Questions about Archives of Nethys

[Gark the Goblin]

As a tool for getting new players into the game, it's hard to beat AON and the PFSRD. It's great that these services exist and that Paizo is willing to give them advance access! But there is still a lot of free labor going into enriching game accessibility that Paizo benefits from, especially now that AON is the Paizo-sponsored SRD. Are the people maintaining AON getting a minimum wage from their Patreon? If not, has Paizo offered to pay them a wage and provide health insurance?

(feel free to move if this is the wrong forum)

[Rysky]

My understanding is no, but the agreement currently is one the people maintaining AoN are happy with from what last I heard.

They get their funding through Patreon and ad revenue from the site itself.

[WatersLethe]

When Paizo first announced that they would be giving AON their official blessing, everyone and their mother asked if there was going to be some compensation for the effort of maintaining the site.

I was one who asked the u/KaruiKage on the announcement thread on Reddit if they were worried about the new server load and if they'd be fine financially.

Long story short, they had no concerns and was happy about the official endorsement.

If you look at it from an outside perspective...

1. The "official" title gives AoN a distinct advantage when compared against similar sites when competing for Patreon or ad revenue. This comes from:
1.a. Prestige
1.b. Access to art assets
1.c. Early access to materials

2. The site administrator was going to do all the work with or without the official endorsement. They are a big fan of the system, and it may have been personally rewarding to be recognized for their efforts.

3. If costs start to become a problem, they are in a fairly good position to collaborate with others. As people become more accustomed to using AON as their go-to, keeping it around will be of interest to a large audience.

[Vic Wertz]

Archives of Nethys are a licensee, and as such, they are able to generate revenue from their use of our intellectual property. People working on AoN are not doing so as Paizo employees; we don't pay their salaries just as we don't pay the salaries of people employed by WizKids, Black Book Editions, Dynamite Comics, or any other licensee.