Thanks for shining a light on this, Shani and using your platform to help draw this to other creators’ attention and help Medium to take heed (we can only hope on the latter front by the sound of things). I’m now following Jessica and it’s heartening to see your mention has tipped her into the ‘safe’ zone!

I only really began writing on here last spring and was happy with the initial spike and tiny trickle of cash that barely covered my subscription to break even, but my last article in late summer didn't seem to do that great. I chalked it up to not meeting what people were craving and it most likely is that.

I can’t claim I’ve been anywhere near as consistent as you and many of the brilliant talent on here, but in my defence, I’m particularly fussy about my writing and have probably and regrettably over-laboured on pieces. This combined with a real hectic spell meant that I've not been contributing here as much as I'd have liked, but really want to get back on the wagon.

At first, the threat of being booted off the paid partner program if I didn't get to 100 followers was motivating. But more recently, when combined with the other issues you raise, it’s making me resent breaking my neck for what now appears to be very little gain.

The visual changes you mention booted off my logo and made weird formatting issues which I’ve had to since put right, and in all honesty, felt like a deliberate way of making my profile less engaging. I’m seeing much less incentive for anyone to write on here and if anything, more penalisation for trying to start out or continue. I’ve read heaps of articles on the case against Medium in recent months, but yours is by far the most succinct and comprehensive, and feels like the nail in the coffin. I really hope they change their tune and listen to the creators that make their platform what it is.