, please please do it. Independent theatre only happens if we fund it.

>>> Tinlightenment <<<

(Reposting the Diane meme because I love watching her get new treats)

[nextinline-if]

I'm tired of watching creators get stepped on (with a clarified statement regarding the forum poster)

I don't frequent this forum - I went here to investigate pirating. Several people have insisted that the person going by the COG founder's name is not actually him, so here's my updated post. I retract that it's Dan but not what else I said. I still stand by what I said.

Hi, it's me, your friendly Vi with something on my mind. Unfollow if you will but I gotta speak my mind on behalf of the authors who spend countless hours creating the games that bring you joy. Sure, I've been away from Tumblr so I'm probably late to this but oh well. Still decided to post this.

I moved my game to Twine in August because I don't want to be associated with Choice of Games (COG). Here's a great example of why...

People in a forum asking for and sharing pirated content from indie creators' Patreons.

The author saw it and responded:

[ID: A snippet of what the text reads. Please take this down. This is just...really not cool guys. My hands are trembling as I right this, because I'm both hurt and stunned that someone would take *everything* from my Patreon and post it. If you ever want - redacted game name - to get finished, then try not to do things that will cause me to have a breakdown. Please. /ID]

Here's the response from someone going by COG's founder's name (per screenshots below - apparently it's not him but I do wonder why he lets someone use his name or isn't aware?):

I know this image is small, so here's what it reads:

"Let me tell you something, those who haven't subscribed to your patreon isn't magically gonna subscribe if they don't get stories elsewhere, and those who have already did that means they care about you and I'm pretty damn sure they aren't gonna unsubscribe anytime soon. If something anything changes due to the leaks then it's your popularity, readers are gonna be more interested in your titles and perhaps once they have enough money then they can even subscribe and donate that money to you, right now many members of this forum don't have enough resources to purchase things online such as patreon subscription, hence they had to rely on leaks to sate their excitement of reading the stories. Do think about it, from their perspective and if you can then try to make old stories and demo available for public this way they may not needs to rely on leaks and will read from official source.

Sincerely, Dan Fabulich"

What I said originally when I thought it was Dan: The guy is probably a millionaire (or, at the very least, well off compared to most indie creators) and he has the nerve to create an entitled response like this to an INDIE AUTHOR who uses choicescript.... wow. To an author who yes, has a pretty good following but is spending 1000s of hours creating for the enjoyment of others.

New statement: It's still fucking the way this person is speaking to an indie author. Still seems odd to allow a forum to use your name (and also basically insinuate it is supported by your company)...I would certainly be angry. But then again, I'm not rich and living off indie authors' work.

He (still) has more money than most of us indie authors ever have in his pocket from creating a company that pays pennies to the writers who make it money. People who just rely on passion to create these stories. Even if you make money on Patreon, most people cannot be sustained full-time. Most of the pirated content is not from bigger authors (but some is).

And before anyone says anything, yes, I am aware that many people can't afford Patreon and "don't want to wait." I get it. I promise you, I know the struggle. But like, it's fucking entitled to think you deserve to read someone's work without their permission.

And it's fucking entitled to throw the authors that pay for your lifestyle under the bus. (I still believe the company does this).

I am SO grateful to the majority of you out there who are kind, supportive, and overall amazing. But this is not okay!

Vi, out.

P.S. as an anon suggested, I will try to contact Dan to see if he's aware of this person using his name to make statements like this

[yuurivoice]

Just wanted to say that even though I do avoid exploring any tags related to me, I do absolutely recognize and appreciate a ton of you who regularly post awesome art, headcanons, and memes.

A lot of that is thanks to people sharing those fun, awesome things! Reblogs where I end up seeing them on mutuals blogs and stuff helps, so share and gas each other up!

There are people in this community that have been here for years, who have seen this entire corner of the internet shift and grow for better or worse. The OGs who have been around before I ever made this blog know how far the community has come, how much it's stayed the same, and how much it has changed. And I've grown along with it. My aspirations and hopes and creativity has evolved so much from just doing silly little posts as an anime twink to having a full blown web series.

