I find this very interesting too. I felt a lot of pressure to add AUTH, did so, and realized no one else really supports it. So people are paying for private relays but unable to use them?
Discussion
Yes, unknowingly too.
FYI: coracle upon connection instantly sends two REQ's:
["REQ", "REQ-82764758", {kinds: [1], since: 1681967605}]
and
["REQ", "REQ-81775670", {kinds: [1], since: 1681946005, until: 1681967605, limit: 20}]
To which an NIP-42 AUTH requiring server sends back 2 NOTICE's of failure (even though the server sent an AUTH challenge upon connect)
It responds to the AUTH challenge properly though.
The client should probably first use NIP-11 to get the supported NIPs - see that it supports 42, and then expect an AUTH challenge?
Nostr not having formal client initiated connect/auth makes this a little awkward.
Yes it makes this very awkward. There is also nothing in the NIP to tell clients or relays how to address the “lost” REQs in this race condition.
#[4] and I petitioned for an optional auth header on connect to make the flow much easier for private relays. It was rejected pretty aggressively and we were told NIP-42 is easy and clear. 🤷♂️