Big Barry Bitcoin on Nostr: A lot of your questions are actually unknown. Some might consider that scary but I ...
A lot of your questions are actually unknown. Some might consider that scary but I think it is exciting. I can't answer with what WILL happen, only what COULD happen.
Relays follow a protocol, so the software used by a particular operator could be a popular one, or one they made themselves.
This means that some relays accept everything unconditionally, some can be configured to block based on arbitrary conditions, they could block by IP, they could block by your npub, they could block by hashtags or using AI to filter content. Some relays will only host content from specific users and ignore the rest of the data sent its way.
Not only that, but at some point, a conversion was had about how relays can cover costs, so the protocol was grown to include a way for relays to declare a payment method and they can choose to only store content from npubs that have paid.
They can also limit read access, you need to sign a challenge to prove your identity (basically log in) and then they will let you connect and get notes.
I think you should look for podcasts about nostr to hear interesting discussions around this. fountain_app (nprofile…x3ah) is a great podcast app for it.
We already have relays that store profiles and follow lists only (they don't store content).
Relays don't store media, just notes. There are some interesting innovations happening with "blossom servers" to handle media. Right now, nostr.build is the main host for all media and they provide a paid subscription to help with running costs. Primal have their own media servers for their users too.
There is discussion about relays focusing on supporting certain communities. There could be a football relay which relays only football related content.
Some relays focus on finding and blocking spam.
None of the nostr clients are alike, but as the demand grows, so will the network and so too will everything evolve. As data gets organized across relays non-uniformly, clients will adapt.
Right now, hobbyists run relays, some have already turned them into businesses, but eventually we will see, will many small servers work well or do we need to have a few big reliable relays?
Even if we need a few big relays for the majority of people, there are so many possibilities in between. We just don't know how it's gonna go.
Just a note about scaling. If we do get community specific relays, that could mean that load is distributed across many relays and relays may never need to be as big as Twitter or Facebook's servers.
Relays follow a protocol, so the software used by a particular operator could be a popular one, or one they made themselves.
This means that some relays accept everything unconditionally, some can be configured to block based on arbitrary conditions, they could block by IP, they could block by your npub, they could block by hashtags or using AI to filter content. Some relays will only host content from specific users and ignore the rest of the data sent its way.
Not only that, but at some point, a conversion was had about how relays can cover costs, so the protocol was grown to include a way for relays to declare a payment method and they can choose to only store content from npubs that have paid.
They can also limit read access, you need to sign a challenge to prove your identity (basically log in) and then they will let you connect and get notes.
I think you should look for podcasts about nostr to hear interesting discussions around this. fountain_app (nprofile…x3ah) is a great podcast app for it.
We already have relays that store profiles and follow lists only (they don't store content).
Relays don't store media, just notes. There are some interesting innovations happening with "blossom servers" to handle media. Right now, nostr.build is the main host for all media and they provide a paid subscription to help with running costs. Primal have their own media servers for their users too.
There is discussion about relays focusing on supporting certain communities. There could be a football relay which relays only football related content.
Some relays focus on finding and blocking spam.
None of the nostr clients are alike, but as the demand grows, so will the network and so too will everything evolve. As data gets organized across relays non-uniformly, clients will adapt.
Right now, hobbyists run relays, some have already turned them into businesses, but eventually we will see, will many small servers work well or do we need to have a few big reliable relays?
Even if we need a few big relays for the majority of people, there are so many possibilities in between. We just don't know how it's gonna go.
Just a note about scaling. If we do get community specific relays, that could mean that load is distributed across many relays and relays may never need to be as big as Twitter or Facebook's servers.