The real moral of the story, though, is that we have to try to communicate. Now, Medium could've said, "Suck it up, Buttercup" and a lot of large sites (think Facebook) would have - or would have simply IGNORED us altogether (think Facebook).

Without open feedback, Medium could have assumed all was well. And it might have been, for awhile. But imagine someone really reading the TOS AFTER 9/1, and fussing about it. TOO LATE! And people who were upset would have left, angry, assuming all sorts of nefarious intentions by Medium.

So even lemons can be tasty - this is just a good customer experience lesson in general. If a company proactively and quickly addresses an issue, and doesn't ignore how customers and suppliers are feeling, they can turn a potential disaster into a win-win, and cement loyalty.

The TOS isn't perfect, but in a very real sense, this was a test of how much Medium valued their relationship with all of us. And I think they've passed the test.