Substack Housecleaning
The incredible lightness of being unsubscribed
I have no idea why Most People write Articles (formerly called Posts…like what this piece is) or Notes. I haven’t talked to Most People; or more precisely, I haven’t had actual discussions with Most People.
But engagement with others on more than a superficial level is the reason I came to Substack. Writing in depth, and discussing in depth. The former is easy; I just write. The latter…not so much. It takes two to make with the discussing in depth. Which is what this is about.
It seems that a lotta people just want to write whatever they want to write, but don’t actually care about engaging with others. Well, OK…I guess. But I’m not just a passive receiver. Just reading others’ writing and not engaging with it is not why I’m here. I’m not really interested in subscribing to someone who won’t engage with me…
Dave’s Not Here; He’s Got A Gig
…well, except Dave Barry. Besides, Dave would engage with me if I were a paid subscriber. But that’s different. Dave’s a Big Important Author and tragically yet charmingly unimpressive rock star. I have nothing to say to him anyway, except maybe “Play Caravan with a drum solo”, which isn’t in his band’s repertoire. But it would be pretty good comedy to see ‘em try it.
Anyhow, I’ve found people here on Substack who always engage. You know who you are.
Then there are the others—the ones who never engage. I don’t get it.
When I reply to an Article or a Note, it’s usually in depth. I assume that people who write something care whether others actually understand it. and they care whether what they’ve written inspires others to think more about the ideas in their posts. I assume that’s the whole point of writing.
Wrong. Judging by the null responses, whatever the reason they write is, it’s not that. My assumption about their motivation is based on my own motivation. I love it when people engage with what I write. But the evidence says that assuming others are similarly motivated is just plain wrong.
I wouldn’t have thought that making such an assumption is a particularly dumb-ayuss thing to do. But this must be one of those “People are way more complicated than you think they are” deals.
Color me instructed.
If someone takes the time to restack one of my Articles with a Note that provides a thoughtful reply, great! It’s even better if the reply contains a correction, or something I didn’t know. Even if the reply disagrees, as long as it’s well-reasoned, civilized disagreement, that’s great too. We can explore the gap between us and maybe find some common ground, and each learn something in the process.
But the null response—especially when I have taken the time to reply in depth—is incomprehensible to me.
I’m not talking about Big Important Substackists, with thousands of subscribers, many of whom are paying customers. I seldom reply to those because I know my comments will be lost—buried in a flood of other comments…although I must say that there are some in that category who do reply. In every case, they are people whom I respect in the first place because of the quality of their work. The fact that they respond to my replies reinforces that respect.
But there are far too many Notes that show up in my feed from people who never respond. That’s not why I’m here. My mistake. I’m not the kind of subscriber they want.
Lemmee make this absolutely clear: No one has any obligation whatsoever to respond to anyone else. Maybe responding to paid subscribers is a priority; that would make sense. But that’s each individual’s call to make.
Nevertheless, I didn’t come here to speak into a vacuum.
Housecleaning Time
So, it’s housecleaning time. If I have taken the time to reply to a bunch of Articles/Notes by folks who treat my replies as though they’re invisible, well I’m saving them the trouble. They won’t have to treat them as though they’re invisible; instead they will actually BE invisible…as in non-existent.
It’s Substack Housecleaning Time…by which I means there’s gonna be a whole lotta unsubscribin’ goin’ on.
There’s a certain sense of elation in anticipating it—like life is just about to get a whole lot simpler.
I thought this was about house cleaning 😄 It was intriguing because of that. As was the actual article. Great point. And I agree; the exchange of ideas and additional information is what writing is for.
I love this, keep writing