Summary

The author expresses dissatisfaction with Medium's new design changes, which limit creative formatting options for writers, such as image-text integration, text alignment, title variety, quote styling, and font choices, prioritizing mobile users over the needs of content creators.

Abstract

The article titled "5 Reasons The New Medium Sucks" outlines the author's frustration with the recent updates to Medium's platform. The author argues that the new restrictions on combining text with images, the inability to center text, the reduction in title formats, the limitations on quote styling, and the introduction of new fonts that offer minimal improvement over the old ones, all reflect a shift away from supporting writers' creative expression. The author emphasizes that these changes seem to cater to mobile users at the expense of the writers who use Medium as a platform for long-form content. The article suggests that the resources spent on these changes could have been better utilized to enhance interactive elements and expand the use of images, as well as to provide more support for writers rather than reducing their formatting toolkit.

Opinions

The author believes that the separation of images and text diminishes the aesthetic appeal and impact of the content's first impression.
The inability to center text is seen as an unnecessary and unexplained limitation that hinders the writer's ability to emphasize content.
The reduction in title options, particularly the loss of the largest title format, is criticized for making it difficult to structure pieces with subheadings effectively.
The changes to the quote formatting, which no longer allow for de-italicization or bolding, are viewed as a step back in typographical creativity.
The author is skeptical about the value of the new fonts, considering the significant resources spent on their development, and suggests that these efforts could have been better directed towards functional enhancements like interactive charts and more versatile image use.
Despite some appreciation for the "big first letter thingy," the overall sentiment is that the new design choices do not justify the removal of previously available tools that were valuable to writers.

That rabbit is decidedly grumpy, rather like this writer.

5 Reasons The New Medium Sucks

Medium for mobile means writers are left behind.

1 Images. Once upon a time, we could start out posts with a strong title carefully superimposed over a relevant or beautiful image. We could mix and match the written word and maps, photography, or other media. Now? Keep your text and your images segregated. Why?

Because, surprise, cell phone screens aren’t ideal for beautifully-crafted work.

Medium says they want to preserve their reputation for producing good long-form content. Then why strip away a valuable tool for beautifying the first look our readers get at our work?

2 Alignment. It should be simple to center some text. It used to be simple to center some text. All you had to do was center the damn text. Titles, section breaks, emphatic statements, you name it, just center the damn text. Now?

You can’t center the text. Damn it.

Why?

As far as I can tell, Medium hasn’t explained this change anywhere.

3 Titles. Long-form writing needs section-breaks to be digestible. Section-breaks often need titles. For many types of long-form writing, a variety of title options are useful. But now, where we once had three title-text options, now we have two.

Oh, and the one we lost? It was the only one big enough for structurally-defined titles in pieces with subheadings. Because why would you want subheadings? Medium’s for mobile now, not for writers.

4 Quotes. Medium’s old quote feature had a particularly useful trait: although it was italicized, if you used italics on it, it became a font type not available through other options. Another title font, hidden in the formatting! Huzzah! Bold it, and you got even more options, huzzah!

You can no longer de-italicize or bold your quote formatting.

Because Medium hates you.

5 Fonts. Medium staff apparently spent weeks coming up with new fonts that are, at best, marginally different from the old fonts. People, I get that it’s hip and cool to care about fonts, but seriously we’re talking hundreds of thousands of dollars of human resources and development expenditures.

Ya know what coulda been done instead?

Functional embeds of interactive charts.

More ways to use images rather than fewer.

Support for writers instead of cleaning out our toolbox.

Ok, whatever, the big first letter thingy is pretty nifty.

But gimme back my damn center align and picture titles!