The Lesson I've Learned from Stacker News
When I first heard of Stacker News, I thought I had found a clever way to make money online. “Post something, earn sats,” I told myself. Easy, right? Just post enough, get zapped, and watch the sats pile up.
But the more time spent on SN, I came to understand that I had totally misunderstood (and I believe there's some that don't understand too) what SN is all about. The sats are a signal, not the mission. They are evidence of value given, not bait for the clicks.
That's the lesson I've learned.
Where It All Started
SN started in 2021 as an initiative of @k00b. Replacing the fiat—algorithmic control, monitoring, and clickbait ads—with a community-powered protocol.
Here on SN, your text isn't broadcast by advertisers or secret AI. It's on the merit of whether some other person thought it was worth enough to read and spend their time on. Real proof-of-work directly applied to human conversation.
Where It Exists
SN it's not rooted in any specific city or headquarters. It's wherever we the Stackers we are. Every territory it's defined and populated by the people who care about that subjects/topics.
Unlike centralized platforms, there’s no invisible hand deciding the front page. It’s entirely peer-to-peer curation.
The Community That Builds It
What really makes SN different is the people. This isn’t some faceless platform where you’re shouting into the void. It’s a small but global village of Bitcoiners who are both serious and playful, technical and philosophical.
Take, for example:
@DarthCoin — Always rebuking the BS, reminding everyone that Bitcoin is for freedom, not speculation.
Still reminds us that Bitcoin is for the bold, not the cowards. And that adoption is all about earning and spending sats the normal way, just like we've always done with fiat.
And naturally, @k00b, the original builder, still around, as a fellow Stacker among Stackers.
These names are not influencers, “verified” accounts, or corporate shills. They’re just randomly selected Stackers showing up, posting, commenting, and stacking just like everyone else. That’s what makes SN alive.
Now we're finally here
I joined SN in search of sats. I stayed because I found something far richer: a community that genuinely reflects Bitcoin values.
The sats I’ve stacked here is small, but the knowledge I’ve stacked is enormous. And it's worth far more than the several extra sats I figured I was going to make when I arrived.
What have learned from SN?