REport: The Comfort Kitty

HeyJ, everyone! Happy New Year! Let's kick it off with MICROPHONE PROBLEMS! (don't worry, that's top of my 2025 list to replace...)

The second big elephant in the room is Discord, which is indeed going unofficial February 1st. Here's a paraphrase of how this affects you:

-No (official) Patreon-exclusive server to chat in
-$1 tier will no longer include a Discord role
-No (official) post-musical voice chats
-Less RE presence on Discord in general

We understand. That's paradoxically only bad news for you, and mostly good news for us. On our end, it's fewer places to check in, fewer people to keep up with, fewer minutes to log, and less pressure to face. I promise, we DO like you guys, as well as following your conversations and relationships. We just can't prioritize it the way a chat/instant messaging platform is designed for, and we hope you understand. Please enjoy it -- it's transferring to great hands.

On the flipside, this may be a key moment to depart our Patreon for some of you, and we get that. We recognize that our decision will lower Patreon's value, and that some of you can't justify sticking around without it (much like when we discontinued REplayed shout-outs, or Patreon Gaming sessions before that, or even private video calls before that.)

If that's the case, then thank you still for being part of RE. It was good to have you here, and we hope you'll continue to enjoy the content free on YouTube. We'll still be here making it, and we'll feel fortunate to do so.

If you plan to stay, we're so grateful for your kindness and generosity. As I noted, this isn't the first time you've probably lost something cool on Patreon, but we hope you've seen your support generate some super cool videos and really fun songs since you joined. Patreon Encounterers get in on the ground floor of each musical, and help turn them into a finished product people around the world can enjoy. If you're here, you're an important part of the RE ecosystem, and we hope we can convey that without a dedicated Discord perk.

Thanks for your support and feedback, as always. Stay tuned for musical news! Beard Salute!
~AJ