Screaming for how the puritans and conservatives got to Itch.Io via payment processing companies like they did to Steam and OnlyFans. Screaming that so few people around me knew this was going on. I need to scream more.
For a while now, Payment Processors like Paypal, Visa Mastercard and such, have been dropping support and no longer allow their payment service to be used on markets/sites with "adult"content. Now, you might reconize the pattern. They went after OnlyFans. A lobbying group told payment processors that they would never support them if they catered to adult sites. Mastercard and such love money and got convinced or -
payed enough to start doing just that. Few other companies like Paypal followed them. They started with the Steam Market. They started by typing in "incest" and "rape" in the search bar and made a case those games should all be banned and payment processing companies should not be associated with that. That created a foothold for them. While there were questionable games on there, some were just Visual Novels -
where the writer is exploring their own trauma. But, this gets put in the same category and gets removed by Steam in fear of losing their Payment Processor and by extention, blocking their consumers from buying games on Steam. Now, Itch.Io is hit by the same thing. They are forced to hide or remove ""Adult"" material to not lose one of the services they use to pay the creators on the site and keep the site itself up
The bills and other bureaucratic pieces of paper are a little vague on what truly is 'adult material'. You might recognize the pattern here. This is slowly pushed forward, under the guise of protecting people and kids from "harmful" or "adult" material. First it's "just the extreme weirdo we're getting rid of, no worry!" then its "this has controversial subject matter, better safe then sorry!"-
and so the paradigm slowly shifts. Most conservatives see a hardcore gay orgy on the same level as a fully dressed trans woman just living her life. The rethoric that being gay or anything instantly means you're a "deviant" or "degenerate" is being kept alive and is used as a weapon. And it will be used here, too. The puritan types will always pressure companies and incite them with cash. Sometimes the higher-ups of-
these companies long for the "good ol' times" themselves and go along willingly and knowingly. Certain political leaders being so brazen in public and broadcasted mediums has really emboldened similar spirited people and they get more confident about being so openly malicious.
Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk. TL:DR Stuff like Mastercard and Paypal doesn't want to provide their service to , what they claim to be, adult and inappropriate content. Sites and markets are caving in because these companies have massive power over them and their finances. I feel these bills and laws set a precedent to remove LGBTQIA+ content from the web.
To add on this; there has already been the push to condemn and block porn sites in various countries. Whole parts of American can't even jork it to youporn clips anymore. BlueSky requires UK citizens to upload their ID to get verfied to see adult content or even DM eachother. Dystopia was always here, it just looks like crappy and rusty Blade runner instead of flashy sterile Cyberpunk.
i was only made aware of this about an hour ago because of someordinarygamer's video about it. i usually listen to something while doing chores. this anti gooning shit actually bothers me
Comment restriction lifted after 24 hours! To add more; Patreon was hit with this in... 2018 I believe? Payment processing companies refused service because "adult material" after a small group was able to pin-point a few isolated cases of actual bad stuff. Using these extreme examples to start the debate in their favor. Painting with broad strokes. Finding the worst to get to the mediums & later the smallest people.
You cannot defeat most things in 1 fell swoop. Ideas, organizations & collectives and so on. But chipping off corners that you can paint as horrible or "degenerate" to a broader audience is how you kill something slowly. By moving goalposts over time. As the phrase goes: "Meet me in the middle! says the unjust man. You take a step forward and he takes 2 steps back. Meet me in the middle! says the unjust man."
This movement of purging 'adult' material from the internet also hurts sex workers. Self-reliant people in this sector who would be on something like OnlyFan or Fansley are being pushed away and their livelihood taken away. This is also pushes people into the larger porn industry which is riddled with it's own severe problems. Let alone how a lot of art or written pieces about sexual safety & exploration are targeted
wait what? what happened?
For a while now, Payment Processors like Paypal, Visa Mastercard and such, have been dropping support and no longer allow their payment service to be used on markets/sites with "adult"content. Now, you might reconize the pattern. They went after OnlyFans. A lobbying group told payment processors that they would never support them if they catered to adult sites. Mastercard and such love money and got convinced or -
payed enough to start doing just that. Few other companies like Paypal followed them. They started with the Steam Market. They started by typing in "incest" and "rape" in the search bar and made a case those games should all be banned and payment processing companies should not be associated with that. That created a foothold for them. While there were questionable games on there, some were just Visual Novels -
where the writer is exploring their own trauma. But, this gets put in the same category and gets removed by Steam in fear of losing their Payment Processor and by extention, blocking their consumers from buying games on Steam. Now, Itch.Io is hit by the same thing. They are forced to hide or remove ""Adult"" material to not lose one of the services they use to pay the creators on the site and keep the site itself up
The bills and other bureaucratic pieces of paper are a little vague on what truly is 'adult material'. You might recognize the pattern here. This is slowly pushed forward, under the guise of protecting people and kids from "harmful" or "adult" material. First it's "just the extreme weirdo we're getting rid of, no worry!" then its "this has controversial subject matter, better safe then sorry!"-
and so the paradigm slowly shifts. Most conservatives see a hardcore gay orgy on the same level as a fully dressed trans woman just living her life. The rethoric that being gay or anything instantly means you're a "deviant" or "degenerate" is being kept alive and is used as a weapon. And it will be used here, too. The puritan types will always pressure companies and incite them with cash. Sometimes the higher-ups of-
these companies long for the "good ol' times" themselves and go along willingly and knowingly. Certain political leaders being so brazen in public and broadcasted mediums has really emboldened similar spirited people and they get more confident about being so openly malicious.
Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk. TL:DR Stuff like Mastercard and Paypal doesn't want to provide their service to , what they claim to be, adult and inappropriate content. Sites and markets are caving in because these companies have massive power over them and their finances. I feel these bills and laws set a precedent to remove LGBTQIA+ content from the web.
To add on this; there has already been the push to condemn and block porn sites in various countries. Whole parts of American can't even jork it to youporn clips anymore. BlueSky requires UK citizens to upload their ID to get verfied to see adult content or even DM eachother. Dystopia was always here, it just looks like crappy and rusty Blade runner instead of flashy sterile Cyberpunk.
Id just like to say this hole thing was enlightening. It interesting... I didn't know this was going on.
i was only made aware of this about an hour ago because of someordinarygamer's video about it. i usually listen to something while doing chores. this anti gooning shit actually bothers me
Comment restriction lifted after 24 hours! To add more; Patreon was hit with this in... 2018 I believe? Payment processing companies refused service because "adult material" after a small group was able to pin-point a few isolated cases of actual bad stuff. Using these extreme examples to start the debate in their favor. Painting with broad strokes. Finding the worst to get to the mediums & later the smallest people.
You cannot defeat most things in 1 fell swoop. Ideas, organizations & collectives and so on. But chipping off corners that you can paint as horrible or "degenerate" to a broader audience is how you kill something slowly. By moving goalposts over time. As the phrase goes: "Meet me in the middle! says the unjust man. You take a step forward and he takes 2 steps back. Meet me in the middle! says the unjust man."
This movement of purging 'adult' material from the internet also hurts sex workers. Self-reliant people in this sector who would be on something like OnlyFan or Fansley are being pushed away and their livelihood taken away. This is also pushes people into the larger porn industry which is riddled with it's own severe problems. Let alone how a lot of art or written pieces about sexual safety & exploration are targeted