Would relaying be more profitable if we had relay pools?
Essentially you connect to a pool of relays and youāll get connected to some random relay. Relays within a pool sync with each other behind the scenes.
The pool pays individual relay operators based on connected time or something that tracks usage (reads/writes).
Users pay the pool for access.
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Proof of Relay
Right now itās every relay out for itself so the Pareto principle takes over and a single relay gets the most subscribers while the far end get nada.
i was just thinking is it possible someone may clone for example Amethyst and set a special type of relay for it, like for a specific community and ppl who support the community would clone and run the same relay so as long there are supporters it will stay alive, and you can move between the apps with the same npub and see familiar ppl from other apps, same app different content like its reddit subs
I built this type of system for nostrocket about 6 months ago as an example business model, but didn't deploy it because I got side tracked and also began to view relays as just a cost center for a different business model.
Maybe I'll get back into it after Atlantis.
Customers who pay for access to the relay pool are paying directly to the relay rocket's "shareholders" (non custodial).
To get shares, you do work. Some of that work is developer stuff, some is paying for a VPS and managing a deployment etc.
Relay deployments are all using the same corebase and take an access control list from the rocket.
This means that the rocket can spin up/down relays as required (cyclical demand, geographical region, etc)
how about make every user buy his own relay in some data center for say $10 a month.
that way you have total control over all your data. you can edit your posts, delete them, whatever !
other relays act as backup but there is one master relay for every user, which they directly control.
nostr:npub180cvv07tjdrrgpa0j7j7tmnyl2yr6yr7l8j4s3evf6u64th6gkwsyjh6w6
if a person can't make a minimal commitment like that then there is a 100% chance they are of no value to the platform to begin with.
lurkers will be allowed to read content without having to get a relay but won't be able to post.
on other hand with your own relay you can post ANYTHING ( 10 hour videos etc. ) because it's YOUR server and you aren't subject to anybody's rules.
from experience of having my own site having control over your content is pretty huge. the ability to go back to a post i made years ago and fix broken links etc. two things my site is missing is
1 - it isn't federated
2 - can't upload videos ( haven't tried anyway )
whereas what NOSTR is missing for me is also two things
1 - can't edit
2 - can't upload videos ( haven't tried anyway )
essentially NOSTR is a decentralized censorship resistant alternative to Twitter as it existed a decade ago ...
but our goal should be not to replace a niche platform from a decade ago but to replace the entire internet just like Andrew Torba is trying to do with GAB
nostr:npub180cvv07tjdrrgpa0j7j7tmnyl2yr6yr7l8j4s3evf6u64th6gkwsyjh6w6
Like a co-op ?
I think some relay pools may choose to run as cooperatives. But it could also be managed privately.
Coops are private entities. What you might mean to say is āinvestorā or āexecutiveā managed (C-corp, LLC, & NGO) rather than āmemberā or āstakeholderā managed.
Coops are a wierd type of private entity with a mandate to serve public (members) interest. FWIW
Thanks for the clarification
sounds like a high availability setup where youāre load balancing across a set of relays, with the added layer of payouts. cool!
Yeah, imagine you are a new relay. First thing to do is join a pool that isnāt full so you can get some connections and paid for offering the service.
Some pools may choose to be free but that is unsustainable.
I wonder how you handle bad relays. missing data, dropped events, etc. š¤
I guess that would be up to the pools themselves, what kind of quality they want to offer. But I do see metrics being measured by the pool to figure out if a relay is at the very least up and serving connections. And ofc if the pool takes payment a way to disclose the revenue and splits among member relays.
