dikaios1517 on Nostr: I understand where you are coming from recarding security of a user's nsec here. I ...
I understand where you are coming from recarding security of a user's nsec here. I really do. I like the idea of no single internet-connected app having your full private key. I really do. I think FROST signing for Nostr is REALLY interesting. However, we need to nail the UX for this, and it needs to have near universal adoption from Nostr clients to be useful.
Let's look at this from the perspective of a new user who wants to try out Nostr for the first time, and we'll even assume that they have a kind friend who warns them that they shouldn't paste their nsec into client applications to log in. What is the current onboarding process for someone who wants to try out Nostr in a "safe" way, in case they decide they want to stick around, vs what the process would look like under your proposal?
Currently, if I was that kind friend, I would have the new user generate their keys via Amber and use Amber to sign into everything they possibly can. This means they only need to download Amber and the first client they want to use. Possibly the Zapstore to make it easier to update those apps. Total time to first post is going to vary a bit based on their questions, but in under 5 minutes I can have them up and running with a basic understanding of why they shouldn't just paste their nsec anywhere they want to log in. Sure, it's not perfectly ideal security, since their nsec is still held in-full in Amber, which is a potential point of exposure, but it's still a far better option than having them generate their nsec in a client and then just copy/paste it to another client when they want to log in somewhere else.
Now, if I am understanding your proposal, to try and do the same thing for a friend who wants to try Nostr, I am going to have to tell them. "Call me when you have a specialized piece of hardware to generate your private key and hold it offline. Then I'll come over and show you how to export key shards to a signer app and the client you want to log into." Until then, maybe just poke around on a burner-key to see if its something you are interested in. Just know you won't be keeping that key, so don't get attached to it.
Is that about right?
Let's look at this from the perspective of a new user who wants to try out Nostr for the first time, and we'll even assume that they have a kind friend who warns them that they shouldn't paste their nsec into client applications to log in. What is the current onboarding process for someone who wants to try out Nostr in a "safe" way, in case they decide they want to stick around, vs what the process would look like under your proposal?
Currently, if I was that kind friend, I would have the new user generate their keys via Amber and use Amber to sign into everything they possibly can. This means they only need to download Amber and the first client they want to use. Possibly the Zapstore to make it easier to update those apps. Total time to first post is going to vary a bit based on their questions, but in under 5 minutes I can have them up and running with a basic understanding of why they shouldn't just paste their nsec anywhere they want to log in. Sure, it's not perfectly ideal security, since their nsec is still held in-full in Amber, which is a potential point of exposure, but it's still a far better option than having them generate their nsec in a client and then just copy/paste it to another client when they want to log in somewhere else.
Now, if I am understanding your proposal, to try and do the same thing for a friend who wants to try Nostr, I am going to have to tell them. "Call me when you have a specialized piece of hardware to generate your private key and hold it offline. Then I'll come over and show you how to export key shards to a signer app and the client you want to log into." Until then, maybe just poke around on a burner-key to see if its something you are interested in. Just know you won't be keeping that key, so don't get attached to it.
Is that about right?