Thanks for clearing all this follow business up. I thought this piece would explain why we are suddenly getting more followers, even those who aren't in the Medium Partnership Program (MPP). Now I'm guessing it has something to do with MPP's new gatekeeper 100 follower requirement this year. Still the question remains why did Medium throw in this item? Other than helping to monitor the deluge of ad spammers, everywhere, it's still data that larger online businesses tend to find uses for over time.