I toggled the automatic moderation "OFF" on my Stack. So it will remain here. Unless and until the platform applies their community standards to individual stacks nullifying our settings.
Our challenge is to get other authors who may be unaware of the change to also toggle their automatic moderation to "OFF."
I haven't trusted them from the start. It's been a useful forum, have learned and shared a lot here that's been extremely important to be able to learn and teach from. But when I first signed up and saw the home office address in San Francisco that was the first warning sign. And when I reverse lookup'd the address and saw many progressive organizations sharing similar, nearby addresses that was another warning sign.
Recently I saw a report about police in NJ "kettling" protestors outside an ICE facility. Closing them in from three sides before they closed the lid that the fourth side was. Making arrest and detention of them easier. I've long suspected that Substack is a "kettle," with the same "kettling" policing tactic just ahead out of view. We must develop other options, alternatives for when they put the lid on this kettle.
I don't know how to stop their monitoring. I only figured out how to stop my own publication from shadow-banning comments on it. Only on publication page settings, not an individual user setting so if you don't have a publication it won't be a control you have.
I went to my Dashboard, clicked into my publication, found and clicked the "Settings" icon on the left menu. Then clicked "Community" where the page I have a screenshot of in my Alert appears with the toggle options, "automatic moderation." Which I toggled off.
It's opt-out shadow-banning, not opt-in. Many authors are unaware.
Some may prefer it. I will probably stop following those authors who do; they do not support free speech. They might as well be Facebook/TwitterX users only. Some slaves prefer their muzzles.
And what the replies from the Substack Chatbot tell us is that THOSE are the Substack-wide community standards. And why many publications are shadow-banned on the platform. Without even telling authors. So while some authors may prefer the automatic moderation they must understand that their own individual Stacks are subjected to the same automatic moderation criteria that the Chatbot just described.
Substack just revealed its hidden hand that has puzzled many of the contrarian writers as to why they don't grow their subscribers. Which is a monetary thing for writers who monetize.
Thanks for pointing it out - - both the fact of it, and how to disable it - - . So much, "That can't possibly happen here. This is the USA. We are governed under a Constitution!" - - IS happening here, in the USA, and people have forgotten why the Constitution is necessary to our culture.
In the US they use the sleight-of-hand that it's private actors censoring, not government, and that the Constitution only protects us from government censorship. But when government directs it for a private party it's all just a ruse. That is definitionally closer to Fascism than Communism. Private-Public partnerships provide the separation that the Constitution would otherwise prohibit.
Like during Scamdemic times when government authorities could say *they* didn't mandate masks on individuals inside private businesses. But they could fine those private businesses for not requiring masks on their patrons. And like the Twitter files showcased arm's-length censorship.
It would be hard to say, much less prove that Substack is now censoring us because of government direction. But the entire censorship-industrial complex that grew under Biden (and the end of Trump's first term in 2020 to be honest about it) has insinuated itself into board rooms, legal departments, licensing agencies, trade associations, banking relationships, etc that compel conformity even without formal government threats or sanction.
They've succeeded in enculturating censorship. And it will take a new free speech outlet to take off like Substack did to provide open speech. And let's say that's done, there's still the web services that are controlled by the censorship-industrial complex, like AWS (Amazon Web Services) that virtually every single website depends on to reach internet users, Cloudfare, the protection from malicious hacking and DDoS interuptions. Payment services. You name it.
Smoke signals may become the only unimpeded free speech option - until they're snuffed out by environmental regulators.
Good stuff, FF. Google asked recently if I would like to 'organize' all my contacts and pictures - - make them 'easier to find' - - build 'associations' , just generally do everything "better". They organize little "albums" for me, from time-to-time and include my photos from my vacations and private property, my "gallery" includes invoice from private transactions, tax return forms, private manuscripts from unpublished books - -
At the end of their survey, they asked if they could help me with anything else- - anything at all - - and I asked if they would tell me where all my private information was stored, how they obtained it in the first place, and by what legal right were they putting it in any context or format whatsoever without my permission?
