Ed BottApr 16, 2023

Substack Notes is a hot mess.

I just blocked my first user there. He seemed genuinely deranged. His reply made no sense, with a timeline consisting of jumbled nonsense including a graphic asking “Was Hitler part Jewish?”

Here’s the really problematic part. Because I blocked this loon, I don’t have to see his ravings. But, unfortunately, you do. His comment still appears under my note, even though I don’t want that kind of interaction appearing under anything I have written.

Show threadEd BottApr 16, 2023

And despite Substack management insisting that authors and readers are in control of the experience, this seems to be just a way of dodging the responsibility to moderate.

There is an option to report a comment and also an option to delete that comment, but both are only available in a full browser and are hidden under a menu that you need to scroll to find. I don’t see any way to restrict who can comment on my notes (although that feature is on the roadmap).

Show threadDwight Silverman
@edbott It's definitely a case of building the airplane as it's being flown. Which is common for all the fledgling social networks.
Apr 16, 2023 at 2:29pmWeb
Show threadFrank X. ShawApr 16, 2023
@dsilverman @edbott the q i have is that in the case the people building it know exactly what kind of turbulence to expect and still put on blinders and said "won't happen to us" re: any need for moderation and tools to support. Hello.
Show threadDwight SilvermanApr 16, 2023
@fxshaw @edbott Yes. It should be built in from the get-go, but that rarely happens. We’ve learned enough lessons at this point to understand what WILL happen with social networks, not what we hope WON’T happen.
Show threadWarner CrockerApr 16, 2023
@dsilverman @fxshaw @edbott Nailed it.
Show threadMaryPotApr 16, 2023

@dsilverman @fxshaw @edbott

As Ed Bott said, they have built it in - way down in a menu and only on web, not on app.