Stealing Content (Patreon)

In a time when AI is taking jobs away from the people I admire; people I love and respect, people who made and continue to make the art that brought so many of you here, I’m disheartened to learn about people stealing content. Let me start by saying no one is perfect; least of all me but after seeing what amazing work people put into their plushies, their paintings, their drawings, poems, fanfictions and more I’m desperate to understand why some would choose to steal content from a show that’s clearly special to them.

This morning I’ve had to make the unfortunate decision to ban and block blacklightriot and Aspen Whispers from the Patreon and this our server after learning, through proof, that they’ve stolen Patreon content. I want to be clear; I’m not naïve to Malevolent being stolen (by others beyond them and some of the going public) but more than the actual content being taken, these kinds of people really hurt creatives and this is a community FILLED with creatives. This community is absolutely amazing. There’s no corner of the internet that hasn’t seen it. I can’t take any credit in what makes it special because the truth is I have no idea. I don’t know whether it’s this server; the fan spaces that exist around it, or the communities built in unseen places – but it is truly special. Which is why I’m so honoured to see people come forth when they see something they love being stolen, manipulated and (for many) ruined.

The Patreon content was shared in a private server with others and while we have the full list of those who engaged and were a part of that community, I want you to know that, it’s okay. We’re cool. Honest. Nobody is perfect and I’ve chosen to believe that you saw what was happening in that private server and struggled or even planned to do the right thing and my friend, I appreciate you doing that. This isn’t a witch hunt, which extends to the two people I’ve banned – please leave them alone. The best thing you can do if you disagree with their actions is just stop engaging with them but remember also that we’ve all done stupid things and said unkind things and perhaps that’s part of the reason we’re here once again.

So, in conclusion hoping this message will find them, I want say I’m sorry to Riot and Aspen if I’ve ever done anything in their mind to warrant this. I’m sorry we didn’t have a better relationship and I’m sorry for my role in your decision to steal from, what I think is fair to claim, a hard-working creator, whatever it may be. For the rest of you amazing creatives, continue to do art; continue to make amazing things because I love seeing, hearing and reading them and please… continue to be an amazing community.