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by ploggingdev 2727 days ago
Like someone else suggested, this is likely a case of automated flagging by fraud detection systems, but it does not excuse such terrible communication on Patreon's part.

I have been following the recent Patreon backlash with interest, which I think was triggered by Patreon banning a youtuber who goes by Sargon of Akkad for using the phrase "white [n-word]" in a youtube video. Sam Harris, who was one of the highest earning people n Patreon, closed his patreon account and explained why he did so [0]. Jordan Peterson and Dave Rubin (popular internet personalities who spoke out against Patreon's trust and safety policies) are planning on launching an alternative [1] to Patreon that is more pro free speech. It would be interesting to see if they manage to build a free speech alternative since the problem usually is that the worst elements on the internet flock to it before regular people and the site/service will be labeled a hub for nazis/white supremacists and no bank/financial institution will want to do business with such a service. It also sounds like companies such as Stripe and Paypal can do little even if they wanted to support a free speech alternative to Patreon, since that would cause issues with their payment networks.

I am interested in learning a little about how the financial infrastructure works (banks, payment processors, regulations), who decides what types of service should not be allowed even if it's legal and what it would take to build a free speech alternative to Patreon, so if there are some good resources that you know about, please share them in the comments.

[0] https://twitter.com/SamHarrisOrg?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctw...

[1] https://twitter.com/jordanbpeterson/status/10772442911251742...

1 comments

But notifying the owner is not a part of automated flagging? How hard is it to make it send out a short e-mail? This is basically very bad care and support for clients, however one spins it.