Why nostr:
- You own your identity
- Your speech stands on its own
- You can run your own everything
- You own and control your social graph
- You are free to say and do anything, but you are not free from consequences (non-repudiation of cryptographic signatures)
- You can proof realness via proof-of-work, either directly or indirectly
- Proof-of-work is what allows you to successfully combat bots, spam, and trolls, as it brings real cost to destructive actions
- Ownership and realness allows you to build and curate webs of trust, which allows for canonicality without central authority
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Replies (94)
Great thoughts Gigi, have a good day.
Nice note 🤝
Are you using the term PoW metaphorically or is there something I don’t understand about Nostr?
🫂 #Siamstr
There's no point in writing to Nostr how good Nostr is. It's as dumb as telling a bitcoiner what bitcoin is.
bullshit. I am new to here and just learning how this thing works.
wondering the same thing
according to brave search summariser:
Nostr protocol defines a way to generate proof of work (PoW) on the client side, allowing relay and client to filter events based on difficulty. Nostril is a command-line tool that can produce a message with proof of work.(1) Proof of work can be generated for GitHub Gist ID, Twitter ID, Mastodon post ID, and Twitter ID. A Proof of Work Service Provider for Nostr is being developed, allowing client apps to request remote PoW generation for event_ids before signing and publishing. (2) The protocol also provides a mechanism for user-driven search, and a NIP defines a way to generate and interpret PoW for Nostr notes. (0)
🌐 nostradamic.com 0
🌐 stacker.news 1
🌐 github.com 2

I don't mean to be rude, but those are all the means and not the end. Those are not the right reasons to join Nostr.
A good analogy is Facebook. Why did people join Facebook? Because their friends were on Facebook. Why did people join Twitter because many important people were on Twitter.
I sometimes still go to Twitter because people like Elon Musk, Eric Wall, Adam Back, Snowden and Balaji still post there. Not because it is relatively less prone to censorship now.
The reasons I want to hear are: Jack Dorsey, Lyn Alden, Pablo, Laeserin, etc post exclusively on Nostr. What am I missing out on if I am not on Nostr?
What do all the features you mentioned enable? Discussions of coveted topics that are rather extreme on Twitter. Let us discuss the unspeakable history. Let us discuss the hot topics of the current world. We should create opportunities here like nowhere else. People will be missing out if they don't come here.
So, once again, what are people missing out on?
Some Nostrichs may also appreciate having that info to relay to non-nostr friends 🤙💜✨
LFG! BULLISH ON NOSTR 👏🏻
See below on repudiation
View quoted note →
We are new around here. Show us the way.
Stay humble, stack zaps
Not a metaphor. PoW = PoW, and sats are PoW too. ⚡

GitHub
nips/13.md at master · nostr-protocol/nips
Nostr Implementation Possibilities. Contribute to nostr-protocol/nips development by creating an account on GitHub.
sats are the right kind of PoW for most use cases in nostr
spam protection directly via PoW doesn't work when an ASIC and a mobile compete in the same playing field.
sats level the PoW playing field
Sats are difficulty-adjusted PoW, which is way better than straight up PoW.
I think few understand the implications of networks like Nostr. I’m definitely not one of them, but my feeling says it’s big.
"difficulty-adjusted PoW"
that's such a much better and succinct way of putting it! 😅
In went non-repudiation of cryptographic signatures & something useless must have fell out 💜💪
What's the current market price in sats for posting 1 note.
Isn't it obvious though that you're the only one who used that key before it was published?
Similarly, clients can allow the user to disallow zaps below any threshold thought to be gameable trivially.
No, you can backdate notes.
Strong.
Can you go deeper on proof of realness via proof of work and how it combats bots and spam?
Where is your media uploads lol
Porn
Zaps
I love Nostr. It’s the first time I’ve ever actually wanted to share personal things or interact with others on social media.
NOSTR ONLY 🫡
FREEDOM TECH FOR ALL. 🫡
No, Sir only.
