By Bitcoin Časopis - prije 4 mjeseca - Vrijeme čitanja: 12 minute
Zašto sam već nostr maksimalist
After being inspired by a podcasta s Preston Pysh and Will Casarin in January of 2023 I experienced my first interaction with ‘the nostr’ using a rather clunky interface. Since that time, nostr has gradually become more user friendly and an increasingly meaningful part of my life. I have now deleted all other social media accounts in favor of this blossoming decentralized alternative. My slow exodus away from centralized social media started over ten years ago, but the formation of a functional substitute was the final nail in the coffin. Making the jump at such an early stage may have been premature, but after two months using both nostr and Twitter I chose to make the transition permanent. I’ve written this article to explain my reasoning and provide an assessment of the nostr network as I understand it today.
Nobody is in charge of nostr, I have no one to ask if NOSTR should be capitalized or lowercase. I also have not reached a definitive conclusion regarding how it should be pronounced. Frankly it wouldn’t matter if anyone had an opinion about either of those things. Nostr is what the users and developers make it. Nostr is not a website and it is not a company. Nostr does not rely on a blockchain to function and there are no central servers dictating who can participate in the network. With the exception of shared interest and lightning ‘zap’ integration, it is independent from Bitcoin. Those who already understand Bitcoin seem to have an easier time wrapping their head around the importance of nostr, but I have also met several non-bitcoin who are passionate about what is being built.
Nostr is a protocol which is designed to have applications built on top of it, or rather to interface with it. Users are free to choose from dozens of applications (clients) to access the protocol. The client they choose determines the nature of the user experience. The name NOSTR is an acronym for Notes and Other Stuff Transmitted by Relay. The functionality of the protocol is in the name, but I will not be diving into the technicalities here. I also will not be discussing the pros and cons of the various clients used to access nostr. Though that would be a helpful resource if someone would like to write that up!
Kao netehnički entuzijast tehnologije usmjerene na slobodu, prisustvovao sam Nostrasiji u studenom 2023. s jednim primarnim pitanjem na umu; "Koje se aplikacije ne mogu replicirati na nostr?" U ovom trenutku ima previše nepoznanica da bi se na ovo odgovorilo konačno, ali moje razumijevanje nostr-a i njegovih potencijalnih primjena dramatično se proširilo tijekom mog boravka u Tokiju. Konferencija je uključivala razgovore o decentraliziranim verzijama gotovo svake aplikacije koju možete zamisliti. Twitter, Twitch, Youtube, Reddit, Spotify, Maps, Amazon, GitHub, Goodreads i drugi. Nijedna od ovih decentraliziranih alternativa nije kopija tih usluga. Čini se da na mnoge načine imaju potencijal postati još bolje verzije zahvaljujući munjevitoj integraciji i otvorenom korisničkom unosu.
Ponekad sam se pitao hoće li ono što se gradi na kraju postati nova decentralizirana verzija cijelog interneta. Što se tiče trenutnih ograničenja, primarni izazov za koji sam čuo da se raspravlja na nostrasiji je stvaranje ekvivalenta nostr za signal ili telegram. Privatni šifrirani chat može se lakše adresirati pomoću nečega poput SimpleX-a. U ovom trenutku nije jasno hoće li aplikacije u razvoju biti uspješne ili skalabilne, ali s obzirom na napredak kojem sam svjedočio u prostoru od pridruživanja, osjećam se entuzijastično.
Optimizam na stranu, hipotetski je moguće da nostr neće preživjeti dovoljno dugo da postigne bilo koji od hrabrih ciljeva koji se trenutno predlažu. Pred nama su mnogi financijski i tehnički izazovi. Moguće je da sam pogriješio što sam stavio sva jaja nosnice u jednu košaru. Taj izbor nije za svakoga i ja to u potpunosti cijenim. Međutim, budući da sam godinama čekao decentraliziranu alternativu otvorenog koda društvenim medijima, spreman sam preuzeti rizik povezan s ranim usvajanjem ove tehnologije. Radije bih iskusio neuglađeno korisničko sučelje i potencijalno se probio kroz mnogo frustracija nego nastavio ulagati svoju energiju u sustav koji smatram zastarjelim.
Svaki izbor nosi rizik. Kada je riječ o upravljanju imovinom, rizik loše alokacije financijskog kapitala ima drastične i trajne implikacije. U slučaju društvenih medija, rizik od loše alokacije društvenog kapitala je primjetan, ali puno manje dramatičan. Istina je da ste korištenjem centralizirane platforme društvenih medija već žrtvovali kontrolu nad svim društvenim kapitalom koji ste potrošili. Ta bi stranica u bilo kojem trenutku mogla promijeniti svoja pravila na način koji negativno utječe na vas ili mogu izbrisati vaš račun prema vlastitom nahođenju. Sve veze i sadržaj koji ste razvili na tim platformama vise na volji mega-korporacija i vladine intervencije. Osobno, više vjerujem u open-source kod nego u ljudske institucije.