Despite that growth, I am still just a guy trying to tell his stories and make some voices while doing it. I have a small team around me, and without them this would be even more difficult than it already is. We're not corporate, we're independent artists and freelancers and creatives just trying to do cool stuff, and are lucky enough that something worked.

I've failed so much over the course of my life. You see the results of things, and for the most part are incredibly kind and supportive. Thousands upon thousands have appreciated my work in one way or another, and that's a dream come true for me. I never bothered wanting anything more in my life than to share stories with people. I didn't have a bucket list, or many aspirations. I was at a dead end and ready to just give up. That mentality and the time spent going in circles did a lot of damage over time.

But you found me, whether it was 6 years ago or a week ago, and whatever support and vibes you've sent my way have mattered. I won't ever lose sight of that.

I wanted to say that because I know I am not as ingrained into my own community as an active participant and that may make me seem distant, or stuck up, or something. It's not for any sort of disdain or lack of appreciation though, it's just me, and trying to keep my head clear.

You don't get an instruction manual when you're suddenly a niche internet micro celebrity. They don't tell you about scrolling through fan art at 3am and then seeing the nastiest, most mean spirited, bad faith takes about your work you've ever seen. Shit is weird, man. And it's not for me, because I give way too much of a shit about my art, and that's a flaw. My skin has gotten thicker over the years, but what happens on days when your mental health is in the shitter? Weeks where I've been fighting my demons and losing can't afford me the grace to step on a weird internet landmine brought on by the symptoms of being a creative trying and failing and succeeding all at once in a world where everyone on the internet has an opinion they want to shout into the void.

And people can do that! It's my responsibility to look after myself and set those boundaries for my own comfort, not anyone's fault for just doing their thing on the internet, ya know? Once you put yourself out there, you have to accept that people are gonna people. Same irl, shit, I've been a fat kid my whole life, I'm certainly no stranger to people being obscenely rude for no reason other than they like the sound of their own voice.

I just wanted y'all to know that even though we're well beyond the "little internet family" vibes that some creators foster, I'm not up in some ivory tower (ha, said the thing) looking down like a curmudgeon. I am rooting especially hard for all the fellow creatives out there on their own journeys, wanting to share their passion and dreams with the world as well. I want you to win, and succeed, and find fulfillment with whatever drives you to make things.

Guess I was in my feelings a little bit and just wanted to say that I do see many of you and am thankful you've allowed me to play some kind of role in entertaining, comforting, or inspiring you. That means the world to me.

[farfallasims]

Hi Madi, how are you? Have you ever thought about posting videos on YouTube or even paid stuff on Patreon? I don't know how this fits here in the community. I always wanted to have a gaming PC and I thought about posting paid houses on Patreon (a small amount) but I don't know how that would turn out here in the community. I'm not a rich person and I would love to do this as a job because I love doing things and helping people but for now I can't afford my computer and I thought of this way to try to save a little. Do you think this is bad? because I see you and Amelie as my inspiration and I've never seen you talking about this kind of subject around here! I'm sorry if it's something you don't want to talk about, I'd be happy to hear your opinion 🙏🏻

Good morning! I'm lovely, how're you?

I've definitely considered YouTube and I still ponder the idea, so we shall see if it's in the cards for this year. As for paid stuff on Patreon, I don't intend on every charging for what I currently do on there which is builds & sim downloads.

Personally, I wouldn't charge for my builds (even if it's a temp. EA) because I build with CC and in that, I would be in a way charging for someone elses content. It just doesn't feel right to me. People could have differing opinions, but for me personally that will never be a route I go down.

Although I don't necessarily agree with the idea, I will say if you do plan to do that, do not start charging off the bat, especially if you are a new simmer. To put it bluntly, you have no creditability and you haven't developed a relationship with your supporters/followers yet, so the likelihood of gaining financial support would be very unlikely if you do that from the jump. Before you jump into a relationship, you need trust, and that's what all people need when they start supporting creators.

