A routine reminder that it's always a good idea to boycott #Substack.
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@_elena Ghost is the one I'd push hardest on that list. I moved my practice blog there about a year ago - setup is straightforward, you own your subscriber list outright, and the SEO tooling is solid enough that I stopped needing a separate layer on top. The one honest caveat: the theme customization requires comfort with code. For most writers though, the defaults are good enough to ship immediately.
@msmamet wholeheartedly agree. I bought a premium theme for my Ghost blog and luckily it didn't need much tweaking because it is indeed hard. Otherwise I love everything about it
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@jwildeboer I only abbreviated their name... pretty apt if you ask me... I also call Bluesky "BS"
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A routine reminder that it's always a good idea to boycott #Substack.
We have long known that it platforms and profits from Nazi publications. And now: #manosphere influencers with multiple accusations of serious crimes... so much so that there is a dedicated Wikipedia page about them: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_affairs_of_the_Tate_brothers
No problem for #Substack though! They happily take a 10% cut from all paid subscriptions.
There are many great alternatives to SS: Ghost, Buttondown, beehiiv, Patreon... no more excuses
@_elena Thought that read Substack Bellend
get my new glasses next week, so unfortunately in this instance I won't make that mistake again, sadly -
@renardboy I'll take that
@jwildeboer -
A routine reminder that it's always a good idea to boycott #Substack.
We have long known that it platforms and profits from Nazi publications. And now: #manosphere influencers with multiple accusations of serious crimes... so much so that there is a dedicated Wikipedia page about them: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_affairs_of_the_Tate_brothers
No problem for #Substack though! They happily take a 10% cut from all paid subscriptions.
There are many great alternatives to SS: Ghost, Buttondown, beehiiv, Patreon... no more excuses
@_elena idk but for me substack have been my go to go app .. depends what u are into though.. check the link on my profile maybe
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@_elena Please be aware that we have an #EuropeanAlternative based in Germany: #Steady - https://steady.page
I use them for years and am very satisfied, great for EU-conform invoices.
Like Patreon and other services where you can also earn money, of course, they also take a fee (only) on paid subscriptions.The problem why so many people don't leave Substack: They get new readers from the platform. The smaller the platform, the fewer readers you get
@NatureMC Steady is great to keep my writing out there as well as updates. I can't use Ghost because they require a debit/credit card to get started and my bank won't allow it to go through since they're based in Singapore, and Steady was a free alternative that is incredibly easy to use.
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A routine reminder that it's always a good idea to boycott #Substack.
We have long known that it platforms and profits from Nazi publications. And now: #manosphere influencers with multiple accusations of serious crimes... so much so that there is a dedicated Wikipedia page about them: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_affairs_of_the_Tate_brothers
No problem for #Substack though! They happily take a 10% cut from all paid subscriptions.
There are many great alternatives to SS: Ghost, Buttondown, beehiiv, Patreon... no more excuses
@_elena Also, as a side note, I've seen a ton of homophobia and transphobia on Medium getting monetized as of late so that's another one to start avoiding.
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@jwildeboer thank you Jan! Perfectly said.
I think it sends a powerful message when people and institutions take a stand.
For example, the city of Paris quit X in January 2025 calling it "toxic" and denouncing the spread of misinformation that is rampant on it: https://cdn.paris.fr/presse/2025/01/16/6384c82a720b7042570efb650a66b339.pdf
I wish more cities, politicians, media organizations would follow suit. With X AND Substack
@codebuzz Aside from what @_elena and @jwildeboer said, I do think it is a good use of time and energy to introduce people to more open source, self hostable, and indie platforms...I know you get that. You're on indieweb.social, one of the best instances on Mastodon!
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@_elena Yeah, I'm not happy about Nazi's, racists, etc. on Substack, but they also have Rick Wilson, HCR, Joyce Vance, and other fine progressives - some of the most important Antifa voices of this generation. I'll pass on the boycott. Let others see what Andrew Tate is all about. That's what we call free speech.
The problem with this argument is that revenue earned by Substack is disproportionately used to support fascist ideology. So these great accounts are actually funding fascism, as is anyone who subscribes to them. That's not free speech, it's a failure to muster the courage of their convictions.
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@hamishcampbell the thing I am curious about though is companies starting off as nice and then changing into #dotcons when they get bigger as people flock there when boycotting another platform that isn't nice anymore. What's the best protection against this never ending situation which potentially disperses and weakens communities?
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A routine reminder that it's always a good idea to boycott #Substack.
