[BE] "Pay it forward" Gifting #3658

Requirements

• [X] Is this a feature request? For questions or discussions use https://lemmy.ml/c/lemmy_support
• [X] Did you check to see if this issue already exists?
• [X] Is this only a feature request? Do not put multiple feature requests in one issue.
• [X] Is this a backend issue? Use the lemmy-ui repo for UI / frontend issues.

Is your proposal related to a problem?

Just a lack of the ability to show silent appreciation

Describe the solution you'd like.

Lemmy is not a commercial project, nor should it be. Gifts as designed by other social media are a toxic money dump that prey on users' good will. Gifts to other users should not be "purchased" from some central authority (though a case could be made that server maintainers could be the distributors of gifts, and at that point it's up to them?).

I think theres a much more wholesome way to actually have a "gift economy" - if a post or comment of mine receives a "gift" from someone, that gift goes into my inventory. The only use for that gift in my inventory is to gift it to another post.

Describe alternatives you've considered.

more or less mused upon below

Additional context

I think this can create a positive feedback loop where users can show their appreciation to each other and feel motivated to do so

But there are a couple of issues:

• Where do gifts come from? Does every user just have one of each by default? Do servers distribute them based on their own rules? Are they earned via engagement?
  • If servers determine this, this could help differentiate communities from one another, but also increase "choice paralysis" when choosing a server.
    • This could also allow servers to opt out of gifting entirely if they choose to keep things simpler
• What of people who don't give back? They become gift leeches and all the gifts from the community disappear into black holes.
  • Auto-regen periods defined by the server? I.e. after one week, if a user has no "thank you" gift, they will be granted one in their inventory
• What would the gifts be, and who decides?
  • Do servers decide? Does lemmy only support certain gifts? If servers decide, how do we limit or support gifting between users of X server on posts of Y servers?