Support
Welcome to the Lucid Support page. Here you will find answers to common questions about communications, subscriptions, Q&As and more.
Please note that the Lucid team does not set payment and subscription policies: that is done by Substack and the Stripe payment portal.
Here is Substack’s own FAQ for subscribers.
To contact the general Substack support team: support@substack.com.
To contact Ruth Ben-Ghiat and the Lucid team: contact.ruthbenghiat@gmail.com.
Subscriptions
Q: I signed up for the monthly rate and instead I was charged for the yearly rate.
A: Here is how to change your subscription from yearly to monthly and vice versa.
Q: I signed up and then discovered that my subscription will auto-renew.
A: The Substack model is that monthly and annual subscriptions all auto-renew. That is not something that we at Lucid can change.
Q: How do I cancel my subscription?
A: Here are the steps to do that. Or, write to the Lucid team at contact.ruthbenghiat@gmail.com and we can cancel it for you with a pro-rated refund.
Q: My subscription did not renew. What happened?
A: Many renewals fail due to expired credit cards. Please keep your payment information current on your account. Here are instructions on how to update your credit card information.
Q: How do I upgrade from a free to a paid subscriber?
A: Click here for instructions on how to do that, or use this link.
Q: How do I give a Lucid gift subscription?
A: You can use the link below to gift Lucid.
Emails and Communications
Q: I signed up for Lucid but am not receiving mailings.
A: Click here to correct that. You also may have accidentally disabled your email on your general Substack account. Click here to learn how to re-enable your email communications.
Q: How do I change my email address?
A: Click here for instructions.
Please note that I do not monitor messages in the Substack account. If you have an inquiry, please email me at contact.ruthbenghiat@gmail.com.
Lucid Q&As
Q: I am a paying subscriber and registered for the Zoom Q&A but did not receive a link to join.
A: Please check your spam and promotions folders. The join link often goes there. If it’s not there, please try and register again. Many people find that the second time works.
Q: Why aren’t the full Q&As recorded and made available to all paying subscribers?
A: In order to keep the Q&As a safe and supportive space for the free exchange of ideas, I do not record the second half in which members of the community ask questions. I do record the first half. If there is a guest, I record my Q&A with that person; if there is no guest, I record my introductory remarks and my answers to a few questions people have submitted ahead of time via email. If you want to ask me a question that way, email me at contact.ruthbenghiat@gmail.com.
Q: What is the difference between a weekly Q&A and a Substack Live?
A: The Q&As are our regular weekly gatherings for paying subscribers. They are held at 1:00-2:00 pm ET on Fridays, except for the first week of the month, when they are held at 8:00-9:00 pm ET on Sunday. An email with a link to register for these Zoom sessions is sent out three hours before the event, and then Zoom will send you a link to join the Q&A directly. It is important to check your spam or other junk folders if you register and don’t see a join link from Zoom in your inbox. You can also try and re-register.
Substack Lives do not require pre-registration, they are open to all Lucid subscribers and all users of the Substack app. They are not held on a scheduled basis. They are usually announced ahead of time at the start of a post, and then you will be notified via email and/or push notification when I am beginning a Live session. There will be a button that says “Watch the Live Video”, which you click and it will take you to the video stream. You will need to download the Substack App from the App Store (it’s free) in order to watch these live sessions.
Here are all of the ways you can join a Substack Live:
Via notification: Click the push or email notification that Substack automatically sends when a live stream starts.
From the app’s reading queue: The live video will appear in your reading queue, and you can join with a single tap.
From your reading queue: You can start the live video directly from your reading queue when the event is scheduled to begin.
Directly from a scheduled event link: If you received an invitation via text or email, simply tap the link to be directed to the live video.
From the publication’s page: Subscribers can also join the stream by going directly to the creator’s Substack publication page.
Q: I am a paying subscriber. Am I able to access previous recordings of the Lucid Q&As that I have missed?
A: Yes you can! Those are found by going to “Videos” tab of the Lucid homepage, or by clicking the following link: https://lucid.substack.com/p/videos
Q: Why can’t I find Lucid videos on the Substack app?
A: The Substack app does not allow for this function (hopefully this will change), so you must go to lucid.substack.com from your internet browser to view the videos.
Chat Rules
I have imposed rules on the chat because it had become a place where some people came not to comment on the Q&A but aggressively seek to persuade people of their views (on subjects often different than those under discussion by me and my guests), creating an unpleasant atmosphere for everyone. The chat is not for persuasion or propagandizing. It is not where you engage in lengthy diatribes or post lengthy opinions from those outside the Lucid community who share your views.
I personally rarely engage in or even look at chat discussions when I attend events; I find it distracting. It is easy enough to ignore the chat which may be the best course of action for some of you.
So, here are the chat rules: Those who become persistent, make others feel uncomfortable, or seem to have some kind of influence or conversion agenda will receive one (1) warning during the Q&A. If the behavior does not stop immediately, the person will be removed from the Zoom call. If that person returns to this behavior on a future Q&A they will be removed from Lucid altogether.
Finally, I do not have time to send the chat to people after the Q&A ends.