1 sat for every message is expensive enough to suppress legitimate users who are just financially poor. Needs to be about an order of magnitude cheaper imo. A spam filter cheap enough to let all legitimate users through might also let the most dedicated spammers get some stuff through too, but that's the right balance
Just tried nostr:npub1h0uj825jgcr9lzxyp37ehasuenq070707pj63je07n8mkcsg3u0qnsrwx8, a secure chat client built on nostr that uses the Signal double ratchet encryption algorithm. It's incredibly smooth.
Someone sent me ecash in the chat and I received it in what felt like 20ms, just like that. Each message you send pays 1 sat to the nostr relay operator to protect it against spam.
THIS IS HOW IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN !!!
Add me:
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
Discussion
Statistics show that, on average, a person sends 50 messages per day, requiring 50 sats. Currently, one cent can buy 16 sats, so it costs 3 cents per day, and 90 cents per month. Another point is that each message in Keychat is independent, so it is not possible to block someone.
For accessibility reasons you should plan on making an setting for "stamped messages only" though.
Users just need to disable the free relay on the settings page, and they will not receive messages without stamps.
But do they still need stamps to send?
The scenario you envision is that a user does not receive messages without stamps, but the messages they send also do not have stamps? Keychat can control relays more precisely. For example, users can separately set the sending relay and the receiving relay. They can set the receiving relay to a paid relay and the sending relay to a free relay. Of course, this also requires the consent of your chat partner.
I'd sell that as the main feature then
Not the privacy stuff, but trying to promote a high quality, open discussion environment
A solution to the dilemma certain people have with "I want people to have free speech, but it's hard to deal with every thought everyone has, so I want a platform that limits discussion based on quality"
Additionally, many people are paying for so-called free chat apps with their private data. There's no such thing as a free lunch in the long run.
The biggest barrier to using an app like this will be new users getting hold of sats/ecash. Its a giant PITA and requires some good technical knowledge OR giving away a lot of personal data to an exchange/bank etc (which is annoying and time consuming as it is undesirable for privacy). Keychat will never gain any users beyond bitcoin enthusiasts. Even nostr struggles and thats literally free and easy!