Special Testimonial

Why I Firmly Believe Lanu Pitan Is Not a Fraud But an Avid Reader and Valuable Community Member

Have you ever seen someone who has read 2500+ stories from a single writer on Medium?

Non-members can read this story via my friend link.

When I joined Medium as a non-member, I published a technology article related to my research and job, which had previously been featured in a tech magazine. They encouraged me to share it on Medium, citing the platform’s potential to reach a broader audience interested in topics like the Internet of Things.

I had ZERO followers. The next day, I received an email from Medium informing me that Lanu Pitan had liked my story, left a comment, and highlighted it. I wasn’t even aware of the highlight feature. For me, receiving my first comment on Medium felt equivalent to receiving praise from peer reviewers for my academic articles.

The comment was critical but positive. She said,

“Dear Mehmet, I understand that you are a professional, and you wrote this story well. However, I couldn’t fully grasp your story as an average reader. I suggest simplifying it so that more computer-illiterate people like me can understand and learn from your experience. Welcome to Medium, and I look forward to reading more of your stories. Don’t hesitate to contact me when you need help. Medium has a private chat feature for communication.”

This first comment on Medium remains vivid in my fond memories, marking the beginning of my journey on this platform.

I eagerly followed Lanu’s stories, finding them inspiring, well-balanced, educational, and constructive up until last week. Her account and her comments from all my stories disappeared. And ILLUMINATION and ILLUMINATION-Curated lost a valuable editor.

Among my loyal readers, none have matched Lanu’s level of dedication in terms of reading and engagement. Since my first day on Medium, Lanu has read over 2500 of my stories, leaving a meaningful comment on each, applauding them, and sharing them via tweets and Facebook.

Furthermore, when I established ILLUMINATION, Lanu was among the first group of editors to support this wonderful publication. She diligently reviewed numerous stories daily, guided new writers to enhance their work, and ensured timely publication. After publishing each story, she consistently left supportive comments. Notably, I have never seen a negative comment from her.

On 25 April 2020, during the ANZAC day celebration in Australia, due to allegations from a member, Medium suspended my account without any warning, leading to the shutdown of our wonderful publication, ILLUMINATION, which caused panic among thousands of writers and readers.

Fortunately, many writers and readers of the publication wrote supportive stories and urged Medium to reinstate ILLUMINATION promptly. Some senior executives attempted to contact the former CEO, Ev Williams.

I was grateful that the Medium support team acted quickly and recovered my account within 24 hours. However, those 24 hours were one of the darkest moments of my life, yet empowering to see so many supporters across the globe. I remained calm and composed to ensure the supporters stayed so, too, as some of them couldn’t accept it.

Many editors stayed awake with me to support the sad, upset, and furious community through our Slack workspace. One of them was Lanu Pitan. She had a sleepless night to calm the community and offered prayers for us as a spiritual person.

I had many conversations with Lanu over the last five years. I learned a lot about her background, personality, hobbies, and more. I have never seen anything wrong with her behavior. Far from it, she has always been polite, fair, supportive, cheerful, and inspiring at all times.

Yes, I can confirm that Lanu is the most avid reader of Medium. Even more so than me, especially in terms of variety. She reads stories of non-members, too, and supports them.

My hunch is that Medium’s new fraud software linked her excessive reading, claps, and comments in other stories, possibly those of suspected people, and labeled her account as fraudulent.

Lanu is a professional business woman. She is a chartered accountant and runs her own business in the UK. She wrote a book titled Wisdom in Management in 2011 before joining Medium.

I don’t think she needs to steal cents from a writing platform with fraudulent activity. She is also a highly ethical, spiritual, and religious person who always prays for other people with her golden heart.

Moreover, when I started promoting the new Friends of Medium subscription in my circles, Lanu was the first to accept my invitation and upgrade her account, thanking me for the advice. Additionally, she started promoting it as well and brought several new FoMs to the platform.

I have never written a personal story like this about anyone, but Lanu deserves it because I can testify that she is not a fraud but a valuable member of this community.

Therefore, I appreciate Medium Staff’s review of her appeal and restoring this valuable member's account. Should Medium lose Lanu permanently, it would also lose many valuable members like her, which could adversely impact the future of this wonderful platform we all love and support dearly.

I support Medium because it is an authentic, trustworthy, and equitable platform that amplifies the voices of countless writers and facilitates global knowledge dissemination.

If you are acquainted with Lanu Pitan, kindly consider leaving a comment to honor this remarkable member who has touched the hearts of many over the past five years.

I learned that her name means ‘God is merciful.’

You can learn more about her background from an introduction created by ILLUMINATION editors on Medium.com.

New readers who missed the context of this story may read my previous one explaining the recent incident on Medium.

You may also check a relevant story from one of our supportive editors Mike Broadly, DHSc showing compassion for affected victims of the recent incident on Medium.

Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a healthy and happy life.

To inform my new readers, I wrote numerous articles that might inform and inspire you. Some of my topics include brain, mental health, cognitive function, significant health conditions, longevity, nutrition/food, valuable nutrients, ketogenic lifestyle, self-healing, weight management, writing/reading, and humor, including 100+ Insightful Life Lessons from My Circles for the Last 50+ Years.

I publish my health and wellness stories on EUPHORIA. My posts do not include professional or health advice. I only document my reviews, observations, experiences, and perspectives to provide information and create awareness.

If you are a writer, you are welcome to join my publications by sending a request via this link. I support 27K+ writers who contribute to my publications on this platform. I also have another profile to write and curate tech stories.

Importance and Value of Medium Friendship for Writers and Readers