I do not charge for anything and I still gain support on Patreon because people are so incredibly generous and for that I am so grateful. You can make financial gains without putting a paywall between the content, just remember that in case as well.

Overall, the opinion differs between each creator, but also take into consideration that may not fall under CC creators TOU if you do plan to charge for builds, even if it's temp EA. I hope this sheds some light into my opinion and some of the realities of it!

[elijasz]

My little fanart doodles getting interactions and comments and shit but my personal art, which shows much more emotion and skill, getting 0 traction is the reason so many artists are relying entirely on producing fanart for their hobby. this sucks ass honestly. I find so much joy in other people's ocs but original art almost always gets less attention than fanart.

And some of you wonder why artists are all bitter as fuck. They can't create what they love if they want to make a damn living from it. This era will have so little good, original and inspiring art in the future. Look at the amount of art every era has! We have more people than ever, yet so little original art will be famous enough to inspire future artists. It sucks. like truely. We gotta find a way to appreciate art again and also raise up those, who don't have access to the channels we spread art through. We need more affordable local art exhibitions for smaller artists, better support for marginalized groups, and a tighter bond with other artists instead of some parasocial nonsense or quick interactions that don't last. I don't even post my traditional art on here. Noone will ever see that shit except my small circle of artistic friends, who I support and interact with. But if I don't ask they rarely show me what they create. I wanna see your stuff! Send your art to me in asks or DMs. Ask me to repost if you want me to do that. I'm not super big so I don't really have anyone who asks me stuff at all.

We gotta interact more. That's what this whole platform is about!

Art was essential to humanity in the past and nowadays we just consume and consume and don't even appreciate the art anymore, because we don't create. Most people don't create at all! That's unimaginable to me...music, poetry, writing, painting, drawing, sculpting, carving, woodworking, baking, sewing etc. There are people who don't do any of that! That would have been unimaginable in the past. I want you all to create for yourself. And if that means fanart, that's great! But I also want to see what YOU can come up with on your own. No matter how "bad" it is. Because creating is gifting a piece of yourself to the world. And that's scary but if we all did that, I think we'd be kinder to each other.

Anyway, thank you to all of you, who create. For themselves or for others. You're making the world a better place, one piece at a time.

Also fuck A*I, you're not included in this if you don't create something that shows a piece of you. Even fanart shows a piece of the creators soul. A*I art is just scraps of a bunch of different artist's souls taped together with the cheapest tape you could find. That's not art, thats theft and I would honestly prefer you committed to the necromancy branch of playing with people's souls.

[medicinemane]

I think it really is important that we someday take a look at copyright and like... make it not suck total ass (and that the we doing that maybe shouldn't be ancient politicians who are totally out of touch with the world... cause that's how you get the DMCA)

I'll tell you my personal goals here, my goals are that small creators have the ability to maintain control of their works and not have other people make money off their ideas. I mean to be clear, if I could think how to write the law in a way where small creators had unlimited right and massive corporations had zero rights, that wouldn't be a flaw to me, that would be a benefit

(Though always with stuff like that, I'm well aware of the idea of a company just making a bunch of sock puppet subsidiaries or something like that... like tumblr musings do not make good legal documents, they tend not to look for loopholes more being broadstrokes)

Second goal, is actually in line with copyright's stated goal, of that I want to support creativity rather than stifle it. So that does mean acknowledging that with my first point, maybe you still have to secure some right for the massive corporations so they actually bother continuing to fund creative works... it's just a matter of thinking they shouldn't have such a stranglehold

Cause here we come to my real point, which is that... you look at the massive crossovers that something like MCU or fortnite have, or you look at a soundtrack like Guardians of the Galaxy, and what you're really seeing is a lot of money changing hands with licensing deals

It's literally impossible for a small creator to afford to do that. The best you're going to get is someone doing stuff fair use, like Shag and Scoob, but they aren't gonna be able to monetize it the same way

So my real argument in the end boils down to that I think we need to find a balance on things like letting people use other characters, particularly from multi million dollar franchises, while making sure that people or companies can't just scrape someone's OC and use it for their own purposes

