It is convenient to call things by their name.

Substack can be an archive, a tool, a mailing list, a network of affinities, and, at times, a space for truly valuable conversations. That's not insignificant. But confusing that with community —in a strong sense— might be asking a platform for something it cannot give.

The reflection by Eva Guijarro strikes me as especially sensible because it introduces a necessary dose of reality: the ground we walk on here is not common; it belongs to a company that has designed this space for us to remain in it. That does not invalidate the good that can happen within it. It situates it.

Perhaps therein lies the key: putting less faith in the architecture and more in the quality of the encounter; less in the platform and more in the people who, on the other side, read with attention, think with honesty, and write with truth. That is something worth taking care of.