itch.io

Porn is not evil, sexuality is not evil, and the fact your religion has twisted you into believe otherwise is evidence of how evil IT is.

I understand you've been conditioned to loathe your own nature by guilty-tripping and the empty threat of damnation.  I would ask you avoid making that anyone else's problem.

Mouthwashing already got nuked despite being entirely non-erotica.  It's already happening.

Itch doesn't deserve a thank you.

I'm glad you get non-monetary satisfaction out of your games.  I do too.  The problem is that if you want your work indexed, players can't even have the option to support you.

I want players to be able to play my stuff for free, but I also want them to be able to pay me if they believe my games deserve financial support.

Itch still hasn't brought that back.

I don't get why people don't understand the self-awareness and responsible framing of erotic fantasy.

The VAST majority of people with 'rape kinks' understand the divide between what they find hot and how consent should be handled IRL.  Same with dubcon and the majority of other kinks that people find icky.  If a creator is using content warnings on their work, that is enough to demonstrate that they understand that their work may contain things that should not be replicated IRL.  Any player with half a brain should be able to understand the same.

And you don't get to spend half your post ranting about the necessity of reproduction and whining about 'not being able to tell the gender' of the people in your porn and then claim this issue has nothing to with LGBTQ+.  Collective Shout is a Conservative organization with open contempt for queer people and the way you talk about this issue makes it crystal clear why you're interested in apologizing for their tyrannical censorship.

Yeah it's harder every day to hold any faith in this site.  If PayPal can't respect artistic freedom, they need to boot PayPal and make a deal with someone who can.  Itch.io is cheerfully pocketing their cut of NSFW creator's sales while doing as little as possible to support us.

The whole situation where Itch.io is deindexing NSFW games has been a drag, but I'm hanging in there.

You should still have my Discord.  Feel free to hit me up there whenever you like!

Oh heya Cherry!  Been too long.  Hope you've been well.  :D

I've got my eye on DL Site.

Though supposedly Itch is still planning to make this place not hellish for NSFW creators.  

Would love to see that come true.

For the moment?  Probably not.  If Itch doesn't resolve the payment processor issue soon I wouldn't blame you for boycotting it entirely.

I'd like to disagree, but they were dead silent when I asked this previously in response to their update.  It does not bode well.

We're approaching one month since Itch.io announced it would be seeking a payment processor that is willing to facilitate the sale of NSFW content.  Since then, I have seen no updates.  We cannot allow this problem to be forgotten or overlooked.  Until Itch secures a payment processor who does not enforce censorship, it is failing to serve the creators it depends on to function.

Itch must pursue this problem immediately and with its full attention if it can ever hope to emerge from this situation with its reputation and the trust of its userbase intact.

Hold Itch accountable.  Keep this issue on the forefront of the forums.  Let them know that capitulating to PayPal's censorship rather than replacing them is a failure and a violation of our trust.

Sometimes negativity is deserved.  Musk is not going to save payment processing anymore than he saved automobiles.  And given his behavior towards his daughter and tyrannical approaching to managing Twitter, I wouldn't be surprised if a hypothetical payment processor made by Musk banned all LGBTQ+ content.

PayPal's actions have utterly sickened me.
My hope is that Itch.io gets a new Payment Processor ASAP and fixes this mess.

Do you have any estimates on when Itch will secure a new payment processor and begin reindexing nsfw games that allow payments?  I understand if such an estimate is difficult to form at this time, but given that we NSFW creators are still struggling to net any payments on Itch.io at this time, it would be comforting to have some idea of approximately when our reach will be restored.

Supposedly, payment on NSFW content will be restored once Itch has a new Payment Processor.

Though if that's not in place in a month or so I'm gonna have to give 'em the side-eye.

Well put.  As Itch.io users, I think our best move is to keep and eye on Itch.io and stay vocal about the payment processor situation.  We cannot forget what we're still waiting for Itch to provide.

The update indicated that creators also need to use the new content warning system to get the shadowban lifted.  Could be that 's the reason we're not seeing more NSFW games restored yet.

So if you missed it, Itch.io has officially stated that they will be seeking a new payment processor that allows NSFW content.  Further, Itch.io has already begun lifting the shadowban from nsfw games that do not accept payments.

Itch.io's Update

It seems more and more credible that Itch.io will be undoing the damage of their NSFW content ban, and NSFW creators will be able to use Itch as we always have.  For my part, I'm approaching this with cautious optimism.  Itch.io has not fixed the problem yet, but from where I stand, it appears that the site is making meaningful and timely strides towards a solution that prioritizes the needs of their userbase.  We may not need to abandon Itch after all.

Of course this is presupposing that Itch does secure an alternative payment processor.  Until that happens, the site has not earned our forgiveness.

Kind of.

Only games that disallow payment are currently being indexed again.  Any games that accept or require payment are still delisted.

Which sucks for people like me because I have to choose between giving up the ability to get paid for my work and staying in shadowban purgatory and out of the eyes of my audience.

People are already complaining towards the Payment Processors and Visa and Mastercard both have their stocks in the toilet.

However, with Itch moving on to a better Payment Processor, it doesn't particularly matter to us creators or audiences how stupid the old payment processors are being.

The backlash at Itch has forced them to take responsibility.  This energy was spent exactly where it should have been, and we are already beginning to see the fruits of that effort.