Prilikom stvaranja identiteta na nostr-u, kriptografski potpis se oblikuje za vas internetskom magijom otvorenog koda (koliko moj pleb um može utvrditi). Ovaj potpis ima privatni i javni ključ koji se nazivaju nsec odnosno npub. npub izgleda kao ovaj ispod i može se koristiti za pronalaženje drugih korisnika:
npub1jfn4ghffz7uq7urllk6y4rle0yvz26800w4qfmn4dv0sr48rdz9qyzt047 (add me 🧡🫂💜)
The npub is a novel form of online identification which is not required to be linked to your meatspace identity in any way. The nsec is used to sign in to new clients and to prove that you are the owner of the account; similar to bitcoin private keys. This key pair can be used anywhere in the nostrverse to prove that you are a particular individual or account. Follows, followers, and posted content are associated with a npub through the relays that npub is using. This means that if you are interested in trying out a new client or migrating away from the one you are using you may do this without any loss of connections or content.
Ovaj novi pristup mrežnom identitetu i pohranjivanju podataka stvara mnogo konkurentniji prostor za programere koji kreiraju aplikacije, ali također omogućuje interoperabilnost. Dva ključna čimbenika koji u potpunosti nedostaju u današnjem postojećem krajoliku društvenih medija. Trenutačni divovi društvenih medija oslanjaju se na činjenicu da je izazovno napustiti i da je teško komunicirati između platformi. Izbrisao sam svoj Facebook prije mnogo godina i mjesecima sam primao e-poruke o tome 'Nedostaješ tom i tom!' Pogledajte što su nedavno objavili.’ Naravno, bio bih prisiljen ponovno se prijaviti da pogledam sadržaj. Očigledna i očajnička emocionalna manipulacija bila je previše za želudac. Nostr ima potencijal uništiti model ograđenog vrta u kojem je vaš digitalni život talac prihoda od oglasa i prikupljanja podataka.
Uz strukturne probleme s naslijeđenim društvenim medijima, jasno je da je online cenzura u velikom porastu. Kako god osjećali cenzuru kad se događa nekome s kim se ne slažete, neće vam se svidjeti kad se cenzori okome na vas. Neki ljudi cijene cenzuru jer postoji mnogo sadržaja koji radije ne bi vidjeli. Osobno bih volio sam napraviti taj izbor, a ne da neka bezlična korporacija bez službe za korisnike to napravi umjesto mene.
Ultimately the social media giants have been placed in an impossible position. Legislators will not stop pushing them to maintain the Overtonov prozor in their favor. Whether a social media provider wishes to be a propaganda tool or not, the nature of any centralized platform will ensure that it becomes one. Centralized dissemination of what is ‘appropriate content’ and what is considered ‘misinformation’ will inevitably narrow the scope of human understanding to a point where self-censorship is the norm. To a large extent this has already happened.
Some believe that misinformation is the most dangerous aspect of the internet. Allowing people to communicate freely in an open marketplace of ideas is too much to bear for these people. They feel the need to control what people say and by extension control what people think. This fear based need for control over the population does not align with my values. Despite the inevitable failure of such approaches in the age of the internet, we will likely see an increase in attempts to KYC (know-your-customer) everyone on centralized networks. The social credit system in China has provided the world with a case study to be weary of. When your bank card gets declined at the grocery store for a meme you re-posted on Xitter don’t say I didn’t warn you. Have I already become a toxic nostr maxi?... Maybe. 🧡🫂💜
Michel Foucault’s writings on disciplinary power outline a methodology towards an essentially non-violent oppression of the masses. Looking at his conceptualization and the current state of affairs in the social media landscape, I have a difficult time telling them apart. The final result of such a system is a society in which authentic connection and genuine behavior become impossible. Physical prisons are only one form of enslavement. The true prison of the dystopian future manifests inside the mind of the individual. Bitcoiners who have watched their personal time preference expand understand this intuitively.
There are people in the bitcoin community who see nostr as a distraction and there are people in the nostr community who see bitcoin as an impediment to adoption. All I see is a massive synergistic upward spiral between the orange badger and the purple ostrich. These two protocols feed each other and enable novi slučajevi uporabe which culminate in something much greater than the two independent parts. Bitcoin is essential for shifting the world away from debt slavery into proof of work. Nostr is essential for shifting the world away from top down dissemination of information to a free market of content. In this way the two technologies are ideologically aligned with volunteerism and personal liberty.
most bitcoin would agree that financial freedom is essential in maintaining one’s personal agency. However, without the ability to communicate freely the new found financial liberation is handicapped. The ability to reliably coordinate commerce and correspond in a peer-to-peer fashion is much more essential than many seem to acknowledge at this moment. Additionally, the reason the fiat system is so potent in its deception is not exclusively a result of the accountants and politicians engaged in the fraud. The real strength of the fiat leviathan is a function of global propaganda efforts to maintain the perpetual delusion. If hyperbitcoinization occurs and the propaganda apparatus remains in place, most people are unlikely to benefit from its liberating qualities. In order for the full impact of bitcoin to take root on this planet we will also need a means of sharing information openly and efficiently.