HEY THANKS FOR UN-UNFOLLOWEDING ME, FELLOW #BONO MAXIMALIST
NOSTR ONLY 🫡
It’s not like you don’t have options:
#damus
#primal
#shipyard
#amethyst
#nostur
#coracle
#openvibe
#nostrudel
#yakihonne
#gossip
#snort
#habla
#highlighter
#satelliteearth
#wavelake
#nostrnests
And so many more… 🤙✨
Grateful for all the builders in this ecosystem.
Where is the bridge
That takes me home
'cause nothing means nothing at all
nothing mean nothing at all
without … NOSTR!
🫡
#Nostr only, left Xshitter on 1/28/2024 😎
I find your lack of non-repudiation distuuuurbing.
#ONLYZAPS
just wish:
-somehow a delete note function (Bluesky has it working)
-less BTC talk :))
Nostr will prevail. there is no reason for any other social media to control our data...
🍻💜
We like the protocol
ทำไมต้องใช้ Nostr?
- คุณเป็นเจ้าของตัวตนของคุณเอง: ไม่มีใครสามารถควบคุมหรือยึดบัญชีของคุณได้
- เสียงของคุณมีอิสระ: คุณสามารถแสดงความคิดเห็นได้อย่างอิสระโดยไม่ถูกเซ็นเซอร์
- คุณจัดการทุกอย่างเองได้: คุณสามารถรันเซิร์ฟเวอร์ของคุณเองเพื่อควบคุมการใช้งานทั้งหมด
- คุณควบคุมเครือข่ายความสัมพันธ์ของคุณ: คุณสามารถเลือกติดตามใครก็ได้อย่างอิสระ
- คุณมีอิสระในการพูดและทำสิ่งต่างๆ แต่ก็ต้องรับผิดชอบต่อผลลัพธ์ (เนื่องจากลายเซ็นดิจิทัลไม่สามารถปฏิเสธได้): คุณสามารถแสดงความคิดเห็นได้อย่างอิสระ แต่ก็ต้องรับผิดชอบต่อสิ่งที่คุณโพสต์
- คุณสามารถพิสูจน์ความเป็นจริงด้วย Proof-of-work: คุณสามารถยืนยันตัวตนได้ว่าเป็นคนที่โพสต์ข้อความนั้นจริงๆ
Proof-of-work ช่วยกำจัดบอท สแปม และพวกชอบรบกวน: ระบบนี้จะช่วยกรองคนที่ต้องการสร้างความรำคาญออกไป
- การเป็นเจ้าของข้อมูลและความเป็นจริงช่วยสร้างเครือข่ายความเชื่อถือ: คุณสามารถสร้างชุมชนที่น่าเชื่อถือได้โดยไม่ต้องอาศัยการควบคุมจากศูนย์กลาง
ผมใช้ Gemini แปล แต่ความหมายครบตามนั้นเลย
#Siamstr #Nostr
Why nostr:
- You own your identity
- Your speech stands on its own
- You can run your own everything
- You own and control your social graph
- You are free to say and do anything, but you are not free from consequences (non-repudiation of cryptographic signatures)
- You can proof realness via proof-of-work, either directly or indirectly
- Proof-of-work is what allows you to successfully combat bots, spam, and trolls, as it brings real cost to destructive actions
- Ownership and realness allows you to build and curate webs of trust, which allows for canonicality without central authority
View quoted note →
No delete!!!
Hell no. Engrain notes in stone.
I don't want all the little hucksters who come around every market cycle going around deleting receipts. Reputation matters.
You wanna say something you own it.
You can't take it back IRL, you shouldn't get to undo it online. Transparency. Reality. Truth.
> Proof-of-work is what allows you to successfully combat bots, spam, and trolls, as it brings real cost to destructive actions
Spammers are willing to spend money to spam.
They go as far as buying lists of email addresses, they'd have no issue running POW algorithms if they need to.
If anything spammers may be more willing to pay than the average social media user.
Paywalls don't protect you from spammers. See spammers on Twitter with the "verified" badge.
