I noticed myself spending more and more time on Stacker News lately, as this is one of the most refreshing sites I have found, and I would like to share what I have learned after hanging around for a while - sharing is caring.
⚡️ Starting with The Basics
How to create and safeguard the account
It is as simple as using an e-mail address or scan with an LN wallet to register, and I linked my account to both e-mail and LN wallet ( I am using Blue Wallet for it ) in case something happens to anyone of them, just need to make sure I do not lose this account.
Freedom comes from self-responsibility, even in small things.
How to start posting
Your first post is generally your bio, take some time to think of a good bio. And be aware here have quite some toxic Bitcoiners who can smell BS miles away. ! Imagine your first post is like the first impression when you make new friends. And choose the user ID you like, something easy to remember, like how you prefer your friend to call you.
How to post content
There are generally two options: sharing links or your thoughts; hidden options are posting a poll, bounty or job.
1. Sending interesting links
Posting links is encouraged, as It's a news site. But sharing scammy links or creating noise would be flagged. However, sharing links to your content or unpopular gems is great.
2. Writing as proof of work
Writing original and useful content might be one of the best proofs of work since the internet is full of junk. SN uses markdown format for long-form posts. Maybe it would be a bit confusing for anyone unfamiliar with it. I recommend using a markdown editor, so you do not need to bother with the formats but focus on the writing only. I use a markdown writing tool called Typora, clean, minimalist and livepreview available.
Some extra thinking: I noticed myself occasionally searching on SN before hitting any search engine. Is this what the web of trust means? Once I found something related to my search, I would click on the profile to have a look, too.
-. Is this person a bot?
-. How much did he/she stacked
-. Quality of history posts&comments
As SN is still in its baby stage, I think it might end up being more than that, as this is the first time I can focus on writing and providing value to others without dealing with many annoying middlemen or things like running a paid group or selling subscription, but focusing on creating itself, which is pure joy for me!
Also, one more personal observation: most links' lifespan is generally 24 hours here. If you are a content creator, you might want to get some traffic and sats whenever you post, but side note: personally I wouldn't risk clicking any links from a random person if his/ her profile is EMPTY and has 0 history, especially when there is 0 common. It is fine to post links once you have earned your trust.
However, I prefer to do one extra step by copy and paste from markdown to SN instead of just sharing a link, not only to create a better reading experience for fellow stackers but also to make it easier for later discovery. ( wink wink )
How to share photos
There are two tools that I tried and worked:
1. Postimages. (courtesy from @Darthcoin )
How to use it? Easy breezy, just directly upload.
Here is our cat model:
2. Pasteboard ( courtesy from @nerd2ninja )
How to use it? Upload - go to the image - right click "open image in a new tab" - get the magic link.
Here is our cat model:
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( Note: If you upload the same photo or something similar, this tool will flag it by showing: Image deleted due to content policy violation )
By comparison, the pasteboard seems to have better quality but feel free to suggest even better tools.
Some hidden features
- Subscribe
This one is really good if you want to follow/stalk someone, but it could be overwhelming, like the notifications dot would always be there; Subscribing 1-2 interesting brains you enjoy is good.
- Forward sats
One post can forward sats to up to 5 other stackers; it could act as an appreciation for other's input or even do a fun fundraising like here.
This post is the first time I am experimenting with this feature. Before you post, go to the options at the bottom, simply input the user ID of the person you want to forward sats to and choose the percentage. Done!
- Boost
Boosting your post in order to gain more visibility, the minimum amount is 5000 sats.
- Bookmark content
Simply click the three dots in any great content you like and choose bookmark.
- Hide your cowboy hat
This is a trick if you want to remain in the shallow: go to setting - privacy - hide, and you can also hide many things else. But I did an experiment on hiding my hat for one day, clearly fewer interactions, I guess the hat kind of shows some POW in a sense.
There are still many hidden or new features to be discovered and of course, many great content.!
⚡️ Levelling Up the Fun
How to stack sats
I guess this is the most asked question when browsing history. But it all comes down to offering value to others, which is exactly what money was for in the first place, as a medium for value exchange!
Value comes in different forms. It can be from posting fun memes, sharing useful information, asking good questions or offering solutions to people's questions, and the best strategy is always sharing your first-hand experiences, aka skin in the game. If you know something or have done something, share it; if you don't, it is better to say, "I don't know."
How to send ( customer ) zaps
Zapping is fun, and to be honest, 1000, 2000 sats is not much in a real-life sense, but comparing with the value you receive from others is like a steal, and not to mention it takes a long time to write a good post. From my understanding, zaps is more of a token of appreciation and encourages more people to share valuable information.
And with a fun side acting as a way of building relationships; For example, if I like someone's content, I naturally pay more attention to him or her, and my time and attention are the most precious things I have. Zapping is my way of saying thank you.
Content determines the base value and relationships are multipliers
Wow, you might be wondering so how to zap? Simply clicking the bolt icon ⚡️ would zap the default amount that you set, and here are the two options for sending customer zaps:
1. Long-pressing and then choose from there.
For example, I set my default tippping to 121 sats; if I found something I like, I then long-press it and choose a different amount that I feel like zapping.
2. Enabling Turbo Zaps mode: every click is 10x.
For example, if the default zaps are 10 sats, two clicks would be 100 sats, and three clicks would be 1000 sats, as every click is 10x sats. This is quite handy, but it might result in some accidents if you click a few times.! But even with this mode on, you can still use the long-pressing and then choose from there.
And one of the most interesting laws in the universe is generally that the more you give, the more you would receive.
As below so above and beyond, I imagine
In short, more value is being shared, more zaps, and more fun. Here is my personal input, but I'd recommend everyone go read the FAQ and Guide, as you can discover more hidden fun there.
Lastly, I quite like the idea that everyone starts from zero in the Bitcoin world; it doesn't matter how many Bitcoins you hold or how well-established you are in the fiat world: trust needs to be earned, value needs to be proved.
You can't just do a lot of empty talks like in the fiat world, and this is the way.!