Fuck client wars.
Nostr won't scale until relays scale.
Relays won't scale until clients can allow users to manage relays, communications, and information AT SCALE.
No matter what side you are on, clients have missed the mark, and it's nobody's fault.
relay.tools works. If you start with why it works, how it works, or even who it works for- you will find what clients lack.
You can look at similar projects but they don't address the core problem that relays have: scalability.
If relays are good enough, they have every reason to scale to centralized servers.
They CAN and DO scale, and they ARE good enough!
Clients have not quite figured out how to scale with them.
I do not endorse small or big apps; only good apps, big or small. Apps need to scale with relays.
Clients can figure it out or I will build Ribbit. That's right- I am threatening to build a client that scales with relays. Everyone else has until I figure it out, to do it themselves. No one is paying me to work for myself. Good luck to EVERYONE because when relays WIN, WE ALL WIN.
It takes a LOT of manpower to manage communities at scale. Most people on Nostr today can contribute by setting up a privately-hosted instance of relays.
There is a reason I preach this path over the alternatives, and the alternatives are VERY GOOD, I certainly can't list them all, but I will happily shout out HAVEN because I believe it is a great option for personal relays. I will shout out Grain.
The war is Bitcoin vs. Fiat. Nostr is winning. Clients are catching up to literal years of compounded efforts.
I recommend relay.tools because it is prepared to scale. We are ready to link the fabrics that have been woven on this protocol. The time is now and everyone is welcome to join those who stick around.
There is room for as many clients as people can build or want to use. Relays don't have a designated purpose except the purpose you give them. They transmit JSON. KISS! 💋
Don't let negativity drag you down.
Signal > Noise
It's called UNSTOPPABLE tech for a reason. Any attempts to privatize the protocol are doomed to fail. Anyone can change Nostr. Infighting over the existing userbase is masturbation at best. Everyone in this space is winning, together.
Privatize your service to others if you feel you aren't being valued enough. Contribute to something else if you can't do that.
This post is not directed at anyone. I just love sharing my thoughts on Nostr! Yippee! 👏😁