People who are anti-likes don't realize that likes act as social proof. They are heard-motivating behavior that encourage people to acknowledge a note as a read / or show some form of approval.

Remove the likes and your client / notes / protocol will look like nobody is using it.

Sure, zaps send better signal, but zap usage is something like 7% on nostr. To remove likes is to exclude the other 93% of people here.

Don't believe me? Go ahead and remove likes and see what happens.