The best trust protection is manual "vetting".
Let Sally endorse Bob as an authentic human. But only once Sally has first been endorsed trustworthy herself. Creating an opt-in circle of trust.
If a bot slips through the cracks, Sally can remove her endorsement of Bob. Which removes ALL endorsements that Bob made too, all the way down the line. Blasting bot-nets out of the sky.
Only endorse people you trust, and people you trust to make trustworthy endorsements as well.
🫡
The proof of work was invented in 1993 by Moni Naor and Cynthia Dwork as a solution for email spam. I think one of Satoshi’s main contributions was the adjustable difficulty. I guess that to make the PoW concept work in social media, we need to somehow adapt the adjustable difficulty. 💭🤔
This is the way
Facts
View quoted note →
- You get to spend hours worrying about which client to use, which relays to trust, which developers to support, which nips you should be adopting, which wallets are not going to rug you, which new apps you are missing out on, which memes get the best response in zapathons, and whether anyone even sees your notes.
clients compete for users
Indeed 🙌🥂
I like this feature. 👍
👇👇👇Nice Summary👇👇👇
Why nostr:
- You own your identity
- Your speech stands on its own
- You can run your own everything
- You own and control your social graph
- You are free to say and do anything, but you are not free from consequences (non-repudiation of cryptographic signatures)
- You can proof realness via proof-of-work, either directly or indirectly
- Proof-of-work is what allows you to successfully combat bots, spam, and trolls, as it brings real cost to destructive actions
- Ownership and realness allows you to build and curate webs of trust, which allows for canonicality without central authority
View quoted note →
As it should be 🙌🏻🕺
Not really though. The clients censor people. I am asked constantly if I would like to see hidden things in my feed. They are hidden because others dont like it or the poster. Clients and relays are allowing people to censor on my behalf.
Makes the rest irrelevant if that's what free speach looks like .
#Nostr
View quoted note →
then the relays and clients censor your feeds while screaming 'FREEDOMMM!"
Nostr social clients lack functionality (Facebook is for finding friends, instagram is for posting pictures and YouTube for videos etc.).
Also, they mostly have free speech that cannot reach non-followers.
I own my own me! Yay!
Why nostr:
- You own your identity
- Your speech stands on its own
- You can run your own everything
- You own and control your social graph
- You are free to say and do anything, but you are not free from consequences (non-repudiation of cryptographic signatures)
- You can proof realness via proof-of-work, either directly or indirectly
- Proof-of-work is what allows you to successfully combat bots, spam, and trolls, as it brings real cost to destructive actions
- Ownership and realness allows you to build and curate webs of trust, which allows for canonicality without central authority
View quoted note →
Scammers are trying to make money.
Sometimes you need to spend money to make money. Why would scammers not be willing to spend some money?
Why nostr:
- No more struggle to understand algorithms.
- No fear of getting kicked out
- No weird rules & regulations
- No more revenue splits
- No more censorship
Why nostr:
- You own your identity
- Your speech stands on its own
- You can run your own everything
- You own and control your social graph
- You are free to say and do anything, but you are not free from consequences (non-repudiation of cryptographic signatures)
- You can proof realness via proof-of-work, either directly or indirectly
- Proof-of-work is what allows you to successfully combat bots, spam, and trolls, as it brings real cost to destructive actions
- Ownership and realness allows you to build and curate webs of trust, which allows for canonicality without central authority
View quoted note →
Who will create your nostr account? Not a 3rd party, but math.
Who ensures data integrity? Not a 3rd party, but cryptography.
Who stores your data? Not a 3rd party, but multiple parties, or yourself.
Who can delete your account? Nobody, not even yourself.
Who can delete your data? Nobody, not even yourself.
View quoted note →
Yes, all true, but I can't fix typos.
Good word 🙌🏼
Thanks
Brilliant!
This is a call to be better from the start.
Think before you act. Edit.
Repeat.
Simple and powerful message not all learn easily. More visceral in the sense that it better reflects the reality of the imperfect world it represents.
