Nostr will fail to the extent that people can't tell an impersonator from the real thing. The number of reports I get about my impersonator indicates to me that nostr is failing. But it doesn't have to be this way! Web of trust fixes this.
Let's play a game of "spot the impersonator". I created a fresh impersonator account with a valid NIP 05 from nostrplebs and all the same profile data. I didn't bother to clone my notes or create a bunch of sock puppet followers, but that could easily be done, and would improve the resemblance.
Coracle:
Pretty good if I do say so myself. Social trust is shown in two separate ways: web of trust indicator and followers tab (although followers is not complete or sybil resistant).
0xchat:
Exactly the same, other than NIP 05 address, which I don't consider any sort of validation at all. This is a classic phishing maneuver, and recently allowed nostr:nprofile1qyfhwumn8ghj7am0wsh82arcduhx7mn99uqjzamnwvaz7tmjv4kxz7fwwd5xzamw09jkzem9wghxxmmd9a5kucn00qqjqamnwvaz7tmjv4kxz7fwwd5xzamw09jkzem9wghxxmmd9a3ksct5qy38wumn8ghj7un9d3shjtnndpshwmnev4skwetj9e3k7mf0da6hgcn00qqjxamnwvaz7tmjv4kxz7fwwd5xzamw09jkzem9wghxxmmd9ac8y6tkv96x2qpqclk6vc9xhjp8q5cws262wuf2eh4zuvwupft03hy4ttqqnm7e0jrqlg4lcf's impersonator to trick some people.
Yakihonne:
Some social indicators are shown, but are not sybil resistant. They're also down the page a bit, and might not be noticed by users.
Jumble:
No social proof indicated at all — the tabs at the bottom can easily be faked by the impersonator.
Nostter:
No social proof, and failed to validate the NIP 05 for the real user.
Nostrudel:
Nostrudel does something original in showing the public key color. But how often are you going to memorize a user's color? I'd argue this is even worse than nothing because it obscures the NIP 05, which _might_ tip you off.
Iris:
Iris shows wot-vetted "known followers", which is good. In other places, a wot-based check mark is shown next to user avatars. This should probably be added to the profile page too, but still, pretty good.
Amethyst:
Amethyst shows some social proof, but it's hard to tell exactly what those profile pictures mean.
Primal:
Like yakihonne, social proof is visible, but not sybil-resistant.
Let's take a look at search now. Some clients do a much better job at this, some do a MUCH worse job.
Coracle:
WOT indicators, correct sorting, complete results. Arguably, the impersonators should be filtered out entirely, but I personally prefer to have them included.
Jumble:
Same thing, minus WOT indicators. Not bad.
Nostrudel:
It's a pass, but I'm not sure if duplicates are filtered out on purpose or not. The check marks indicate NIP 05 validation, not wot validation.
Yakihonne:
Only shows the legit version, along with a badge (I'm unsure if it's NIP 05 or something else). Pretty good.
Iris:
Very limited results, WOT-based check, pretty good.
Primal:
Eliminates impersonators, show follower count, pretty good (though not sybil resistant in all cases).
The winners are Iris and Coracle for web of trust indicators, and Primal and Yakihonne in the "global view of the network" category. I'd love to see this get better though, and not just because I am now famous enough to have an impersonator. WOT calculations are low-hanging fruit, especially with the vertex DVM by nostr:nprofile1qythwumn8ghj7un9d3shjtnswf5k6ctv9ehx2ap0qyt8wumn8ghj7ct4w35zumn0wd68yvfwvdhk6tcpzemhxue69uhk6mr9dd6juun9v9k8jtnvdakz7qg4waehxw309aex2mrp0yhxgctdw4eju6t09uq3wamnwvaz7tmjv4kxz7fwdehhxarj9e3xzmny9uqzpa5rapcrtaadfazwpwvvl0v4xlskg4df9nfcem7yevcaka2h7hhjm9zju5 around. Getting this right is a core value proposition of nostr and is worth the effort.
