What you show in your post is the type of thoughtful consideration for our peers here on Medium that should prevail. Unfortunately, there appear to be quite a number of people who try to game the system (or the algorithm) in their favor.

Since I made the switch from partner to FoM, I haven’t changed my reading or engagement habits. My top priorities are for the readers who connect with me, ask me questions, add additional subjects that I might not have raised, or suggest alternative views to mine. These interactions are invigorating, and I enjoy them. Equally important are the writers whose work I read for their well-researched, well-delivered content.

If I walk away from their article with the feeling that I have learned something new, even if it is just a different perspective of looking at something, I let them know through a response that says as much.

Never have I thought about the diminishing returns of increasing engagement. Your article has alerted me to this phenomenon, made me pause, and let me conclude: I won’t change anything. Otherwise, I’d be guilty of letting financial concerns drive my interaction with the great people, both writers and readers, on Medium.

There are already plenty on this platform whose motivation seems to primarily be of a monetary nature. Just look at the number of posts whose headlines brag about how much they make. Predominantly from the writing-about-writing corner, which I almost completely blocked out of my inbox, anyway.