I joined Illumination sometime this year. But, I've never had an article published through it. One reason is that it took too long to get an article out on Illumination. One sat for over a week before I pulled it off. It's not a complaint, just an observation. But, that said, I do understand your decision. I feel like you have Medium pegged as far as what they are promoting. I write solid articles of substance but a lot of what I see being published is sensationalized stories. I have refused to do that and here I am with income and views going down instead of up. Earlier this year, I had six boosted articles from January through May. Even though my topics and writing hasn't changed, I'm no longer being boosted or even, for that matter, really being read. My numbers are way down. It's been very discouraging. I don't blame you at all for pulling the plug. Good luck to you!