A messaging protocol is not enough, decentralized communication platforms like freenet or i2p exist for 20 years now. And the problem with relays is the same as with big corporations, once they get big and successful, they dictate their terms and are regulated. The decentralization needs to happen on the hardware level, a global network with technologies like OLSR, but not enough people are technically versed enough or bother at all.
Sure, you can run your own Minecraft server and other stuff from your phone, but it is more of a gimmick. That being said, we came a long way, running your own bitcoin and Lighning node on a raspberry pi is relatively low cost, and it could also be a good way for Nostr to scale with everyone running own relay.
I’m talking about 2016, community forked to hive in 2020, which is a good sign of decentralization.
I’m not arguing what is more free and open but what incentivizes people to use a platform. Zaps are a good start, but I think Nostr will grow in South America more before it conquers the world.
gnutella, bittorrent, ipfs, all those i would describe as web3 technologies. Nostr relays on other technologies (pun intended) for decentralized storage.
blockchains are protocols too and everyone can build decentralized apps on it. Nostr might have the advantage of less overhead though…
There were many decentralized SM networks with monetary incentive i.e., steemit almost 7 years ago, with zaps Nostr is in a better position, but still nowhere near mainstream. Monetary incentive is not enough, you still need to use external platforms like twitch, youtube, instagram, TikTok, so engagement will stay on those platforms. Are there even any decentralized video platforms? I know of dlive, which is on the fringe. Scaling will always be a problem, so as long as we don’t have data-centers in our pockets, nothing will change.
Bluesky sounds like mastodon for commercial social media platforms.
He is, or rather was quite smart, even made contributions to the IPv6 protocol, his mental detorioration is hard to comprehend…
I had that aha moment 7 years ago on steemit, but it had its flaws and the reward system was gamed, good content buried under circle jerking whale accounts. Nostr feels more natural, there is nothing to game.
But as a Bitcoin maximalist, wouldn’t you rather use the Lightning Network Protocol suite for messaging, i.e. Sphinx chat, instead of Nostr?
That sentiment analysis of Bing AIs answers is annoying :)
With Lightning you can mitigate that costs with collecting routing fees, with Nostr relay you need to charge for your relay and filter spam. I think it is easier to monetize a Lightning node
Lightning payments are awesome for getting the job done quickly but having to stay online at all times isn't always achievable which is why offline payments are coming to a wallet near you
https://thebitcoinmanual.com/articles/asynchronous-lightning-payments/
Lightning is a beast :)
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I’m in the same situation, what ought to be be a weekend project, turned out to be a multi year project. Go for it :)
Btw., that’s what I mean by bloat:
#/media/File:Lightning_Network_Protocol_Suite.png
Lightning is not Bitcoin exclusive, Litecoin has it implemented too, basically any blockchain that has multisig and timelocks can utilize it. But I see what you mean, without the bloat of Lightning, Nostr can focus on doing one thing well, and that is messaging. Knowing the Unix philosophy, I should have known better :)
True, but it uses the Lightning Network protocols for communication, just like Damus or Amethyst use Nostr. I’m curious what the benefits are of using a separate protocol like Nostr, not everyone needs payments so I think its way faster than the dozens of protocols of the Lightning protocol suite, but given the tight integration with LIghtning, what are the benefits to add another layer?
Anyone running a Sphinx chat node, or other messaging apps on the Lightning Network? How do they compare to Nostr?