George Vaccaro on Nostr: I gave up on that years ago for bitcoin and feel similarly about doing it for nostr. ...

I gave up on that years ago for bitcoin and feel similarly about doing it for nostr.

What do you think?

quoting nevent1q…2300

First, this is an excellent, comprehensive and informative presentation that obviously took a lot of effort and contains excellent observations and valuable information. Great job and thank you!

I'm left with only one fundamental question: why do we need to chase users or communities? Like Bitcoin, nostr is freedom, but unlike with bitcoin I fail to see the incentive to bring in the hoards that aren't looking for it. Arguably bitcoin might have been better off if it grew more organically instead of chasing ngu. Regarding nostr, I fail to see the incentive for chasing adoption, aside from forcing growth which comes with its own negative consequences. Why does nostr need salesmen?

Somewhat ironically I tell people about nostr but it's when they are specifically concerned about, reporting on or affected by deplatforming, demonetization, censorship, control etc. (see Telegram'a Pavel in France). I see why we need to make freedom seeking people aware of it when it solves their problems but I fail to see why we need to be pushy/concerned about it.

I also think there are risks associated with accelerating onboarding of the hoardes. First, lowering the signal to noise ratio. Second, scammers and spammers. Third, breaking something important with many eyes watching (perhaps stifling innovation for fear of this). Fourth, getting on the radar before reaching organic critical mass. If you think about it, these largely also applied to bitcoin and perhaps in line with Rabble's early assertion, may also apply to many/all new systems.

IMO, if we should be actively onboarding anyone, it should be freedom minded content creators who have, and for whom we all have, a vested interest in solidifying their ability to speak freely. Beyond that, my vote is to allow the nostr community to organically evolve, experiment, break things etc.

Bitcoin's fundamental value derives from being a platform for freedom, same with nostr. It will just take time for people to recognize. With the forces of control actively clamping down, imo, if you build it, they will come.