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Vigilance's avatar

Well Said. Those who want nothing, can have anything they wish. Wanting nothing even still once offered temptations (wealth, power, influence, etc.) further validates the position of trust. Many writers here also have no, or limited, paywall services which means the content stands on its own.

It's important to have this type of place for people to discuss and debate beyond 144 characters. Long-form conversations, Jordan Peterson comes to mind, are critical at moving forward with ideas/concepts. I would argue there is more learning per "stack" publication, when taking the totality of the authors words and community commentary - than entire sophisticated publications of major news organizations. The comments, and the ebb/flow of people in honest debate -- provide relatable context for many readers.

The stack stands much stronger than the house of cards ;)

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Stephenie's avatar

And the quality of the comments itself... I was just marveling at that again today. I almost never struggle to understand what someone meant in their typo laden word salad like on other platforms. That being said, this place is pretty exclusively anglophone.

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Mary G's avatar

The comments are a big draw for me. Finally found a bunch of intelligent people with intelligent thoughts and arguments. Respectful. Often VERY funny. I wish we could all hang out in person. ❤️

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Vigilance's avatar

The community is amazing. Also love how it showcases anyone who writes by showing it in their handle. I've found more small time writers who have beautiful ideas just going through comments on the big guys.

Also the honesty factor. I trust more writers here than anything on the tube.

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Stephenie's avatar

Amen to this. There are some gems here. I wish I was independently wealthy and could just read all day!

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Stephenie's avatar

You and me both sister! The internet as it was meant to be and like you wish your friends IRL were!

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Vigilance's avatar

It is, and it would be marvelous to have the Telegram's translation program married to Substack. In TG you can convert a slew of languages into each other - not perfect but pretty amazing. Imagine if we could actually have a universal translator available to us without the boot heel on our necks?

Reaching out and talking to people in the world "hot spots" tells a -very- different story than what the media, alt-media, are telling us..

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Stephenie's avatar

Yes which is why I still have FB. I have met a lot of interesting people who can give me the lowdown from other countries. It’s pretty invaluable.

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Peter Nayland Kust's avatar

It is rather anglophone--yet I do have one subscriber and commenter who posts his comments all in German. (Thank heaven for free translation programs!)

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Stephenie's avatar

Maybe that’s because a lot of Germans have the English to read English decently, but not to respond? I do that sometimes. Read in Dutch or whatever and respond in English. But yes the translation programs have come a long way! And there are certainly enough different nationalities here to keep it interesting!

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Peter Nayland Kust's avatar

I take the German in stride, and I use translators so I can post my replies to him in German.

I want people commenting on my work. Don't really care what language it's in!

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Stephenie's avatar

Thats awesome! Very polite.

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Ryan Gardner's avatar

Brilliant!

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