In the previous post, I at first wanted to use the term "true fan" because TOP has historically banned the use of the term "fanboy," due to the derogatory, demeaning way the latter term was hurled around when it was new on the scene.
Yes, I remember when "fanboy" came along. I'm that old.
Sigh.
But "true fan" means something different; it means a core supporter, like all of you who support me on Patreon.
By the way, on that subject, starting November 4th, do not use the Apple Store Patreon app to sign up to support me on Patreon! Apple is set to start pilfering 30% of Patreon donations made through its app-store iOS app, and that starts soon. Go to your computer and go directly to the Patreon site to sign up to support me. That way, the only people snagging (a small) part of your donation are Patreon themselves. Or, use an Android app, which is unaffected. Repeat, do not use an Apple app, or a third of your contribution will just go to Apple, which is justified in seizing such an onerous tax from little creators like me because it is pitiably underfunded and hardly has any money. Sarcasm, for those who did not recognize it*.
In the Bible story, David did not become Goliath after slaying Goliath**. Just saying, Apple.
By the way, none of this affects anyone who is already supporting TOP on Patreon, or who signs up before November 4th.
The McCracken
For the curious, Oxford says the first use of the word "fanboy" occurred in 1910. Harry McCracken, the fanboy of "fanboy," traces the word to 'zines and comics from the 1970s, but says its application to tech came along in the mid-1990s on Usenet discussion forums. Google traces the use of the term catching hold and starting to grow as of 2004. Ryan Tate comments, "The term was originally only very mildly disparaging and something of a term of endearment. Then it was fairly mean. But now it's so common as to have lost its bite, partly because it's been reclaimed by some of the people it was meant to insult."
For that reason, I guess I shouldn't be so averse to the word "fanboy" as I used to be. I'm going to relax my proscription against it. But I'm still not going to let people refer to Leica owners as "rich dentists," another longtime proscription hereabouts. That's nothing but a lazy slander against both Leica owners and dentists. I was very fond of my dentist back in Waukesha, who worked very hard and had highly developed skills. As far as I'm concerned he could shoot with any camera he chooses to, and good for him.
Mike
*Current Apple, Inc. market cap, for those of you who only remember when it crossed the threshold of $1 trillion: $3.51 trillion. Current rank among the world's richest companies by market cap: 1. So if you want to give me $6 a month as a pat on the back, Apple obviously needs to skim off $2 of that for itself.
**Although, in Animal Farm, the pigs do become indistinguishable from the former dictator, farmer Jones. If you've never read Animal Farm, it's definitely time.
Original contents copyright 2024 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. (To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below or on the title of this post.)
Featured Comments from:
Oh, don't exaggerate -- Apple will only skim a buck-eighty from your six bucks!
The fees Patreon itself charge are variable and mildly complicated, but don't approach 30% unless the transaction amounts are very small.
Posted by: jthvedt | Monday, 14 October 2024 at 12:18 PM
If you are in the EU, Patreon will add the applicable VAT to the amount sent to you. Perhaps this could be avoided by using PayPal.
I do not like Patreon. I send two people money via Patreon each month and I have been unable to cancel one of the monthly payments. I can cancel both, but I want to continue my micro support for you. I asked PayPal for help but they never replied.
Posted by: Christer Almqvist | Monday, 14 October 2024 at 06:03 PM
When I learned Patreon had decided they couldn't do otherwise, I chose to give up on them. Both as a creator and as a patron. To quite a few people, not just you.
But I absolutely refuse to support Apple's extortion scheme, even indirectly. I mean, I don't even own an iPhone, so they wouldn't take 30% from what I'm giving you. But Patreon decided they had to agree with these terms and I have decided I had to disagree.
The 30% out of the price of an app was already huge. But 30% out of everything patrons send creators?
Yeah, only the ones who do it through the app. But that's still way too many people. Even if it was just one patron per creator, that would be way too many people. And it's going to be more than that.
I thought I could support your work through your paypal link but that's apparently not an option any more.
Well, thank you Apple for killing creators :°(
Posted by: Thomas Paris | Tuesday, 15 October 2024 at 01:16 AM
What Christer said about Patreon also applies to PayPal. I used to spend 4$/mo on an open source project, and wanted to reduce that to 1$/mo when I retired (and that's still a lot considering that my monthly income is less than the rent and heating). But my wife told me that with sending 1$, PayPal took even more than that for the transfer alone - so I had to cancel that as well... sigh...
Posted by: Wolfgang Lonien | Tuesday, 15 October 2024 at 03:49 AM
Also note that this 30% applies to any subscriptions you make through an app on iOS/iPadOS. P
I was paying my favourite internet radio station an optional monthly subscription through their app, and it was only the Patreon kerfuffle that made me realise I should cancel that and subscribe through their app station's own website.
Posted by: Phil | Wednesday, 16 October 2024 at 05:37 AM