(Not even touching on the sheer insanity of the music industry that uses copyright like a cudgel)

So that's my general thoughts, and you can see why there's nothing actionable here, but that's the direction I'd like to see

I will settle though, for copyright updates that replace the DMCA with something not totally out of touch and massively favoring the music industry in particular

[addgg-taylor]

I Was Wrong About AI

It's a morning like most others. I wake up and lay in bed for about half an hour, scrolling through my phone to check my emails, Discord, Telegram, FurAffinity, and Tumblr. I don't have the Tumblr app though, and FurAffinity doesn't have an app, so I open up Chrome. There, you get a feed of news tailored to you by Google based on your interests. That's when I see it; AI has invaded the creative space in a game I was interested in playing, The Finals. The creators received approval to use an AI announcer in their game. While AI might be usable to lend more authentic (procedurally generated) responses than scripted audio bites from a real actor, that's a job lost. It's just one, yes, but that's what I needed to finally start noticing what was really happening.

Since I clicked an article on AI, more AI controversy started rolling in (of course). This issue wasn't limited to one game; it was far more widespread than I thought, and I was about to be hit with a right hook from tech news hell. Soon, if you're a Windows user, you won't be able to avoid AI in your daily life. There will be a dedicated key on your keyboard for it, and eventually, dedicated hardware in new computers for it. Not only is this bloatware a lot of folks (like myself) aren't interested in, but it's not the kind that can just be turned off (or potentially removed by some Windows variant); it'll be an integral part of your computer, and even if you remove the AI entirely, you'll have still paid for the tech to be put into your device.

It's at this point that the stuff hit the fan for me, and I start digging deeper. The creators of ChatGPT being legally challenged for allowing free access to paid content. Bing forcing you to engage with Copilot when you scroll up too far. Google injecting AI into its YouTube app. Hollywood folks considering AI movie scripts as a serious solution to the writer's strike. Several major AI art controversies in recent months. Creators I used royalty free music from using AI in their music. It made me look back and realize that I was wrong.

I originally stood as a devil's advocate for AI. "If it accidentally scraped up content it wasn't supposed to, could it really be blamed when it was told not to?" "Is it really stealing art from people who don't want their art used?" "If I use it for personal projects and have no intention of calling the generated work mine, is it a big deal?" These are actual questions I raised, and in retrospect, I was just ignoring red flags. Now, two years after I started supporting AI, I'm against it.

Why Are You Posting This Here Instead Of Your Main?

Normally I'd keep controversy to my main, taytay-the-gaybertooth, but this is actually related to the TCG scene. It's actually been rocked by a few AI controversies over the past couple of years, and my MTG Fan projects have used AI in the past. These fan works will no longer use AI.

We can't do much as average citizens to push back against AI besides just not using it, and even then there's only so much we can do. We can't just stop using our phones, computers, and for some, even their internet and tvs to oppose companies using AI. Small companies can't afford to replace all their Windows machines with Macs, and even if they could, there's parity problems they'll inevitably encounter. Shareholders will keep pushing for AI because it's a buzzword, it's sensational, and technology will always be cheaper in the long run than humans. However, we can do something, and even if it's something tiny, a lot of tiny things can add up to be overwhelming. Even if the message falls on deaf ears and ignorant minds, we can still send a message.

[zoiamossour]

PARISIAN LIFESTYLE VOL. 18: ZOÏA MOSSOUR

Zoïa Mossour is a genuine Parisienne, born and raised in Paris by a French mother and a Ukrainian father. She is multilingual, speaking French, Ukrainian, Russian and English, and holds a law degree at Sorbonne University. She is now working as a fashion and lifestyle content creator on Instagram and Youtube.

(Full interview under cut)

Q. When do you feel happiest?

A. "When I'm doing creative activities. For example, the process of devising and creating content proposals, and the time I take to draw pictures. You can also feel your happiest when you are in a place rich in nature with your family and friends."

