You, and other Very Big Npubs, have a completely outsized impact. It's like the Elon effect, but there are 20 Elons.
You have over 600k followers. Even supposing only 10% are "real and active", which is very low, if you boost or quote something, it will likely trend because it ends up in 60000 npubs' feeds.
If I do the same, it ends up in 70 npubs' feed.
Everyone is looking at what you are looking at.
This may well be an accurate description of the current status of the nostrverse.
But, I don't think it's the big Npubs' fault.
I rather think this is mostly the inevitable dynamic that occurs in a system that's designed in this way (no feed algorithms at all).
And I think it's kind of a bootstrap dynamic that mostly characterises the beginning of the network.
After this initial phase I'd assume that other dynamics will evolve. New social circles/ sub communities will form around high impact accounts that have nothing to do with the initial big Npubs.
So I think we need patience and we'll get slow evolution, because every npub is slowly bootstrapping their way according to their interests.
The slow evolution of each npub's follow list is where I'd like more tools from the client devs.
I'd like features that help me with systematic management of my follow list(s).
Example:
Give me a single button on each note (accessible without _any_ additional tap/click, so that it's minimal effort) to mark the note as "interesting/relevant to me".
Then show me statistics from these marks so that I can directly see for all my followed npubs:
- number of notes seen in the last x days
- % of these notes marked as relevant
- ...
Another Example for a feature:
Somehow help with categorising followed npubs.
Categories could be:
A, new info npubs (news bot or heavy poster, never replied to any of my replies, not following me back)
B, high volume poster (not news bot like A, but frequent posts in discussions)
C, low volume poster (but is following me back, replied to a few of my notes)
D, ...
And for each category I'd like a separately scrollable feed.
Granted that visibility should not be a claimed right, the basic difference is that Nostr offers a basic feed (the fake “Global”) that is so chaotic that it is used by few to discover new content. I think the solution is to create one's own circle and with that go and merge with other micro groups, thereby growing the social graph. And at the same time enhance the discoverability of content through search and thematic structures. Shadowbanning does not seem to me at all the correct term for the current situation.
It's the correct term, when done in a coordinated, intentional manner. Even when I'm recommended as additions to the lists and etc. (which happens not infrequently), they just ignore the recommendations or explain that I'm not the sort of person who should be on the list.
Who is "the correct sort of person"?
Anyone but me.
Anyone but me is the correct sort of person.
Okay, that's fine, but that just means the client isn't intended for use by anyone who wouldn't think I was an incorrect person. I'm a litmus test. Perhaps they should write that in their advertisements:
This client is not intended for use by anyone who might be tempted to read something written by Silberengel.
"Coordinated, intentional manner" seems a quite serious claim.
What clients and lists are you talking about?
Well, it starts with the fact that I'm constantly being muted by some of the biggest npubs. Only thing worse than not being followed by them is being muted by them. Their mute list is often just me, some crypto spam, bots who post gibberish, ReplyGuy, and some hardcore porn. That's how much they absolutely despise me and these people DETERMINE WHAT WE LOOK AT.
Then, they get my npub recommended to them, as a good follow, and they're like *shudder* no way. "She's stupid. Nothing she writes is interesting. She does not respect TheDevs. She doesn't even have a grant. Nobody likes her. She doesn't understand computers. She's a Marxist. She's AI." And etc. Etc. Etc.
Someone with a big account telling everyone I'm a horrible person basically takes me out of the running.
Then, they ask around for people to add to the recommendation list, who write about something other than Bitcoin and I never make that list, even if people actively suggest me. I'm one of the few active npubs that actually writes anything. There are hardly any real writers, here. I'm an asset, but they don't want people to see me. They would rather people see nothing, than see my stuff.
These people have it in for me and they completely own this place, and they own it even more, ever day.
None of this should matter to me, is the point I'm trying to make. A handful of people shouldn't be able to decide what everyone looks at.
