Comment by BinaryIgor | Hacker News Reader

Comment by BinaryIgor | Hacker News Reader

I've revisited this idea/protocol a few times and still have my doubts:

* is there even a need for it? I would say that most people are quite happy with centralized platforms; I don't see it changing anytime soon (why?)

* wouldn't we end up in the centralized world anyways? Even though there could be multiple NOSTR clients and relays, we all know how network effect works - people will flock to a single or a few best ones; does it really change the situation that we have today - a few centralized platforms?

* I don't see clear incentives in this protocol that would improve current social media landscape - granted that I don't particularly like current ads/sell your attention model

I am not sure that having a protocol like this is better that having a few centralized platforms - today's situation. Not to even mention technical challenges and worse user experience that NOSTR brings

It's quite common for people with rather controversial topics to have backup accounts listed in their bio because centralized platforms are so prone to deplatforming people. If that's acceptable to you, then nostr probably isn't for you. I prefer not to beg anyone for permission to publish my opinions on the internet.

Why not to have a website then? That's the only thing that where the content is truly Yours.

In NOSTR, even though yes there is more than one relay, but you still need their permission to publish; and yes, you can run your own relay - but you might host your own website too - no need for new apps and protocols to do this

The difference is that on nostr you can have immediate interactions with others, you can get their comments, you can message with them, etc.

In your example you can think about nostr as a protocol on top of "your own websites" that allows all people with "your own website" to effectively communicate and live interact with each other. And creating "your own website" is just a matter of clicking a button in any nostr app that generates private key and public key pair.

A few differences: you don't need to learn how to self-host (this is why centralized services became so popular in the first place), it's two-way communication, and the point about relays is that as long as just one allows you to publish (which is very likely, and even if there's none, you can host one yourself), you can publish.

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