I’m late to this but here goes: Do you want good writers or do you want lots of writers? Lots of writers guarantees lots of $5/mo subscriptions but no reader guarantees. Good writers will burnish your reputation with readers and the general public but won’t guarantee subscriptions. You’ll have to make a choice, and now is the perfect time. I hope you’ll choose wisely.

I would like nothing better than to come back to Medium, but not as it is now. The ‘get rich quick’ stories are insulting turn-offs, as are the internal revenge stories where Medium writers take turns sniping at each other. You have competition now, and quality always out-performs mediocre quantity.

Pay your writers according to their worth, not according to claps or any other artificial designator. Reading time can be manipulated. Cliques can join together to promote each other. Stop paying bad writers, no matter how popular they are. Build on your integrity.

I don’t know how to reward creativity or professionalism in a forum this vast, but then that’s not my job. It’s yours.