I mean, I can buy porn right now with my MasterCard. Do I need to start posting links as proof?
We all know that the issue is with the categorization of the transaction. MasterCard/Visa has higher chargebacks and thus higher costs associated with porn. When Stripe focuses on non-porn they can get much cheaper pricing. When Itch.io buys cheaper fees from Itch.io, they get smacked due to some porn being on the payment network.
So now itch.io is realizing the 'price' of Porn and we will see if itch.io decides if it's worth the cost. Especially because CCBill or whatever is going to be a % higher on all transactions (including non-porn), it's likely that it's only efficient if itch.io makes a 2nd website for ONLY pornographic games or something.
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It's.... really messy and muddy. But messy / muddy situations don't make good little memes or call to action on Reddit/Twitter.
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I am still pretty sure that Visa/Mastercard are problematic. But if this is going to be a sustained push, people need to be much much smarter about the information and also need to direct their energy efficiently. You can't just call up the internet mob like the boy who cried wolf.
I think the message needs to be about the power and control of Visa/Mastercard and payment processors to cut off free speech in general. Porn could be a good starting point for free speech discussion and seems to come up as a practical example often. But we still need to get the details correct otherwise we risk making fools of ourselves.
The processor lied about Mastercard's involvement. It's par for the course in my experience that processors always try to offload blame on someone else. Then Mastercard saying explicitly that the decision wasn't made at their level.
I imagine you have had the same week of yelling at the wall on this issue I have.
> I imagine you have had the same week of yelling at the wall on this issue I have.
Does a multinational company worth half a trillion dollars really deserve your personal, emotional support? I think they’ll be just fine no matter how fervently you support or oppose them.
We all know that the issue is with the categorization of the transaction. MasterCard/Visa has higher chargebacks and thus higher costs associated with porn. When Stripe focuses on non-porn they can get much cheaper pricing. When Itch.io buys cheaper fees from Itch.io, they get smacked due to some porn being on the payment network.
So now itch.io is realizing the 'price' of Porn and we will see if itch.io decides if it's worth the cost. Especially because CCBill or whatever is going to be a % higher on all transactions (including non-porn), it's likely that it's only efficient if itch.io makes a 2nd website for ONLY pornographic games or something.
-------
It's.... really messy and muddy. But messy / muddy situations don't make good little memes or call to action on Reddit/Twitter.
----------
I am still pretty sure that Visa/Mastercard are problematic. But if this is going to be a sustained push, people need to be much much smarter about the information and also need to direct their energy efficiently. You can't just call up the internet mob like the boy who cried wolf.
I think the message needs to be about the power and control of Visa/Mastercard and payment processors to cut off free speech in general. Porn could be a good starting point for free speech discussion and seems to come up as a practical example often. But we still need to get the details correct otherwise we risk making fools of ourselves.