We have long known that it platforms and profits from Nazi publications. And now: #manosphere influencers with multiple accusations of serious crimes... so much so that there is a dedicated Wikipedia page about them: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_affairs_of_the_Tate_brothers
No problem for #Substack though! They happily take a 10% cut from all paid subscriptions.
There are many great alternatives to SS: Ghost, Buttondown, beehiiv, Patreon... no more excuses
@_elena someone much wiser than myself once said https://infosec.exchange/@catsalad/116456782686227334
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A routine reminder that it's always a good idea to boycott #Substack.
We have long known that it platforms and profits from Nazi publications. And now: #manosphere influencers with multiple accusations of serious crimes... so much so that there is a dedicated Wikipedia page about them: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_affairs_of_the_Tate_brothers
No problem for #Substack though! They happily take a 10% cut from all paid subscriptions.
There are many great alternatives to SS: Ghost, Buttondown, beehiiv, Patreon... no more excuses
@_elena I didn't know substack platforms human traffickers, misogynists and xenophobes.
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@_elena idk but for me substack have been my go to go app .. depends what u are into though.. check the link on my profile maybe
@Trixiemaina @_elena
Enjoy your "go to app".
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/feb/07/revealed-how-substack-makes-money-from-hosting-nazi-newsletters -
A routine reminder that it's always a good idea to boycott #Substack.
We have long known that it platforms and profits from Nazi publications. And now: #manosphere influencers with multiple accusations of serious crimes... so much so that there is a dedicated Wikipedia page about them: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_affairs_of_the_Tate_brothers
No problem for #Substack though! They happily take a 10% cut from all paid subscriptions.
There are many great alternatives to SS: Ghost, Buttondown, beehiiv, Patreon... no more excuses
@_elena I've noticed a lot of folks have no idea what "Substack" is. They see a newsletter. It has information they agree with. They sign up. They don't think about it beyond that.
Basically, if we want to take a bite out of the SS, I think we need to educate folks on what the uniform looks like.
IMO that has to go hand-in-hand with reaching out to writers in our lives and encouraging them to look at alternatives.
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@Trixiemaina @_elena
Enjoy your "go to app".
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/feb/07/revealed-how-substack-makes-money-from-hosting-nazi-newsletters -
A routine reminder that it's always a good idea to boycott #Substack.
We have long known that it platforms and profits from Nazi publications. And now: #manosphere influencers with multiple accusations of serious crimes... so much so that there is a dedicated Wikipedia page about them: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_affairs_of_the_Tate_brothers
No problem for #Substack though! They happily take a 10% cut from all paid subscriptions.
There are many great alternatives to SS: Ghost, Buttondown, beehiiv, Patreon... no more excuses
@_elena I believe there’s space for anyone in the world to express their ideas, in Tate’s case the space inside a rubbish bin. Any respectable platform would never accept to profit from his disgusting and harmful propaganda, but then again Substack is not a respectable one.
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@_elena I didn't know substack platforms human traffickers, misogynists and xenophobes.
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@_elena I've noticed a lot of folks have no idea what "Substack" is. They see a newsletter. It has information they agree with. They sign up. They don't think about it beyond that.
Basically, if we want to take a bite out of the SS, I think we need to educate folks on what the uniform looks like.
IMO that has to go hand-in-hand with reaching out to writers in our lives and encouraging them to look at alternatives.
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@_elena @jwildeboer ok, this last one I wholeheartedly agree to.
Instead of condemning a site or platform, because of one user is kinda.. childish.
So, Tate lives on earth, we should all go to mars or somewhere?
Live and let live. This kind of attention, makes them more visible, makes you a part of your own 'problem?'.
Reminder, it's 2026.. is this the best way to invest energy for something greater. It's easy, but.. better?
Just saying.
@codebuzz @_elena @jwildeboer One user and all the neo-Nazis. Remember them? The ones Substack refuses to remove?
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@_elena @jwildeboer ok, this last one I wholeheartedly agree to.
Instead of condemning a site or platform, because of one user is kinda.. childish.
So, Tate lives on earth, we should all go to mars or somewhere?
Live and let live. This kind of attention, makes them more visible, makes you a part of your own 'problem?'.
Reminder, it's 2026.. is this the best way to invest energy for something greater. It's easy, but.. better?
Just saying.
We have only one planet, but there are lots of blogging sites. That's where your comparison breaks down.
And we cannot treat Nazism as an equal and valid viewpoint. We must reject it, and reject it hard.
