Malorie Nilson

So long and thanks for all the fish

Putting my money (and writing) where my mouth is

If you haven’t been as heavily invested in the recent Substack news as all of us over on the platform have been, Hamish McKenzie wrote a post that made it quite clear that he, Chris, and Jairaj are pretty okay with Nazis being on their platform, actually! And not only are they okay with platforming their messaging, but they are also okay with monetizing it. Talia Lavin, whom I have subscribed to for a long time (and so should you on Buttondown), helped draft an open letter from publishers on Substack seeking answers and expressing in no uncertain terms the rejection of the stated policy. From that point on, it has been a pretty tumultuous time for our little communities forged on this fledgling social platform. Since then, Platformer has reported the following:

Excerpt from “Substack says it will remove Nazi publications from the platform” by Casey Newton at Platformer.

This, unfortunately, implies that the acceptable number of Nazis on the platform is not less than or equal to zero. While it is nice to see that pressure from the writers and readers on Substack has instigated some measure of change, it is too little too late for many of us, and it is another instance in a pattern of platforming people with dangerous ideologies and, in the case of some gender-critical writers, paying them to bring their ideas and following to the website.

I am ashamed by my ignorance of the ongoing anti-trans problem on this platform, and how long it took me to move away from investing in Substack. Between these two issues, though, it is clear to me that the people in charge are not interested in making a meaningful change but rather in making a performative gesture seemingly meant to halt the backlash and exodus of authors and readers. 

So, that said, this will be my last full post on this platform. Though my newsletter has relocated, I will still support the writers and friends I have made on this platform by reading their newsletters and being in community with them here. Additionally, in a move inspired in part by Meg Conley, I will post excerpts with a link to full posts here on Substack one day after I post on my main site. I hope that for those who remain, it is a fair compromise and that you can continue to access my newsletter easily. I also hope to use my continued presence here to advocate for further change on the platform. Any future paid subscriptions will be handled off of Substack so that no money will ever go to the platform. I have also (sadly) canceled all of my paid subscriptions to other writers. I will continue looking for alternate ways to support the creators I admire monetarily.

This decision comes with a fair amount of sadness, fear, and resentment. I am only just starting out and will have a more challenging time finding readers with other services, and readers here might not be keen on my compromise. There are many opportunities I may lose at the start of my project simply because a few tech bros are sinking the ship. I also understand why so many writers are currently struggling with this decision as they grapple with their own sense of loss and fear of what is to come. I have long held that there are no ethical platforms on God’s Green Internet, so navigating the landscape is increasingly difficult. Many writers with valuable messages are reaching a broad audience they otherwise would not have received without Substack. I am not ready to write that off entirely at this point, either.

Many prominent writers also remain on this platform to advocate for change and for less influential writers, which is excellent. Because I do not have a prominent platform, my power lies in what money I can bring in and my conscious removal of those dollars. The decision to move is complex, and I think for many people, there isn’t a black-and-white binary that lends itself to an easy answer (Catherynne Valente’s recent post and the comments in response are a good example of the difficulty in grappling with this issue). 

Sometimes, living according to our values is uncomfortable, but this ultimately feels like a small sacrifice for me in the grand scheme of things. In the future, you can find Chaise Longue on my website and on Buttondown.

In the meantime, here are some fantastic newsletters that aren’t housed on Substack:

All the newsletters I subscribe to on Substack are worthwhile and recommended. You can find them on my profile.

As always, thank you for stopping by. I look forward to navigating this new chapter alongside all of you.

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