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Why I Am Already A Nostr Maximalist
OPINION
WHY I AM ALREADY A NOSTR MAXIMALIST
SOURCE NODEJAN 10, 2024
Nostr may not be perfect, but it does represent a massive improvement over existing centralized platforms when it comes to data and identity ownership.
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After being inspired by a podcast with Preston Pysh and Will Casarin in January of 2023 I experienced my first interaction with ‘the nostr’ using a rather clunky interface. Since that time, nostr has gradually become more user friendly and an increasingly meaningful part of my life. I have now deleted all other social media accounts in favor of this blossoming decentralized alternative. My slow exodus away from centralized social media started over ten years ago, but the formation of a functional substitute was the final nail in the coffin. Making the jump at such an early stage may have been premature, but after two months using both nostr and Twitter I chose to make the transition permanent. I’ve written this article to explain my reasoning and provide an assessment of the nostr network as I understand it today.
Nobody is in charge of nostr, I have no one to ask if NOSTR should be capitalized or lowercase. I also have not reached a definitive conclusion regarding how it should be pronounced. Frankly it wouldn’t matter if anyone had an opinion about either of those things. Nostr is what the users and developers make it. Nostr is not a website and it is not a company. Nostr does not rely on a blockchain to function and there are no central servers dictating who can participate in the network. With the exception of shared interest and lightning ‘zap’ integration, it is independent from Bitcoin. Those who already understand Bitcoin seem to have an easier time wrapping their head around the importance of nostr, but I have also met several non-bitcoiners who are passionate about what is being built.
Nostr is a protocol which is designed to have applications built on top of it, or rather to interface with it. Users are free to choose from dozens of applications (clients) to access the protocol. The client they choose determines the nature of the user experience. The name NOSTR is an acronym for Notes and Other Stuff Transmitted by Relay. The functionality of the protocol is in the name, but I will not be diving into the technicalities here. I also will not be discussing the pros and cons of the various clients used to access nostr. Though that would be a helpful resource if someone would like to write that up!