Does #nostr solves the bot problem? If yes, how? #asknostr
Discussion
I'm afraid no. I've seen quite a few reply spam bots.
There's a "report" option, I submitted a report every time, and the spam posts disappeared from my feed.
But I don't really know what happens when you submit a report. Maybe some kind of a scoring system is maintained by some of my relays 🤷 I doubt that can scale if nostr becomes popular tomorrow.
I asked Claude and this was his answer: Nostr (Notes and Other Stuff Transmitted by Relays) has some inherent features that can help mitigate bot activity, although it doesn't completely prevent bots. Here are some ways Nostr addresses this issue:
1. Public key cryptography: Each Nostr account is tied to a public-private key pair. This makes it more difficult and resource-intensive to create large numbers of accounts compared to traditional social media platforms.
2. Proof of work: Some Nostr clients and relays implement proof-of-work requirements for publishing content, which can make it more computationally expensive to spam the network.
3. Decentralized nature: Unlike centralized platforms like Twitter, Nostr doesn't have a single point of control. This makes it harder for bots to target a centralized API or infrastructure.
4. Client-side filtering: Nostr clients can implement their own filtering mechanisms to reduce spam and bot activity for their users.
5. Reputation systems: Some Nostr implementations use reputation systems based on NIP-51 (Nostr Implementation Possibility) to help users identify trustworthy accounts.
6. Community moderation: Users can choose which relays to connect to and which accounts to follow, allowing for community-driven moderation.
However, it's important to note that while these features can help reduce bot activity, they don't eliminate it entirely. Determined actors could still create and operate bots on the Nostr network, albeit with more difficulty than on centralized platforms.