Next time someone ask you what is Nostr you must answer with this:
nostr:npub180cvv07tjdrrgpa0j7j7tmnyl2yr6yr7l8j4s3evf6u64th6gkwsyjh6w6 begged me to come up with this.
NOSTR is a set of agreements on a file system. Everyone indexes their own files using cryptography to describe under whatever name the data is published.
Because these names are random and unique, there is no conflict among the identities so they can all exist next to each other.
This means the data can be gathered and redistributed by anyone, and they don't have to concern themselves with indexing such that others know what to ask for.
You yourself can be such a relay, or use any (multiple of) services out there to transmit your notes and other stuff to anyone who asks for it.
This Notes and Other stuff Transmitted Over Relays (NOSTR) protocol is not special because it uses public private key pair cryptography.
Its method of success among all attempts out there is realizing that the indexing part is not what is ultimately important in becoming an open standard; but the practical, concrete means used in applying the index amongst each other.
Complexity in integrating the protocol into other systems results in centralization of development. The consequence is a limited offer in software resulting in a no longer really open standard that is in the hands of those who facilitate the tools used to speak the protocol.
By being specific on its simple set up, NOSTR can be a new starting point to set up the infrastructure we use on the internet; where we are free to name, share, find and experience.
Discussion
Boa noite Will.
I want a relay where every note is just a file on disk, in a folder by pubkey. And all operations are done by bash scripts with awk, sed, grep, jq and websocat.
Nah, file system doesn’t fit. Nostr is a new protocol sitting alongside email and HTTP, starting with genuinely different principles.
I’d pragmatically define a FS as anything you could write a sane FUSE for
This is an answer you give to a dev and a dev only.
Share this with anyone else and they will never talk to you again. 😅
> Complexity in integrating the protocol into other systems results in centralization of development. The consequence is a limited offer in software resulting in a no longer really open standard that is in the hands of those who facilitate the tools used to speak the protocol.
I have heard this before...
If I don't answer "nostr is social media but with pay button next to like button", barely anyone will listen to me XD
It's a cool protocol, and decentralization is an important tool to have available - for certain business models, for anonymity/security/privacy, etc. Nostr makes developing resilient, censorship resistant kinds of applications and services so much easier than the current web. But for most *users* the underlying protocol is secondary to the service offering. Is there a Nostr equivalent of Fiverr? Amazon? EBay?
Maybe. But the easy way for centralized web platforms (Fiverr/Ebay/Amazon) to compete against decentralized Nostr services right now woukd be to simply accept BTC as payment. Likewise zaps, Lightning & BTC seem to be the main drivers of Nostr user adoption for the time being just as, once upon a time, "graphic images" (ahem) drove HTTP adoption.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