The culture of Substack itself is even more important, and why I think being on a desktop, rather than mobile chats, lead to more meaningful conversations.
Absolutely! Thanks for chiming in John (: My mind can actually think when my body language is different (standing, or composing on a keyboard increases bloodflow)
You have something there, I think it's a generational thing but anything large (probably this comment) I find extremely hard to compose on a small device with thumbs. Need to write an email of letter, take the opportunity to enjoy the ritual of being at a desk, it's like putting on a vinyl record versus MP3s (what are those I hear ...)
Thanks Paul...isn't it amazing how just 100 years ago people were writing with pen and paper, and the typewriter/ keyboard is now quickly becoming a thing of the past...
I love standing at my desk all day, I find I can actually concentrate and feel more assertive.
I respectfully disagree. I have a laptop, a notebook, a tablet or 2, and my cellphone probably my 8th or 9th. I find I communicate better because no matter where I am I can immediately write down my thoughts
Thanks for chiming in Mary. I hear you - in this case you're using the phone as a tool. I think that's what it boils down to. Personally I don't like wireless devices due to the radiofrequency they emit, which causes DNA breaks (cancer, etc). So I keep our phone hardwired and on airplane mode, this way I can use all the apps and still have it as a tool. Even when traveling, I can use the note feature while the phone is not radiating/ emitting data.
I frequently put my phone down and just listen or watch videos with it on the table not my hand and I always use speaker phone. I'm one of those people's whose mind goes very fast. Many thoughts if I don't write them down I lose them
Is it just me, or does anyone else feel the need to resist promoting themselves on the Notes? I quit social media to avoid showing up every day at a platform, posting, or thinking about what to post. I understand that Substack is a form of social media. However, I find it more natural and less stressful if I focus on a thoughtful, well-researched essay once a week, rather than post (like experts recommend) three times a day on the Notes.
I hear you! I find Notes to be noisy and I want to be able to turn off (completely turn off) the notes feed from everyone. I only want to see the people I subscribe to. Also, I don't want to see 10 of their notes everyday. I recently unsubscribed to an otherwise interesting Substacker because they posted on notes every few hours. I want to leave Instagram and I don't want this place to turn into yet another stressfull SoMe-platform.
Yeah, part of my work is like that too. It also requires writing many small posts every day, and gradually it becomes an invisible pressure, which has quite a lot reduced my enjoyment of writing. https://fivenightsatfreddys2.org
Substack limping after Gen Z with a walker like βkids, come party here, weβve got the moves.β This is honestly so sad. It used to be about writing smart things here and that conversation. There is no βcultureβ without the smart conversation at its centre. Otherwise itβs all just empty fluffy nothing.
(βboring substance-less contentβ) with all the subscribers have so few likes and comments.. Yet substackers down in the trenches that write the most amazing, profound, funny, educational content get lost in all the noise.. Itβs really starting to look a bit fishy. Are all these β bigβ accounts all run by Substack itself, funnelling the money back into itself? Curious π§ isnβt it Substackers.
Good comment. It seems to me that this isnβt a Substack-specific Palo Alto algo problem, but the inevitable result of mass societyβs degraded attention span and preference for trivial spectacle over substantive discussion. Welcome to the anglo-sphere of late 2025.
I fell down a WAR rabbit hole today and was shocked how there was war on Portland and some cartel war, the name changed from βdefenceβ to βwarβ.. How about the department of PEACE? I searched in the Word War and Wow it's everywhere. I thought all Americans wanted war for a minute there. But instead 99% of your messages after messages were of peace keepers. Men and women wanting to unite and be part of a peace revolution!Β
How amazing you all are. I posted a peaceful protest on 500 subscriber feeds that mentioned the word War. 6 people want war, they want fighting and I respect their opinions. I was told I'm the reason women should never have gotten the right to vote.
Anyway, my focus is on the hundreds I have had a conversation with today.. This is for you!
Write your own honest peace article or note and post it to every damn page that has war in the title and keep posting until your fingers hurt.
You are the peacekeepers now.
I started my Substack because I have not too much time left here on this earthβ I made this Substack for my children and grandchildren to come and read my stories and poetry.. I found true friendship here and I fell in this darn rabbit hole.