All of this rhetoric is a bit grandiose for the moment given that the estimates I have received regarding daily active users ranges around 10,000. It could be that this article and the protocol itself will age poorly, but many of the concepts in this article will remain relevant to the importance of a decentralized method of mass communication. If nostr fails, something will take its place. Given the development I have witnessed so far, I would be surprised to see nostr fall flat. The protocol is drawing in talent and checking off bounties at an exponential rate. As the bitcoin price increases I anticipate this trend to continue. Those who believe that bitcoin is a distraction to nostr underestimate the electromagnetism of the bull market. Those who believe that nostr is a distraction from bitcoin didn’t meet the former ethereum dev at nostrasia who became a bitcoiner because of nostr. The purple pill helps the orange pill go down.
Na više subjektivnoj razini, primijetio sam dramatično bolje korisničko iskustvo na nostr-u nego u naslijeđenom sustavu. Učinak je toliko izražen da mogu reći da se moje mentalno zdravlje osjetno poboljšalo otkako sam prestala s Twittera. Postoji nekoliko varijabli koje bih mogao pripisati tom poboljšanju. Nedostatak ljutitih algoritama, opća veličina zajednice s kojom komuniciram, zajednički interes te zajednice ili svjesno razumijevanje da sam slobodan reći što god želim. Što god bilo, nisam jedini koji je primijetio puno bolju vibru na nostr.
Primijetio sam da neki od popularnih Twitter računa nisu bili toliko popularni na nostr-u, a neki manje poznati računi su postali popularni. Trenutno imam više sljedbenika nego ikad na Twitteru (nevjerojatnih 1400). Neki od većih računa na Twitteru dijele na osobnijoj razini na nostr nego na većem forumu. Ovi učinci možda neće ostati takvi kako mreža raste, ali trenutno se čini da su neki od mojih omiljenih ljudi pristupačniji i ugodniji za otvoreno dijeljenje s nostr zajednicom.
Earlier in my bitcoin journey I was of the opinion that the greater diversity of viewpoints I could interact with, the more comprehensive my understanding of the world would become. I was cautious of ending up in a filter bubble or an echo chamber of certain niche opinions. As time went on I made a point to exclusively follow people on twitter who were outspokenly ‘Bitcoin Only’. This provided a simple heuristic for me to narrow my field of interactions to people who had put in enough work to jump the hurdle out of the clown coin casino. I remain realistic about the possibility that I have intentionally manufactured confirmation bias in my online experience, but with the impending AI boom it will become increasingly difficult to remain in an unfiltered social pool.
By narrowing my online interactions to a specific group I run the risk of missing out on unique opinions, but so far this pruning has continuously increased the signal in my feed while reducing the noise. The scope of nuanced perspectives between bitcoin on nostr has provided me with plenty to consider and learn from. In any case I still get a daily dose of intellectual debris to sort through from the normies I talk to in meatspace. When it comes to my online life, I concluded I would rather spend time getting to know this merry band of internet pioneers than stay connected to the rest of the traditional social media system.
Some have suggested that by leaving legacy social media I might be surrendering to irrelevance and obscurity. Personally I see the exodus of bitcoin from Xitter gradually culminating in that network fading into irrelevance. I give credit to those of you who remain in the fray to fight the good fight, but my days engaging in that digital mosh pit are over. While my own learning process was accelerated by debates on Twitter, nine times out of ten I don’t see productive outcomes from online arguments. What I have found productive and rewarding has been interacting with people who are passionate enough about freedom to roll the dice on this new protocol.
Vrlo je vjerojatno da će svaka osoba na početku ovog pokreta biti doksirana. Međutim, dugoročno gledano, podržavamo tehnologiju koja će budućim generacijama omogućiti slobodu da izaberu koliko će privatnosti održavati i koliko informacija će dijeliti sa svijetom. Omogućujemo budućnost u kojoj ljudi imaju slobodu da budu autentični koliko žele bez umjetnih ograničenja opsega ljudskog izražavanja.
Biti na nostr-u 2023. čini se kao prije igranja najveće internetske zabave koju je svijet ikada vidio. Ozvučenje ima neke greške, dekoracije su još u tijeku i nitko sa sigurnošću ne zna hoće li se još netko pojaviti, ali raspoloženje je dobro. Često sam poistovjećivao stranice poput Xittera i F-booka s usranim ronilačkim barom u koji svi idu isključivo zato što svi idu tamo. Što više izbacuju ljude van, razvodnjavaju pića i dižu cijene; to će više otjerati svoje mušterije. Nisam napisao ovaj članak da bih nekoga osramotio ili da bih ga prisilio da se pridruži nostr-u, ali ako je zapalio iskru u vama da naučite više, moj cilj je postignut. Nema žurbe, ali kada odlučite da vam je dosta statusa quo čekat ćemo vas raširenih ruku.
This is a guest post by Source Node. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Časopis.
Izvorni izvor: Bitcoin Časopis