ShadowQuillsInk

What’s Post+?

Oh, thank you for asking this totally unprompted question! Tumblr’s Post+ is our new tool that allows creators to make some of their posts exclusive to paid supporters and allows people to support their favorite creators. It’s an optional way to support and encourage your favorite creators on Tumblr, and it’s all done in the existing post form with the existing tools you all know and love.

Why Post+?

Creators are the backbone of Tumblr—whether they’re GIF artists, illustrators, comedians, cosplayers, or just really good shitposters. Since our founding, we have always believed in empowering the world’s creators to show off their best work. Post+ now gives these same creators the ability to earn money from their work.

Post+ is optional, right?

Right! Post+ simply gives creators the freedom to pick and choose which posts they want public and which posts they want only their paid supporters to see. Creators who use Post+ have the ability to choose how much of their content is free and public. Post+ is an optional program—the creator has the power to decide if they want to participate or not. The creator also has the ability to choose from a select set of predefined subscription pricing structures for their supporters.

Can I have it?

When Post+ fully launches, it will be available for anyone who wants to use it. Right now it’s still in its beta phase of testing. We want to make sure that everyone’s experience with Post+ is without any hiccups or bugs. We’re working with a very limited number of creators who are testing it out for us. But! If you want to get notified when more beta testing spaces open up, please sign up here.

Anything else?

Post+ is a move toward this goal—making sure creators who dedicate their time and effort to producing content have the choice to be paid for some of what they do, if they decide it makes sense for them.

Right now, we’ve got our beta testers and a world of feedback to incorporate, which is exactly how things get made and get better.

We do, however, want to address the main concerns we are hearing:

Fanfiction & Copyright Infringement

Basically, the process works the same as it always has. And yes, the following information is coming to you straight from a lawyer:

We fully support Creators sharing their fanfiction and fanart on Tumblr. We encourage sharing creative work of all kinds on the platform.

Fanfiction and fanart are frequently considered fair use and we support our Creators’ fair use rights. Monetizing fan work does not necessarily mean that it isn’t fair use.

Any content posted on Tumblr, both free and monetized, should follow our Terms of Service and Community Guidelines, which prohibits infringing the intellectual property rights of others. Whether a piece of fanfiction meets the requirements for fair use varies depending on the work. Intellectual property rights holders are in the best position to decide if they think a fanfiction or fan art violates their rights. If they do, they can use the normal Tumblr DMCA process to identify content for removal. Creators can also take advantage of the normal counter-notification process if they believe the content was misidentified as infringing.

Using the block feature and Post+

Post+ creators will be able to block subscribers in the final Post+ product launching later this fall, and resulting from our beta feedback. At the moment, testers of the Post+ beta will need help from Tumblr Support in order to block a blog that has become a paying supporter.

We will continue to answer questions over the next few weeks over on @postplus

We believe that this step adding a paywall to creators and fans only helps to further divide communities, (and this is happening, during one of the most divisive era’s in the world’s history). Our first criticism is against the claim that this is an optional step.

This will not remain optional.

Not for creators who need to make money, businesses who need to look professional and gatekeepers into professional communities who will insist on creators taking these measures before allowing the creators into the professional circles.

You created a system that will be exploited, and it will be turned against us; your users.

Our second criticism is somewhat self-explanatory.

If we wanted to have an OnlyFan’s account, we would’ve made one.

You’re transitioning to a service that already exists, and while we at SQI will gladly admit that some people found this service to be helpful and necessary, it is not necessary for Tumblr to transition into this method. You were not being bombarded with requests to make Tumblr like the adult sharing service. Nobody demanded that you make a section of Tumblr locked off with a paywall to keep people from seeing their content. This was all you, @staff​ looking for a new way to exploit your stubborn users to make a buck.

Post+ will divide the communities further.

Tumblr, we love you. No, really! Your algorithm’s a mess, your ad’s are nonsensical and poorly targeted, your p0rn bots are as plentiful as ever despite the numerous purges.

But that’s why we love you. This hellscape is a free place for creators and fans to geek out and make friends in a mostly safe environment. We come here because we know our data isn’t being tracked by Google, that we’re all anonymous creeps and inglorious enthusiasts. This place is where we go because we’re tired of all the same commercial crap that the other social media sites are selling. No one gives a crap about your numbers here. (Or if you use the word “crap” in a professional post!) This is a free space where we all have the power to be whatever weird little hobgoblins we want to be.

So why are you trying to ruin all that with Post+?

You are deadass trying to sell us on the idea of a paywall that many of us came here to avoid. I know, you want to be all nice and clean and shiny like all the other social media sites. God, I get it; everyone wants to be Facebook! But you’re not Facebook. You’re our hellscape. And that sloppy mess is all we want you to be.

The personal touch didn’t work, did it?

Okay, professional time. This is bad semantics and off brand. Your user-base will not be content with your content and they will drive you to bankruptcy like we did the last three companies that tried their hands at this. You’re selling to a very niche market and Post+ is not focusing on that brand.

It is for these reasons that we at ShadowQuillsInk feel Post+ is a bad choice and for that reason we will not be participating in it voluntarily. 

This may hurt us down the road when things change and Post+ becomes a necessity, but we’re willing to accept that risk. Our SQI content here on Tumblr will remain free. We will not be using Post+, and we sincerely insist that Tumblr staff should please change your minds.