Fight only for your peace. I don't want to leave a shitty world to my children and grandchildren. Do you?
As a publisher, I have a question that I hope you can answer. When I cross post, the post only goes to email addresses and not to the Substack app. Thus, while I have 1300 subscribers, my cross posts only reach 800. Can this be fixed?
1. Please get rid of the flower medal showing who people pay to subscribe to. I honestly don't care who someone else pays to subscribe to. I want to click someone's name and see their profile to find out more about them and maybe follow or subscribe - I don't want to see their paid subs because I don't care!!
2. Please get rid of that awful trending thing! This isn't X/Twitter etc. Again - I don't care who's trending and often it's something awful about that orange buffoon so it just makes your users feel stressed. We come to Substack for a break from that nightmare! Are you expecting people to latch onto what's trending so they can splurge out a Note about it and maybe get attention? Then... Erm... Other users can see who they pay to subscribe to! Erm... No... Not sure how that's meant to work!
Both of these new additions seem like things which users didn't ask for and that haven't undergone user testing. They both clutter up the interface and distract from what users are here for on this platform: good quality, interesting, long-form writing. You should foster Substack's uniqueness, not trash it! You're losing people from here, some of whom were unique vouces and had thousands of paid subscribers!
Question: The article and videos highlight three types of use cases for using chat. To be clear, is there just one chat utility in Substack, or several?
Initially, the implication seemed to be made that there are several chat utilities. My confusion came when the chat settings were being discussed and I didn't see any way to define different settings for different types of use cases. ...
So, just confirming now, there is just one chat utility and one group of settings, is that correct?
The culture of Substack itself is even more important, and why I think being on a desktop, rather than mobile chats, lead to more meaningful conversations.
Desktop usage is key to Substack remaining intellectual and not just "sound bites".
Absolutely! Thanks for chiming in John (: My mind can actually think when my body language is different (standing, or composing on a keyboard increases bloodflow)
'
You have something there, I think it's a generational thing but anything large (probably this comment) I find extremely hard to compose on a small device with thumbs. Need to write an email of letter, take the opportunity to enjoy the ritual of being at a desk, it's like putting on a vinyl record versus MP3s (what are those I hear ...)
Thanks Paul...isn't it amazing how just 100 years ago people were writing with pen and paper, and the typewriter/ keyboard is now quickly becoming a thing of the past...
I love standing at my desk all day, I find I can actually concentrate and feel more assertive.
I remember being one of the only students in college with my own electric typewriter. Life has changed!
I respectfully disagree. I have a laptop, a notebook, a tablet or 2, and my cellphone probably my 8th or 9th. I find I communicate better because no matter where I am I can immediately write down my thoughts
Thanks for chiming in Mary. I hear you - in this case you're using the phone as a tool. I think that's what it boils down to. Personally I don't like wireless devices due to the radiofrequency they emit, which causes DNA breaks (cancer, etc). So I keep our phone hardwired and on airplane mode, this way I can use all the apps and still have it as a tool. Even when traveling, I can use the note feature while the phone is not radiating/ emitting data.
I frequently put my phone down and just listen or watch videos with it on the table not my hand and I always use speaker phone. I'm one of those people's whose mind goes very fast. Many thoughts if I don't write them down I lose them
Speaking of culture - Shanah tovah!
Is it just me, or does anyone else feel the need to resist promoting themselves on the Notes? I quit social media to avoid showing up every day at a platform, posting, or thinking about what to post. I understand that Substack is a form of social media. However, I find it more natural and less stressful if I focus on a thoughtful, well-researched essay once a week, rather than post (like experts recommend) three times a day on the Notes.
I hear you! I find Notes to be noisy and I want to be able to turn off (completely turn off) the notes feed from everyone. I only want to see the people I subscribe to. Also, I don't want to see 10 of their notes everyday. I recently unsubscribed to an otherwise interesting Substacker because they posted on notes every few hours. I want to leave Instagram and I don't want this place to turn into yet another stressfull SoMe-platform.
I completely agree! It gets overwhelming for me!
Yeah, part of my work is like that too. It also requires writing many small posts every day, and gradually it becomes an invisible pressure, which has quite a lot reduced my enjoyment of writing. https://fivenightsatfreddys2.org
Substack limping after Gen Z with a walker like βkids, come party here, weβve got the moves.β This is honestly so sad. It used to be about writing smart things here and that conversation. There is no βcultureβ without the smart conversation at its centre. Otherwise itβs all just empty fluffy nothing.
