I really dislike using the word 'boost' for paying with bitcoin \ stacker news ~bitcoin

I really dislike using the word 'boost' for paying with bitcoin

748 sats \ 30 comments \ @k00b 28 Jul 2022 bitcoin

Bitcoiners: Hey so you can send Bitcoin to people using this thing called boost. Real f'ing people: What's Bitcoin? Bitcoiners: Read The Bitcoin Standard Bitcoiners: Anyway, like I was saying you can pay people Bitcoin by "boosting" them Real f'ing people: What's boosting? Like stealing? Like making a car go faster with nitrous? Like allowing a child to sit higher in a chair? Like raising something up? Bitcoiners: Listen to Adam Curry's podcasts. Real f'ing people: Ohhhhh, so it's paying. Why not just call it that?

We aren't so important that we get to make up language. It's paying. We are paying. Perhaps we call it micro-paying, but at least it's self-descriptive. New words are only going to confuse people and keep them out.

Thoughts?

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199 sats \ 0 replies \ @Ge 28 Jul 2022

first dude @kr made a good point with streaming etc none of those words were common words yes boost could be a good word for micro payments def sounds cooler haha

335 sats \ 7 replies \ @kr 28 Jul 2022

disagree.

a good word for the payments people make on Stacker News, Fountain, and other V4V apps is useful because these kinds of payments simply don’t happen in the real world.

on the internet, everyone is transferring information. but we don’t call everything a transfer

i stream netflix movies
i upload photos
i download music
i text friends
i share posts

even in payments we already use different terms depending on the types of payments.

i pay rent
i tip waiters
i fund companies
i bet on sports
i remit money abroad
i subscribe to a newsletter

the term “boost” is picking up steam across the small, but growing bitcoin ecosystem. if anything, the SN usage of boost is an outlier, it’s the micro-tipping action that people are associating with the word boost.

199 sats \ 1 reply \ @bumi 29 Jul 2022

while I see the point and for sure also think that we need to use known language I very much agree with @kr and I dislike paying. Just because a transfer of value is involved I don't think it is a "payment" It should not feel like a payment and not like the typical payment (buyer vs. seller) relationship.

I want to support an artist, I want to upvote a comment, I want to say thank you, ... "boost" seems to be neutral, universal, positive to me... and it's picking up.

(funnily enough just today: I had started the conversation in Alby to change "send sats" to "boost" when Alby detects some tipping details on Twitter, YouTube, etc. - should we? )

100 sats \ 0 replies \ @kr 29 Jul 2022

Mash has just introduced a feature called boosts to support creators too, seems like the term is catching on within the Bitcoin community

99 sats \ 4 replies \ @k00b OP 28 Jul 2022

You make a decent argument for needing new words to describe unique actions. Perhaps micro-tipping needs its own word, like we use NFT instead of 'receipt'.

At least NFT is a new word though and not a redefinition of an existing word that already has 5 competing meanings, some of which entirely contradict this new meaning.

SN's usage of boost is consistent with the word's primary definition - calling it an outlier kind of emphasizes how ridiculous the word choice is.

110 sats \ 2 replies \ @kr 28 Jul 2022

the word ‘set’ has 430 definitions in the oxford dictionary.

track and field athletes “set” personal records

volleyball players “set” the ball

tennis players win a “set”

golfers have a “set” of clubs

all of those definitions are just for sports, yet no athlete gets confused when they hear the word during a sporting event.

short words like set and boost already have many definitions, but it doesn’t make them less useful or wrong in certain settings.

rather than trying to find a new obscure word with no existing definitions (we don’t have any good ones afaik), i think we should be open to using existing words in a specific context to define common actions.

i’m not suggesting “boost” is the only word that we should consider to replace paying or tipping, and it does have existing uses in the marketing industry and in aerospace engineering, but right now it has momentum in the bitcoin ecosystem, it is reasonably short, and sounds better than tipping imo.

when i send a boost, i think of it as my endorsement of someone’s podcast, SN post, or other content with my money.

149 sats \ 1 reply \ @k00b OP 28 Jul 2022

Here's another IMO correct (by english language standards) use of 'boost' from @jb55: in damus boost means retweet, aka elevate.

You're right, 'set' is highly overloaded as are many other very short english words. Still, these are exceptions and without good reason I think overloading words is an anti-pattern, as in they confuse and hide meaning rather than reveal it, as in overloading should be used very selectively. IMO, boost already being a synonym for stealing, an antonym for giving, makes it an uphill battle for understanding boost as tipping/paying. Also, with Bitcoin being a global asset, overloading boost could add to confusion for non-english speakers.

Maybe boost will eventually solidify as meaningful. For the time being, it only confuses me, and likely other people who aren't bitcoin "insiders."

100 sats \ 0 replies \ @kr 28 Jul 2022

The ‘elevate’ definition of boost makes sense, isn’t that’s what a tap of the Lightning bolt does to Stacker News posts?

