#asknostr

If you were to use a nostr email alias service, would you be fine by getting alias emails like:

.@

I am thinking about making the random word a bit smarter to fit the alias name if possible.

Do you see any pitfalls of this strategy?

#grownostr #plebchain #nostr

nostr:nevent1qqs2txheuedyetjhruce003jh0n72932qlar3qrh7590s3wcv38e8espz4mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujumn0wd68ytnzvuhsygqe9rhr2k84fcckfkqaymp4uy3uy496uy5r2ntkzltlmp3dwrv69vpsgqqqqqqsszzj4z

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Discussion

Yes, please! I don't like giving out weird aliases like franzap.squirrels789@domain

Allowing to rotate the random word would be cool, and maybe even having the ability to remove it for sats

So for you, it is important that the alias is reasonable. Anything else that you find important?

By far the biggest problem here is privacy. Since email is plaintext (and some email is quite private) you, the operator, need to establish yourself with a reputation of high integrity... that you won't be reading/scanning/associating content with npubs. What are your thoughts on that?

Definitely. Alias is for increasing privacy, so we need strong guarantees.

The current plan for increasing privacy:

1️⃣ Open-source, so you can verify the code

2️⃣ Emails are stored as Private DMs, so encrypted

3️⃣ Your data is stored on nostr, so you can anytime move

I see 2 biggest problems now:

1️⃣ Smtp receives the emails in plain text

2️⃣ If your private key is compromised, your email history is compromised

The 2️⃣nd is a general nostr problem, so probably we get to use a solution, or I will think about one, if the base is ready.

The 1️⃣st seems kind of the toughest on the trust side, because you have to trust the smtp server relaying your mails onto nostr. As the rest is already happening behind private messaging/data storage on nostr.

I want to solve first the 1️⃣st problem.

Until that, if I release, source code can be verified, and smtp code will be small, so easy to verify.

Also I don't plan to read/associate or scan emails. This means spam filtering has to be solved on the user side, as usual on nostr. And because smtp code will be small, it will be easy for you to verify that no reading or so happening there.

But I want to minimize the trust further, but not yet know how. Maybe somehow I shall host the smtp servers for the users, therefore, they always control how their emails are relayed.

Sounds good. It doesn't matter if the SMTP server is open source - we still need to trust the operator. The only thing that fixes that is your reputation (open source helps there but probably not enough)

Yes, unfortunately if the server that converts the plain text mails to some encrypted something (an smtp) is not in your control, you have trust involved. And it there is trust, you need reputation to have some "punishment". I would be gladly not having trust though. Maybe the other idea helps a bit, but I have to design that to see how it is possible.

Personally, I would prefer @. I could foresee people creating dozens of addresses, until they got an acceptable random word.

Wouldn't that get easily into spamming? I generate an alias, see the number, then start to spam the others.

Perhaps, but for me to want to use this, the address has to be short and memorable enough for me to be able to remember it and give to someone else verbally with a reasonable expectation that they'll remember it. AAron7@Crustymail.com checks that box but AAron.banister@Crustymail.com doesn't.

Hmmm, and how do you solve this now?

.@wellknowndomain.com

Is it still an alias?

No it's my real name.

So you would be interested in this project to have a simple nostr mailbox basically, where you can create a nice email address, and can share it with anyone, but your emails would be stored encrypted over nostr.

Totally, that sounds like a service worth $9/month.

Maybe the random word could be a noun pulled from the person's "about me"?

That could turn out badly if the keyword is not really used in profiles, only in few. I think I would not connect profile "infos" with aliases.

what is this project?

In short: It is service to create yourself email aliases that will send you the email via nostr DM, and has an email UI where you can see them in an "email way".

I'm working on full-blown nostrer email

What is your focus there?