Peace and Joy

A Peaceful Platform Can be More Productive and Joyful

We are part of an ecosystem and thrive in peace

This is a sensitive post aiming to call for peace.

Let me give you a little context.

I’m one of 75 editors supporting ILLUMINATION Integrated Publications on Medium. As an editor for Technology Hits, I review, publish, and promote stories in this tech publication. It is like my baby. I mean it.

However, since several editors were unwell recently, I stepped in to help with ILLUMINATION’s excessive workload, which is my favourite publication on this platform.

Even though we have 71 editors, only 30 of us can publish on this pub as Medium does not allow more editors per pub. So Dr Mehmet Yildiz — chief editor — is juggling across the globe every day, talking with volunteers and synchronising the activities of flooding pub queues contributed by 11K writers.

It is hard to believe, but I recently cancelled some of my reading subscriptions to be able to read more articles from this pub, as there are remarkable stories that you may see in my last nine curated collections.

This pub gives voice to some beginners, some experienced, and many accomplished writers with thousands of followers. We even serve published authors and award winning novelists on ILLUMINATION Book Chapters. These talented authors never criticise our aspiring writers. They mentor, guide, and support them.

When Dr MY asked me to join as an editor to his pubs, first, I was surprised. I asked him how I could be an editor as a tech guy. I am more of a tech reader rather than a writer or an editor. But he mentored me and taught me some tricks, which worked well for me. He inspired me to be a writer too.

In short, I am happy to support the vision of Dr MY in any capacity. For example, as a giveback activity, I recently curated writer biographies. Seeing so many talented writers blew my mind. I found each personal story so different and unique. I felt like I was chatting with them.

Purpose of this article

The purpose of this article is a bit different from my previous posts. I don’t write about our internal matters, conflicts, or politics. I stay away from distasteful topics.

However, a recent incident encouraged me to step in and clear this growing confusion. So I hope my article adds some clarity and clear the air.

Brief Background

One of editors posted an article about an incident that was not public. It was an internal matter. I won’t go into details.

My point in my article is about a writer who used to be part of our publication leaving negative comments about the publication some of its editors and writers. Unfortunately, due to some conflicts, this writer was removed from the publication. Publications have their rules and policies.

Even though this writer is not part of the publication anymore, the writer keeps leaving negative public comments on stories written about Illumination to a point discouraging our writers to stop writing.

For example, a few months ago, comments left by this writer on this article [Illumination vs. the Ascent: Can This New Pub Really Defeat a Colossus] disturbed some writers. It was written by our senior editor and talented writer Dew Langrial. During that time, I was very sick and did not have the stamina to leave a comment even though the responses hurt me deeply.

I believe in diversity, inclusion, collaboration, peace, and joy. Life is too short, especially in my old age.

My aim is not to criticise this writer but point out ambiguities, blind spots, and invite her to peace so that we can continue working in peace.

I have no conflict with the writer. On the contrary, like any other writer on Medium, I respect her.

Firstly, I am wondering about this person’s obsession with Illumination. If this pub does not resonate with her, why does she pop up in every article about Illumination with negative comments?

This is a significant publication giving voice to 11K writers on Medium from aspiring to accomplished ones. We mingle these writers with a community spirit for them to grow.

So my questions to you: what is the point of destroying the dreams of so many writers and offering to close the publication? What will she gain at the end? Frankly, I sense sour grapes in her comments. Maybe it is just me.

I noticed she keeps critizing Dr MY in her posts. It does not make sense as he cannot see your comments on those articles. When we told him about your comments he informed us he was blocked. He showed us screen capture.

I’m part of the editorial team of his pubs, so I know why he removed her. He simply removed her account because she belittled aspiring writers who just started writing. Some of them cried after her harsh comments. Her harsh criticism killed the joy of budding writers.

She still consistently leave negative messages and even comment about Dr MY’s qualifications and publications. I don’t understand why his qualifications are a concern to her.

As his close friend, I don’t even ask his qualifications. It is none of my business. I’m interested in his great work, publicly available on several platforms. There was another writer who questioned his qualifications. He publicly shared some of them without hurting the feelings of the person.

Many readers admired his courage. She also blocked Dr MY and now is defaming him. Despite all, Dr MY did not take any legal action. You can learn details in this article: An Open Letter to One of My Fascinated Readers: Response to Tessa Schlesinger who wants to know more about my background.

Dr MY is a well-respected and profound thought leader in the industry as noticeable in this article. He leads six publications and he also runs his personal health and fitness publication on this platform guiding people.

This writer said “Illumination has no standards”. This is far from the truth. Dr MY created a ton of guiding materials to improve the quality of content. Stories of hundreds of writers are distributed to topics by Medium thanks to his contributions. Details are in our Starter Kit for Writers of ILLUMINATION Integrated Publications: One-stop-shop for beginners. Did you see Dr MY’s quality assurance checklist?

My key message to this writer is to invite her to peace as I respect any writer and reader on this platform. We can be more productive and joyful with peace and collaboration. We are writers and readers sharing the same dream.

If Illumination does not resonate with this writer, she could stop reading it.

Her harsh words hurt feelings of new writers and discourage them. This is an open platform for all level of writers. We should allow new writers to learn from experienced ones and grow with support.

I personally don’t stick my nose to business of other publications. Every publication has its rules and goals. Let the readers and writers make decision to read or contribute. I believe we all have more meaningful and productive things in our lives than upsetting innocent writers.

I respect all writers and readers and support their preferences.