That’s an interesting point. One can certainly use nostr without zaps, be it for the social media use case, or note taking or long form writing or any other digital communication utility.

I’d argue that the reason so many of us greet new users and try to onboard them to Lightning is because for many of us, that was part of the “ah ha” moment with nostr — replacing likes and algorithms with zaps and value-for-value. We’re excited about this paradigm shift and want to bring more people to the party.

You’re right - nostr as a communications tool doesn’t require zaps or Bitcoin or money to function.

But the integration of instant and censorship-resistant micropayments with a global and decentralized information network definitely gives nostr a unique, powerful, and new role in an internet previously defined by algorithmic control, markets constrained by national currency, and siloed social graphs.

Thanks for making me think about this more deeply 🙏🫂🫡