Pantsuit Nation had the potential to mobilize millions. Instead, it's just a feel-good commodity.

I still held out hope that the group would turn around — until last Monday, when Chamberlain announced, out of nowhere, that she had filed for nonprofit status and that she was “beyond excited” because she had signed a deal with Flatiron Press to reprint the stories that people had posted in the group, if only they would give their permission.

She was light on specifics. What were the terms of the contract, and who would get the money? Unclear, except that it would feed the nonprofit. But who would be paid by the organization? Chamberlain and her pals, is what most people guessed. One of the few details Chamberlain offered: The book would be “snuggle-in-bed-able.” Blergh.

Suddenly, thousands of members woke up as if from a reverie. Contract talks must have been going on for weeks, they surmised. And yet Chamberlain had told no one as she turned a site with so much potential into a feel-good commodity.

“Let’s just be perfectly clear,” one member wrote, “pantsuit nation hasn’t done anything useful. No calls to action. No real change. Nothing political, despite having an enthusiastic audience of 4 million people.”