Until I read the article, I misread “trying to deal with being actually a promoter of freemium paywall business models” as “trying to eliminate the freemium patreons” not “trying to placate the freemium patreons”.
Still, the problem for Patreon is that basically no matter which problem is the one they’re trying to solve, this was the stupidest solution. About the only way this is justified is if the Treasury had actually warned them that they were in violation and had to either give up their business model or obey the regulations… And even in that case this is the wrong way to go about it. Which means they’re incompetent and untrustworthy in the long term.
…Wait 'til people start doing chargebacks on individual pledges. Won’t that be fun for Patreon and the creators.
