Please add a reader function. A pop up of the long form text and articles that is resized and dimensionally easy to read.

Social networks made the mistake believing that our ID’s defined who we are. They built a controlled, walled internet, trapping in good, honest people, and keeping out the promise of what the internet could be, meanwhile proclaiming themselves as kings for whom their own rules of decorum do not apply.

Nostr doesn’t start from the premise that without a watchful eye, people will be reduced to degeneracy. It makes no presumptions of its users at all. Because of that, it has proven over years that without the threat of coercion, nearly all people from all walks of life, all backgrounds, and world views, will choose to be good to one another even if they do not agree with one another. When we let go of our titles so we can claim our self, shed our characteristics so we can be valued on the basis of our character, that is when we find our own true identity and let it be shared with the world.

Thanks for reaching out! Make it something great!

It’s been likened to a massive group chat. Some hope for #Nostr to become more. It’s a protocol, so it can become all sorts of things for all sorts of people. I’m just fine with it as a group chat. Not everything needs to grow or die. Plenty of things die by growth.

#Nostr expanded my mind as to what Bitcoin could be.

I’ve seen that movie, ages ago.

I realize I’ve never written an introduction, though I think I am still within the statute of limitations to do so.

Until Nostr, I hadn’t been active on a social network since probably around 2017. This place is chaotic, messy, changing fast, and totally euphoric vibes. I love it. #Nostr is what the internet should have always been.

Being offline for as long as I had, it’s still strange to post, share, and discuss ideas so openly.

I’ve been fortunate to check off a pretty ambitious bucket list early in my life, which is liberating. Faced death… more than a few times, did interesting things, met interesting people.

I Benjamin Buttoned my career, starting off managing billions of dollars in institutional assets in my early 20’s, receiving all sorts of awards and recognitions, then worked towards progressively reducing my responsibilities over time until firing myself completely.

Since this is Nostr, I feel obligated to add that yes I do think about #Bitcoin constantly. No, I do not know why.

Please don’t hesitate to say hi! My life is pretty obscure, which means you’re probably going to be interesting, no matter how typical it may be to you!

#introductions

Great podcaster. Well worth the time to check out.

https://fountain.fm/episode/NrA8rAZlmWAUrhqfbv1p

By the way, I fully recognize there’s nuance to all of this.

Drugs can and do harm more than just the users, in addition to exposing said user to unintended consequences (ex: the fentanyl epidemic).

Banks provide the best, cheapest, and oftentimes only source of capital for so many people in their communities.

I do associate with bankers and do not associate with druggies.

With any centralized organization, who is running it absolutely matters. I am not interested in discussing specific organizations, but I seem to recall Caitlin Long and her own valiant efforts being treated unfairly by the current system as well.

If you want to dive into the subject, I can merely point you into the direction of the many, many talks from Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger on the challenges and follies financial institutions have with remaining honest in the present system.

I will rephrase: I suspect there is a higher ratio of people on Nostr than on social media platforms who would like to see fewer laws about what one does to themselves, as well as the enforcement of laws that disincentivize harm caused to others, and banks are likely viewed to be a consistently bad actor in the eyes of a community that reveres Bitcoin.

Also, a gun is a tool, such as a bank account number. A bank, however, is an organization. Organizations are more likely to have systems and processes which reduce agency and accountability of individual employees, which make it easier for each one to partake in actions and decisions that would go against their own personal values. So it’s actually more likely for a bank to be evil than the common person.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/21/tech/openai-oracle-softbank-trump-ai-investment/index.html#openweb-convo

I'm undecided how I feel about this. Ross's pardon is still fresh, and a sign of tides turning towards freedom.

But an AI police state paired with tightened security at borders can strangely resemble an open-air prison of the populous in the wrong hands by turning attention to keeping people in rather than out.

And as we've learned anything with centralized control, it will, someday, end up in the wrong hands.

Could be hundreds of years from now. Could be four years from now. Could be tomorrow.

I don't know the algorithms behind it or the individuals who have access to it.

Hmm. I guess I do know how I feel about it.

This may hit different on Nostr. There’s not an insignificant portion of Nostriches who would believe 1) drugs should be decriminalized, 2) banks should be criminalized, and 3) would want to hear more about how governments are criminal organizations.

The #shoeonhead trend has me absolutely convinced we live in a simulation. Over a decade ago, my wife and I attended a Buddhist temple a couple of times on an island in the Pacific, and would often joke that enlightenment was found through accepting subtle absurdity into our lives. Our chosen path? Shoe on head.

This was around the same time I learned of Bitcoin. Now that I’m connecting back to the Bitcoin community, of course the subtle absurdity has returned, too.

Nah-Stir. NoStir is too negative sounding for such a positive bunch.

How do I add my #Umbrel Nostr Relay to apps? I'm provided a WS:// but all the relays I see in the apps use WSS://

In any case, neither seem to connect. It should be as simple as copying and pasting the #Umbrel Nostr Relay caching relay into the apps, but apparently not.

Thank you for the further clarification. I wouldn't be surprised if I were the only new Nostrich to want to get a feel for the different apps before narrowing down to daily drivers. Security is a sliding scale, I understand more than the typical layperson, but I am still just a layperson on the subject. #Nostore worked great on the iPad. It wasn't on a list I was previously sent, so I appreciate you pointing me in that direction.

nostr:npub1yaul8k059377u9lsu67de7y637w4jtgeuwcmh5n7788l6xnlnrgs3tvjmf for those of us in the back of the class, what is a signer for Nostr?

Multiple native apps only allow for copying and pasting. At least one doesn’t even hide the nsec in their settings. Regarding Nostr website clients, they’re limited by the browser. For example, Nostr PWA’s on phones and tablets cannot access the extensions designed for desktop versions of Chrome and Safari.

Correction from someone more experienced than I: apparently don’t copy and paste your nsec into a slew of different apps. As a new user, consider sticking with apps that allow you to sign in using an extension such as Alby.

Thank you. Some of the apps recommended by some of the most popular and prolific users have no such signing extension options.

Why is that? I’ve not heard it and some apps don’t give an option to use an extension. How do you get your nsec into Alby if not pasting?