As I know you know by now, Medium is an ocean of writers -- every type of writer imaginable -- the overwhelming majority of whom are initially attracted by the allure and beauty of the ocean they see. But it's all a mirage.

Medium is not an alluring, beautiful ocean. That’s strictly its veneer — all totem and tattoo — put up purely for the purpose of luring. Medium is one thing only: an oceanic, superficial platform. In this respect and innumerable others, it's nothing more or less than another social-media platform. The only reason it's not more universally recognized as such is that it niched itself with so-called long-form content. But make no mistake and have no illusions: Medium is, I repeat, nothing more or less than another social-media platform.

Also, the owners of Medium, once co-founders of Twitter, are bought and sold. Entirely. This I not only know for a fact but can prove — prove through their sparse but significant correspondence with me personally. They are, for one thing, politically bought and sold — and tendentious for this precise reason. But that only scratches the surface.

Any actual community built here — however good, however bad (and there are plenty of both) — is built in precisely the same way that all social-media followings and personal platforms are built. Medium, however elegant its interface, is, I do assure you, nothing more or less than this exact same thing.

P.S. Thank you for taking the time to read and highlight some of my posts, and I sincerely apologize for taking this long to read your excellent writing and reciprocate. My only excuse, which I actually classify as a reason, is the very thing you write about here in your post, which is accurate and true:

Medium is all totem and tattoo.