I am waiting for an answer and legal advice to see if I can reclaim my property.
PS - - I have an e-mail from a WSJ "Reader Comments" censor from the obama days, who disallowed several of my comments after years (literally) of 100% open comment. I had called some outrage (Possibly Kerry's "Permission" for Iran to continue enriching Uranium) Total "BS". When my comment wasn't published, and I asked if Winston Smith had come out of retirement to edit reader comments, I received a curt reply that my "BS" comment was objectionable, and "swearing" was not allowed in the Wall Street Journal.
My reply, "My, my. Big Sugar is swearing? Who would have guessed?", was not answered. It would have made a nice Substack article, quotations, time-stamps and all. Plenty of work to do - - -
Perhaps a couple of years ago, I looked into a change in the platform ownership and/or shares purchase, and have expected developments ever since. I do not remember the exact details, but here we are. You might investigate a little in some financial sources.
Reddit, Twitter-X, and my outdated Android model drive me nuts for the same reason. I recently found out from a tech-geek that altho the android says it has the latest version software, the most accurate latest version only appears on the latest Android models. That locks us into always having the most recent Android model, which gets expensive.
Many thanks for the article. I haven't read it in detail - - I'll wait until I have time to give it the attention it deserves, but I'm very pleased to see it written. I read an article written recently re-defining "Mother", "Father", "Child", Family", etc. to make those terms more agreeable to (in my opinion) people seeking to destroy the Christian-Based American Culture that has served this country so well since its' founding.
I do not want "those people" hidden under a rock, I want them out in the sunshine, peddling their tripe, and inviting sane rebuttal. We can see plainly enough how fraud can be (and has been) used to promote nefarious causes by labeling 'difference of opinion' as 'DISINFORMATION' by little men far more interested in their personal interests than the greater good.
FWIW, I saw the email from substack about the change to allow content moderation rule setting by authors. That may be insufficient in your view, but it's also not quite "zero notice".
How and when did it arrive? I didn't get notified. And the default is their shadow-banning as opt-out, not opt-in. Also take note that the justifications for hiding replies the Chatbot gave reveal that those are Substack's community standards. Which explains the shadow-banning of certain Stack publications that has resulted in fewer readers, fewer subscribers. Yes, they are giving authors control of their publications. But it's a confession/disclosure that those same community standards are what is hiding Stacks that violate the standards from broader audiences on the platform.
It arrived via email, on June 3rd, subject line: "Introducing Reply Rules", sent to the same email address that all of my Substack notifications go to.
I'm not trying to defend the choices they made about how they implemented it, BTW. Just raising a signal flag that there was something at least *resembling* "notice" about the change. I concur that they should have defaulted the other direction, and that they really shouldn't be hiding various 'stacks. I'd also say that the chatbot was either flat out lying, or at least being very deceptive in the way it was phrasing things.
Thanks for looking back. I reviewed all my emails, only message I received from Substack in the past week or so was my monthly stats - on June 3rd. They have my email, emailed me the same day you received yours, but not Reply Rules. Just stats notification.
So there was no notice. At least for some of us, doubtful I'm the only one.
Yes, chatbot programmed with linguistic deception. The thin reed of technicality. Preview of coming attractions for all interactions with technocracy?
Hi FF, I dug into the community section of my settings and didn’t see the opt-out option. I’ll keep a lookout for changes. Other than what you mentioned, I haven’t noticed any. Thanks for your vigilance. Mike
Test:
The covid vaccines are medically effective amd safe.
LOL!
I toggled the automatic moderation "OFF" on my Stack. So it will remain here. Unless and until the platform applies their community standards to individual stacks nullifying our settings.
Our challenge is to get other authors who may be unaware of the change to also toggle their automatic moderation to "OFF."
The covid vaccines were especially formulated--In My Opinion!--to "reduce the excess population."
And your opinion you highly value, as my opinion I highly value, much more than Facebook's...errrr...Substack's "community standard" opinion.
