An Update....
So, I've just placed a bunch of things I'd been working on into my posts. I had a lot of ideas, got to a point, had hoped to do more, then, like many here, suddenly got alerted to a major change in how CivitAi is going to deal with buzz costs for generation going forward.
I've spent a bit of the past week or so mired in discussion here: https://civitai.com/articles/20844
To generate the variety of content I had been generating, the site often now will require cash payment. That includes images they don't get near the mark in creating what we intend, where tools and LORAs and all sorts of things don't quite get it right, and we will need it re-made many times before it's what we desire...or, it'll never get there because the tools don't get it there with us.
A lot of what I just posted is basically what was in the buffer, waiting for me to clean it up and work on it and make it better. The financial cost of doing this now would quickly add up to me spending the cost of a better machine. I'd get better value and more control on my own machine, and what's changed with the payment system is so substantial I need to take a break. I haven't actually generated an image on this site now since October 11, the change hit, and that was that.
Forever is a long time. I'm going to look in and have fun where I have it, and it's up to Civitai if and when I am back to do more. What I got from the site has been a gift, and I am forever grateful for the opportunities it gave. But, at some point, Civitai set its feet on a path here that does not appeal.
They made statements very recently about free speech and freedom to create without restraint being their first priorities, and were pretty clear about it, but have since decided on a different course. Just days later, in fact.
They made statements about the difficulties of credit card processors to allow adult-themed works, but now seem to be demanding those works be the financial foundation for all the pillars of its future, even while stating how much of a problem it is to allow such creations. If that ground were so shaky to begin with, why set it as the whole future foundation for the site? Now, unlike the credit card companies, they discriminate against those themes by demanding, not requesting, paid generation. It makes one wonder if there were ever a real issue with payment for adult content in the first place. And, after all, in an extreme case, how do companies selling adult materials collect their payment? There has to be a way, and the conflicting evidence here is troubling.
The changes also ignore the value some bring to the site just by being here, letting ads run, generating revenue that way for Civitai. Or, the likes and loves we give to pictures, enhancing the experience of everyone, giving them a meter for how good their work is and how the community likes or loves what they're doing. Perhaps as much as anything, though, is how this change, and the loss of many creators and creations from Civitai, is about to erode the value of the paid buzz. How? If you get less tips in your tip jar because fewer are here, if you get less likes, if you get fewer views for the ads that run so making their placement of less value on a given day, it will quickly be seen that Civitai is no longer the place to be seen, and not a place to get value for your advertising money. Those looking to monetize anything...good luck with that.
So, I'm just giving folks an understanding my creation here is simply on a long stroll around. I'm going out for a walk; I may be some time. I'll poke my head in, I'm sure. What got posted today, largely, was not-quite-finished work, a bunch of ideas going somewhere, or maybe ideas that got somewhere but were waiting for polish. It was time to just decide to post some of it, let the system retain it, and, someday, I shall be back. Because, as an optimist, I can't say it any other way. Civitai, as a business, needs a customer base, and the latest changes scorch the earth under them. They already retreated and now say you can use blue buzz again with a membership for NSFW creation, but they already made clear they don't really morally censure, they just want the money, and now you can't count on getting what you pay for even when you pay for it from your wallet. What will they do next, with or without notice? I wish them a swift learning experience, an honest accounting from there to their audience, and an opportunity to reconcile what they did, with no warning, as though nobody should really notice. It is not better and not easier to beg forgiveness than to ask permission, and nobody was giving permission for this travesty, either. Forgiveness after such things is often in short supply, and an audience already moving on rarely has even a need to forgive. But, they own the place, and instead of flailing around as a bull in their own china shop, they should really go get a professional advisor, or actually listen to the professional voices they have contributing comment now, in good faith, hoping Civitai gets a clue and fixes this mess.
At the point we're blowing weeks on the politics of their money, we're no longer creating, enjoying, appreciating, or having fun. I'd love to contribute. At some point, I was probably even on track to spending some money here. But, the trust in what they say and the free opportunity I gave to them to grow my appreciation are now evaporated. Until this is fixed, I also can't recommend friends to come here. There are other sites on the internet, other fish in the sea, so if you ask any mermaid you happen to see, I wonder what they'll say about Civit of the C.
If I'm not posting lots here...you now have a fair idea why.
What they've done here...just a shame.