I've been following the Penguin for a about a year. I took a look at Steve QJ--and I'm now following him.

Before Medium, I was on a forum called "Writerbeat," which is now defunct. People moved in and out, but it never really grew past the Dunbar number of 150.

But we had everybody: Conservatives, Liberals, libertarians, white supremists, Germans, evangelical Christians, and a few whack jobs.

If I put up an article, it would get 20 to 50 responses. We had a great time dissecting each other's work and thinking. Reasonably civil most of the time. It was a great debating club.

But the owner just could not get past the Dunbar Number. She finally gave up.

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Medium has not been a debating club--when compared to Writerbeat. Too many people to produce a community of any kind. And most of us have an ulterior motive that takes effort away from building an online community----or a proper debate.

I am tempted to start a debate with you about the Russian/Ukrainian war. But such a thread would only be seen by you and I. Kind of pointless to spend hours on this writing for such a low audience.

I am thinking of a better angle. Stay tuned.