{
"path": "/3lu6shku2zk2n",
"site": "at://did:plc:btxrwcaeyodrap5mnjw2fvmz/site.standard.publication/3lppk75kw7k26",
"$type": "site.standard.document",
"title": "An open letter to Substack creators",
"content": {
"$type": "pub.leaflet.content",
"pages": [
{
"$type": "pub.leaflet.pages.linearDocument",
"blocks": [
{
"$type": "pub.leaflet.pages.linearDocument#block",
"block": {
"$type": "pub.leaflet.blocks.text",
"facets": [
{
"index": {
"byteEnd": 26,
"byteStart": 0
},
"features": [
{
"$type": "pub.leaflet.richtext.facet#bold"
},
{
"$type": "pub.leaflet.richtext.facet#italic"
}
]
},
{
"index": {
"byteEnd": 39,
"byteStart": 26
},
"features": [
{
"$type": "pub.leaflet.richtext.facet#bold"
},
{
"$type": "pub.leaflet.richtext.facet#italic"
},
{
"uri": "https://substack.com/@antilibraries/note/c-136307647",
"$type": "pub.leaflet.richtext.facet#link"
}
]
}
],
"plaintext": "originally published as a Substack Note"
},
"alignment": "lex:pub.leaflet.pages.linearDocument#textAlignCenter"
},
{
"$type": "pub.leaflet.pages.linearDocument#block",
"block": {
"$type": "pub.leaflet.blocks.text",
"facets": [],
"plaintext": ""
}
},
{
"$type": "pub.leaflet.pages.linearDocument#block",
"block": {
"$type": "pub.leaflet.blocks.text",
"facets": [
{
"index": {
"byteEnd": 60,
"byteStart": 52
},
"features": [
{
"$type": "pub.leaflet.richtext.facet#italic"
}
]
},
{
"index": {
"byteEnd": 130,
"byteStart": 81
},
"features": [
{
"$type": "pub.leaflet.richtext.facet#italic"
}
]
}
],
"plaintext": "An open letter to everyone here who likes Substack, the idea more than Substack, the company and increasingly enshittified product:"
}
},
{
"$type": "pub.leaflet.pages.linearDocument#block",
"block": {
"$type": "pub.leaflet.blocks.text",
"facets": [],
"plaintext": "⁂ ⁂ ⁂"
}
},
{
"$type": "pub.leaflet.pages.linearDocument#block",
"block": {
"$type": "pub.leaflet.blocks.text",
"facets": [],
"plaintext": "I’ve long admired Substack. I read hundreds of writers on this platform. But these days I’m here reluctantly. I can’t bring myself to write here. Every time I open the app something makes me bristle. If you, too, don’t love…"
}
},
{
"$type": "pub.leaflet.pages.linearDocument#block",
"block": {
"$type": "pub.leaflet.blocks.unorderedList",
"children": [
{
"$type": "pub.leaflet.blocks.unorderedList#listItem",
"content": {
"$type": "pub.leaflet.blocks.text",
"facets": [
{
"index": {
"byteEnd": 44,
"byteStart": 31
},
"features": [
{
"$type": "pub.leaflet.richtext.facet#italic"
}
]
}
],
"plaintext": "how Substack’s going hard on walled garden"
},
"children": []
},
{
"$type": "pub.leaflet.blocks.unorderedList#listItem",
"content": {
"$type": "pub.leaflet.blocks.text",
"facets": [],
"plaintext": "seeing the app turning into TikTok (wtf?)"
},
"children": []
},
{
"$type": "pub.leaflet.blocks.unorderedList#listItem",
"content": {
"$type": "pub.leaflet.blocks.text",
"facets": [],
"plaintext": "feature bloat and pop-ups and paywalls everywhere"
},
"children": []
}
]
}
},
{
"$type": "pub.leaflet.pages.linearDocument#block",
"block": {
"$type": "pub.leaflet.blocks.text",
"facets": [
{
"index": {
"byteEnd": 20,
"byteStart": 13
},
"features": [
{
"$type": "pub.leaflet.richtext.facet#bold"
}
]
}
],
"plaintext": "We're making Leaflet, a social publishing platform for blogs / newsletters — like Substack, but more open, and frankly just nicer to use."
}
},
{
"$type": "pub.leaflet.pages.linearDocument#block",
"block": {
"$type": "pub.leaflet.blocks.text",
"facets": [
{
"index": {
"byteEnd": 76,
"byteStart": 72
},
"features": [
{
"$type": "pub.leaflet.richtext.facet#bold"
},
{
"$type": "pub.leaflet.richtext.facet#italic"
}
]
}
],
"plaintext": "It’s not a clone, but something new. We’re trying to make publishing fun. To capture the personal internet, the simple lightweight social web."
}
},
{
"$type": "pub.leaflet.pages.linearDocument#block",
"block": {
"$type": "pub.leaflet.blocks.text",
"facets": [],
"plaintext": "⁂ ⁂ ⁂"
}
},
{
"$type": "pub.leaflet.pages.linearDocument#block",
"block": {
"$type": "pub.leaflet.blocks.text",
"facets": [
{
"index": {
"byteEnd": 49,
"byteStart": 27
},
"features": [
{
"$type": "pub.leaflet.richtext.facet#bold"
},
{
"$type": "pub.leaflet.richtext.facet#italic"
}
]
}
],
"plaintext": "We believe in the power of open social publishing."
