itch.io

It’s… not the best and still leaves a bit too much unclear about the boundaries and such, but there’s an updated FAQ that in all fairness does answer most of the posed questions. Notably except the SFW queer title hits, which is not very encouraging to me.

Read the new FAQ.

They say any works containing any of those topics are banned and will get your money withheld. If anyone thinks on it a moment, it’s absurd how many classic works, bestsellers, and mainstream popular shows that would ban. That’s the standard that’s getting the zero tolerance + secret metrics treatment added onto it.

It’s going far beyond aggressive overreaction at this point.

The lack of communication is staggering.

The radio silence on Bluesky and tone deaf attempts to continue promo posting on X are ill-advised (as I’m sure you’ve seen by the responses). People want answers. Your community wants clarity. Please give it to us.

And OMG, continuing to implement major changes without notice or warning is a Bad Idea(tm). The Worst Idea(tm) when it directly rubs against a common (mis)perception of some NSFW creators having their funds frozen.

This feels custom designed to throw fuel on the fire, not take control and manage the damage whatsoever: https://itch.io/docs/creators/faq#is-adult-content-allowed ESPECIALLY DROPPED WITHOUT WARNING, EXPLANATION, NOTHING. Just more radio silence while people panic and speculate off what little you’ve given us.

The emphasis put on how heavy and broadly you may apply the banhammer and the explicit threat to keep all of a creator’s money for one hit, when you are clear that there’s a secret sauce and boundaries you’re not disclosing… In this climate? With how upset people already are and how you’re completely failing to talk to the very people that make your platform exist… I’m at a loss for words and what words I can find would not productive except to say:

PLEASE TAKE A STEP BACK FROM YOUR CRISIS MODE TO SEE THE HARM YOU ARE CAUSING TO THE COMMUNITY AND YOURSELF. PLEASE, I’m truly begging you, take an hour or two to explain everything to us. And please consider how this is all coming across and how many bridges you are burning far outside of your claimed target zone.

Please.

The delay for that statement and how unclear everything still is is what’s fueling the fires here. PLEASE, I’m begging from the bottom of my heart for you to listen and provide clarity to restore trust and support: https://itch.io/t/5125680/please-itch-begging-you-to-listen

On my knees begging you to listen and get ahead of this: https://itch.io/t/5125680/please-itch-begging-you-to-listen

To the team at Itch.io,

It didn’t have to be this way. Most the angers is over the disturbing lack of clear communication. Most of us want to support Itch.io. It’s huge for indie and queer creators. But poor communication is killing the vibe.

THE PROBLEM

The problem is the information vacuum. When deindexing happened without warning, hours of silence followed. Panic and confusion filled the void. The official statement sidestepped major questions, so speculation became fact.

A community that championed you now feels abandoned and suspicious. What little info we got was limited to side replies and a tizzy over a Xitter community note.

This could have been avoided. Imagine if a simple, immediate statement had been posted: “We’re facing urgent payment processing pressures, like other storefronts. We’ve taken immediate emergency action to preserve payment processing for everyone. We deeply apologize for the disruption. This sucks for everyone. Please bear with us while we navigate this emergency. We’ll release a full statement with more details as soon as possible.”

That short acknowledgment would have instantly snuffed out a lot of initial panic and frustration.

THE SOLUTION

Don’t be avoidant and defensive. Get back ahead of this. Own up, be kind, be clear. Drop a series of full posts:

1. Own the comms failures! Start with a post genuinely apologizing for the surprise and silence. Acknowledge the widespread confusion and distress it caused. Commit to full clarification soon.

2. Explain the emergency actions. Clearly and simply explain the exact pressures and demands faced. Address why such an aggressive route was necessary. Acknowledge directly the widespread perception that these actions felt overly aggressive and far-reaching, especially compared to how other platforms handled similar pressures. Do not dismiss this perception. Address it head-on.

3. Address the confusion over payouts. You said in a couple replies that payouts are not frozen and indicated (not very clearly) that the confusion was the result of notice wording. Make a main post about it, clearly stating that payments are not frozen, what caused the confusion, and how to reach out if there’s an issue.

4. Address SFW and queer content deindexing: Many creators reported SFW and queer-themed content deindexed or hidden. Your few small side replies blamed unrelated review systems. This needs a plain explanation in a main post. Clearly explain what happened, how widespread the problem is, and how affected creators can reach out for a fix. Be very transparent as distrust is high. (To be very clear myself: You absolutely cannot rely on the default secret sauce reply, as that will throw fuel on the fire.)

5. Clarify library access issues. Some users lost access to purchased items. Your replies said this shouldn’t be happening and encouraged contacting support. This is a big upset point and needs a direct prominent statement. Clearly explain why this might be occurring for some users and provide unambiguous instructions on how to troubleshoot or contact support to regain access. Reassure users their purchased content is safe.

