Nostr Web Client

People who make notes saying: “I’m gonna zap everyone who responds to this” bother me. It’s like paying to advertise yourself. It’s not V4V and the vast majority of “people” who respond to these notes are not “people” I see regularly using nostr. They just come out of the woodwork when money is on the table.

Both sides of the spectrum (the shillers AND the beggars) should contemplate how to bring actual value to the space.

PDJ 5mo ago

Sean said something that sounds like something I would say.

I’m pushing buttons and trying stuff here that feels

great because it’s finally an outlet for expressing generosity towards something that is hopeful.

95% of what I do on NOSTR feels cringe to me but it’s still worth it to try to see what works. Hopefully this helps to soften the lens on Sean because I don’t think it’s helpful to voice a personal preference that puts a generous sentiment or risk taking down without the zaps behind it. It’s kinda the antithesis of what’s hopeful here.

Post more zaps than Sean for your thoughts if you feel that strongly about it or find another way to prove the alternative route. But zapping more feels like the winning campaign here.

I’m sharing this note with the hope of potential unison. NOSTR is sadly our last hope so it’s worth debating sentiments that feel derisive. Hopefully this is received with respect for that notion 🙏

Reply to this note

Please Login to reply.

Discussion

Noshole 5mo ago

This is a much more general statement. I mute everyone who does it and that guy was not the first by any means nor will be the last. I just stated my opinion because the bots have become a problem here 🤷‍♀️

PDJ 5mo ago

Understood. Fair enough.

Ryan 5mo ago

Those with the biggest wallet have the most valid opinion. It's an interesting take.

PDJ 5mo ago

Conviction. Not necessarily valid or correct. But provable conviction behind an opinion is what’s more interesting to me. No skin? Not that entertaining to me.

Ryan 5mo ago

A pay 2 win social network. I look at this the same way as I look at people in real life who pay for friends.

PDJ 5mo ago

That’s a fair criticism. If someone has a shitload of bitcoin to spare they can fake conviction without it feeling like risk. We don’t want a pay 2 win for sure.

The nature of the original reply was not to put someone down who’s sending zaps without posting more zaps. I view skin in the game (zaps) as something that’s just more personally interesting to me. I view more zaps here as the language and what’s interesting.

If someone is saying they’re gonna fire more zaps and does so that’s just gonna be more interesting to follow. If a post is putting someone down that is sending the currency that props up NOSTR then it needs to be more interesting, credible or of higher quality than dissuading more zaps being sent here.

I didn’t get that from the post dissuading anyone from sending zaps.

Ryan 5mo ago

So unless you can zap as much as the person you disagree with you shouldn't speak? This is a weird viewpoint to me, and I disagree. I came to Nostr for free speech, not zaps 🤷‍♂️

𝕯𝖊𝖗 𝕲𝖊𝖎𝖘𝖙 5mo ago

I will not zap nor receive zaps.

I stand on my own two feet and make my own path through life.

PDJ 5mo ago

Not saying anything close to that, mate. Anyone saying that you shouldn’t speak if they can’t zap a certain amount is someone I wouldn’t associate with. Free speech is the most important thing here and anywhere for that matter. The reality is that zaps are what is going to bring more people here and encourage real journalism where compensation can be real. Discouraging zaps at all doesn’t feel like the winning take. Zaps are the incentive model here. It’s why we’re even having this debate.

Zaps work so we’re here.

On top of free speech, NOSTR is also a medium of exchange that needs to work and thrive. It works and thrives on zaps. Zaps are life blood here so dissuading zaps while putting someone down saying they’re only doing so to gain friends should have some more quality or a better counter behind such a claim. If Sean stops zapping (even if he really does need to buy friends) we all lose out on that valuable information. Let him send zaps and encourage zaps even if he loses them or doesn’t gain any friends. Don’t discourage zaps while putting him down for zapping though. That’s my position. It’s most certainty not to say pay for free speech.

The original reply was to hopefully

re-think putting someone down who’s saying they’re gonna zap a lot of people. Zaps are lifeblood here. If you are putting people down for sending them then back it up with something of higher quality replies than putting people down or at least put up more zaps than the person being put down who’s helping NOSTR the most.

Sean is definitely helping NOSTR by sending shitloads of zaps more than discouraging Sean to send zaps is.

Ryan 5mo ago

I've seen these tactics before, and I've seen the people come and go. I'm free to judge people by their actions, and free to say whatever I want about it. You seem to disagree, and that's fine. I'm simply stating my viewpoint. I actually consider this a strong signal of who not to follow or pay attention to. I'm here for the genuine connections, not zap games. Enjoy Nostr 🤙

PDJ 5mo ago

I do not disagree with you being able to say whatever you want. It’s important to publicly reiterate I’m not saying anything close to that.

I zap indiscriminately at times (like Sean appears to do) to promote the incentive model that I think is necessary to gain the critical mass necessary for a free speech platform to win. Forever. NOSTR needs to beat twitter at the incentive to get more journalists here and that doesn’t happen without zaps IMO so I’m sensitive to anything that discourages it.

I also value the quality of good pattern recognition in people looking out for NOSTR quality so if you’re seeing a pattern that seems disingenuous, time will tell and I’ll happily acknowledge your call out.

I appreciate your time and thoughtfulness here. You’ve made me think differently about my position on conviction so I’m very much grateful to you for the time and exchange.

Ryan 5mo ago

All good. I was saying we disagree in the sense of the discussion, not in my ability to say what I want.

I too would love Nostr to succeed, and that's why I join in these discussions. Zaps *could* be a good motivator, but I've yet to see it be more than a game people play for the most part. In the past we've seen $boost & buzzbot which were attempts to use zaps to create engagement, and they both lasted for a short while before fizzling out, without making a change to the landscape of Nostr.

I think it's not the zaps, but the incredibly small audience that is the reason more journalists and creators aren't here. It's a hard problem to solve, as they already have established audiences, and are already being payed on other platforms that they know how to use and are comfortable with. Convincing them to give up that audience & monetary incentive is a hard sell, especially when combined with having to give them the orange pill at the same time. Even adding in another social to the mix is tough, when Nostr is still so rough around the edges and different from the others, for such a small audience. The time spent learning might not seem worth it in their eyes, doubly so if there content isn't Bitcoin adjacent.

PDJ 5mo ago

Got it. Thank you and agreed on all of this.

Businesses accepting Bitcoin here in the circular economy feels like it has potential to normalize large zaps that are meaningful enough to get other businesses to join. I’m working on that as much as I can.

Eric FJ 🪬⚡️ 5mo ago

Eyo I cannot zap you. Been that way for a while now

atyh 5mo ago

i pretty much reject any social structure that is based on anything but individual personality quality. real life or digital.