Although the nostr protocol is decentralized, pretty much every single app (if not all), including relays, Damus, Snort, Iris, nostr.build, etc. are running on centralized servers. I am not aware of anything running on an actual decentralized infrastructure?
Discussion
What about Damus is centralized besides the distribution?
Not exactly sure what people should consider ‘decentralized’.. Damus is on centralized Apple servers, with code stored on a centralized server GitHub.
I guess if you installed it directly on a jailbroke iPhone, it’s more decentralized? (Not dependent on centralized servers)
Also maybe the relay.
Not sure about this one. I don’t think the Damus relay is any different than any other relay.
Git is incredibly decentralized. There are probably dozens of people with local copies of the code. nostr:npub1xtscya34g58tk0z605fvr788k263gsu6cy9x0mhnm87echrgufzsevkk5s also stores the repo on his servers as do I on a Gitea instance.
Agree with you though about the distribution but nothing you can do about that. Damus is as decentralized as it can be IMO. There are certain bottlenecks you can’t get around.
This is the problem I’m talking about..
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This is the problem I’m talking about nostr:note14vfvfnt8ynlp4qj2fcdt5t28judjypdnth83swmdhlythryw2seq2nuuh6
I completely agree with you that the distribution is centralized, my only point is how can you build a native app for iOS without being reliant on the App Store?
Side loading (3rd party AppStores) is supposed to be official with iOS 17 for folks in the EU, if it comes maybe someone can create a workaround
That was my general point, it is not easy to have everything decentralized. Even if just the distribution is centralized, it can come down.. Same can happen to nostr.build if AWS decides they don’t like me..
What is a decentralized infrastructure? And what is a centralized server? A server is just a machine? I can run a relay on my laptop?
Something like torrent, storj, I don’t know. There is not much out there
There’s a relay that was utilizing holepunch and distributed databases. I would need to find the post.
I also think the system as a whole is decentralized and maybe there needs to be more emphasis on running clients locally as an option since you could run snorts code base and more or less function like accessing the website.
Amethyst has a view count server and a push notification server.
We don't have our own relays and we don't even have an image proxy server anymore.
So if you install directly to an Android device, not using the Google Play store, it’s technically not relying on a server, only the Android device?
Yep.
Ok, makes sense, mobile devices are easier to ‘decentralize’, but web apps and nodes, not so many (unless web app has PWA option).
Agree. Though some WebApps are html + JavaScript only. They technically run on the browser. That's better than having a backend to prepare info for the front end.
There are some that run their own relays using their start9 servers.
I run my own relay and host my own images using a digitalocean droplet.
Not a perfect solution but more decentralized than most.
How do I set that up? I have a basic relay using nostream. Can it be configured to host images and videos?
Once you install snort as pwa it will still work even if https://snort.social is down
For web apps, you can self-host.
For Android, you can install the apk without an App Store — you just won’t get push notifications.
For iOS, you could build the code and install on your own device, which is a step more difficult. There’s rumors that sideloading apps without the App Store will be allowed in the near future due to EU regulations. If and once that happens in the way that people hope, it might no longer be centralized.
For relays, each individual relay is indeed “centralized” in isolation, but the fact that a client can connect and broadcast to many means the system as a whole is decentralized.
I uploaded to github the nostrcheck.me backend code so that anyone can validate nip05 and upload their images to their own private server. This is how I understand decentralize the protocol 🙂
Sounds good to me
Yes. Also I imagine a future with thousands of interchangeable media backends
Going to try this today!
what do you mean by centralized server? and decentralized infrastructure? nos.lol is bare metal.
You can run your own relay if you'd like. Easiest way I know of is installing it on nostr:npub126ntw5mnermmj0znhjhgdk8lh2af72sm8qfzq48umdlnhaj9kuns3le9ll.