Nostr Web Client

just because many people here value proof of work does not mean that those without means to pay for relays or services are undervalued. nostr being open and permissionless means that it's open to everyone, even those that you would call "freeloaders" or as i may call them, people from developing nations that are just looking for the freedom to communicate.

also, i have not charged 1 sat for my relay wss://nostrelites.org and it's a very popular relay that continues to grow. and soon it will be a default global relay for Amethyst. i don't call these people that use it freeloaders. i call them community members and friends.

mar 8mo ago

You’re free to run your relay however you want, and that’s the beauty of Nostr—it’s open and anyone can build whatever model they believe in. But I think long term, sustainability matters. If everyone builds for free, then only hobbyists or people with fiat jobs can maintain the infrastructure. That’s not a solid foundation for freedom.

Proof of work applies to more than mining—it’s a mindset. Paying to follow, post, or use services filters out bots, spam, and low-effort engagement. It's not about excluding the poor; it's about building a permissionless yet valuable network. And value requires skin in the game.

You call them friends and community—great. I call for responsibility and economic incentives. Both can exist. But Nostr doesn’t scale on charity.

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Discussion

Derek Ross 8mo ago

my relay website has a donate button on it. you're freeloading if you're not donating 😉

outside of my cheeky responses, i do agree that for nostr to be sustainable we do need more people participating in value for value. we do need people donating. we do need people paying subscriptions. we need people paying for services that they're using.

but i also realize that for 20 years people have been using social websites without paying a dime. hell, since the 90's when forums came out. it's been 30 years of people freeloading. we're not going to change people's perceptions over night. it's going to take a while. a long while. the best we can do until we reach critical mass is pay for services if you can afford to do it. and if you can't, i won't mind. i won't mind at all.

mar 8mo ago

I don’t donate, I pay for services I value. If your relay is free, then I treat it like a free service. No hard feelings. But you can’t call it freeloading if you willingly offer it at no cost. That’s your business decision, not my responsibility.

You say we need more people participating in value-for-value, exactly. That’s why I support models where users must pay to engage. Donations are nice, but they’re unreliable. Payments create real sustainability.

And yeah, forums were free, but many had premium tiers, people paid because there was value. Facebook destroyed that by making people think “free” was the default. That mindset won’t reverse unless we build systems that require skin in the game. I’m here for that shift. You’re just not there yet.

I did pay for some relays but only 3 because there is not many paid relays.

My relay is not free, because mar has skin!