A routine reminder that it's always a good idea to boycott #Substack.

[danneau@mstdn.chrisalemany.ca]

@_elena

Michael DeAdder is on Substack. I'm torn, as he's so good, and they're so bad. Ditto for Heather Cox Richardson. I wonder if they're blissfully ignorant (seems unlikely) or are they tied in through the wonders of an extended contract?

[nini@oldbytes.space]

@codebuzz @jwildeboer Nah, I'm not supporting a platform whose owners have been very clear about their feelings regarding fascists and sex traffickers using their service. Live and let live is fine when we're dealing with a difference of opinion, not when the other side has no intention of letting you live.

[naturemc@mastodon.online]

@geraldew I think, it's an educated minority.
People with very high follower numbers don't leave Substack because they could get some readers elsewhere. They leave because other important people tell them about the fascists and how they left therefore.

@veronica @_elena

[pkw@snac.d34d.net]

You didn't need to
"just say" anything.
You could have instead opted to "just" STFU.

Saying live and let live
when what is really meant is live and let people
hurt people.

What's wrong with children?
What's wrong with thinking like a child?

(That's all rhetorical, i couldn't be less interested in
more BS today)

[nini@oldbytes.space]

@atlovato @_elena Headed? Within months of his purchase of Twitter he platformed Steve Bannon to everyone.

[naturemc@mastodon.online]

@fazalmajid But it’s precisely the high-profile prominent accounts that could leave at any moment, because they’re so well-known that their fans will follow them wherever they go. And they do promote their newsletters via social media, after all.
If they go - Substack would loose big amounts of money.

@msmamet @_elena

[veronica@mastodon.online]

@_elena @hwll I filter Mastodon posts that link to Substack, but with a note so that I can see that they're filtered. It both keeps me from giving them any traffic, and reminds me of who's still using that site. It's depressing to see when it's people I feel should know better.

[naturemc@mastodon.online]

@earwigplanet Yes, that Singapore seat can be a problem.

[skellysoft@mastodon.gamedev.place]

Also the same for Shopify, also avoid if poss.

[wintermane@dice.camp]

@_elena I've never seen the word "Bastard" spelled that way.

[heptasean@social.tchncs.de]

@codebuzz
“Tate lives on earth. Should we boycot our planet?!?” is a very disingenious take on this. A _content platform_ should be responsible for the content it platforms. Period.

There might be services that clearly should not be boycoted for also servicing fascists because even fascists have basic human rights to them – his Internet, water, and electricity provider, his doctors, his supermarket, the taxi, Uber, train he takes should not be required to boycot him.

Banking would be on the fence. It is basically needed for living in the modern world. He should probably have the right to a private bank account. But also to a bank account that can be used for profiting of his followers?

Substack is very clearly on the other side of that fence.
@_elena @jwildeboer

[winst0nsmith@mastodon.social]

@_elena yeah this! feel like i've been beating this drum solo.

thanks for reminding people!

[_elena@mastodon.social]

@NatureMC precisely @fazalmajid @msmamet

[_elena@mastodon.social]

@danneau I've noticed how some high profile accounts have moved to Patreon...

For the two accounts you mention, maybe you could add them to your RSS feed, so that you can (1) unsubscribe (2) don't give traffic to Substack?

And tell them about this...

I think these objections have worked for other creators... like Anne Helen Petersen of Culture Studies (one of the most visible / famous Substack newsletters back in the day)

[moss@beige.party]

@_elena finding several accounts to block in the replies here, saying “free speech” or “just ignore the baddies” or “SS is fine for me”. There’s even one who I’m pretty sure searched on the word Substack just to promote theirs!

[_elena@mastodon.social]

@fazalmajid @msmamet I remember reading reports of spikes in subscribers that had weird email addresses a while back. Even Molly White, who abandoned her Substack page - if I'm not mistaken - said she saw a steady growth in subscribers with fishy emails / profiles. It's a thing. And it helps cement the myth that people get steady growth on that platform. Well, steady growth may be bot farms...

[_elena@mastodon.social]

@noodlemaz I think it's unconscionable to take a 10% cut of subscriptions earnings from the likes of him

[macacator@mastodon.social]

@_elena we don't want to be open to human garbage like Andrew Taint and bigots. They do not deserve to be heard, only put down, like great aunt Hilda after she went berserk from fighting that rabid squirrel.

[dirtside@phpc.social]

@_elena Beehiiv is a typical SV startup funded by VCs and exploiting the labor of its workers. I'd avoid it. (Ghost is a nonprofit and the software itself is free if you want to host it yourself instead of using their hosting service)

[kitkat_blue@mastodon.social]

@_elena

i have never given any money to substack so idk if that counts as 'boycotting" or not.

As for their free speech policy, it is lifted directly from the ALCU fwiw:

Defending Speech We Hate | ACLU

The record demonstrates the ACLU’s unwavering commitment to First Amendment rights for all.

American Civil Liberties Union (www.aclu.org)