By all accounts, SN should have failed. I should know because I speak from experience. I spent too much time shitposting on r/cryptocurrency to farm their in-house currency called Moons.

Banter was fun and sometimes, I even picked up knowledge. But it kinda felt like a dog-eat-dog world there. You have to gauge the sentiment on the sub. Post at the wrong time, and you will be greeted by downvotes. It seems that some people rampantly downvote others in order to get a bigger share of the Moons pie for themselves. Trample on others to benefit yourself.

Toxic much, huh?

I took the downvotes like a pro, but on hindsight, I think it might have poisoned my mind a little and given me a tainted understanding of human nature. I thought the world is consumed by greed because of inflation and depreciation. And who am I to judge, because I’m just looking out for myself too. Self-preservation mode.

This explains why I was baffled for the longest time. Stackers write freakishly long essays to expound on their experiences and opinions. How do you guys find the time and energy? Why do you guys care so much? It cannot just be the promise of sats. Even if you get a thousand sats for your post - which I think is above the median sats for a post here, it still doesn’t pay enough for a cup of coffee in many countries.

I got fresh insights on my question recently. It began when someone gave me a huge zap and encouraged me to zap Stackers more. So I did. I set my default zap to 168 and realised something I didn’t expect. When I zap others more sats, it just seems natural for me to flesh out my thoughts. I take myself more seriously. Suddenly, I have so much to say! To share!

And I think these thorough insights and lived experiences are the greatest strength of Stacker News. Stackers may not be purely driven by the promise of sats even. I write longer comments these days because I trust that when I put myself out here, my words will resonate with a Stacker or two and prompt them to respond. That what I give out is proportional to what I will receive. That I will gain either different perspectives or validation of my opinions - either way honours the time and energy I spend typing out my comments.

SN is a Proof of Work system, isn’t it? That we work hard to ensure the smooth operation of this circular economy instead of writing cheap comments like wen lambo and siphoning off all the sats, thus depriving others of oxygen.

Feels as fresh as a terrarium and I hope it stays this way.

Have a good day, lads. I’m off to zap some posts!