Feature, not a bug, I say! To the deathbed!!! 

Fuck all influencers! There is no Algo here little guy!
Also don’t forget to join my micro relay it only costs 13 sats to join.
https://galaxy13.nostr1.com
I disagree. We are human after all.
Where is the proof of work? You talking about zaps?
Why nostr:
- You own your identity
- Your speech stands on its own
- You can run your own everything
- You own and control your social graph
- You are free to say and do anything, but you are not free from consequences (non-repudiation of cryptographic signatures)
- You can proof realness via proof-of-work, either directly or indirectly
- Proof-of-work is what allows you to successfully combat bots, spam, and trolls, as it brings real cost to destructive actions
- Ownership and realness allows you to build and curate webs of trust, which allows for canonicality without central authority
View quoted note →
I see things slightly different. Not in spirit 😍. But conceptually.
Identity is in the eyes of the beholders. Digital identity is an incredibly poor substitute for (non-bureaucratic) human identity.
A social graph is a relational construct, so a node so to speak doesn’t really have one of its own. A dyad might, but then we have to ask if social graphing is always a prosocial device.
Property is useful for rivalrous resources, but it’s a category error in the contexts of anti-rivalrous resources.

Jack Patrick Dorsey only
What’s a “human identity” supposed to be in this context?
You goto Nostr because you're sick of creating different accounts to 'go places'
Nostr will black hole all things that Websites and API's give us, just like bitcoin is black holing value.
You goto nostr to because their is no requirement to 'join' new things to gain the best of their experience
Thanks for the question. I define it negatively as in NOT bureaucratic identity. Legal identity for example is a form of bureaucratic identity.
How you ‘see’ your neighbours and how they ‘see’ you is part and parcel of human identity processes for example.
I see, but identity is a mental construct that refers to real entities (although this is already subjective).
A digital identity is the digital artifact of such a construct. A bureaucratic identity is, analogously, the administrative artifact.
My neighbor's face is not part of the identity. It is part of the reality to which an identity refers. Incidentally, the identity that I assign to him based on my perception does not require a general discussion, as it is not a general phenomenon.
In my view, there is no such thing as a human identity, at least not in a way that is meaningfully comparable to a digital or bureaucratic identity.
The conceptual crux of identity is how it can be firmly and verifiably linked to real events as a mental construct, despite the definitional vagueness, the change of things over time, the susceptibility to errors of real implementation of corresponding systems, etc.
It’s your prerogative to believe there’s no such thing as human identity. Nevertheless, dozens of disciplines under the collective names of the humanities and social sciences have varying definitions of human identity that are weaved into their varying attempts to understand society, to understand our species, with some underlying hope that we might improve the conditions for human flourishing and the web of life of which we are part.
Digital identity has quite different history and purpose and is not in its current forms at least ready to substitute for human identity processes healthily. Nevertheless, it is now encroaching on those domains, leading to pure social outcomes. We need to (meta)design better.
lol that’s not the point but okay
Apols if i don’t quite get or address the point.
What i do know about identity after all these years is that it means different things to different people in different contexts. And that’s not an ideal place to start 😆
Actually *that* is what I meant. 😄 There are functionally very different types (and therefore definitions) of identity.
I’d differentiate the ones serving (self-)definitory purpose (“who am I in relation to others?”) from this which serve a transactional purpose (“how can others know I (still) am who I claimed to be?”).
You’re right. That plurality of definitions and functions is an “interesting” point to start. 😄
Now on my #TFQFavorites list
View quoted note →
Why nostr:
- You own your identity
- Your speech stands on its own
- You can run your own everything
- You own and control your social graph
- You are free to say and do anything, but you are not free from consequences (non-repudiation of cryptographic signatures)
- You can proof realness via proof-of-work, either directly or indirectly
- Proof-of-work is what allows you to successfully combat bots, spam, and trolls, as it brings real cost to destructive actions
- Ownership and realness allows you to build and curate webs of trust, which allows for canonicality without central authority