It elevates the post higher up on the page (along with sending a payment).

I hadn’t ever heard boost being used as a synonym for stealing before, but it is on Google as a north american synonym.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @k00b OP 29 Jul 2022

I obviously think you shouldn’t change it to boost, but some people seem to prefer it.

105 sats \ 0 replies \ @kilianbuhn 28 Jul 2022

This example conversation really hits the nerve what I wanted to say in my other recent post. 💡

I agree. There is no point in distancing and isolating ourselves.

Analogy: the iphone 📱is a computer. But using the analogy of a mobile phone made it accessible to every day people. Apps on the first iphone were (still are but think back to 2009) were just programs - but using skeumorphic design made it understandable for every day people and fell less out there nerdy stuff. The iphone 📱 was designed as a normal product and not as the new world of tech that it actually was.

110 sats \ 0 replies \ @linesgone 29 Jul 2022

Bitcoin (and crypto in general) has a huge semantic challenge to figure out in the next few years as mass adoption happens.

"paying/buying/transferring/etc" still work for the said actions, regardless of fiat or bitten (crypto)...but the micro-transaction aspect is a tough one. "tipping" has been the defecto from Twitch and various cam-sites, but that isn't what we are doing here... "support" doesn't work as it means something totally different (and is the patreon standard)...."reward" has too many other connotations...

"boost" is, but is very "bitcoiny"... but it semantically doesn't describe the action either...

hmmm???

110 sats \ 0 replies \ @nkmg1c_ventures 28 Jul 2022

Agree, I think there is still too much self-compartmentalization regarding Bitcoin. A lot of people still don't get the need for self-custody, many don't understand why people are even bothering with an alternate system to fiat, because the current fiat system may be working for them.

Using common language is a good idea.

170 sats \ 3 replies \ @sb 28 Jul 2022

What about "zapped"?

"I zapped you some sats for food and gas"

"Zap him some sats for that great post on SN"

"Zap sats to boost posts to the top of the page"

6 sats \ 1 reply \ @k00b OP 28 Jul 2022

Zap at least has the advantage of not being a word that's easy to misunderstand the meaning of.

101 sats \ 0 replies \ @tenuous 29 Jul 2022 freebie

+1 for "zap" over boost. Really like the point about creating new language for a new action. You use "boost" properly here imo. Zap a payment, boost visibility.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @R 1 Aug 2022 freebie

I just zapped you some sats for this good idea

101 sats \ 3 replies \ @nout 28 Jul 2022

I'm sort of ok with "boost" being highlighting and elevating a specific moment in podcast timeline with couple sats. This probably comes from computer racing games having some form of "power boost"... The usage of "boost" here on SN is ok I guess, it's somewhat similar to the podcast case.

I don't like boost used for paying - e.g. when clicking on lightning icon here, I'd never call that "boost".

0 sats \ 2 replies \ @k00b OP 28 Jul 2022

Does it actually elevate that moment in the podcast though? Afaik users don't see the timeline of "boosts" unless I'm not paying close enough attention.

100 sats \ 0 replies \ @kr 28 Jul 2022

podcasters do see the moment a boost is made on fountain, other listeners cannot right now.

100 sats \ 0 replies \ @nout 28 Jul 2022

In Fountain there's afaik a way to see boostagrams as they show up... I was also imagining that this would eventually end up looking like the soundcloud timeline when playing a song.

100 sats \ 0 replies \ @TheBTCManual 29 Jul 2022

I am not a fan of the boost term either, but who really cares what normies think? There will always be the stubborn minority of bitcoiners who call it boosts, you can just call it what it is patronage but this is only one language, as long as the concept is down, it really doesn't matter what we call it

100 sats \ 0 replies \ @Brunswick 29 Jul 2022

Yes boosting sounds like goosing and boasting. If I grab a waitress by the ass and then tell my buddy about it, that should be called boosting. Just call it "tip" or "pay" and call it a day.

100 sats \ 2 replies \ @random_ 28 Jul 2022

promoting a post?

nvm completely different context

0 sats \ 1 reply \ @k00b OP 28 Jul 2022

On SN, that's what I use the word boost for. It boosts the ranking of a post. I'm using the word as it's defined.

How am I promoting a podcast by boosting it?

100 sats \ 0 replies \ @Brunswick 29 Jul 2022

I think boosting podcasts on Bubbler or Gusty causes the episode to rank higher in the promoted/discovery area of the app

100 sats \ 0 replies \ @go 28 Jul 2022

“So I boosted the money for groceries” Yeah, totally doesn’t work. It’s one of those things that if you boost attention it really bugs ya

0 sats \ 1 reply \ @a 29 Jul 2022

If you don't like it, then why do you include it on the website? SN is the first place I've seen the boost terminology, maybe it's being reinforced. Can you use an emoji or like symbol like an arrow, and then let people call it whatever they want?