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Michael's avatar

Thanks for the article.

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Sara K.'s avatar

My first few quick thoughts:

1. When someone leaves a comment, they're not just talking to the writer, they're also talking to anyone else who views that page. If it's a personal and/or controversial topic, people may not always want to put their thoughts out there in public.

2. Writing a comment IS an effort. Even a 'thank you' since I have to make the decision whether to just write 'thank you' or say something more, and if I want to say something more, then what? If all I want to say is 'thanks' it's easier just to hit the clap button a bunch of times.

3. Efforts to boost comments can backfire. For example, a discord server I belong to is currently running a giveaway, but only people who leave at least 50 comments are eligible. Now there's a bunch of low-quality comments (and I probably don't see most of them because I mute the #general chat on that server, on the channels I pay attention to people are required to stay on topic). Come to think of it, discord servers which assign status based on comment activity also sometimes get a bunch of 'filler' comments, so much so that one discord server I belong to changed the status system to remove that incentive.

I'd rather get a few high-quality comments than a bunch of low-quality comments from people who were trying to get points/prizes/etc.

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Linda Caroll's avatar

Those are all excellent points, Sara. I can really relate to #2, because I do that too. Meh, don't know what to say. I'll just give 50 claps. lol

Third one is a really strong point. I wouldn't have thought that because I don't tend to leave lame comments if I leave on. Thanks for putting that on the radar.

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Jim the Geek's avatar

Speaking for myself, when reading on Medium I usually will look at the existing comments before adding my own. If there are many, saying essentially what I would say, I don't comment. And there's also the issue of Medium itself - I read less and less there. My subscription expires in less than 2 weeks and I won't renew. The writers I care about are already on Substack or Patreon.

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Sara K.'s avatar

Yeah, I'm on the fence about renewing my Medium subscription myself. I still have some months left (I'm on the annual plan) so I'm not making my decision now.

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Jim the Geek's avatar

I'm annual as well, for two years. In the beginning I would spend up to an hour a day reading through articles in my daily digest. Now it's down to 15 minutes or less, with at least an hour on the writers I've followed away from Medium. Being retired, I have plenty of time, but I'm pretty particular about how I spend it, and Medium just doesn't do it for me any more.

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Linda Caroll's avatar

That makes sense. The vibe has changed there over the years for sure.

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Linda Caroll's avatar

I am hearing more people say that lately. And I've lost several referred members, too. I'm curious what's making you consider leaving. Is it Medium itself or the quality of the writing? Just curious and don't feel like you have to answer. :)

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Jim the Geek's avatar

I'm one of the dreaded "Boomer" generation, which knocks my credibility down several notches. But I'm also a staunch realist, and I care about the climate, young people that have become debt serfs due to student loans, and many other topics of the day. Maybe I'm a snob, but I've picked a handful of writers that have impressed me with their intelligence, wit, and wisdom. I've also encouraged some of those same writers to set up their own sites with Substack, Patreon, or other independent site. They tend to be mostly women, often with really terrible back stories, and it really bothers me when I see their work earning them less and less. I'm also somewhat business-savvy, having helped my wife run her retail store for just shy of 25 years. Medium's persistent reduction in payments, to me, signals money problems. They are making a classic mistake that I've seen many times in retail. When times get tight, suppliers don't get paid. Many a mom & pop store has gone under, living out of the cash register. For Medium the suppliers are the writers. When they don't get paid, they have no choice but to leave. In my years of retailing, in a business that has about 99% women as clientele, I've learned a lot about how women are treated versus how they should be treated. In fact, it was being treated dismissively that caused my wife to start her own business. Now retired, I like to help those that I can.

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Linda Caroll's avatar

That's an amazing reply, Jim. I am one of those women with terrible back stories and constantly plummeting pay. Right now I am making significantly less than I used to at Medium and it sucks. I'm working on another project and hope it does well. Will share it here when it's ready.

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Sara K.'s avatar

At its best, I appreciated Medium for helping me discover new (to me) writers worth reading, as well as being a cheap bundle of good writing on a variety of topics. Now it feels like there's less variety (at least among topics which interest me) and it's harder to find good new (to me) writers. There's just enough good new writing which is still on the platform to keep me going. If my subscription ended today, I'd reluctantly renew. But if the trend continues any further downwards, I'll probably change my mind.

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Linda Caroll's avatar

Sad you hear you're leaving Medium. I'm curious to know why you're leaving. Is it the quality of writing, or something about Medium itself? Just being a snoopy pants and feel welcome to ignore. lol

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Kristi's avatar

One reason I can think of is that they read the article but it didn't inspire them enough to comment. I read plenty of stories from top to bottom but I'm not always compelled to say something about it. That's my take.

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Linda Caroll's avatar

You know, that makes sense. I think I comment when I have something to add. I am not a "thanks for sharing" sort of person. lol.