Thank you Freedom Fox. Good catch!
.
I do not trust these Substack folks at all. I have caught them messing with my interaction several times.
I haven't trusted them from the start. It's been a useful forum, have learned and shared a lot here that's been extremely important to be able to learn and teach from. But when I first signed up and saw the home office address in San Francisco that was the first warning sign. And when I reverse lookup'd the address and saw many progressive organizations sharing similar, nearby addresses that was another warning sign.
Recently I saw a report about police in NJ "kettling" protestors outside an ICE facility. Closing them in from three sides before they closed the lid that the fourth side was. Making arrest and detention of them easier. I've long suspected that Substack is a "kettle," with the same "kettling" policing tactic just ahead out of view. We must develop other options, alternatives for when they put the lid on this kettle.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jun/03/delaney-hall-new-jersey-protests-police
Kettle makes sense. I feel kettled....
I have really thought this place a "honey pot" of late...
Can you provide a detailed method of stopping their monitoring. We are not all tech wizards.
I don't know how to stop their monitoring. I only figured out how to stop my own publication from shadow-banning comments on it. Only on publication page settings, not an individual user setting so if you don't have a publication it won't be a control you have.
I went to my Dashboard, clicked into my publication, found and clicked the "Settings" icon on the left menu. Then clicked "Community" where the page I have a screenshot of in my Alert appears with the toggle options, "automatic moderation." Which I toggled off.
It's opt-out shadow-banning, not opt-in. Many authors are unaware.
Some may prefer it. I will probably stop following those authors who do; they do not support free speech. They might as well be Facebook/TwitterX users only. Some slaves prefer their muzzles.
And what the replies from the Substack Chatbot tell us is that THOSE are the Substack-wide community standards. And why many publications are shadow-banned on the platform. Without even telling authors. So while some authors may prefer the automatic moderation they must understand that their own individual Stacks are subjected to the same automatic moderation criteria that the Chatbot just described.
Substack just revealed its hidden hand that has puzzled many of the contrarian writers as to why they don't grow their subscribers. Which is a monetary thing for writers who monetize.
Thanks for pointing it out - - both the fact of it, and how to disable it - - . So much, "That can't possibly happen here. This is the USA. We are governed under a Constitution!" - - IS happening here, in the USA, and people have forgotten why the Constitution is necessary to our culture.
In the US they use the sleight-of-hand that it's private actors censoring, not government, and that the Constitution only protects us from government censorship. But when government directs it for a private party it's all just a ruse. That is definitionally closer to Fascism than Communism. Private-Public partnerships provide the separation that the Constitution would otherwise prohibit.
Like during Scamdemic times when government authorities could say *they* didn't mandate masks on individuals inside private businesses. But they could fine those private businesses for not requiring masks on their patrons. And like the Twitter files showcased arm's-length censorship.
It would be hard to say, much less prove that Substack is now censoring us because of government direction. But the entire censorship-industrial complex that grew under Biden (and the end of Trump's first term in 2020 to be honest about it) has insinuated itself into board rooms, legal departments, licensing agencies, trade associations, banking relationships, etc that compel conformity even without formal government threats or sanction.
They've succeeded in enculturating censorship. And it will take a new free speech outlet to take off like Substack did to provide open speech. And let's say that's done, there's still the web services that are controlled by the censorship-industrial complex, like AWS (Amazon Web Services) that virtually every single website depends on to reach internet users, Cloudfare, the protection from malicious hacking and DDoS interuptions. Payment services. You name it.
Smoke signals may become the only unimpeded free speech option - until they're snuffed out by environmental regulators.
Good stuff, FF. Google asked recently if I would like to 'organize' all my contacts and pictures - - make them 'easier to find' - - build 'associations' , just generally do everything "better". They organize little "albums" for me, from time-to-time and include my photos from my vacations and private property, my "gallery" includes invoice from private transactions, tax return forms, private manuscripts from unpublished books - -
At the end of their survey, they asked if they could help me with anything else- - anything at all - - and I asked if they would tell me where all my private information was stored, how they obtained it in the first place, and by what legal right were they putting it in any context or format whatsoever without my permission?
