Chapter 1: The Curious Case of Non-Member Views

Have you ever wondered why so many non-members interact with content? Are they simply users, or is there something more suspicious at play?

Recently, an intriguing event occurred with one of my articles published on June 3rd. Initially, it experienced the typical decline in engagement after a few days, which is standard for Medium. However, after a week of silence, I noticed an extraordinary surge in views. At first, it went unnoticed, but soon I began receiving numerous notifications every half hour.

People were clapping, highlighting, and even saving my article to their lists. What struck me as odd was that all these interactions came from non-members who had no biographies, no posts, and only a few followers—mostly other non-members. Among them was even an account claiming to be Lisa from Blackpink! The statistics from that day were staggering: 380 views (371 from non-members) and 166 reads (161 from non-members). Essentially, 97.6% of the views came from non-members!

As of now, my article boasts 2.6K views, with 2.3K attributed to non-members, and 1.2K reads, with 1K from non-members. What’s going on here? It’s important to note that these views didn’t originate from FoM links, just in case you were curious.

Now, I genuinely appreciate every reader of my articles, whether they are members or non-members. After all, many of us started as non-members—myself included. Yet, since the article is behind a paywall, how could a non-member read it for more than 30 seconds (the minimum time for a read to register)?

Before July 2023, non-members had the option to read articles for free under guest accounts, but that was eliminated with the introduction of the hard paywall. Initially, I suspected that these accounts were fraudulent or bots, so I dedicated a week to blocking all of them that interacted with my article. However, after discussing with my friend Nikolaos Skordilis, I began to reconsider.

First, none of them commented or tried to engage in conversation. If they were scammers, they would likely have reached out, perhaps asking for personal contact via WhatsApp. I even anticipated a private message, potentially filled with artistic photos or suspicious links. But instead, all they did was clap, highlight, and save my article. I blocked all the non-members who engaged, and there were certainly fewer than 2,300 of them. Most appeared to have just viewed or read the article silently.

This doesn’t sound like a scam, at least not one executed well. To clarify, I wouldn’t know what constitutes a competent scam since I’m not a scammer myself.

Now, regarding the possibility of them being spammers, that seems unlikely too. Spammers typically drop links to their websites or products, but there were no such actions here—no comments, not even emojis. Their sole offense appeared to be engaging with content they encountered online, akin to liking a random Instagram post.

I now feel a bit guilty for blocking those users, except for the clearly suspicious accounts like the one impersonating Lisa from Blackpink. Or perhaps I actually blocked my K-pop idol? Oh well, it’s done.

Nikolaos then proposed another theory: a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack. Though I’m not particularly tech-savvy, I gathered that this means someone created numerous empty, non-member profiles to generate excessive traffic, potentially disrupting Medium’s server. Imagine a crowd blocking a store’s entrance, preventing genuine customers from entering. If this is the case, there’s little we can do; surely, the Medium team is aware and addressing the issue.

I had to investigate to find answers myself. It’s reminiscent of mid-September 2023 when writers were scouring through comments in various articles for clarity. Many comments indicated that boosted articles were experiencing similar issues to mine. Some writers speculated that these boosted articles might be designed to encourage non-members to convert to paying members.

The idea is that if non-members encounter numerous high-quality boosted articles, they might feel inspired to sign up for membership. I’ve heard this theory before, but I can’t confirm if the situation has worsened since I rarely receive boosts. However, my article isn’t boosted, so this theory doesn’t apply here.

Perhaps these fake accounts are spies, ensuring we don’t post anything controversial. But why would they need over 2,300 of them? What’s their interest in monitoring my specific article?

I haven’t disclosed my article yet, but it’s titled “Time Doesn’t Heal Everything.” During a discussion with my friend Melcarriere, he mentioned a secret society called The Sacred, Sealed Order of the Sentinels of Time. This cult comprises time travelers who believe time can mend all wounds, possessing unique abilities to manipulate time as they wish. They’ve been promoting this belief since the beginning of time itself.

My article may threaten to expose the meticulously maintained illusion they’ve been spreading, prompting them to dispatch agents to gather intelligence and counter my claims.

This is where I need your assistance. If you ever encounter an article titled "Time Heals Everything," please inform me so we can expose their cover and revise the phrase.

Now that the playful banter is over, I turn to you. Have you experienced something similar? Which theory resonates with you the most? Do you have any conspiracy theories to share? Let’s discuss in the comments.

P.S. This article has been “targeted.” For those who haven’t read it yet, I kindly ask you to do so. We need more member views! I prefer gold on the graph instead of silver—after all, gold is superior to silver. Otherwise, people would invest in silver bars, and that’s hardly the case, right?

Chapter 2: Theories and Speculations

In this video titled "Why Are Members so Mean to Non-Members?" we explore the dynamics between members and non-members in online communities, delving into the reasons behind the perceived hostility.

Chapter 3: The Non-Member Experience

The video "Top 10 Non-Member Struggles in Animal Jam" highlights the challenges faced by non-members in online platforms, shedding light on their experiences and frustrations.