Deep, thoughtful analysis. Medium is like Wikipedia in that it's the people's platform. While each individual magazine can be somewhat bossy and self-absorbed, no one is giving us a grand artistic vision for the whole. Without that, we get the listicles and the shallow love advice and endless writers writing about writing. I'm glad there's a backlash. Think deeper, write longer, put some meat on the bones. How about new, original ideas, interesting word choices, less preaching? (So many editors make fun of the 4-syllable word or the complex construction or a paragraph longer than 3 sentences.)

I'm thinking, I've bought into Medium. If you can make it here ..... you can make it anywhere, but often I pull my best stuff because I believe it won't be appreciated. And I admit to reading the occasional "What Women Really Want ........." article -- it's what we get on the people's platform. Now I pledge not to write about writing again for a year, and I'm left thinking: I've been a writer, but I want to be an artist. And that's a whole new paradise to explore.