Bitcoin Twitter is abuzz with excitement about a protocol that promises to decentralize social media: #Nostr.
But all that glitters is not gold, ehmm not #Bitcoin.
A 👇 Thread 🧵
But all that glitters is not gold, ehmm not #Bitcoin.
A 👇 Thread 🧵
According to the official repo, it is “the simplest open protocol that is able to create a censorship-resistant global "social" network once and for all.”
Is that true?
Is that true?
To find out, we need to understand how it works.
The two components of Nostr are:
• Clients
• Relays
The two components of Nostr are:
• Clients
• Relays
Every user runs a Client.
A client is a piece of software responsible for the following operations:
1. Fetching data from Relays (more later)
2. Publishing data to Relays
3. Signing posts
4. Validating signatures on others' posts
A client is a piece of software responsible for the following operations:
1. Fetching data from Relays (more later)
2. Publishing data to Relays
3. Signing posts
4. Validating signatures on others' posts
Each client can specify which Relays to fetch posts from, so there is no central server that the users are required to trust.
You can even run a Relay yourself!
You can even run a Relay yourself!
Earlier I mentioned the signatures.
Each user has his own Private Key, with which he signs messages.
The rest of the world identifies that user and his posts with his Public Key.
And that’s the first big problem.
Each user has his own Private Key, with which he signs messages.
The rest of the world identifies that user and his posts with his Public Key.
And that’s the first big problem.
Using simple public keys like your identity is not a new idea, but it doesn't work.
Or rather, it works until it doesn't work anymore.
Or rather, it works until it doesn't work anymore.
Here is the thing:
👉 the more you encrypt with a key, the more information about that key you are revealing, and the lower the security.
👉 the more you encrypt with a key, the more information about that key you are revealing, and the lower the security.
Encrypting every message with the same private key for a lifetime is not a good idea.
Thus, this 👇 is the paradox of #Nostr
Thus, this 👇 is the paradox of #Nostr
• If Nostr becomes mainstream, there would be every incentive to impersonate prominent figures, like politicians…
• If their key is compromised, users will try to use a new one.
• But at this point, who is legitimate and who is the impostor? Which one is the last key?
• If their key is compromised, users will try to use a new one.
• But at this point, who is legitimate and who is the impostor? Which one is the last key?
And at that point, Nostr is screwed.
This is NOT a trivial problem, this is NOT something that can be solved by a “patch”.
@csuwildcat does a great job explaining it in detail in this video.
👉
This is NOT a trivial problem, this is NOT something that can be solved by a “patch”.
@csuwildcat does a great job explaining it in detail in this video.
👉
But let's move on, explaining what Relays are.
A Relay is a very simple piece of software that:
• queries content
• sorts it
• batches it
• and forwards it to Clients.
That’s it.
A Relay is a very simple piece of software that:
• queries content
• sorts it
• batches it
• and forwards it to Clients.
That’s it.
Such a simple architecture composed of Clients and Relays has the merit of being light (Nostr's main strength), but it is very limited.
What Nostr achieves is basically an RSS feed in which Identity is a public key.
What Nostr achieves is basically an RSS feed in which Identity is a public key.
What it cannot do is decentralize other kinds of applications like YouTube, Spotify, collaborative documents like Google Docs and so on...
Don't get me wrong. I am not saying there is no value in what @fiatjaf and others are pursuing with #Nostr.
Don't get me wrong. I am not saying there is no value in what @fiatjaf and others are pursuing with #Nostr.
But it makes no sense to think that this protocol is the holy grail to achieving a decentralized Web.
To be fair, the developers have never claimed that (to my knowledge).
To be fair, the developers have never claimed that (to my knowledge).
If only there was something like #Nostr but:
• with persistent Identities
• capable of handling different use cases/data structures
• with persistent Identities
• capable of handling different use cases/data structures
https://twitter.com/16158749/status/1605218266112266240
Or maybe it already exists? 🤔
https://twitter.com/pippellia/status/1597272419374403586
That's a wrap!
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If this thread was valuable to you, you can give value back! 💝
• ⌛ Time | follow me
• 🧠 Talent | comment/share/translate
• 🎁 Treasure |⚡️pippellia@getalby.com
The way you prefer, whatever you think this thread is worth.
Thank you🙏
https://twitter.com/1471766016824905738/status/1605970256807206912
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