Mmm curious though how all the top accounts
(βboring substance-less contentβ) with all the subscribers have so few likes and comments.. Yet substackers down in the trenches that write the most amazing, profound, funny, educational content get lost in all the noise.. Itβs really starting to look a bit fishy. Are all these β bigβ accounts all run by Substack itself, funnelling the money back into itself? Curious π§ isnβt it Substackers.
Good comment. It seems to me that this isnβt a Substack-specific Palo Alto algo problem, but the inevitable result of mass societyβs degraded attention span and preference for trivial spectacle over substantive discussion. Welcome to the anglo-sphere of late 2025.
You have a strong peace keepers voice welcome to the revolution
I absolutely love your response β€οΈβ€οΈβ€οΈ
Thanks, doll, right back atcha. They don't make them like us anymore. Well I say woe unto them and Godspeed to us.
I fell down a WAR rabbit hole today and was shocked how there was war on Portland and some cartel war, the name changed from βdefenceβ to βwarβ.. How about the department of PEACE? I searched in the Word War and Wow it's everywhere. I thought all Americans wanted war for a minute there. But instead 99% of your messages after messages were of peace keepers. Men and women wanting to unite and be part of a peace revolution!Β
How amazing you all are. I posted a peaceful protest on 500 subscriber feeds that mentioned the word War. 6 people want war, they want fighting and I respect their opinions. I was told I'm the reason women should never have gotten the right to vote.
Anyway, my focus is on the hundreds I have had a conversation with today.. This is for you!
Write your own honest peace article or note and post it to every damn page that has war in the title and keep posting until your fingers hurt.
You are the peacekeepers now.
I started my Substack because I have not too much time left here on this earthβ I made this Substack for my children and grandchildren to come and read my stories and poetry.. I found true friendship here and I fell in this darn rabbit hole.
Fight only for your peace. I don't want to leave a shitty world to my children and grandchildren. Do you?
Community is what is going to save us all
Lots of bots or scam accounts on here methinks.
And the line between a bot and an individual has been getting thinna and thinna. Internet dust we are, to internet dust we fall.
As a publisher, I have a question that I hope you can answer. When I cross post, the post only goes to email addresses and not to the Substack app. Thus, while I have 1300 subscribers, my cross posts only reach 800. Can this be fixed?
Thanks for sharing this! π€π
I don't spend much time here or on any social media, but I enabled my chat anyway. If anyone is worried about how Trump might want to use the military, you might want to check out my latest post. https://integrativeactivism2022.substack.com/p/a-reassurance-plan-for-democracy?r=ib178
'
Can anybody in the Substack team let me know how to make a new post or note?
1. Please get rid of the flower medal showing who people pay to subscribe to. I honestly don't care who someone else pays to subscribe to. I want to click someone's name and see their profile to find out more about them and maybe follow or subscribe - I don't want to see their paid subs because I don't care!!
2. Please get rid of that awful trending thing! This isn't X/Twitter etc. Again - I don't care who's trending and often it's something awful about that orange buffoon so it just makes your users feel stressed. We come to Substack for a break from that nightmare! Are you expecting people to latch onto what's trending so they can splurge out a Note about it and maybe get attention? Then... Erm... Other users can see who they pay to subscribe to! Erm... No... Not sure how that's meant to work!
Both of these new additions seem like things which users didn't ask for and that haven't undergone user testing. They both clutter up the interface and distract from what users are here for on this platform: good quality, interesting, long-form writing. You should foster Substack's uniqueness, not trash it! You're losing people from here, some of whom were unique vouces and had thousands of paid subscribers!
Question: The article and videos highlight three types of use cases for using chat. To be clear, is there just one chat utility in Substack, or several?
Initially, the implication seemed to be made that there are several chat utilities. My confusion came when the chat settings were being discussed and I didn't see any way to define different settings for different types of use cases. ...
So, just confirming now, there is just one chat utility and one group of settings, is that correct?
Music selections most appreciated!
Being new to different media forms it would help if to explain and show the different icons for chat and notes. Thank you