Internet Achievement Get! (Patreon)

I just found out there is a website out there (which I will not name) that has been "scraping" Patreon's of furry creators to take their work and post it for everyone to see, by having someone subscribe and take all the files, pictures, stories and more that was created, and posting it on their site, for free. And I was among them, which in of itself is a surprise, and I'd almost take it as a compliment that I'd be worthy enough for something like that to happen to me.

But here's the thing: It's horrible to find out about this. It's bad for me, for you, for anyone. If everything, including my Patreon exclusive stuff, is free for everyone to see, then why would you spend a dollar a month or more to see it? When stuff like this happens, it basically tells me, the creator, that I'm not worth a single dollar. So then what's the use of writing stories to share with folks if that's the case? So, then I might just stop writing, or only focus on writing commissions that I know will get some money. And then story ideas that I would really want to explore will be ditched since there is no incentive to do so. And these are ideas that I really enjoy, such as the Pick a Story, The City or the NaNoWriMo stuff, or anything else that I would love to write and talk about, but I'd never get a chance to do with commissions

And not only that: Eventually I was planning that almost all the stuff I write will be posted to FA or SF, just at a longer time frame depending on what it is. For example, all of the future City stories will be posted on FA and SF one month after, when I post the next chapter. The NaNoWriMo stuff would have been turned into a novel length story once they are completed, but even the rough drafts that are posted online would be available for everyone to see at some point in the future. I'm still unsure about the Pick A Stories, though I was leaning on posting them all too.

I have sent a DMCA takedown notice to said website/host. If they comply or not, or take down my stuff and send another person to come in and start taking it again, well, that just shows the kind of people they are, because they will know that I'm a poor artist who can't afford to get a lawyer to make them really hurt, or know the technical ins and outs to make it not worth my time. They've been doing this for a very long time, so clearly some poor, barely noticed writer will ever make them change their minds. And I'm sure whoever it is that is taking all my stuff will mindlessly copy-paste this on there, so they can all laugh at my naivete for thinking that I can actually do something like make a living or have a career for writing in an age of "free" information on the internet, where everything is online for the sole reason of amusing them, at no cost, forever and ever.

But for the rest of you, who have signed up to support me, thank you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. I'm not going anywhere any time soon, even if it's easy enough to find elsewhere, for free, either by my decision or not. I hope I can continue to create stories and worlds that will entertain you for a long time to come.