I am waiting for an answer and legal advice to see if I can reclaim my property.
PS - - I have an e-mail from a WSJ "Reader Comments" censor from the obama days, who disallowed several of my comments after years (literally) of 100% open comment. I had called some outrage (Possibly Kerry's "Permission" for Iran to continue enriching Uranium) Total "BS". When my comment wasn't published, and I asked if Winston Smith had come out of retirement to edit reader comments, I received a curt reply that my "BS" comment was objectionable, and "swearing" was not allowed in the Wall Street Journal.
My reply, "My, my. Big Sugar is swearing? Who would have guessed?", was not answered. It would have made a nice Substack article, quotations, time-stamps and all. Plenty of work to do - - -
MC this was covered here this morning:
https://www.coffeeandcovid.com/p/conga-lines-friday-june-5-2026-c/comment/271101944
I take it you do not read C&C comments anymore? Also i am in your area if you are up for a visit tomorrow or the next day.
Perhaps a couple of years ago, I looked into a change in the platform ownership and/or shares purchase, and have expected developments ever since. I do not remember the exact details, but here we are. You might investigate a little in some financial sources.
Hi, tnx, I toggled it off, and it toggled it back on again?? now what?
Must be why Elon Musk followed me on Substack, then blocked me.
Reddit, Twitter-X, and my outdated Android model drive me nuts for the same reason. I recently found out from a tech-geek that altho the android says it has the latest version software, the most accurate latest version only appears on the latest Android models. That locks us into always having the most recent Android model, which gets expensive.
Many thanks for the article. I haven't read it in detail - - I'll wait until I have time to give it the attention it deserves, but I'm very pleased to see it written. I read an article written recently re-defining "Mother", "Father", "Child", Family", etc. to make those terms more agreeable to (in my opinion) people seeking to destroy the Christian-Based American Culture that has served this country so well since its' founding.
I do not want "those people" hidden under a rock, I want them out in the sunshine, peddling their tripe, and inviting sane rebuttal. We can see plainly enough how fraud can be (and has been) used to promote nefarious causes by labeling 'difference of opinion' as 'DISINFORMATION' by little men far more interested in their personal interests than the greater good.
FWIW, I saw the email from substack about the change to allow content moderation rule setting by authors. That may be insufficient in your view, but it's also not quite "zero notice".
How and when did it arrive? I didn't get notified. And the default is their shadow-banning as opt-out, not opt-in. Also take note that the justifications for hiding replies the Chatbot gave reveal that those are Substack's community standards. Which explains the shadow-banning of certain Stack publications that has resulted in fewer readers, fewer subscribers. Yes, they are giving authors control of their publications. But it's a confession/disclosure that those same community standards are what is hiding Stacks that violate the standards from broader audiences on the platform.
It arrived via email, on June 3rd, subject line: "Introducing Reply Rules", sent to the same email address that all of my Substack notifications go to.
I'm not trying to defend the choices they made about how they implemented it, BTW. Just raising a signal flag that there was something at least *resembling* "notice" about the change. I concur that they should have defaulted the other direction, and that they really shouldn't be hiding various 'stacks. I'd also say that the chatbot was either flat out lying, or at least being very deceptive in the way it was phrasing things.
Thanks for looking back. I reviewed all my emails, only message I received from Substack in the past week or so was my monthly stats - on June 3rd. They have my email, emailed me the same day you received yours, but not Reply Rules. Just stats notification.
So there was no notice. At least for some of us, doubtful I'm the only one.
Yes, chatbot programmed with linguistic deception. The thin reed of technicality. Preview of coming attractions for all interactions with technocracy?
Blessings and appreciation from Sydney Australia.
Hi FF, I dug into the community section of my settings and didn’t see the opt-out option. I’ll keep a lookout for changes. Other than what you mentioned, I haven’t noticed any. Thanks for your vigilance. Mike