Thank you for sharing your experience and perspectives. I was also one month non-paying member when I joined Medium. I didn't know about the value of membership. I thought it was just another site. However, the variety of stories encouraged me to become a member. Being able to read limitless number of stories, collaborating with writers and readers, and contributing to the earning of writers are excellent value proposition for membership. I agree on your points not to blame external sources for the results writers get. High quality, engaging, and informative content eventually find loyal readers.