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Tim Dibble's avatar

As a frequent commenter, the difference is whether the article is written to engage in conversation (as this piece with the question at the end) or it is written to convince, entertain or other purpose. Few pieces are written with the purpose of engaging in conversation and few people appear to read and respond to comments as well. (it would be interesting to see the stats of the number of comments that get responses, particularly from the author).

There are several authors that admonish new writers to never read comments, that most are designed to tear you down or to find fault with your work. Others admonish writers to engage with every comment. There's really no right way.

While I'm pretty good with the first two rules of commenting, I do struggle with the third. The rules of commenting are whether your comment or response is True, Kind, and Necessary. I don't know that I've consciously spewed falsehoods (at least without labeling it as a joke or a quote), I try to be kind, but what I think is kindness might not seem so to others. Necessary is a tough one. If I'm writing I'm inspired to write and as long as I'm conscious of the first two, it feels necessary to me, but it also does have me hold my commenting tongue quite a bit as well.

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Linda Caroll's avatar

That's a really good point, Tim. On the second paragraph, I cringe when I get comments on my feminist posts because there's 50/50 odds they are not good. I am one of the people who says if you write feminist posts, don't read the comments. lol. You're right -- necessary is a hard one. I suspect it applies more to things that might come across as mean.

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Sieran Lane's avatar

Hey Linda,

For me, most of the comments I leave tend to be on the long side...Some of them are very long, lol. Occasionally I have something more concise, but I typically don't like to leave something bland and brief. So that means commenting takes up tons of time. So sometimes I just end up reading the article on my Kobo (I do this for my eyestrain, since Kobo e-readers have no backlight), and don't get around to commenting or even clapping. Not because I don't care, but because the sheer number of articles is immense and overwhelming.

There are some additional reasons: If I see that there are already 40+ comments or so, I might not say anything unless I know from past experience that the writer will reply to (or at least clap for) every comment, including for old posts. Otherwise, I think it's pointless for me to comment if it's unlikely that anyone would read my comment, buried down among so many. (That's why I don't know why people even bother to comment when there are already 80+ comments, but that's my opinion.)

Also, if I have commented on several of a writer's articles, and they never or rarely respond, then I might get discouraged and stop commenting on their work altogether, though I may still read from them. I understand some writers have massive followings and can't possibly get back to everyone. Or some only reply to comments on their newest articles to make the workload more manageable. That is valid and I don't blame them. (Devon Price has written entire posts about needing to set strict digital boundaries with regards to comments and messages! So I can empathize.)

However, even though I can understand and empathize, as a reader, I may still feel discouraged if I rarely or only occasionally get replies, because it feels like my comments make no difference and don't really matter. For writers who only respond to comments on their latest articles, I may end up only commenting on their latest articles. I may clap and/or highlight their old articles, but not comment because I highly doubt the writer would even see them.

Sorry if that sounds cranky, haha, I don't mean to be, just that my time is unfortunately quite limited. So it makes sense to me to write comments only if it's likely that I will hear back from the writer, or at least get claps from the writer as acknowledgement that they read and hopefully liked my comment.

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Linda Caroll's avatar

You don't sound cranky at all. There's one writer I like to read, but I noticed that he doesn't ever respond. Like, to anyone. So what would be the point of leaving a thoughtful comment that's likely not going to be looked at? Same if there's already 50 comments - who is going to see it? Valid points, for sure!

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Robin Klammer's avatar

Lol I guess I'm earning some gold stars with you and Kristi Keller then lol

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Linda Caroll's avatar

LMAO. You are, indeed.

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Robin Klammer's avatar

Lol. Hey I'll gladly take them. :)

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Dakota Duncan's avatar

I think there are many reasons. For me, I sometimes am not sure what to say, although, I will sometimes do the "thanks for sharing," especially when it is very personal and I really am trying to express gratitude for their courage in sharing something sensitive, sometimes I'm being lazy, or don't feel like I have the time to formulate what I'd really want to say, or just don't feel like engaging. As a writer, I love comments, but as a reader, sometimes I don't feel like engaging. Until social media, did we ever expect the writing/reading process to invite two-way conversation?

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Linda Caroll's avatar

That is a really excellent point, Dakota! I used to have a real thing for magazines and could just read and enjoy without the expectation of a response. I wanted to add 7 exclamation marks behind the first sentence. lol

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Katie's Confessions's avatar

I would leave more comments but I have some finger spasams from past brain trauma and I'm dysletic as are my fingers. Each time I type, I have to go back and change the order of the letters. I feel that is my problem and no big deal. Unless people want to make a big deal of my minimal comments.

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Linda Caroll's avatar

Catherine, oh my god. That you comment at all is amazing and thank you for this one. It's something I'd not thought of. And I don't know why, because I struggle with texting on my phone. I can type like the wind on my keyboard, but I make SO many typos on my phone it's a painful process.