Q. What do you value the most in your life?

A. "Family and friends. My father runs a company and my mother is a pottery maker. I used to live near to the Sorbonne University I attended, but recently I moved nearer to my parents' house, so I value my time with my family more."

Q. What do you practice to enrich your daily life?

A. “I like learning something new and enriching my daily life. You can learn about different artists, try new recipes…Even the small everyday things can be accumulated to enrich your learning."

Q. What is a "friend" to you?

A. Someone who, although we are independent, we grow as one and support each other together. In friendship, honesty is important to me."

Q. What is "work" to you?

A. “Work is duty and responsibility. I have a strong sense of purpose in my work. I'm motivated, and I don't have a hard time working a lot. Regardless of the influence or wages on society, I think all work is beneficial to society."

Q. What is "fashion" to you?

A. "I think fashion is a way to "reinvent" yourself every day. And it’s creative and fun. My style is effortless and minimal, such as jeans, knitwear, or men's shirts. I also like the contrast of a bright red lip with a very masculine suit. Your appearance should show your personality. I think fashion is the most influential art of all time."

Q. Please tell me five things and things you need to improve quality of life.

A. 1) “Thankfulness. Even when it's hard, I think it's important to have a heart of gratitude for everyday life. I always take the time to thank the clerk at the cafe, and the strangers who hold open the door with merci.”

2) Organisation. Even if you don't believe the magazine pictures, my room is as beautiful and as organised as the way you see it.

3) To be generous to yourself and others. It's natural for a person to be kind, but it's very difficult if you can't afford it... Even if my mentality is weak, I try to be generous to myself and others.

4) Smiling. You can feel happier just by laughing! I think the reason I'm happiest when I'm with my family and friends, because I can laugh a lot by being silly.

5) Matcha. My parents love Japanese food and Japanese culture, so I've been familiar with them since I was young. Matcha in particular is an indispensable necessity. Of course I like the taste, and the time to make matcha is like meditation and healing.”

Q. How do you want to be when you turn 50?

A. “I don't know specifically yet, but I'm proud of achieving something, and I want to convey that experience and wisdom to my children. Based in both Paris and the countryside, I long for a lifestyle where I can create art work every day!"

Interviewer: Elie Inoue

Photographer: Chloé Bruhat

[solarsavoy]

WIP Wednesday, Patreon

I know it's not a fanfic, but it is a work in progress. I'm trying to get it set up so that anyone who wants to support my work as an artist and writer can do so. I'm very fortunate to have the job I have now, but it is temporary. It could end at any time, and in order to get the same amount of income again, I'd have to find a full time job and pick up more hours at my restaurant job to compensate. This will greatly cut into the amount of time I have now for doing the things I love, telling stories through art and writing.

And if I don't start now, I won't be able to as easily later.

So here it is.

I'm trying to form a habit of posting all my sketches and linework WIPS for my art onto Patreon. I currently only have one tier and for now, everything will be available under that tier until I get a little more organized with things. I plan on keeping tier one at 1 USD and building off that with additional tiers later.

I'm planning on offering early access to pictures and someday, access to my original writings such as Gerit and Krystar. Gerit is currently on hold and being posted on AO3, but it's been on hold for so long that I may just post the entire writing onto Patreon before the pictures are finished.

I've been putting off working on my book a while now and part of the reason is because I'm wary of publishing through Amazon by myself this time. I could find a publisher, but I've heard that it's highly unlikely and nearly impossible to have control over my own covers. I wouldn't mind finding someone with more knowledge about making covers, but the thing is, the covers are part of the story in the case of the Fragment series for Krystar. As time changes, so will the covers, and if I don't have control over my covers, I can't do that, so I'm doing it alone. For now.

I do plan on publishing again, but until it's up on Amazon or some other platforms, I wanted to make it available to anyone else interested in the meantime until I work it all out.

I'm also planning on opening up for commissions sometime soon and Patrons will be able to get a discount on them. Pricing will vary depending on what's requested, but I'm thinking along the lines of 30 USD as a base and then the price will increase depending on the level of detail a person wants in the background, amount of subjects, etc. Patrons will get a 10 USD discount if they are a supporting Patron.

