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@ The Nostr Report
2023-08-27 19:26:43
Happy Sunday #Nostr !
Here’s your #NostrTechWeekly newsletter at the nostr:npub19mduaf5569jx9xz555jcx3v06mvktvtpu0zgk47n4lcpjsz43zzqhj6vzk written by nostr:npub1r3fwhjpx2njy87f9qxmapjn9neutwh7aeww95e03drkfg45cey4qgl7ex2
Our goal here is a weekly newsletter focused on the more technical happenings in the nostr-verse. Follow the hashtag #NostrTechWeekly to ensure you’re getting the newsletter ASAP!
TONS of new tech was shipped this week; very exciting. Let’s dive in!
## Recent Upgrades to Nostr (NIPs)
#### 1) [NIP 315: User Statuses](https://github.com/nostr-protocol/nips/pull/737) 👋
This is a feature where users can add an (optionally) expiring status to be displayed when folks interact with that user’s account. It’s very reminiscent of the old AIM days. Damus’ implementation can even read the music you’re listening on your device and broadcast that with your status. It has brought a lot of joy and memes this week!
nostr:npub1xtscya34g58tk0z605fvr788k263gsu6cy9x0mhnm87echrgufzsevkk5s proposed this NIP to codify the work he did in Damus to support this feature. It’s been live for a few days in Damus (TestFlight version only I believe) as well as on Amethyst, and I hope more clients adopt it.
#### 2) [Updates to NIP 51: Lists](https://github.com/nostr-protocol/nips/pull/723) 📜
NIP 51 is a way to publish arbitrary lists. They can be lists of npubs, hashtags, really anything. There are some implementations that use NIP 51 to create a users’ preferred mute list to curate their own feed.
nostr:npub1gzuushllat7pet0ccv9yuhygvc8ldeyhrgxuwg744dn5khnpk3gs3ea5ds expanded its use to explicitly support a list of bookmarks. This seems like it could be used in many contexts, especially a nostr-browser 😉.
#### 3) Proposed [NIP 44: encryption standard](https://github.com/nostr-protocol/nips/pull/715) & [NIP 58: Gift Wrapping](https://github.com/nostr-protocol/nips/pull/716) 🎁
As mentioned last week. There’s still a lot of activity around truly private/secure DMs and these two NIPs seem to be gaining steam as the right way to handle it. As a reminder they’re a strategy for encrypting Nostr events so that the metadata (from, to, created at, etc) isn’t publicly accessible like they are with standard NIP 4 DMs used in most clients.
Seems like they’re getting close to approval and adoption as NIPs!
Authors: nostr:npub1gcxzte5zlkncx26j68ez60fzkvtkm9e0vrwdcvsjakxf9mu9qewqlfnj5z [Kieran](https://github.com/kieran) [Paul Miller](https://github.com/paulmillr) [Jon Staab](https://github.com/staab)
#### 4) Proposed [NIP 69: Polls]( https://github.com/nostr-protocol/nips/pull/320 ) ❓
This proposal has been around a while since there are obvious analogs to what is available in legacy social media.
The one great unique Nostr flavoring is that it’s an extension of the zap protocol so that polls can only be answered by those willing to pay to answer. This can decrease spam and also enable polling that’s weighted by how much people care about their answer (measured by the amount they’ll put up to answer the poll). Pretty interesting take on polls.
Authors: [toadlyBroodle](https://github.com/toadlyBroodle)
## Notable projects
#### [Nostr browser - Android only](nostr:note1ak7l9jzrn8glls9j4dn29w65uhdmcxd322mpq3qpfwndqqk237js3y2tdp )
nostr:npub1xdtducdnjerex88gkg2qk2atsdlqsyxqaag4h05jmcpyspqt30wscmntxy announced an early version of a Nostr-browser. Since Nostr is a protocol with many kinds of apps that can be run on top of it, there’s a need for users to be able to interact with any kind of Nostr app even if the current commonly used clients don’t know how to handle that kind of event. These browsers will become like hubs for Nostr’s ecosystem of micro-apps.