6. Provide resources with a call to action. Only after you have taken full ownership and fully clarified the situation across all these points, then create your own post with a comprehensive list of phone numbers and email addresses for the payment processors exerting this pressure. This information should not be limited to one country or region. If you need help compiling this global resource, ask the community! Many would be thrilled to assist. But it’s crucial that you own your part first to repair community damage and gain the most collaborative help.

Most of us who are upset truly want to be on Itch.io’s side. The friction you’re experiencing is not a rejection of your platform or betrayal in your time of need. It’s a direct result of broken trust, frustration, and panic stemming from what feels like a total lack of clear communication. While a lot of damage is done, you still have a chance to course correct.

If you did, thanks for listening. I hope this reaches open ears. 🙏🙏🙏

UPDATE: There’s a new FAQ. It still leaves a lot unclear and doesn’t address the SFW queer titles that got hit or what happened there. But it finally is some kind of answer at least.

Oooh, I love this idea!

If anyone has any suggestions for similar systems to FU RPG, please share!

CC BY-NC-SA is too restricted. It does not allow for free use. CC-0, CC-BY, CC-BY-SA all qualify.

Oh I love this idea and would like to hear other people chime in!

Found family. Alienation. Punk af.

A clutch of people asked and so I’ve extended the deadline out to June for now! Happy to see folks actually interested and participating, so I’m quite happy to keep hosting if more of y’all want to join in and/or throw a few more games at the submissions!

Welcome to the 2024 edition! Not even a full week in and we’re already off to a fast start. Thank you so much for joining and coming along for our open gaming journey this year.

If you have any questions or feedback, drop a topic or reply. The community forums are here to be used.

You’re also welcome to encourage seasonal themes, ask for extra resources of different types, or anything else at all related to the jam. We’re here all year. Come hang out and chat about things.

Need some clarity? Shy about a concept? Just have some general questions? Ask away!

Thank you everyone who participated in the inaugural Forever Open Source Jam! Love to you all!

Please come join us for the 2nd annual Forever Open Source Jam for 2024!

Absolutely! Happy to add more resources on request. :) I need to update and clean up the list a bit anyway. On my checklist for the weekend!

No worries! Someone raised the question and just wanted to be clear. <3 Thank you!

Reaching out for clarity because someone raised concerns about the phrasing of the license text.

Do you only intend to authorize supplements or is the full text of the game released under a CC-BY license?

Thanks!

What would be your elevator pitch for T//E?

Got a jam challenge leading up to Valentine’s Day.

Looking to keep that going as a thing all year long.

What kind of seasonal concepts would you like to see?

If they’re also open licensed, please feel free to submit them to the jam!

Hi! Just checking in to make sure I answered your questions. All good?

Feel free to submit it as a jam entry! I’ll also add it to the resource list. If I really have to start culling at some point, I’ll do rotating highlights and a dedicated resources page. No worries!

Gave this entry a highlight post on Twitter!

Boosted with a shout out on Twitter!

Gave you a shout out over on Twitter!

Hi!

“Jams” are just sort of events that say, “hey everybody, come make stuff!”

Every jam has different rules and conditions. Some are “hey, come make video games about trains!” Others are more “hey, come write stories based on this series!”

This jam is open to all tabletop roleplaying game related entries that are irrevocably (forever) open licensed! The list of resources is for reference and convenience. People are encouraged to build on existing resources but all contributions to open gaming pool are welcomed.

Whether you release a final product, a playtest edition, a jam ashcan, or something else is entirely up to you! The same with any future updates or expansions. Entries link to the title’s Itch page. It is not a separate submission. Anything you update or change is done per normal for Itch. (For the record, just talking about how Itch jams work.)

Hope that clarifies! Let me know if you have any other questions.

Hi! Thank you so much to everyone who joined and everyone who created the listed resources!

I started tweeting out some promos for the first batch of entries over on Twitter under ThoughtPunks.

Really happy to see so many people join in so quickly with limited promo and was amazed how much was out there while I was compiling resources. Let’s create a massive pool of open content and tools for people to use! I’m so excited to see what else is added.

Hi, I’d like to promote this as a jam entry.

How would you describe the feel and/or purpose of this system?

Because of this entry, I’m adding the Anticapitalist Attribution Cooperative License to the list. <3

Non-Commercial license. Disqualified from jam. Please review the jam rules.

REFUSE RESIST

I had just saw that on Discord! Adding to the list. <3

Awesome! I’ll be sure to add that to this list when I update the jam today!

What are you working on for the jam? What kind of game concept or tool idea are you thinking about?

Thanks to everyone joining in!

I’m Rev, the creator of Motif. Feel free to ask me anything about it. I’m around to help answer any questions, provide a little guidance, or anything else you need in making your Motif creations!

Feel free to start a thread or leave a response.

Would also love to hear all of your ideas! What are you working on? What kind of concept do you have in mind?

Don’t forget to upload your jam entries! Thanks to everyone for joining us!