Before I begin, I thought I'd make a bit of a disclaimer for any and all people who follow me. I consider Weasyl to be both my anthro-related and social media platform. My content will be the same as it was on FurAffinity, but at times I'll also be posting journals about whatever I feel is worth talking about. Feel free to offer your opinion on any of it. I tend to stay away from actual social media platforms because of the controversies and corruptions that plague them (I'm looking at you Twitter and Facebook). So having made my lion's share of mistakes at FA and subsequently learning from them, I'll make this perfectly clear: If you do not like something I post in my gallery or something I say in my journals, then kindly skip it and move on to the next piece that you do like. I'm not saying I'm here to "give you what you like, and you'll learn to like it", I'm just saying that I'm not going to censor myself or tone myself down. That being said, most of my content here will be related to specific fetishes of mine that I'm sure a lot of you share as well as the timeline of stories I'll be making and posting along the way.

With that out of the way, let me get to the journal itself. I am aphalled at the fact that Youtube (owned by Google) is now so arrogant as to employ a new "advertiser-friendly" system in place, which actively demonetizes anything that is like, PG or higher (hyperbole). For many popular and high earning Youtube creators who rely solely on their ad-revenue for income, this is potentially a crippling blow to them. So if you're popularity comes from your profanity-laced dialogue, graphic displays of violence, sensual displays of revealing skin, or even news about "extreme" situations or stuff that the lamestream media wouldn't cover, then you're likely screwed. In short, this is a form of censorship across the board. Oh sure, your videos aren't necessarily being taken down, but you won't be making any money off them if they are deemed in any way too risque.

The real kicker is that Youtube claims that they haven't actually changed their policies, but instead are making it easier for content creators to see which videos have been demonetized. So then what they're saying is that those creators were less aware of these actions before but are more aware now. But there's just one problem, it backfires considerably because it makes them aware of just how much of their stuff is been demonized (yes, demonized). This leads to one of three possibilities: Creators continue the status quo of posting content in hopes that the damage to them is minimal (phat chance), toning down their material considerably to pander to social justice warriors and the regressive left (a.k.a. politically correct) which will surely alienate the majority of their fans and lead to a mass unsubscribing from their channel, or packing up and quitting Youtube altogether for new yonder.

If there's one thing that we must fight for, it's our right to free speech. That means being allowed to talk about whatever the hell we want without fear of such backlash that it threatens our very livelihood. Below that, the risk is always the same in that the number of people that follow you is wholly dependent on how interesting your content is. Being a writer on a predominantly art site, I am aware that I am also speaking of myself.

As for Patreon, I'm not saying that I myself am putting anything there, I'm saying that at least for the high-profile Youtubers I actively follow who have Patreon, I'll be putting up a dollar for each one of them to show my support. I've been paying for Youtube Red, since my phone has the unlimited 4G LTE bandwidth but is unable to block ads. That means 13 Youtubers I can support for the same monthly price as one monthly subscription to Youtube Red. Instead, I'll be putting my money towards those Youtubers whose content I'll support through Patreon instead of Youtube where I can at least get added perks not found anywhere else. And best of all....no ads anyway.

And while I'm on the subject of Patreon, this dollar thing will also apply to certain writers and artists on here that I particularly like and support. Because I understand how a lot of them rely on commission money and such. When you think about it, a dollar really isn't much to ask for. It's just that a lot of people don't wish to part with their money unless they believe they have to.

Honestly, people are more capable of parting ways with a single dollar than they care to admit. It's not going to break one's income and honestly, people spend more money then they realize on non-essential stuff....myself included. So in response to Youtube giving the proverbial middle finger to many of the people I follow, thereby putting their futures there in possible jeopardy and potentially depriving us of what makes their channels so great, I'm opting instead to take my money from Youtube and apply it directly to those Youtubers on Patreon. I do this on principle, because I'll be damned if I'm going to allow free speech to be attacked like this. Grow a thick skin and accept the fact that the world doesn't revolve around any one individual!

I'll also be including certain artists I feel can particularly benefit from my support, however small it may be. Again, I know a dollar isn't much, but it's still a statement being made and with more and more people following suit, that one dollar becomes many and it does add up. Consider picking out a list of content creators you support the most and divvying a max amount of money you can comfortably afford to put up amongst them. And hey, if you can afford to do more per person, then by all means. But the way these established social platforms are becoming more and more restrictive on what people can talk about, we really need to find ways to fight back. If money talks, then here's to my wallet! =P