A nostr-browser will do the work of sensing the kind of Nostr event and attempt to find an application to handle the event. Think about how most clients can’t handle the Nostr events that are shared, remixable audio. But stemstr.app can handle that kind of event! With some work a Nostr-browser could find an application to handle each kind of event to give the user a seamless experience.
This is just the beginning but it’s an incredible future they’re building towards.
#### [Swarmstr](http://swarmstr.com)
This is an app where people can crowdsource answers to questions via Nostr. This seems similar to Quora but less gated.
On top of the advantages of being built on Nostr, swarmstr hints at a future where we can post bounties for questions and get paid for our knowledge and helpfulness. This could also be a natural place for Data Vending Machines to plug in and bid to be paid to be useful.
Author(s): nostr:npub178umpxtdflcm7a08nexvs4mu384kx0ngg9w8ltm5eut6q7lcp0vq05qrg4
#### [Private Group Chat](https://www.nostrpulsar.chat)
Pretty straightforward and needed. This is using the pattern from the Gift Wrapping (yet to be merged) NIP to mask metadata to make a more private and secure chat.
Author(s): nostr:npub1yxp7j36cfqws7yj0hkfu2mx25308u4zua6ud22zglxp98ayhh96s8c399s and [AustinKelsay](https://github.com/AustinKelsay)
#### [Websites hosted on Nostr](https://h.hostr.cc/p/a5a44e2a531efcc86491c4b9a3fa67daee8f60c9d2757a12eed95d98c5d6fc42/d/hostr-lp)
This is a way to host websites using Nostr by publishing the website’s code as a Nostr event. Similarly to nostrsites.com by nostr:npub1v6xwae25wh6etmqw3m6yce9lnk5dnhtqpzk9fhxjfvjsryctjc8q2kxk5t
It’s probably best for simple websites and not huge web applications, but having a decentralized way to store and distribute your website is indeed powerful 💪
Author(s): nostr:npub194qhhn5vzzyrsqaugfms8c7ycqjyvhyguurra450nhlweatfzxkqy8tgkd
## Latest conversations
#### [Content Moderation on Nostr](nostr:note1y5h6kgjyp2nsmnl4fw5a3tudjtsa5dzmk3f504w6ajgqyf5jsntsgzp4sn)
I personally kicked up a bit of a shit storm this week by broaching the topic of opt-in content moderation in Nostr. Content moderation may be necessary in the future for a few reasons:
1) If Nostr scales to millions of users, there will be a significant increase in the number of bots and scammers. Nostr users will likely want some way to filter that out of their feed without spending hours a day muting individual accounts.
2) If Nostr becomes home to illegal content, regardless of who says it’s illegal or if we agree that the content should be illegal, governments will likely go after relay operators, which is a threat to the operation and decentralization of Nostr.
3) Nostr users may want to opt-in to content moderation to try to prevent content like child porn or other sexually exploitative content from being propagated through their area of Nostr.
The proposal is about an ecosystem of blocklists maintained by various third parties that compete with each other to create the set of blocklists that users, clients and relays find most agrees with their sensibilities. Users, clients and relays could choose (or choose not to) utilize these lists to filter the events that pass through their feed.
It prompted good conversation but it’s a touchy subject since we Nostriches are a freedom loving bunch.
## Events
We’ll keep a running list of Nostr-related events that I hear about (in person or virtual).
1. [Nostrasia](https://nostr.world/) Nov 1-3 in Tokyo & Hong Kong
2. [Nostrville](https://www.meetup.com/bitcoinpark/events/292518506/) Nov 9-10 in Nashville, TN, USA
3. [NostrCon](nostr:note1ah9vkqn395rqqqnqpkhzrd2yh9074vhl6gzl2h4rjn2tkdunhksq3ujl3f) Jan 12, 2024 (online only)
If you wanna see something highlighted here just send a DM to nostr:npub1r3fwhjpx2njy87f9qxmapjn9neutwh7aeww95e03drkfg45cey4qgl7ex2
## Until next time 🫡
If I missed anything, or you’re building something I didn’t post about, let me know, DMs welcome.
Stay classy Nostr.