}
},
{
"$type": "pub.leaflet.pages.linearDocument#block",
"block": {
"$type": "pub.leaflet.blocks.text",
"facets": [],
"plaintext": "The web and email run on open protocols. Blogs and newsletters should too. Leaflet’s open source, but more importantly, built on open foundations."
}
},
{
"$type": "pub.leaflet.pages.linearDocument#block",
"block": {
"$type": "pub.leaflet.blocks.text",
"facets": [],
"plaintext": "We’re building on the AT Protocol, which powers Bluesky as well as dozens of emerging apps, all interoperable. An open publishing ecosystem means:"
}
},
{
"$type": "pub.leaflet.pages.linearDocument#block",
"block": {
"$type": "pub.leaflet.blocks.unorderedList",
"children": [
{
"$type": "pub.leaflet.blocks.unorderedList#listItem",
"content": {
"$type": "pub.leaflet.blocks.text",
"facets": [],
"plaintext": "Open data: interoperable, not locked in a walled garden"
},
"children": []
},
{
"$type": "pub.leaflet.blocks.unorderedList#listItem",
"content": {
"$type": "pub.leaflet.blocks.text",
"facets": [],
"plaintext": "Open network: a built in network of readers and writers"
},
"children": []
},
{
"$type": "pub.leaflet.blocks.unorderedList#listItem",
"content": {
"$type": "pub.leaflet.blocks.text",
"facets": [],
"plaintext": "Open distribution: network effects shared across the ecosystem"
},
"children": []
}
]
}
},
{
"$type": "pub.leaflet.pages.linearDocument#block",
"block": {
"$type": "pub.leaflet.blocks.text",
"facets": [],
"plaintext": "There are also different feedback loops at play: with a closed network there’s evolutionary pressure to extract and exploit; with an open network, feedback loops push towards interconnectedness and shared ownership."
}
},
{
"$type": "pub.leaflet.pages.linearDocument#block",
"block": {
"$type": "pub.leaflet.blocks.text",
"facets": [],
"plaintext": "Of course I’m biased. But the point is…you’ve got options! You own your data and your identity; if you want you can make your own Leaflet frontend or even a whole different app. That’s just not possible here on Substack."
}
},
{
"$type": "pub.leaflet.pages.linearDocument#block",
"block": {
"$type": "pub.leaflet.blocks.text",
"facets": [],
"plaintext": "⁂ ⁂ ⁂"
}
},
{
"$type": "pub.leaflet.pages.linearDocument#block",
"block": {
"$type": "pub.leaflet.blocks.text",
"facets": [],
"plaintext": "If this vision resonates, give Leaflet a try!"
}
},
{
"$type": "pub.leaflet.pages.linearDocument#block",
"block": {
"$type": "pub.leaflet.blocks.text",
"facets": [
{
"index": {
"byteEnd": 22,
"byteStart": 0
},
"features": [
{
"$type": "pub.leaflet.richtext.facet#bold"
}
]
},
{
"index": {
"byteEnd": 38,
"byteStart": 22
},
"features": [
{
"$type": "pub.leaflet.richtext.facet#bold"
},
{
"uri": "http://leaflet.pub/home",
"$type": "pub.leaflet.richtext.facet#link"
}
]
}
],
"plaintext": "Make a publication at leaflet.pub/home — make as many as you like, with custom domains and themes…all free!"
}
},
{
"$type": "pub.leaflet.pages.linearDocument#block",
"block": {
"$type": "pub.leaflet.blocks.text",
"facets": [],
"plaintext": "We’re in alpha; some key features like email subscriptions, payments, and social sharing are coming soon. Lots to build; a big task ahead."
}
},
{
"$type": "pub.leaflet.pages.linearDocument#block",
"block": {
"$type": "pub.leaflet.blocks.text",
"facets": [],
"plaintext": "Leaflet will soon be a solid alternative — to start, maybe not for the Substack 1% slinging podcasts and what-have-you, but for the rest of us."
}
},
{
"$type": "pub.leaflet.pages.linearDocument#block",
"block": {
"$type": "pub.leaflet.blocks.text",
"facets": [],
"plaintext": "What'd make you excited to switch? If you’re on here but interested in trying something new, we’d love to hear from you!"
}
}
]
}
]
},
"bskyPostRef": {
"cid": "bafyreiametpx5ewx6zmwctjomwguswfgia4ry4zdo4uv7lxfl2uvrfhbme",
"uri": "at://did:plc:btxrwcaeyodrap5mnjw2fvmz/app.bsky.feed.post/3lu6shqlsvs2n",
"commit": {
"cid": "bafyreiacnm4i24kqsucyqzqzackkmx2mmwazkjy5kgcxlhz4zp25myzxsy",
"rev": "3lu6shqo47k27"
},
"validationStatus": "valid"
},
"description": "Lab Notes 007: a note to those who find Substack useful, but use the platform reluctantly; an invitation to join us in publishing on a more open network.",
"publishedAt": "2025-07-17T20:46:37.270Z"
}