@ Dikaios1517
2025-05-21 18:09:57
What makes it different:
No monolithic control. The same entity does not control where the data is stored, what apps are available to be used to access the data, how the data is displayed and what specific data is surfaced for each user, how advertisements are injected into users' feeds, what types of content are permitted, what users and subject matter are permitted... Control over all of these things is spread out among a wide variety of entities, from relay operators, to client developers, and DVM creators, so that users have choice while still being part of the same protocol.
Identity portability. You can take your entire social graph with you from one Nostr client to another. If one of them starts doing something you don't like, there is zero cost to switching, since all of your follows, followers, and content is immediately available upon logging into different client. Someone creates a new client for a different type of content? Just use the same keys to log in and your profile is already loaded with your social graph, who may have already started generating content.
Permissionless and Censorship Resistant. There is no need to ask permission to use Nostr. Generate a key pair, choose some relays, and start posting. No one can prevent you from signing notes with your private key. And once you start posting, you are difficult to silence, since your notes would need to be removed from each relay you are using, along with each relay that aggregates and indexes notes from other relays, and you can even run your own to ensure your notes are always accessible. A particular client could decide not to display your notes, or a particular relay might blacklist your npub, but anyone who wants to see your content will be able to so long as all clients and all relays have not colluded against you.
Content Ownership. Because your notes are signed by your private key, no one can modify your notes in any way without getting you to sign for it. If they want to store a copy of it on their relay, that's fine, but they have no ability to change what you wrote and misrepresent your words, because they will be unable to affix a valid signature to it. Likewise, while anyone can generate a new npub with the intention of impersonating you, Nostr web-of-trust and pagerank tools make it obvious to anyone who takes 5 seconds to look into it that they are an impostor. Moreover, no one can "hack" into your Nostr account and post as you without your private key, and keys being compromised is an exceptionally rare occurrence these days, thanks to better tools for key management.
No Slavery to the Algorithm. It's not that Nostr doesn't have algorithms. It's that the user gets to decide what algorithm they use to surface the content they want to see. They can choose to view a chronological feed of their followers' posts, a feed of all posts from their chosen relays, a feed based on a list they or someone else created, a feed from a particular relay that can be configured to surface specific content, a feed from a DVM that displays specific content, and a growing list of other options.
Zaps. I would be remiss if I didn't mention zaps as a major differentiator. Where else can you go and receive real value for posting a meme that made someone laugh, or for answering a question with good information, or for just encouraging someone who was feeling down? Moreover, there is no obligation for anyone to zap you, so you still do all of the above knowing that you may not receive anything in return. Receiving a zap as a small "thank you," is a feeling that cannot be replaced, though. You know for a fact that someone truly valued what you had to say. And a great side effect of this is Nostr has become a de facto address book for payments, allowing users to send money to any of their contacts permissionlessly.
I could keep going...
What is missing:
A good option for long-form, pre-recorded video sharing. WoT enabled YouTube replacement? Yes please!
Better content discovery, particularly for new users. Primal's set follow lists are a terrible practice, but Amethyst's empty feed upon login is a bad experience, too. I think the answer could be a combination of pagerank filtered following of topics the user is interested in, paired with user generated follow packs that are starting to be integrated into a few clients.
Relay suggestions. One of the most common questions I see is, "What relays should I use?" or "Which are the best relays?" or "Can someone suggest some good relays for me to try?" We need a tool that offers relay suggestions based on criteria indicated by the user in plain language. So, no "What NIPs do you need the relay to support?" Rather, "What do you want to use this relay for? A. Writing publicly viewable notes and receiving publicly viewable replies and reactions. B. Receiving private messages. C. Searching for other users and their notes. D. Writing notes that are only viewable by those I follow."
Speaking of private messages... We need to get DMs sorted. They're an absolute mess right now. The only app that consistently shows me all my DMs is 0xChat. Every other app leaves some types of DMs out. In short, if you aren't using 0xChat, you're probably not seeing some DMs, and that can be particularly problematic for anyone trying to sell products via Nostr marketplaces.
Finally (for now), consistent support for the outbox model. Clients should look for my follows' notes from their outbox relays, regardless of whether I have their relays in my list. They should send my replies and reactions to their notes to their inbox relays in addition to my outbox relays. This will greatly reduce the reliance on large public relays, and increase Nostr's decentralization, resiliency, and censorship resistance.