Nostr Web Client

Privacy experts: how, under a hostile regime, would you host a public relay for your country? How would you avoid leaking your location/identity while simultaneously maintaining access for the people near you? Is it possible?

hodlbod 2y ago

Talked with nostr:nprofile1qqs25hnvelruklp5x8gjkr4yhql9kd2zwcp9ygyq565xrz2s2flczxcpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujumn0wd68ytnzvuq35amnwvaz7tmwdaehgu3wdaexzmn8v4cxjmrv9ejx2aspz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfdum2d34c about this today. Running a relay under a hostile regime might be impossible (although apparently Tor is very nearly a silver bullet). But there are other options. Scuttlebutt (Manyverse in particular) has some really nice solutions to this problem — because of how pubs are set up, you can still gossip, even without connecting to the internet, by connecting via LAN (and maybe Bluetooth)?

There are tons of other ways client databases could be shared:

- jsonl exports to a flash drive

- animated QR codes

- I'm sure lots more

I'd love to see/build this eventually to help dissidents in hostile regimes communicate with each other. nostr:nprofile1qqs8d3c64cayj8canmky0jap0c3fekjpzwsthdhx4cthd4my8c5u47spz3mhxue69uhhyumn9ehx7uewwdhkx6tpdsq32amnwvaz7tm9v3jkutnwdaehgu3wd3skueqpzamhxue69uhhyetvv9ujucm4wfex2mn59en8j6gvwlazv , you used to work on SSB, do you have any plans to do something like this?

nostr:nevent1qqst9z7wzg3fmxl2cuyg5eadmla2v30najveqzmnrveqlu368qhrgpgpzdmhxue69uhhyetvv9ukzcnvv5hx7un8wgp9se

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Discussion

jascha 2y ago

I have a mobile relay built with small Pi equivalent for protesters in mind. Do a lot of work through nostr:npub16fcy8ynknssdv7s487nh4p2h4vr3aun64lpfea45d7h4sts9jheqevshgh maintain relay access for users behind GFW. Lot of ways to obfuscate it being a relay.

hodlbod 2y ago

Legend, that's also a fantastic idea. Is it set up to broadcast a wifi signal so people nearby can connect, or does it depend on a router?

jascha 2y ago

Yes. Can use it as relay relay where connect 4G or 5G hotspot and make part of a mesh network to also use with MeshTastic communicators. Wanted to make able to build temporary mesh network with multiple. Made with OpenWRT but can use most anything.

hodlbod 2y ago

😳 I didn't understand most of that but now I know who to talk to when I build my own

jascha 2y ago

For context and reference:

https://meshtastic.org/

hodlbod 2y ago

Looks amazing, is it like helium except functional? As I recall helium's economics totally didn't work. I assume this is just a hobbyist network, with no coin attached. What's the bandwidth? Is there routing involved or is it sort of spray and pray replication?

jascha 2y ago

Is very low power for MeshTastic. Can use small low bandwidth LoRa devices. Would work in tandem with nostr relay and lightweight captive portal nostr client. Can use disposable nostr npubs for plausible deniability. With the protestor scenerio had thought connect all nodes via syncthing for video and image dispersal. But this could be improved.

nout 2y ago

Another example that works decently well is Briar. Briar allows connecting over Tor, local wifi or Bluetooth and it has concept of sharing posts across multiple people. I used it e.g. to chat with another person during a flight without internet connection...

https://briarproject.org/ #briar

47 2y ago

Super interesting and definitely needed

Viktor Vsk 2y ago

Do you think there is any lack of communication means or information exposure in rusia for instance?

Not trying to discourage you but “building software to let people communicate under hostile regimes” may become useless. People under hostile regimes always communicate. They just accept doing nothing.

Unless you are talking about giving them opportunity to see the latest memes, say, about the nations their hostile regime is committing genocide to (:

Shllomo N 2y ago

The awful truth.

hodlbod 2y ago

Well, yes, it's illegal to be critical of the government right? Even memes have value, humor is part of satire, which is part of political commentary.

Viktor Vsk 2y ago

So what are your expectations/goals? Giving people tools for communication in order to solve the problem of oppressing regimes?

Or do you want to let people living under oppressive regimes a bit of happiness in form of memes and let them chill further sponsoring oppressive regimes which will, sooner or later, start wars with their neighbors because oppressive regimes must have wars at some point?

hodlbod 2y ago

Why not both?

Viktor Vsk 2y ago

Maybe.

But 1) is most likely useless, given rusia example

And 2) doesn’t seem like something good, does it?

hodlbod 2y ago

I agree, 2 without 1 is useless. But why give up hope on 1? Christianity (for example) has a long history of enduring hostile regimes and ultimately flipping them.

Viktor Vsk 2y ago

I’m not giving up hope in that thats why I say that I don’t want to discourage you in trying.

But in case you are happy to not have much exposure to people living under oppressing regimes (btw, I don’t believe in this term, I think people have exactly the govts they want to have) — then I’m sharing my personal experience that it might be useless and those people in fact just like whats going on and 1) is not possible by giving ppl certain freedoms

hodlbod 2y ago

Ah, I see what you mean, interesting. Possibly true in many cases, but there are aleays minorities and injustice