People see "#" and think #hashtag - but I agree with the criticism of using email-style addresses for NIP-05 (and lightning addresses, for that matter).
I suppose NIP-05 syntax has been derived from LN addresses. I don't know if choosing an email like format has been the best idea (in both cases) because it's easily recognizable, but the goal is completely different and this can create a lot of troubles in the UX.
Why not simply change the separator and create a new and unique Nostr address?
user#domain.tld
If I see a @ linked address on a web page I expect to click it to open my email client. If I found a # linked address I know it will open my Nostr DM micro app to the user chat, or will fallback to the user profile.
In fact it can actually be a landing page pointer too; root domains can be ##domain.tld
Nostr apps that extensively use NIP-05, like the just proposed "shared login" by nostr:npub1l2vyh47mk2p0qlsku7hg0vn29faehy9hy34ygaclpn66ukqp3afqutajft could improve the communication and avoid a lot of confusion.
Probably we can save newcomers from silly frustrations, e.g. "why I cannot login in Coracle with my Gmail?!", and perhaps prevent some security related problems too.
Maybe it can also help to spread the protocol, becoming a neutral brand in business cards and advertising.
Make sense?
Any cons?
#nostrdesign
Discussion
I agree that the hashtag is not optimal, but unluckly the keyboard ascii subset is limited, and we need a characters easy to type.
Maybe with the user prefix the perception is different.
The alternative is a double char, e.g.
user!!domain.tld
