Indeed. I’d written these (this, and my previous story) and a friend sent me a link to yours this morning.

It’s good to see that at least a few of the writers around here see through the scams and aren’t having it. There are many “stories” here that do no more than kvetch about the problem; they don’t understand what the problem is, or how their fellow Medium “writers” contribute to it, rather than to the real content that gives the site value.

As Tessa Schlesinger was saying on your piece, Medium is a platform that allows anyone to self-publish and to rub elbows (so to speak) with famous celebrities and writers, but that can also lead to a lot of really poor writing and a lot of the exploitation and gamesmanship that always comes from a revenue-sharing model.

I’ve been wondering how this can be thwarted. I keep coming back to the “gate-keepers” of publishing. They have value — for readers. They have value — for ethical writers (though they can also be a source of frustration, there, too). But what if, before admission to the MPP, one had to publish ten original pieces that were vetted by an editorial board? Each one would have to pass a plagiarism checker (automated AND human), and demonstrate originality and solid writing quality? Not necessarily “commercial viability” or “topical relevance” — but at least something readable and somewhat informative or entertaining? What if participation in MPP were not automatic OR guaranteed for life?

If your work slipped below a certain quality over time, you could be lowered to a lower revenue tier and warned; then, if it didn’t improve, you could be removed from MPP altogether? Do you think that would work?

What if you couldn’t participate in MPP without being a paid member? (This gets into the whole notion of a pyramid scheme, but if you can’t earn back your $5/mo. and more after a few months here, there’s a problem.)

Just thinking out loud.