Don't let up.  Take Itch to task and demand that they find a Payment Processor who can meet the needs of all its creators.

So at last glance, Itch.io has seemingly woken up to the needs and rights of their audience, and is seeking a payment processor who actually respects artistic freedom.  This is an excellent outcome, at the face of it.

My question is, how long until that new Payment Processor is part of Itch and we don't have to worry about PayPal bullying the site into censoring us anymore?  It's obviously a good thing that we're on the road to recovery, but every day that passes with our work buried by the shadowban, we are missing out on views, downloads and payments.

If someone from Itch, or someone with real insights on how these types of business arrangements work, has an estimate to offer, it would be appreciated.  I understand that this type of shift in the site's function can't happen overnight, but the longer this drags out, the worse the publicity is going to be for Itch.  Creators and players are already swearing off the site and seeking alternatives, costing Itch both money and reputation.  This wound must be healed before it scars.

I think that's a touch optimistic.  If people weren't rioting on the forums I have no doubt Itch would have happily left us all out to dry.

Itch isn't doing this because it's the right thing, they're doing it because they're scared.   As they should be.

This is just about the best outcomes we possibly could have asked for, if, in fact they see it through.

Itch.io is on the right track.  Just hope they lock down the new payment processor as quickly as possible so they can get creators back in business.  The way they've handled this so far hasn't been ideal, but if they move forward with getting in a payment processor who values creative freedom, I'll be willing to forgive this whole thing and keep my work on Itch like I always have.

The site is in no way focused on children.  The most prominent games here, consistently, are horror games.

The problem is that the 'cults' aren't ever going to change their minds.

Businesses though?  Businesses will do whatever profits them.

Take the fight to Paypal, Visa and Mastercard. That's where you're gonna get results.

Pushing back against the Visa and Mastercard stuff may yet see results.  They're already taking stock hits.  For my part, I'm making complaints on the phone daily and I'm not the only one.  The more people raise a stink about this in the proper avenues, the more payment processors are going to have to contend with the fact that censorship is not going to benefit their profits.

Itch.io is already seeking new payment processors.

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/itchio-are-seeking-out-new-payment-processors-w...

So apparently they agree with me.  :)

You're factually wrong.  There are payment processors who are down with nsfw content.  If that weren't true, nobody would be able to make cash on porn, which is very much not the case.  I'm already eyeballing DL Site as an alternative to this dumpster fire.

Finally some good news.

The more attention this gets, the better.  Hopefully people outside of game development circles are going to join the pushback.  Let's all keep banging on the doors of Visa, Mastercard and Paypal until they make this right.

Call PayPal and voice your complaints.  Daily.  Others are doing the same.  This whole thing started because of people complaining about PayPal cooperating with Itch and Steam platforming works they didn't like.  If we call PayPal en mass and clog their phones lines on the daily, we may be able to force the decision to reverse.  All we have to do is show PayPal that they're going to be losing more money from folding to censorship than they would be if they actually respected artistic freedom.

So according to Itch's last update, the shadowban is supposed to be temporary measure, and NSFW creators are supposed to be given the opportunity to personally confirm that their content is not in violation of the policies of the payment processors linked to their account.

When will this change be put into place?  Without the ability to confirm that our work is not in violation of PayPal policies, we creators are getting cheated out of views, downloads, sales and fans daily.  

DLSite seems to be the go-to for the sale on NSFW games, to my knowledge.  Won't be surprised if that's where I wind up in the wake of this shit show.

Removing the tags was my prior solution but that doesn't seem to be working on my end anymore.  

Nah.  PayPal are not the only payment processors in the world.  If PayPal is refusing to allow artistic freedom, Itch needs to bring in a payment processor who allows them to do what's right.

Everything I've made seems to have been shadowbanned by the slimy cowards at Itch.io.

MAW: Massive Appetite Wrestling- Little turn-based vore wrestling game, F/F, plenty of content toggles.  https://inkspider.itch.io/maw-massive-appetite-wrestling

Perils of Aestus Forest-MtF Gender TF game.   https://inkspider.itch.io/perils-of-aestus-forest

Hell's Perversions- Mixed bag of various kinks, mostly vore and transformation.  https://inkspider.itch.io/hells-perversions

Whore of Ardor- Fantasy-set sex worker sim.  Pretty vanilla.  https://inkspider.itch.io/a-whore-of-ardor

Brilliant resource.  Both PayPal and Itch need to overturn this ridiculous decision and show some respect for creator freedom.

According to the update, Itch.io is going to require NSFW creators to confirm that their content is not in violation of the payment processor they use for their account.

So when are they going to accept payment processors that actually allow erotica?  Currently, the only payment processor options I see are Payoneer and PayPal, neither of which are friendly to the artistic freedom of erotica creators.  Cursory research would suggest CCBill or Epoch might provide payment processing for nsfw creators.

As I have observed previously, erotica creators and audiences are an immensely valuable portion of Itch.io's userbase.  The site needs to treat them like it.  If the site is going to require creators bend to the polices of payment processors, then the site needs to implement payment processing that works for those creators.  Failure to do so is not just disrespectful, it's going to drive people away from the site and massively harm Itch's revenue.

Not all heroes wear capes.

Shadowbanning people's content isn't civil.