pratev
patreon
What will I do for my top-tier patrons?
🕑 Added 2023-06-10 20:40:26 +0000 UTCI have long struggled with how to best reward you, my top-tier patrons.
When I originally set up my Patreon account, this tier was meant as a sort of 'tip jar' for those who may want to contribute a little more.
Most recently, I had a suggestion to put unbranded content up for you - so that you could enjoy the images without watermarks, logos, text, and color-bars. I liked the idea and so I went to minimal branding as a reward for this tier: no color-bar, smaller and lighter Pratev water mark, less visible Patreon branding. I cannot use that as a reward any more however because as much as it pains me to say this:
One of you is a thief.
I recently saw an image on another platform that was clearly a derived work from one of my originals - altered to remove my branding and posted as original artwork supposedly created by them. I contacted this so-called artist and the only things that I asked for were that they restore the original branding, provide a link to the posted original, and acknowledge that this was a derived work. They were a coward and removed the post instead.
My forensic examination of this derived work allowed me to identify *exactly* which original image was used. That image was posted in only one place anywhere on the internet (at least by me) and that was as an exclusive reward for *this* tier.
Further investigation of the dark website hosting my stolen artwork has lead me to an inescapable conclusion: this is a deliberate and ongoing criminal act.
I am considering radical changes to my Patreon page to discourage wholesale theft as much as possible. I would like input from the twelve of you who are honest and as much the victims of this malicious individual as I am. Please message me privately and we can have a discussion there. Some things that I am considering:
Removing old content and leaving only the current month available.
Time-sensitive content - download within a short number of days or lose it.
Changing the price structure (increase, pay-per-image, or something else).
Remove the top tier entirely.
More intrusive branding (larger, brighter).
Messaging a new url link and password (with expiration) for each months rewards.
Discontinuing Patreon.
I welcome input and am open to ideas from the vast majority of you who are honest. I am so sorry to have to make an announcement like this. The perpetrator of these crimes is unlikely to feel any remorse whatsoever, so it is the rest of you who are punished for one individual's psychopathic behavior. It is supremely unfair to all the rest of us - but I must do *something*.
Thank you for your attention and time and thank you for your patronage. I am hopeful that a way forward can be found so that you can continue to enjoy my work - which I very much enjoy creating.
~ Pratev
