I’m surprised at how many writers and commenters here don’t see how the powers that be at Substack are poised at the top of the same slippery slope that Facebook, Twitter, et al are lying in a broken heap at the bottom of. Personally, I’m glad that they have so far refrained from taking the plunge.
If there are Nazis here, I want them to be accessible. I don’t want to be “protected” from them. I don’t want their thoughts to be treated as something so powerful that it might infect me against my will. I want to know their thoughts. That seems like the first step in developing a coherent defense or response.
Having Substack participate in maintaining a fantasy world in which such thoughts do not exist seems like a loss with potentially tragic consequences. I believe that if such ideas are brought out into the light they will wither and die. They certainly seem to be thriving the darkness that they are currently banished to.
As a lifelong far-lefty, I’m increasingly concerned by the accumulation of ideas that have been banished from public discourse. That seems like the exact opposite of what this precarious moment in time calls for.
Substack is the only place I’m aware of currently where all of the various currents of our culture can encounter each other, bounce off each other, and possibly create something new and unexpected.
My personal experience is that opening myself to voices, including some that could be labeled far-right, that I’ve previously closed myself off to, has strengthened and informed my personal convictions in a way that a chorus of voices more in alignment with my existing ideas could never have done.
I’d be selling my conviction that the arc of human history leans toward justice short if I thought that a handful of people writing hateful essays on the internet could interfere with that progress.
McKenzie isn't being honest. He's largely sympathetic to the far right, like many tech execs. He just can't say it yet, so he gives us this free speech, civics 101 explanation that is good for convincing the old and coddled.
If his company gets big enough to ignore criticism, the mask will come off. Just as it did with fellow tech free speech advocate turned anti-semite, Musk.
I disagree about this feeling like 2010 - only because in 2010 Twitter was functional and not loaded up with algo crap yet!
But outside all that yeah, it feels like things no longer have the little false monoculture going on that was supposedly led by Twitter and a few other social media sites, one that the traditional media was glad to portray as the entirety of "the internet" and an authority on what "the internet" liked and disliked. Like jeez if there is one singular media trend I hate above all others in the past 13 years, its all the sites and sometimes actual physical publications churning out "the internet loves/hates this" and then just having like 10 tweets and maybe a facebook post inside.
I'm afraid I find discords too clique-ish and highschool mentality, which basically describes every aspect of society. The little "reaction" emblems also made me feel pretty mindless and zombie when interacting with posts. I never felt personally welcomed on the garbage discord either. Shame, this was a fun experiment.
Second, I’m glad you’re looking for a S*bst*ck alternative. I won’t be renewing any paid subs here and it would pain me greatly to miss out on Garbage Day. If you haven’t seen it, Ken White (popehat) has a great deconstruction of the hypocrisy of SS’s (oops) management positions around speech. https://popehat.substack.com/p/substack-has-a-nazi-opportunity
THIRD I enjoyed the podcast, it was unexpected and substantial, my favourite combo. I’d vote for a quarterly edition so it doesn’t burn out and can take that longer rather than reactive view.
If the new place has an RSS feed like Substack does I'll be happy. Not sure how common it is, but I prefer to receive new posts via RSS instead of email.
So do I need to subscribe to join the discord? I found this substack a few weeks ago and it's the only one I feel compelled to pay for, glad I was lazy and waited. I hope your new home has push notifications.
I’m surprised at how many writers and commenters here don’t see how the powers that be at Substack are poised at the top of the same slippery slope that Facebook, Twitter, et al are lying in a broken heap at the bottom of. Personally, I’m glad that they have so far refrained from taking the plunge.
If there are Nazis here, I want them to be accessible. I don’t want to be “protected” from them. I don’t want their thoughts to be treated as something so powerful that it might infect me against my will. I want to know their thoughts. That seems like the first step in developing a coherent defense or response.
Having Substack participate in maintaining a fantasy world in which such thoughts do not exist seems like a loss with potentially tragic consequences. I believe that if such ideas are brought out into the light they will wither and die. They certainly seem to be thriving the darkness that they are currently banished to.
As a lifelong far-lefty, I’m increasingly concerned by the accumulation of ideas that have been banished from public discourse. That seems like the exact opposite of what this precarious moment in time calls for.
Substack is the only place I’m aware of currently where all of the various currents of our culture can encounter each other, bounce off each other, and possibly create something new and unexpected.
My personal experience is that opening myself to voices, including some that could be labeled far-right, that I’ve previously closed myself off to, has strengthened and informed my personal convictions in a way that a chorus of voices more in alignment with my existing ideas could never have done.
I’d be selling my conviction that the arc of human history leans toward justice short if I thought that a handful of people writing hateful essays on the internet could interfere with that progress.
"Nazis on Substack" appears to be literally the rage bait you counsel against falling for
McKenzie isn't being honest. He's largely sympathetic to the far right, like many tech execs. He just can't say it yet, so he gives us this free speech, civics 101 explanation that is good for convincing the old and coddled.
If his company gets big enough to ignore criticism, the mask will come off. Just as it did with fellow tech free speech advocate turned anti-semite, Musk.
I disagree about this feeling like 2010 - only because in 2010 Twitter was functional and not loaded up with algo crap yet!
But outside all that yeah, it feels like things no longer have the little false monoculture going on that was supposedly led by Twitter and a few other social media sites, one that the traditional media was glad to portray as the entirety of "the internet" and an authority on what "the internet" liked and disliked. Like jeez if there is one singular media trend I hate above all others in the past 13 years, its all the sites and sometimes actual physical publications churning out "the internet loves/hates this" and then just having like 10 tweets and maybe a facebook post inside.
I'm afraid I find discords too clique-ish and highschool mentality, which basically describes every aspect of society. The little "reaction" emblems also made me feel pretty mindless and zombie when interacting with posts. I never felt personally welcomed on the garbage discord either. Shame, this was a fun experiment.
Wow, thanks for the heads up! I’m new here and have liked Substack so far but did not know about that.
First, thanks for a year of great reading!
Second, I’m glad you’re looking for a S*bst*ck alternative. I won’t be renewing any paid subs here and it would pain me greatly to miss out on Garbage Day. If you haven’t seen it, Ken White (popehat) has a great deconstruction of the hypocrisy of SS’s (oops) management positions around speech. https://popehat.substack.com/p/substack-has-a-nazi-opportunity
THIRD I enjoyed the podcast, it was unexpected and substantial, my favourite combo. I’d vote for a quarterly edition so it doesn’t burn out and can take that longer rather than reactive view.
Best for 2024!
If the new place has an RSS feed like Substack does I'll be happy. Not sure how common it is, but I prefer to receive new posts via RSS instead of email.
I can highly recommend Ghost as an alternative to Substack.
I’m a paying subscriber, how do I join the discord?
So do I need to subscribe to join the discord? I found this substack a few weeks ago and it's the only one I feel compelled to pay for, glad I was lazy and waited. I hope your new home has push notifications.
"they all shared at least a little grain of the vanishing monoculture"
Wait. Wot.
BM is monoculture?
How to say you have never been to BM without saying you've never been to BM.