There does seem to be a presumption here (and by that I mean on Medium generally, not specifically in your post, Melissa) that simply by stint of writing and posting stories regularly, writers not only 'deserve' to find readers but 'deserve' to be paid.

I don't think the writing business has ever worked like that. It has never been fair.

Certainly, if a writer here is regularly getting hundreds/thousands of reads for their stories, they should expect to receive a portion of the partnership pie.

I do think there has been some fall-off in the amount of writing that was designed to attract the algorithm, but that is a good thing.

And the allure of Substack has seduced some people's attention away from here for a time — but that will be temporary.