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Kerry Kerr McAvoy's avatar

What a fascinating idea. Yeah I’ve been studying what turns someone from a reader or consumer into a fan and then into a passionate super fan. That’s where the real magic happens. They will read or buy nearly everything you create. Such an interesting process.

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Linda Caroll's avatar

It is, isn't it?! Sometimes I think we all wander through life like we're lost in the forest and every once in a while we stumble across someone and it just clicks. Engineering that is a funny process. It's one I'd love to write about. If you have books you really enjoyed on that topic, I'd love to know what you're reading. :)

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Jenine Baines's avatar

It's a purely do unto others as...thing for me. I make the time to comment after a story because I know how much comments mean to me. So sorry to read how many people are considering leaving Medium. For poets like me, it's such a blessing to have a platform

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Linda Caroll's avatar

When I was reading the comments about people wanting to leave, I vaguely wondered what Medium would say if they could read that kind of feedback. My history stories make me appreciate Medium the same way. Not sure where else they'd do nearly as well.

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Jenine Baines's avatar

Exactly! Sometimes I wish people would view Medium from a glass half full perspective rather than half empty...but my truth does not mean its Truth for everyone else! :)

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Linda Caroll's avatar

It's true. I try to do that. There are days the meta posts get to me. How to earn $5 for your stories. Really? lol.

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Jenine Baines's avatar

I hear you. Life is just Hard. Today an acquaintance committed suicide. A couple days ago, my uncle died and my mother is just so sad. Ukraine. Inflation up the ying yang here in the States. The stupid plague we're all so sick of. When Medium (and money) start to trigger me, I try to remember this great Julian of Norwich quote: all shall be well and all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well. NOT fairytale thinking on her part - just reminding us that the Divine is ultimately in charge. We don't have to be.

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Jerry Dwyer's avatar

I would like a gold star, please!

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Linda Caroll's avatar

lol. You have 3. Would you like me to remove 2? Kidding! Keep up the silliness and you might end up with 5 of them.

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Denise G.'s avatar

Hi Linda. I didn't realize how much I stopped commenting until recently. There are certain topics/writers I read that fall into categories that inflame the trolls.I don't want to add to the hate. I'm a thumb typer on my phone and my always cold hands don't register my typing and it gets frustrating. I also carve out time to read and by the time I get to an article, it seems too late to comment. I haven't given up on Medium yet, because I am my own problem...

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Linda Caroll's avatar

Oh God, I hear you on inflaming the trolls. Commenting on feminist posts or any social issue is just asking for trouble. Your last sentence made me want to give you a giant hug. We are ALL our own worst problem. I'm at the top of that list with you. lol. Good thing is, we are all our best solution, too. xoxo.

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Jeff Wild's avatar

I always read comments and I very often write them, but with less frequency and greater brevity. The energy and time I put into writing lengthy comments can be better spent by creating a publishable post of my own for which I might receive some remuneration. I know I sound mercenary and hypocritical considering I haven't published anything worth reading in a while, read constantly ( I still find truly great writers on Medium) and all too often interject my own perspective. but times are tough and I feel the need to get some compensation for my efforts.

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Linda Caroll's avatar

Nah, that's not mercenary at all. I tend to leave comments on the short side, too. Besides which, the writer doesn't need to deal with book length comments. I figure if my comment is that long, I should just write my own darn story and credit the inspiration. lol

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Marie A Bailey's avatar

Well, I almost wasn't going to comment since you've already received so many comments, many of which say what I was going to say. lol. But ... I'll leave a comment anyway. Maybe I'll get a gold star ;-)

The main reason I don't always comment is fatigue. I follow so many blogs outside of Medium and so many writers on Medium that, when I put the effort into reading, I usually have little energy left over for commenting. Sure, I could just leave a "Thank you for sharing this wonderful [fill in the blank]," but I think my 50 claps communicate that well enough. I mean, commenting can be fun, and I've enjoyed some good conversations that way. But I feel like everyone and their brother is writing on Medium now, and I just can't keep up. I barely have time to do my own writing much less keep up with everyone else's AND comment as well.

Just my two cents ... so maybe I'll just get a bronze star ;-)

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Linda Caroll's avatar

I sure hear you on that. Sometimes the number of comments is overwhelming. Just keeping up with the comments on my own posts is hard, much less on everything I read.

Incidentally, my dear, you might be happy to know you have THREE gold stars, not just one. lol.

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Marie A Bailey's avatar

Oh, my, three stars! Cool :-) And, yes, you raise another good point about what happens when it's your post that is getting a lot of comments. I don't expect a writer to always respond to my comments, especially if they're getting a lot of comments, but I like to know that my comments have been read, so hitting that clap button (even once) is important to me.

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WomenWarriors's avatar

As usual, you are in the correct lane Linda :)

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