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You could do the same thing through Ghost, which has an API, and not be using a service that proudly platforms the Tates and nazis.

by rsingel 2mo ago

simonw 2mo ago
Ghost would cost $288/month (or $241/month paid yearly).
- rsingel 2mo ago
  With 66k subscribers you could cover that without even really trying by setting up a $5/month donation tier or putting a tip jar on the site. With a tiny bit of effort, you could make thousands a month. Substack lets you get away with sending that many emails without attempting to monetize because you pay them in clout and with your reader data. I think they are getting the better deal given how good your writing is and your reputation.
- rsingel 2mo ago
  I'll put my money where my mouth is. We at Outpost will host your site on Ghost for a year for free and migrate all your substack subscribers, with the only caveats that 1) you put a tip jar link (either to Ghost's or Outpost's) at the end of every email with some text like support us being on an indie platform and 2) at the end of the year or earlier report how it went.
- pembrook 2mo ago
  And substack is free because they use YOU as their growth engine. Your newsletter is plastered with their branding and links to their app, not yours. If someone subscribes to pay for your publication via their app, they own the subscription, not you. Ultimately, even if you own the email list, you’re sharecropping on their land. They will email your list with their own promotional offers and marketing whenever they feel like it. If we’ve proved anything in tech, it’s that consumers will fall for the trap of “free” every single time.
willy_k 2mo ago
I don’t know anything about the specific situation you’re referencing. That being said, getting mad at an organization, one that is built to be a “platform” for people to share their words, for not going out of its way to police which people share which words, seems to me to be unproductive at best, if not actively close minded and tribalistic.
- pluto_modadic 2mo ago
  oh it's more than the org. IIRC, it's also the founder.
- monknomo 2mo ago
  What about for going out of their way to find and pay despicable people for their words?
- incompatible 2mo ago
  Sure, tolerate Nazis, give them a place to share their words, let them be part of the mainstream, let them take part in elections, play their dirty tricks and form paramilitaries and win control of government. It's a shame that that leads to certain groups, like Jews, LGBTQ, non-whites, or immigrants getting exterminated, but that's just the price you have to pay for free speech.
  - willy_k 2mo ago
    That’s backwards. Society does not move forward despite free speech, rather because of it. The only way to truly move past harmful ideas and ideologies is to show those who would otherwise subscribe how dumb they are. You can try to quell them, but that just lends to their appeal, and results in those that do subscribe being more extreme and doing more extreme things. For a real world example, take someone who thinks that Nick Fuentes is a reasonable, respectable guy, and then show them the recent discussion between him and Hunter Biden, and see if they don’t at least get uncomfortable, unsure.
    - dpkirchner 2mo ago

You could do the same thing through Ghost, which has an API, and not be using a service that proudly platforms the Tates and nazis.

by rsingel 2mo ago

You could do the same thing through Ghost, which has an API, and not be using a service that proudly platforms the Tates and nazis.

simonw 2mo ago

Ghost would cost $288/month (or $241/month paid yearly).

rsingel 2mo ago
With 66k subscribers you could cover that without even really trying by setting up a $5/month donation tier or putting a tip jar on the site. With a tiny bit of effort, you could make thousands a month. Substack lets you get away with sending that many emails without attempting to monetize because you pay them in clout and with your reader data. I think they are getting the better deal given how good your writing is and your reputation.
rsingel 2mo ago
I'll put my money where my mouth is. We at Outpost will host your site on Ghost for a year for free and migrate all your substack subscribers, with the only caveats that 1) you put a tip jar link (either to Ghost's or Outpost's) at the end of every email with some text like support us being on an indie platform and 2) at the end of the year or earlier report how it went.
pembrook 2mo ago
And substack is free because they use YOU as their growth engine. Your newsletter is plastered with their branding and links to their app, not yours. If someone subscribes to pay for your publication via their app, they own the subscription, not you. Ultimately, even if you own the email list, you’re sharecropping on their land. They will email your list with their own promotional offers and marketing whenever they feel like it. If we’ve proved anything in tech, it’s that consumers will fall for the trap of “free” every single time.

willy_k 2mo ago

I don’t know anything about the specific situation you’re referencing. That being said, getting mad at an organization, one that is built to be a “platform” for people to share their words, for not going out of its way to police which people share which words, seems to me to be unproductive at best, if not actively close minded and tribalistic.

pluto_modadic 2mo ago
oh it's more than the org. IIRC, it's also the founder.
monknomo 2mo ago
What about for going out of their way to find and pay despicable people for their words?
incompatible 2mo ago
Sure, tolerate Nazis, give them a place to share their words, let them be part of the mainstream, let them take part in elections, play their dirty tricks and form paramilitaries and win control of government. It's a shame that that leads to certain groups, like Jews, LGBTQ, non-whites, or immigrants getting exterminated, but that's just the price you have to pay for free speech.
- willy_k 2mo ago
  That’s backwards. Society does not move forward despite free speech, rather because of it. The only way to truly move past harmful ideas and ideologies is to show those who would otherwise subscribe how dumb they are. You can try to quell them, but that just lends to their appeal, and results in those that do subscribe being more extreme and doing more extreme things. For a real world example, take someone who thinks that Nick Fuentes is a reasonable, respectable guy, and then show them the recent discussion between him and Hunter Biden, and see if they don’t at least get uncomfortable, unsure.
  - dpkirchner 2mo ago