I totally agree that it is a choice whether you participate in Patreon or not, the issue I have is that if you don’t, you are purposely felt to get very little. Everything they do (watch parties, quizzes, cookalongs, meet-ups, discord chats, karaoke, bingo, animal crossing, call of duty.... etc) is only open to those who contribute to their pockets.
Throughout the vlogs you are reminded of what you could be a part of, subliminally of course. If people were to hear “we have a watch party tonight exclusive for our paying patreons” or “we have a quiz tonight that you can join if you have donated us money through Patreon” I think more people’s eyes would be opened to the fact it has become a members only club.
The fact the underlying message is camouflaged people aren’t seeing the money grabbing for what it is, (Next time you watch, time how long it takes to hear something about Patreon or exclusive material) and thus people are sucked in. £4 is not a lot to most therefore not a big deal to sign up right? I mean you get access to all this additional stuff! But wait, if I go to the next tier I can get a shout out and so on.... and through this Machiavellian scheme your “option” to sign up doesn’t seem as free willed as it should and more of a necessity if you want to be a part of the “gang”
Let’s not forget to add they will be payed to a degree from Youtube for views, superchat income if you want to ask a question, they have a paypal account ready to drop funds into, a “merch” store, company sponsorships on the rise with the increase of subscribers (another thing you are urged to do) and watch this space for a PO Box reopening.
Lastly, feel free to comment on their videos, they do read every comment after all, but bear in mind no-one else will see it until it has been vetted.