Newsletter | Scribe | The Story Box

The Beast Is Scared and Letting Us Know

How should we react to a wounded and aggressive animal?

Photo by Frank Flores on Unsplash

Dear Reader,

Please keep your children away from your screen while reading this newsletter. I’m joking, of course, and as always, I’ll do my best to remain cordial and keep my cool. But keep your kids away just in case.

You may have burst out laughing when you read the collection of lies published by Medium on Thursday. Well, in my opinion and that of thousands of others who were shocked.

Or you may have bitten your nails down to the quick in a state of extreme nervousness, whichever you prefer.

Oh, Medium! I wonder if it’s possible to sink even lower in terms of lies, scams, and insults. What exactly is this about? I made an effort and dipped the tip of my tongue in it. Damn, it was disgusting!

Is this yet another attempt by Medium to try to retain its new users (the old ones all know what kind of scam they’re dealing with) and discourage them from going elsewhere? Yes! Bingo! I’m not going to respond to all the points mentioned in the article, that would be exhausting.

That said…

Medium says it’s not in competition, while at the same time claiming, “I’m better than him!” (referring to Substack)? LOL!

Medium talks about a credible and sustainable business model. In June 2024, we saw a sharp drop in views, Partner Program earnings, and Boost, all just a few months before Medium Day and the announcement of profitability. Huge water cut, massive and brutal cost cuts, then: “We’re profitable!” LOL!

Early 2025, new torpedo: an even more significant drop in views, Partner Program earnings, and Boost, reaching levels close to zero. Several Medium employees were laid off, including the head of the Boost program. Some people rebelled. Medium’s response: “No, no, everything is normal, earnings and distribution are normal.” LOL!

Medium talks about its responsible approach to community and moderation and mentions the long-term growth of its audience? It mentions a strict and determined policy regarding AI-generated writing. Prepare your screenshot and follow my gaze. LOL!

AI scammers and fake profiles, which undoubtedly number in the millions and are multiplying like rabbits, have been flooding the platform since 2022 and the sensational arrival of ChatGPT on the generative AI market. They pay for their Medium subscription so they can write behind the paywall and siphon money from the common pot. Medium is counting on us to report them. Follow my gaze again and take your screenshot. This jerk is on his seventh new account, at least as far as I can count, as mentioned in the June 29 newsletter. LOL!

When we report these scammers using the feature provided for that purpose, they are almost never suspended. Most of them have been active for years without ever being bothered. Today, they are the ones who finance Medium. Medium attracted 500,000 new users last May. All of them are reading enthusiasts who have a deep desire to read quality stories and are therefore willing to pay for them. LOL!

Audience? What’s that? I’ve been writing and publishing writers on Medium every day for over twelve years. I created the Scribe publication in February 2017, over eight years ago. The publication now has over 23,500 followers. All of them were gained organically, without any deliberate action on my part. The stories published in Scribe almost never exceed 40 views. And people talk about building an audience on Medium. LOL!

In the comments section of the article, Medium’s CEO responded (among other things) to a comment by writing: “I think that was true in the past, but Medium’s audience building has gotten a lot better in the last two months. Also, not cherry picking comments.” Is he referring to the fact that readers are choosing to subscribe to notifications when writers publish new stories 30x more than before, after a small design tweak.

When you’re browsing Medium with your hair blowing in the wind and you click on a writer’s follow button, you are AUTOMATICALLY (i.e., forced) signed up to receive email notifications of their future posts. In its communication, Medium talked about user choice. LOL!

Things have changed slightly in the last few days, as the scam was far too obvious. Now, when you click on a writer’s follow button, a pop-up window appears, and even though email notifications are enabled by default, you can choose your preference and save it. Except that since announcing this design change and before making this fix to make the sleight of hand a little more successful, Medium had time to generate bogus figures to brag about a new, and therefore false, success. LOL!

Still on the subject of email notifications, it’s important to note that Medium hides the emails of users who have chosen to receive our posts by email. This is a rather sinister technique used by narcissistic perverts to keep us locked into the system.

Now that these new readers, amazed by our writing, have chosen of their own free will to be notified by email every time we publish something, our stories are getting significantly more views, aren’t they? LOL!

When Medium seeks to rely on its users to try to restore its image, as it is doing with this writer, Alexei Sorokin, it obviously takes care not to mention his other writings where he refers to a dying platform. LOL!

I could tell you a thousand other facts that prove we’ve been taken for a ride for years, but it wouldn’t do much good, and I’ve got other things to do. Believe me, I’ve seen a lot in twelve years.

So I’ll stop there.

Wait, no! I forgot to mention the Medium CEO’s one-man show published just this Friday! One of the greatest heroes of this century, the great savior of Medium, took to the stage to talk about the spectacular rescue of the company he took over in 2022 and successfully led to profitability! LOL!

I reread the boss’s 18-minute tirade several times, and at no point did he mention the deliberate actions taken by the company that wiped out the money paid to writers so that Medium could save millions of dollars and avoid bankruptcy.

