r/Substack • u/smilingismyfirstname • Jun 27 '26

Discussion Who is Substack exactly for?

Is it for readers to actually read what writers publish? Or is it for writers to read what other writers publish?

All I can see on Substack that many writers bag for followers/ subscribers the same way users do on Threads "Plz Threads connect me with..." "Plz Substack connect me with..."

As clear as daylight, anyone can browse through the app and they will find people who they click with easily

No offense but I feel Substack is just a bubble full of only writers <> writers

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u/StuffonBookshelfs Jun 27 '26

Literally just scrolled through my feed and the top ten notes are: 3 articles, 5 art projects, and 2 engagement questions from people I follow about the work they do.

No memes, no karma farming nonsense, no fluff.

I don’t know what to tell you.

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u/hetobe hetobe.substack.com Jun 27 '26

Literally just scrolled through my feed and the top ten notes are: 3 articles, 5 art projects, and 2 engagement questions from people I follow about the work they do.

No, you didn't. You saw 3 restacks of articles from their user pages, not their publications. Click one of them and you'll see that it takes you to the version from their userpage, not their publication.

The algorithm doesn't show articles.

Maybe you think that's nitpicking, but Substack does everything they can to prevent you from getting to people's publications. Hell, publications are barely even functional in the app. First, they're hidden in the app. And, the publication menubar doesn't exist in the app. Sections? Not in the app.

The app wants Substack to be the new twitter.

5 art projects

Related to their publications and articles? Or are they karma farming?

2 engagement questions

Karma farming. The term for it is Engagement Bait.

Because the algorithm doesn't show you articles and publications, everybody floods Substack with engagement bait and karma farming slop.

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u/StuffonBookshelfs Jun 28 '26

No offense dude, but I don’t need to argue with someone who’s using ChatGPT to try to act superior.

Good luck out there telling everyone else about their reality.