I am pleased to see that you (as CEO) have replied to Marie's post, but your response fills me with consternation.

Since 1 August I have read many of the posts created by yourself and the Medium staff and the message I picked up was very much in favour of creators engaging and interacting with each other in the comment column to build a sense of community.

The kind of comment Marie leaves in response to comments I make (or others do) is always salient, considered, encouraging or elucidating. They are the polite and knowing responses of one aspiring writer to another - in no way are they 'preying on a sense of reciprocity' BUT I imagine the mixed messages sent out by your team regarding engagement as part of the latest pay scheme may have made some content creators feel this way.