Patreon is a platform that allows artists to connect directly with and receive funding from people who wish to support the artist’s work. The theory is sound, and a large number of artists are benefitting from resources they would not have otherwise.

The flaw in the theory is, artists creating what Patreon deems “adult content” are omitted from search results, making it virtually impossible for those artists to connect with potential patrons.

As a patron, I was required to verify that I am of legal age to enter into a financial agreement with artists whose work I want to back.  Some of those artists are creating family-friendly all-age-appropriate content.  Some of those artists are creating work that involves nudity.  Some of those artists are writing about topics that children should not be reading.  All of those artists are people I support because all of those things are of interest to me.

In short, Patreon already knows that I’m an adult viewing adult content.  They have nothing to lose and everything to gain by allowing me and all other patrons to view creators and content similar to what we’re already supporting.

I’m sure there are many other artists whose work I would want to support, if only I knew about it.  But Patreon’s current policy of omitting such artists from search results means I can only discover those artists via other platforms.  With other social media platforms also making it difficult for artists to gain exposure by limiting page and post views, the amount of good work being created then going unseen, and the amount of work that is never created due to lack of funding, flies directly in the face of what Patreon claims to want to be; in their own words, “an intimate and safe venue for a diverse range of creators and their communities”.

I absolutely support artists disclosing that their content is adult in nature, and Patreon requiring that disclosure.  What I and many other people object to is those artists being rendered invisible due to the adult nature of their work.

Patreon’s entire platform is based on the functionality of only certain users being able to view specific content.  With that in mind, it would not be difficult for search results to be split into two parts; one visible to all website visitors, and the other requiring the user be logged in to their Patreon account before viewing those pages, while still including them in search results.

By allowing artists whose work is adult in nature to be on the Patreon site in the first place, Patreon is clearly stating they do not have any objection to the work itself.  Now, by including those artists in search results, making them easier to find and to support, Patreon can only benefit.