[nicc]

I don't know if we need new laws. We need more competitors, for sure.

Jordan Peterson (if you know him) has partnered to solve the problem of PayPal and Patreon deplatforming people, and is starting a competing service that doesn't depend on traditional payment circuits.

No one knows much about how it will work, but it might prove to be a good alternative to avoid being at the mercy of these companies.

[zarkov99]

For some reason, perhaps that they traffic in information, which is cheaply duplicated, perhaps because of network effects, tech businesses seem more prone to generate giant, seemingly invincible monopolies. Google, Facebook, Netflix, Amazon, Paypal, Youtube. Most people wouldn't be able to name a competitor to any of these, let alone use it. I do not know if competition, as is possible today, can work.

[nkkollaw]

Sure, but Patreon is for a small group of people. Meaning, the mass audience goes there because a small group of creators told them that's how they can support them.

If that small group of creators finds a better alternative, and tells their audience to support them at the alternative rather than Patreon, they will go there.

SubscribeStar was enjoying a good amount of success as a Patreon alternative once a few users who got banned move to it, (but then PayPal cut SubscribeStar off).

Only time can tell.

[zarkov99]

If the payment processors are really who is behind the Patreon/SubscribeStar debacle, which certainly seems to be the case, then short of bitcoin, which is a horrible solution, how can a Patreon competitor do any better?

[nkkollaw]

No idea! Maybe they'll be a middleman for Bitcoin.

We have to wait and see.