As this question keeps getting posted in every thread of a potentially NSFW strip, here's the answer courtesy of Giz:
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=15&p=550157#p550157
But we need our nipples!!! Can't Giz make a Patreon or something like that??Giz wrote:gockel, Sokora... I'm sure I've mentioned this in the past for other comics but Ma3 has had one hell of a struggle in keeping ad providers for it. Americans are REALLY strict when it comes to the female nipple. I have no clue why that is. We could chop heads off and they wouldn't say a word, but a female nipple? BAN!! I'm not joking here. With that said, since MA3 started, we've been banned left & right from many ad providers, and each time we get banned, we lose like 2 months of ad money and it's tough. When we did the arc where Sonya brings Peggy to Gary's apartment and they find Zii and DiDi there, well, that arc pretty much banned us almost everywhere. We were then told that the only way for us to get ad providers in again was to tag the updates so we could split the NSFW and SFW pages apart. After the 4some lesbian arc, we were asked if we could tame it down for a bit in order to get some ad providers interested in advertising on the site again. This went on for a bit, and we got ad providers again in order to make a bit of money. What then ended up happening, each time we'd do a strip that was NSFW, we'd make 0 money on it. Dave and I said to ourselves "wow... what a system we're stuck in." Oh, sure we could put porn ads and see porn on every page but we don't want that. Ma3 is a sexy comedy, sure, but we never saw the comic as a porn comic. If it was, we'd see dongs left & right. If you browse the archive, you'll notice that every nsfw page has ads, but they're internal ads, and don't generate money.
When volume 7 started, we were still showing nipples & all (making no money) and Dave and I wondered if we could write strips that were cleaner for a bit. Soooo, we started to write a little cleaner for a while. We knew we couldn't make it last forever. I mean, at one point, something is gonna happen, and we'll have to break that SFW cycle. When we planned the foursome arc, we were SURE we'd break it. I mean, a foursome!! When the scene came up with Kiley, because we KNEW she had to leave in a huff, we were forced to keep her dressed. We figured "oh well... I guess she has a zipper down there?" It was the only way for her to leave the way she did, and we only had so many strips left before we had to close the book. So in the end, that happened the way it did because of how we end our books (has to match the beginning.)
With this all said, the Kickstarter bonus story had fan service. We have no restrictions there. We also don't plan on being SFW forever & ever. If a joke needs nipples, it'll get nipples, but just know that each time we do it, we make nada with ads.
Anyway, hope this clarifies a few things.
For some reason I'm interested in the discussions on Ma3 Vols. 1...5! Where have they gone?Giz wrote:In regards to advertisers and their fear of the female nipple, I really don't know what more I can say. If we show the female nipple, we'll become a porn site with porn ads. We don't want that. I can't stress that enough. Sure we can do a Patreon, but is that a long term solution? I'm not going to jump into something until I'm sure. For now, it is what it is, and honestly, for this latest comic? It's funnier as is with the shirt on. For printed books, we may tweak a few strips if we feel it's necessary, and the bonus stories will have the "scaaaaary" female nipple.
I have archived them to free up some space in the Ma3 forum - too many stickies on top. The threads have not been locked, though. Kudos to Az for pushing me.
Gary got laid!/There's character development!/Gary got laid by DiDi!!!/[Something] happened that I was not expecting in my headcanon. Therefore, the comic is surely wrapping up and will end soon.
While there does not seem to be a rigidly fixed plan, the creators estimate Ma3 will run for 12 years/volumes. The comic started in May 2008 and due to all kinds of little accumulating delays, we are still (as of early summer 2017) quite far from the end of Volume 9, so hold your horses! It may run longer than late 2020, but unlikely shorter. (Applicable only to Ma3, I do not know about the other comics really, except that SDB is supposed to return someday for likely one more volume.)
But wait, now I'm hearing the comic will end soon!!! Did I miss some announcement??
You did. Indeed, more recently, the 12-year plan has been dropped. I will refere to multiple posts from Giz in the Q&A thread:
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=15&start=2055#p584208
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=15&start=2070#p587817
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=15&start=2100#p590798
More material may land in this FAQ. We had some important things in the past, but they aren't talked about much right now. I'm sure Spidrift will help me out. ;)