Exactly! It's something I dont know if people acknowledge or even experience on the broader scale but i wanted to bring it to the surface. I can't say whether its good or bad because I operate from a monthly budget, so discounting something that the community already finds valuable enables me to share those sats with people who might be new & trying, in hopes that those people will appreciate it, become more involved, and stick around. Or sometimes just to make someone's day a little brighter. I don't know if it works. People seem to stay more for connection than monetary gain at this point (aside from the obvious exceptions)... I agree though, cultural change will have to happen. Hopefully acknowledging stuff like this can help shift it. 😊 ...and thank you, I appreciate your perspectives too 🫂
Discussion
Although I didn’t take the time to analyze actual zap metrics, anecdotally I did experience this on the receiving end last year when the iOS clients lost note zaps. There was a period of time when iOS clients removed note zaps and people hadn’t figured out the workarounds. I noticed an uptick in overall zaps received, and when note zaps began showing back up I noticed my zaps received decrease again. I discussed it somewhere at the time, not sure if that was on nostr or in a telegram group. Either way, it was noticeable enough a difference to catch my attention. I personally believe that approach is damaging to creators and others who are producing value. Of course everyone can spend the way they choose, and that includes zapping for the fun of it or to demonstrate to new users how it works. Different people value different things, but I believe it’s better to zap others according to what something is worth to me. If I go out to eat at a busy restaurant, I don’t think “wow this server already got a lot of tips tonight so I don’t need to tip them.” I tip them what their service was worth to me. Or a street performer with a bucket for tips. I don’t look at it and think “20 other people have dropped $1 each in there so I’m only going to tip a nickel.” If I liked it enough I’ll still tip $5 or whatever. Zaps are fun, and to that end ensuring that everyone gets a “fair share” makes sense, but it will mean that zaps only stay in the realm of being fun. If they’re to be used for serious economic activity, then what and who we zap ought to be based more on who/what is providing us with the value we want and whether we want them to continue doing so.
😂 That wait staff analogy is great... and exactly why zap numbers should decrease over time, if things take off. We don't randomly hand dollars to conversations overheard at the next table during that meal either, but it's still early, there's no central entity to hand out coupons & free appetizers to get people in. Eventually the fun will fade, more valuable content will exist, and clever people will profit. Maybe that's part of what's happening now to some level with lower counts? As far as the visuals, tip psychology gets weird. It's more like a tip jar on a counter, where if it's empty it's more likely to stay empty but also if it's stuffed it disincentivizes adding. There's a sweet spot where people just feel more comfortable about giving. I don't know if that conformity mentality will ever go away enough to make a broad impact. We can hope but we're pack animals. I don't know, I have tons of thoughts around this subject and could probably go on all day. I'll save you any further agony 😂🫂💜 But after we hit that 3m mark on band's stats, I'll try shifting my own behavior to some other strategy so I can report back on our next conversation about it. 😂🤣
i just experienced today, someone resonating with my fuck these rabble rousing (pun intended) antibitcoin content fucktards whining endlessly about how the users who value the things that bitcoin does, about nostr, are ... bitcoiners, and as though we are obliged to put on some theatre show for them to assugage their cult indoctrination and not offend their infinite versions of their sexuality and self identity
and i had to zap him 1440 sats for being a human being who actually isn't a cult drone