[smegel]

The fact you didn't engage with the community initially or ask for feedback speaks far more about your arrogance, incompetence and mendacity that the nature of the change itself. If I was using Patreon I would be looking for alternatives anyway...how long until the next "surprise"?

[dang]

Rageposts are not cool here, regardless of how badly someone or their company messed up. If you keep posting like this, which we've asked you repeatedly not to do, we're going to ban you.

Any good faith view is possible to express thoughtfully if you want to, so if you want to comment on HN, please do it that way.

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

[minimaxir]

The issue is that there is no current alternative to Patreon’s ease of use for gathering funds from a large number of fans, and a Patreon competitor can’t be built overnight. (Kickstarter’s Drip is not public yet)

Of course, being a pseudo-monopoly allows you to test the limits of monetization.

[JoshTriplett]

I've definitely seen numerous people looking for alternatives and trying to reduce their dependence on a single platform, and they won't get all of that trust back.

That said, this could be an opportunity for them. Patreon should have some test audiences (from both types of Patreon users) for potential changes like this, to evaluate what they look like. Creating some kind of advisory council (and ensuring that it does not just include high-profile creators the way YouTube's equivalent does) would help address this.

[k2xl]

That's pretty harsh. They made a mistake and then apologize. While they didn't "initially" they did "eventually" - don't they deserve some credit for that?

[PaulKeeble]

No. Allowing companies to continuously treat its customers poorly as they test out pricing structures to maximise profits is how gambling become common in computer games and makes up 50% of EAs profits. It shows their intent, to work out how to maximise their earnings and keep everyone grumbling but still using their service. Look for an exit if you are funded this way, this company is going to keep trying until it sticks.

[Tyrek]

I'm sure the deserve some credit, but that doesn't wipe away the fact that they behaved in a way that reeks of 'arrogance, incompetence and mendacity'. Bad decisions are bad, and walking them back doesn't undo the initial decision.

[InclinedPlane]

They made a mistake that indicated they had a faulty understanding of their entire value proposition. And they made a mistake that had a profound negative effect on their user base (there are almost certainly many creators who were forced to scramble to be able to make rent or pay their bills during the holidays). Sweeping that under the rug of "a mistake" is silly. They hurt people, and it didn't have to be that way. They could have announced their plans with a longer timeline (6 months or a year, perhaps) with the expectation that things might change depending on feedback. Instead they rode roughshod over their user base. For a service that is supposed to be about changing people's lives for the better they did not take those lives as seriously or treat them with the gentleness they deserved.

[smegel]

Acting like a jerk then engaging in a self-serving and grovelling apology only when your customers start walking away deserves scorn and rejection.