Update on Substack: Who Is Afraid? Who Is Getting Paid Off?

What is going on?

Tell me! I WANT to know the TRUTH!

---

What’s happening on Substack?

The Irish has disappeared.

The 2nd Smartest Guy (after me, of course :) ) and The Good Citizen started mandating paid subscriptions for commenting.

While they were not perfect (neither am I), they were useful, but only as long as open discourse was possible.

Other good sites stopped publishing 3-6 months ago.

I’m sure you have made your comparable observations, too, in the last few days or even weeks.

The 2nd and the GC were not bad, but definitely didn’t have the kind of readership that would finance them, just like I don’t, but I am not even aspiring for that (I don’t even insert a reminder for paid subscriptions most of the time except for once or twice a month, because it only interrupts reading, which I consider irritating). I’m sure they know they are going to lose most of their thinking readers, so why is this happening? Most people don’t have the money or are understandably reluctant to use their cards on the Internet after what happened to the supporters of the Canadian truckers.

There are three options that might be applicable to the 2nd and for GC:

1. They have been threatened to do it;

2. They have lost their sense of reality (with the exception of a few insanely, but questionably popular parties, not a single author makes even minimum wage here);

3. They have been paid off and their sites are now mirrored.

4. GC may have gotten tired of too many comments, and used the only reasonably way to limit them, which is what “Agent” is also doing. I have not doubts about 2nd having been hijacked or being an agent…

Either way, their sites are going down the drain.

Did The Irish refuse?

***

Troll/bot activities have also increased, but the trolls/bots are anything but smart and it’s easy to make fun of them. Here is an example of one of my recent “conversations” with one:

https://stevekirsch.substack.com/p/top-doctor-who-once-promoted-covid/comments#comment-9350469

***

Obvious trolls/disinformers have also emerged in larger quantities. Here is an example (watch out for “Barb”):

https://jamesroguski.substack.com/p/unapproved-treatments-that-have-been/comments#comment-9351410

***

I have also noticed that religiously-determined followers of DeSantis and my friend, Gary D. Barnett canceled their prescription to my site before even reading my articles (okay, they may have read them, but reading comprehension was something I had to give up on in my writing classes at CSN even 12 years ago, because I didn’t want to take away the chance of getting an “A” from my students). Of course, I am happy that my readership is becoming limited to those, who can actually read AND are willing/able to think. After all, that’s what this site is for!