Hemant Mehta has been a freethought blogger, author, and speaker for nearly 20 years now, building his blog Friendly Atheist into the largest atheist blog in the world. Just as the pandemic began, he came across a YouTube channel called Notes from Autumn. The host was a young woman and recent deconvert with strong criticisms of the way atheists communicate online.

"if atheists are not offering a community that meets people's needs," she asks, "and they're only offering this kind of bitter pill, what incentive do people have to join that group?"