At no point does the CEO mention the proliferation of fake profiles that publish AI-generated writing behind the paywall without ever being challenged. These fake profiles undoubtedly number in the hundreds of thousands, if not millions. The boss prefers to mention the change in quality standards and the mass arrival of new users who are happy to pay for quality stories. LOL!

Are investors aware of what is really happening on the platform?

Welcome to the world of business! It’s all about powerful CEOs, millions of dollars, lies told with a hammer, exceptional employees willing to sell their souls, and six-figure salaries!

Meanwhile, all these beautiful people piss and shit on their users.

To think that I’ve been on Medium every day for over twelve years, writing and supporting brilliant, honest writers with all my might. Voluntarily, for free. And here we are. Or rather, here’s the mess we’re in.

It’s all very sad, my friends.

It pains me to say it, but I think I’ve reached the limit of what I can tolerate here on Medium. To comfort myself a little, I tell myself that I must be mentally strong to have endured all this for so many years. Or maybe it’s just that I’m weak. Anyway, it doesn’t matter.

The good news is that you are all still here, or almost all of you. I am talking about you, dear Scribe writers! You too have persevered all these years, without ever faltering. And believe me, it warms my heart.

I could have found myself alone at the helm a long time ago. But Louise Foerster joined me last year. And alongside us, you have been, and continue to be, the most amazing team a self-respecting publisher could dream of. For that, I thank you once again, from the bottom of my heart.

There comes a time when a decision has to be made, and I believe that time is fast approaching. You know me, I don’t want to rush things or do anything stupid, so I’ll take the time it takes to do things right.

The question is simple: should Scribe still exist on Medium today? I will of course discuss this with Louise (I didn’t have time to write to her before publishing this newsletter, but she knows what I think anyway), but I also need your feedback. Once I have more information to feed into my thinking, I will make my decision.

So is this the end of a story that has lasted nearly nine years? Perhaps, at least here on Medium. But the good news is that even if the story of Scribe and our wonderful community comes to an end on Medium, it will continue on Substack! And it will continue elsewhere if necessary!

As I wrote in last week’s newsletter, I don’t want to turn a blind eye and move on, but I want to keep doing what I love. In other words, I want to keep writing from the heart and supporting you as a writer. I can do that anywhere else, including on Substack. The door is wide open, and I’ll be your guide if you need help making the transition.

I’ve been exploring the platform again for the past two weeks, and I’m pleasantly surprised by how enjoyable the experience has been. Whether in terms of writing, reading, accessibility, available features, design, discoveries, or connections with the talented writers and artists who are swarming the platform.

Among the “encounters” I’ve had, I can mention Deanna Fry and her fabulous essay based on Michael Jackson’s song Man in the Mirror. When I stumbled across this writer and journalist’s work in the Notes section, I didn’t expect to find myself chatting with her privately via the messaging service just a few minutes later.

Believe me, most of what Medium says about Substack in its article is false. Lies and manipulation to dissuade you from leaving. A cry of despair from a company that is afraid.

Remember the title and subtitle of this newsletter. The wounded and frightened animal that no longer knows what to do to survive.

Caroline Mellor, Sam Aureli, Jenine Baines, and many other brilliant writers and honest individuals can also tell you about their experiences on Substack. Of course, nothing is ever perfect, but I’m sure they’ll be happy to read your comments and respond.

This isn’t my first attempt at this other platform. I discovered Substack when it first launched in 2017, much like I discovered Medium in 2013, when the platform had just opened to the public. Then I took the plunge in 2019, perhaps a little clumsily, but I wanted to give it a try.

I then took a step back to focus fully on Medium, before returning on Substack in the summer of 2024 to try again, only to give up once more. Perhaps the platform wasn’t quite ready for me yet, but now, in 2025, I feel that the time is finally right.

I’ve already made my decision. I spoke about this on Saturday.

I am therefore distancing myself from Medium. While I wait to make a decision about the publication, I will continue to read your stories and publish them with Louise, but I will remain at a distance, and this newsletter is the last one here. We don’t know what the future holds, but for now, I’m stepping aside.

This isn’t goodbye, as I’ll still be around. I’m just changing gardens because I need to hear other birds singing and plant other flowers. For fun, I used to compare you to bees. The hive is ready if you want to follow me. It’s time to make our own honey without anyone stealing it from us.

Thank you for reading, thank you for everything, from the bottom of my heart. Let’s stay together and continue to do what is good for us. 💚

Thomas

Literary Salon

Please Keep on Changing, by Louise Foerster. Still Born, by Natalie Wilkinson. Griefe Is a Tortoise, by Venessa Tai Yeh. Never a Reason, Never Goodbye, by Ken Martin. Dreams in Green and Basil, by Venessa Tai Yeh.

Community

Want to support this newsletter and help Scribe reach new heights? You are most welcome 💛 Dream of joining our team of creative writers and getting even more out of your writing journey? Read the guidelines and submit your story or poem ✨ Remember to subscribe to my profile so you don’t miss anything about our journey 🍃 All editions of this newsletter are here.