itch.io was my favorite site

Leaf,

As a trans person, I fled from Texas to the San Francisco Bay Area in order to escape transphobic legislation. I lost stable housing, my friends, and a community I had come to know from spending over a decade in Austin. In looking to connect with others in the Bay, I hooked up with the Hype o' Clock group. I was happy to hear stories about you and I've been looking forward to meeting you.

Over the years, itch.io has become one of the coolest places online, because of its censorship-free and artist-first reputation. As part of a marginalized community, I've felt like itch.io has been the one platform that I could trust to have our back. For someone like me, where the digital world feels more like home than real life -- especially when I've had to uproot my entire life due to the increasing hostility to LGBTQ+ people in the United States -- this meant the world to me.

The recent decision to de-list "adult content" without warning has broken my heart. I don't feel like I have anyone in my corner anymore as a creative. It feels like you have capitulated to the whims of authoritarians who don't even have an interest in what itch.io is about anyway. It's clear to me -- the writing is on the wall. They'll use you to target the marginalized and vulnerable, the very community that have come to trust you. People like me.

And really? What is this? itch.io isn't going to do anything? I don't believe that. I wish you would fight for us. I wish you'd keep the fight alive.

For now, I feel betrayed.

Regards,
Ava