Our Sacred Numbers \ stacker news ~meta

1346 sats \ 51 comments \ @Undisciplined 4 Jun meta

We've had an impressive influx of new Stackers. Some have asked about various norms that have been established on SN. The one I want to talk about here is default zapping.

Many of you know that I'm somewhat obsessed with zapping habits and how we value our zaps (#287074, #523858, #473181, and #221151). This is the magic that makes Stacker News work so well, after all.

Why Zap?

Bitcoin is scarce and hodl'ing is deeply ingrained in us. I can read all of the content on Stacker News without zapping a single sat. Why should I buy the cow, when the milk is free?

Maybe you're the rare person who really engages in V4V, even when you don't have to. That's great, but we can see from nostr that you're the exception.
The SN rewards system will pay you back for zapping good content and it does so nonlinearly. Ranking higher in zapping can pay for itself, so you don't want to be shooting yourself in the foot by zapping less than everyone else out of ignorance.

Common Zaps

This is where knowing what other people are doing comes in handy.

Generally, people zap a comment between 10 and 100 sats. 21 is a very common choice for symbolic reasons.
Many people zap posts more, which I think is reasonable since posts generally take more creativity and cost the poster more than a comment does. Normal post zaps range up to 1000 sats.

So, if you're trying to think through what reasonable amounts are for yourself, think tens of sats for comments and hundreds for posts. However, there's tons of room for discretion in there.

My Numbers

One of the neat SN features is that the custom zap options store several of your recent values.

I set my default to 21, which lets me double tap to get 42. Then I have 69, 115, and 420 saved as custom zaps. Having numbers with symbolic meaning is just a bit of extra fun.

Generally, comments get one of the following from me

21 (special btc number)
42 (the answer to life, the universe, and everything)
69 (nice)

while posts get

115 (remember, remember)
420 (hehe)
1000 (1 kilosat)

Hopefully, it helps someone seeing this laid out.

As always, I'm curious to hear how you all think about this stuff. It's an ever moving target.

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117 sats \ 7 replies \ @carlosfandango 4 Jun

I love getting random numbers of zaps… but my favourite is the 1 sat @anon

115 sats \ 2 replies \ @Undisciplined OP 4 Jun

I feel like 1 or 2 sats has become a sort of passive aggressive insult.

I know some people are using it that way, but I'm sure many are just being cheap.

52 sats \ 1 reply \ @StillStackinAfterAllTheseYears 4 Jun

I've been wondering about that. Every once in a while I'll see a post tick from 150 to 152 or something, and it seems like zapping that low takes more effort than just not zapping at all if they wanted to insult me.

51 sats \ 0 replies \ @Undisciplined OP 4 Jun

That's probably just a cheapskate. It's when the first zap you get is for 2 sats that it's someone trying to send a message.

52 sats \ 3 replies \ @0xbitcoiner 4 Jun

If I understand correctly, I'd like to too and I've already proposed it but I didn't make the github request. It would be nice if it were possible to set the zap default, for example, a random value between 21 and 48.

52 sats \ 2 replies \ @Undisciplined OP 4 Jun

That's intriguing. Why do you want to have the amount randomized?

63 sats \ 0 replies \ @0xbitcoiner 4 Jun

The main reason is for fun, but sometimes I already know who has zapped me just by the value of the zap. :)

42 sats \ 0 replies \ @riberet19 4 Jun

I also love the random amounts, it gives more excitement to the zaps, it's like a box of surprises, you never know what you're going to get!

79 sats \ 1 reply \ @StillStackinAfterAllTheseYears 4 Jun

~~Nice try, fed.~~

No, wait. For real, I start with 21, but I'll also multi-zap posts I like. But I guess I'm one of those folks who don't have special numbers for zapping. I do have numbers with personal meaning, but don't zap based on them, nor do I do the standard variants of 42/69/420 (though I hit 42 a lot because of double zapping).

I don't inherently quantify how much a post or comment is worth, going more from my gut at any given time, so I'm sure I've given more sats to "lesser" posts, and probably overzapped a few (and definitely accidentally zapped a post or ten on my phone).

I probably should come up with something of a personal "formula," but that involves too much work.

21 sats \ 0 replies \ @Undisciplined OP 4 Jun

You might also hit 420, if you really go nuts with the multi-zapping.

I've moved away from trying to have a system for how much exactly to zap everything and go with my gut, as well.

I like having this framework that basically gives my gut three choices that roughly correspond to "good", "great", and "Wow!".

79 sats \ 1 reply \ @SatsMate 5 Jun

Just like we see in Primal, it would be super cool to see a leaderboard of top zappers per post. I don't know if that is in the roadmap, but it might give a nice little incentive to try to up the zap amount for those that may not be naturally inclined to.

10 sats \ 0 replies \ @Undisciplined OP 5 Jun

I didn't realize what that was in Primal. Yes, that's a cool idea.

69 sats \ 0 replies \ @Coinsreporter 5 Jun

TBH, I had been zapping quite less when I started posting here. But I was zapping too many posts and comments. But within the last month I developed a habit of zapping more and must say that I was wrong when I had been zapping less. SN is such that rewards you back for zapping more for quality content. My rankings have improved incredibly now and I'm staying under 15 on the rank lost more than often now. And I recommend every new stacker to zap at least more than 10 sats for every quality post or comment. Also if you want to get back more just add some value by your input through the 'reply'.

