Thanks for sharing about potlatch!

Just to make myself clear, I don’t expect people to zap me back. But I do feel compelled to zap people who respond to my post. After reading how many Stackers provide information freely and don’t expect any sats, I realised how much I’m a product of my cultural upbringing. In Chinese culture, we have a custom of giving back. Heck, we even have a phrase for reciprocality: 礼尚往来. I got married to a Japanese lady whose culture binds her to return back gifts even more strongly than I do.

I agree with what you said. I might have started zapping because I felt obliged to. Now I zap because I want to. I sometimes feel bad when I don’t have enough for zapping purposes, but well, pay myself first haha