I’m reaching out with a feature proposal that could improve the user experience on Nostr, particularly around privacy and spam prevention.

Would it be possible for a relay service like Nostr Land to collaborate with a client such as Amethyst to implement a friend or follow request system?

Here’s the idea in more detail:

Instead of allowing anyone to freely interact with a user's profile (e.g., like, comment, etc.), users would first need to send a friend or follow request. If the request is accepted, interaction is enabled. If the request is not accepted, the user can still view public notes, but they won’t be able to interact (like, comment, reply, etc.).

To further discourage spam, sending a follow request could require a small payment—say, 21 sats. This microtransaction would act as a lightweight barrier to entry for potential spammers while remaining accessible to genuine users.

Facebook uses a similar model (minus the crypto), and it’s highly effective at reducing spam. In contrast, Nostr currently suffers from a spam problem due to the open nature of interactions.

From what I understand, implementing this would require coordination between the client (e.g., Amethyst) and the relay (e.g., Nostr Land), since both need to support and enforce the request/payment mechanism.