69 sats \ 0 replies \ @TNStacker 4 Jun

⚡Zap early ⚡Zap often

63 sats \ 5 replies \ @OneOneSeven 4 Jun

I like zapping 117 sats as a calling card when an item is at 0. It gets lost if others zap, but any item with 117 sats and 1 stacker, you probably know who it is.

129 sats \ 2 replies \ @Undisciplined OP 4 Jun

I really like that people have their own calling cards like that. I think I'm the only one who does 115.

42 sats \ 1 reply \ @OneOneSeven 4 Jun

Why 115?

214 sats \ 0 replies \ @Undisciplined OP 4 Jun

42 sats \ 1 reply \ @cryotosensei 4 Jun

Any particular reason why 117?

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @OneOneSeven 4 Jun

Yes, just a ode to some of my favorite games, Halo 1,2, and 3.

63 sats \ 1 reply \ @cristaiji 4 Jun

I’ve been zapping generally in multiples of 11. So 3 zaps if I like something and 1 zap if I simply want to acknowledge something for example.

And then I’ve been zapping the rewards pool in multiples of 100.

I am going to experiment with bigger zaps for posts however after reading your strategy. Thanks.

32 sats \ 0 replies \ @Undisciplined OP 4 Jun

We used to see where we ranked in each thing separately: posting, commenting, zapping posts, zapping comments.

For a long time, I would always rank much higher in comment zapping than in post zapping and I realized it was because I wasn't zapping posts much more than I was zapping comments.

43 sats \ 8 replies \ @cryotosensei 4 Jun

I also stick to 21 sats these days. I was explaining to @Hamstr the other day that it makes it easy for me to keep my cowboy hat. I can either zap 5 Stackers 21 sats each or 1 Stacker 105 sats or any combination in between haha

33 sats \ 0 replies \ @Undisciplined OP 4 Jun

That's sad. You used to have so many cool numbers.

63 sats \ 6 replies \ @Hamstr 5 Jun

you know 42, is like an evil number? Switch to 22 or 20, incase you zap twice by accident.

21 sats \ 5 replies \ @cryotosensei 5 Jun

I didn’t know that! Could you explain why?

20 sats \ 2 replies \ @Undisciplined OP 5 Jun

I'm also curious about this.

0 sats \ 1 reply \ @Hamstr 5 Jun

Check reply below

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Undisciplined OP 5 Jun

I still don't get it, though.

63 sats \ 1 reply \ @Hamstr 5 Jun

lol don't take it super seriously! it's a math thing. But here's an article that might help elaborate better. Read the comments, you might get a kick out of it.

https://www.buzzfeed.com/australianredcrossbloodservice/definitive-proof-number-42-actually-is-the-answer-to-life

20 sats \ 0 replies \ @cryotosensei 5 Jun

My eyes did widen when I read that donated blood can only last for 42 days. Surely all this must mean something haha.

It’s interesting how numbers auspicious in one culture are to be avoided like the plague in another. So the Chinese welcome 88, but the Germans will frown upon it

21 sats \ 2 replies \ @didiplaywell 5 Jun

I don't get the 69 one. Can you explain that one to me graphically and in detail?

30 sats \ 1 reply \ @Undisciplined OP 5 Jun

It's the numerical representation of the Taoist Yin-Yang.

I'm sure I have no idea what you're hinting at.

21 sats \ 0 replies \ @didiplaywell 5 Jun

the same! .. the same... just... testing how much of a shaolin you are... you passed...

21 sats \ 6 replies \ @Satosora 4 Jun

I wonder sometimes who is the one zapping the higher numbers. Usually it happens when I am having a discussion, so I kind of know who it is. Its those random ones that sometimes get you. There are times I wish you could see who zaps you so you can return it in a later post in the future.

10 sats \ 5 replies \ @Undisciplined OP 4 Jun

There are few who will drop a kilosat zap on a good comment. I think I even got a 10 kilo zap on a comment once.

This is the wild west. Anything can happen.

21 sats \ 4 replies \ @Satosora 4 Jun

I have gotten a kilosat zap before. IT WAS YOU!! Im still experimenting with my zapping, some days are better than others.

109 sats \ 3 replies \ @Undisciplined OP 4 Jun

It might have been. I pretty much only kilozap posts, though.

21 sats \ 2 replies \ @Satosora 4 Jun

oh, maybe it wasnt then. I frequently comment, I should work on posting more original posts.

10 sats \ 1 reply \ @Undisciplined OP 4 Jun

Just be yourself. There are lots of niches to fill and thrive in here.

21 sats \ 0 replies \ @Satosora 4 Jun

Thanks, I will keep trying!

21 sats \ 5 replies \ @kingzing131 4 Jun

that's a pretty cool idea! I personally like round numbers, in 1 or 10s or 100s

10 sats \ 4 replies \ @Undisciplined OP 4 Jun

Are you aware of the turbo-zap feature?

21 sats \ 3 replies \ @kingzing131 4 Jun

nah, what's that? :o

1000 sats \ 2 replies \ @Undisciplined OP 4 Jun

You can turn it on in your settings.

One click will do your default zap, two will do 10x, three does 100x, and so on.