Leaving Gittip

I left gittip because reasons. I don't want to get into too many details here because of concerns about escalating the situation. After all, public airing of grievances is what created a catalyst for this situation in the first place. However, I want to provide some brief details for people about what I am doing.

I deleted my gittip account a few days ago. I did not make this decision lightly. I did not make this decision rashly after one incident, but that incident was the last straw. I made this decision after ongoing and repeated issues starting in February 2014. These issues indicated that gittip's insistence on and method of implementing radical transparency and openness was not in alignment with my needs as a user or my ethics as a person. Others have left or are in the process of leaving for similar reasons.

I feel badly for recommending gittip to others considering this turn of events, but I keep reminding myself that I am not responsible for nor could I have predicted this. Ultimately, the responsibility lies with gittip and those in charge of it. It was a useful platform that served many of us for some time. It helped us realize that we were doing work that others valued and were willing to support. It was an interesting experiment. For many of us, it is time for that experiment to end.

Gittip does not provide that special of a service. There are other places to send and receive donations. People are not making the mistake of all going to the same place again. Various people are trying different services. I am looking forward to hearing feedback from others about what they are trying because I am not sure where I will land.

Before worrying about me, please take a look at people who are migrating to other services. The gittip exodus is hitting the people who need help the most the hardest. Please try to help them on the new services they are trying out. This is really important to me.

As for me, I'm giving Patreon a go as an interim solution. I am not sure it is a good fit for me longterm, but it will do for now. Patreon has a much more creative bent to it and seems mostly focused on sharing one's creations with patrons. I think this could be good by encouraging me to focus more on creativity. I have been trying to stave off activist burnout for a while now, and I think that focusing more of my energy on artistic endeavors can help with that stress.

I am interested in feedback from people who might want to donate to me on Patreon:

• Would you prefer to donate monthly (my current setting) or per creation?
• What kinds of creations would you like to see from me (writing, firebee comics, videos, etc.)?
• What types of rewards would you be interested in as a patron?

I will try to keep people updated about the services I am trying out and where I finally land.