I feel like I'm so small right now as a content creator, but I'm really hoping to be able to build enough of a living off it so I can keep doing it. Realistically, I don't know if I'll ever make enough to live off my writing and art alone, but it's a dream, you know? And this is where it starts.

Even if I make more tiers and start limiting what's available to tier 1, I won't ever get rid of it because like me, I'm sure some can only afford so much. But support takes all kinds of forms. If all you have is a dollar (or your country's equivalent), then it helps. If all you can do is reblog, that helps. If my work inspires you or you simply enjoy it enough to tell a friend, that helps. And I appreciate anything you're willing to do to support me.

I'll let you know when I open up for commissions, but that's it for WIP Wednesday. My Patreon account is already open and up, but I'm working on a new kind of banner for the page. There's a link on my pinned post. I'll add it here when I get home. My internet capabilities are really limited while I'm at work, which is where I am now. 😅

Edit: Link to Patreon.

Thanks for reading.

[diana-3]

I'm not proud of having to make a post like this.

I'm in dire need of help.

Long story short: we've been settled with a large debt that we can't pay at our current situation.

So I'm asking for work.

I do an assortment of creative things:

Writing

(Fanfic and original. I don't take commissions for fanfics and at the moment I don't take requests either. I have 2 current fanfic novels under construction and don't need to add more to the pile. I do use kofi as tip jar though for my original writing. If you like what I have written thats free to read on wattpad and A03 and want to support, it's there but don't ask for requests there or about commissions.)

I can read over what YOU HAVE WRITTEN for your own novels or fanfics and give back feedback on things like character development, plot pacing, symbolism and such

Think of me like a rubber duck. You can info dump all you want about your project and I'll ask questions to make you think hard about it and flesh it out more completely.

If you want to read what I've written or see about commissioning an ORIGINAL short story, dm me.

I do cross stitch and embroidery, I can do small projects fairly quickly and can send it to you for you to frame as you choose, I just need a photo that can be traced or printed onto a transfer sheet so I have a reference to follow.

Hell I'll even stream the process on Twitch if you want to work along side me on your own, or see your commission being done

if I can manage to set up my phone somehow to record or with my old Webcam on my laptop that is

As you see above, I can do little plushies as well (albeit my first attempt was not well executed, I've since learned better)

I've also tried my hand at making Paopou fruit from Kingdom Hearts (or just plain stars if you like them that way), I add a leaf to make it a paopou fruit

I stream all kinds of games like Destiny 1 & 2, Dead By Daylight, Minecraft, Statdew Valley, Slime Rancher, Subnautica, Sims 4, Among Us, and if I can find it non the gamepass while I have it, I'll even play a recommendation

Want to watch my get my ass handed to me in trials, gambit, iron banner, or regular old crucible? I'll suffer and attempt to make it entertaining.

Wanna watch me get scared in DbD or FNAF? I'll scream 😱

Want me to be challenged and build something in Minecraft? Want something with your name on it my SMP? I'll try my best!

I'm not asking for a hand out, but with the way things are right at the moment I can't afford to go get a 9-5 job. It would be more expensive than putting my skills to use with what I have available.

You can see past streams on my twitch, and see some pieces of my writing on my Kofi

I'm not claiming to be an expert in any of these fields, they're just creative things I can do that are Fandom related and I enjoy doing. I just want to know I am doing all I can to help my family and keep our heads above water.

[coffeeandcalligraphy]

hey rachel! do you only submit to magazines that pay? i know some small mags can't offer payment (and large ones w/ submission fees, which is another story) but i'm just curious is there a particular reason?

Yes I do only submit to magazines that pay (there may be an exception to this, but that has not yet come up for me)! Let’s first dispel some stuff:

- You do not have to monetize your writing for it to be worthy. You all know I champion writing for oneself! It’s great. BUT, when an artist lives in a capitalist society, we must also consider the things they need to survive it (should they want to monetize their work).

