Nostr Web Client

Serious question...

So (as I understand it) Nostr relies on relays...they're the backbone for everything, and the key to Nostr's decentralization.

So given what we've seen with Telegram and Durov, what happens if say the US Government "outlaws" relays, and goes after relay operators for not "moderating" Nostr content?

And say a few relay operators were then arrested, and J6'ed...no parole, no trial, just "held" as terrorists.

Is Nostr vulnerable in such a scenario?

(I"m hoping no, and that someone can perhaps set me straight...but I fear that making an example of a few relay operators would be enough...)

#asknostr

#plebchain

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Discussion

corndalorian 1y ago

Governments can come after relay operators. Nostr’s resilience lies in the redundancy of information, and the verifiable authenticity of your events because of your key pair. Any event can be broadcast out to any number of relays anywhere in the world, and once signed anyone can rebroadcast it for you. No matter where your followers’ client reads that event from, they know it’s from your key pair. Nostr makes your information very resilient because of that design.

banjo 1y ago

Oh I get that--it's what's appealing to me about Nostr--

But what if the government persecutes (for lack of a better term) all node operators? How many would "go underground" and take the risk of continuing to run a node?

My gut says if they put a half dozen in jail and threw away the key that very few would risk their livlihood to keep Nostr running...

Rignt now, I can see France (certainly) doing this, along with (frankly) the US, Canada, and a host of the other EU countries...and that might be "enough" to kill Nostr...

But hoping I'm wrong...really love this place! 😃

Economista Austriaco 1y ago

We are fortunate that we have Nostr

BTC ₿adger 1y ago

I'm not an expert, but the way I see it, Nostr relies on relays, which are spread out globally. This makes it tough for any one government, like the US, to completely shut it down. If the US outlawed relays and targeted some operators, it could cause problems, but Nostr's decentralized nature means it could keep going with relays in other countries. Shutting down all relays worldwide would be extremely difficult, so while Nostr might face challenges, it wouldn't be easily taken down by targeting just a few operators.