Re: Jester

On the Patreon/FRAF thing: Gio's point wasn't ''Andrew gets nothing from this Patreon'' in an absolute sense, it was that FRAF as a forum is its own entity, not being directly bankrolled by Andrew or WP, and that the Patreon exists to support the projects tied to the license. The fact that merch revenue or Patreon money ultimately passes through licensing doesn’t make the forum itself a WP-run operation, and that distinction matters when people are implying it's all secretly Andrew's payroll.

On licensing control: yes, Andrew could technically use copyright law to do the same thing without a license, but a formal licensing arrangement streamlines that control. It creates a codified, pre agreed path for enforcement instead of requiring fresh legal threats each time, which reduces friction for the rights holder and makes it harder for the licensee to resist. It's not just about the possibility of overreach, its about removing barriers to it. That's why ''he hasn't done it yet'' isn't the reassurance some think it is.

Re: Miles being ''just a liaison'': exactly. No one's saying he's a permanent mouthpiece for HICU, but in this specific context, he wasn't neutral. He carried Andrew's terms for over a year and was a direct link in the chain of negotiation. That's not passive, even if he wasn't the decision maker, his involvement had weight and influence, and he chose to put himself forward now as a voice in this conversation.

As for the ''shadow leadership'' thing: I think this is where people are talking past each other. Gio's framing isn't ''Andrew is secretly micromanaging every HICU project,'' its ''the licensing structure gives him the power to step in at will,'' which is a structural fact whether or not he's exercised it in these specific cases. The disagreement is over how actively that power is being used, not whether it exists.

And if one part of an article doesn't land with someone, that's fair, but that doesn't automatically nullify every other claim in it, especially when those other claims are supported by documented patterns of behaviour outside of this one dispute. :)