- Litmags that charge submission fees and DON’T pay? I don’t personally submit there. While I understand that money is used mostly for clerical stuff (like paying for a submittable account), I personally can’t afford that. You may choose to submit to these places still, and that’s fine!

- Litmags that charge submissions fees and DO pay? I submit to these places but not frequently. Sometimes I don’t have 5 bucks to drop on a submission (usually to be rejected lol).

- Yes I still support and love small litmags! No, I won’t submit there (personally!) if they don’t pay. Here’s why:

I never write thinking about the money. When I write a story, I’m thinking about the writing, and that I love it. What I write comes from a pure labour of love. But that is my labour of love. Extending that love to a magazine that does not pay me for my labour is a different beast (even if I love the magazine). We all know writing is a lot of work! I love it because of this, and this is also one reason I submit to places that pay--when I put lots of time and effort into my work and make the decision to publish a piece (which I don’t always), my personal philosophy is that I want my work’s new home to be a place that will pay me (since only about 20-30% of what I write gets submitted at the moment). This is not to say that I only think my work is valuable when it is monetized--I actually mean the contrary. I know my work is valuable no matter if it has a dollar sign next to it on a contract. I actually don’t monetize a majority of my writing. A lot of the effort I put into my writing will literally be forgotten in the abyss of my hard drive for the rest of my life and I’m so okay with that! But that’s why when I choose to put my work out there, I also put hard thought into being paid for it.

My next point is that while we have a conversation about supporting literary magazines that don’t pay, I think a simultaneous conversation that there are certain voices that will not be represented if there isn’t monetary payment at a magazine can also be had. As a BIPOC creator in very white CanLit, it’s generally tricky to break into this industry that is so white saturated. Though reading processes for the majority of litmags I submit to are blind, my blind submission is still competing in a majorly white slush pile. I simply can’t afford not to be paid for my work in the times I have an in. For some reason, this may be a controversial statement in the writing industry (that writers should be paid at literary magazines), but I really think there isn’t enough of a conversation about representation when these convos are occurring. Who are we repping/have the potential to rep when we don’t pay?

My last point is that publications & youtube are my only modes of income at the moment (publications being the majority of my income last year). HOWEVER, I am very, very blessed to not be in a financial position (backed by my parents) where I don’t need my work to published and paid for in order to survive. I’m very blessed with financial security and my tuition is paid for by a scholarship (under xyz circumstances) but I can imagine this may be a larger point for someone else in a different situation. I had a seasonal job but that couldn’t happen because of the pandemic, and one of my publications paid more than I made at the little shifts I did work before my city locked down. Your girl is trying to work her way up to financial independence, and being paid for publications certainly helps in savings etc.

There is this conversation particularly in the writing industry that I think has haunted all fields of art, but particularly in my experience, writing. That is: “but you should publish in magazines for the exposure, the experience, the relationships, etc.” This is true. But I also don’t think it’s fully fair that we let writers sort of swim with the sharks with this one. Can the arts, exposure/experience, and money not coexist (if that’s what the artist wants)? I see this kind of stuff a lot from those who work in the industry, which I really do sympathize with. I don’t think litmags are big money makers--the facts are that literary magazines don’t really make money, and those who can pay big bucks are usually funded by a writing program at a university. So I understand the nuance there. It’s really hard to be a litmag because the small money you do have (if any at all) can go either to a) your website/submittable subscription, b) your staff, or c) your contributors and it’s really unfortunate that not all three can (usually) be compensated at the same time (and there naturally will always be a question of ethics/equity depending on who gets paid/who doesn’t). I still support small mags by following their socials, reading the work, sharing things I like etc, but I personally don’t send my work to places that don’t pay. It’s a little more complicated than I’ve even written above, but I hope this is coherent!

Some writers are fine with submitting for the exposure. I’m personally not, but that doesn’t make my decision better than others or vice versa! There is still value in exposure depending on what you’re personally looking for when publishing. This is something every writer should interrogate themselves! Hope that answers the question!