Overview of Nostr Protocol#
The Nostr protocol aims to create a censorship-resistant global "social" network. We have detailed it in previous articles. In summary, it does not rely on any central servers, ensuring the network's resilience, and uses encryption keys and signatures to ensure tamper-proof communication. It does not rely on peer-to-peer technology, making it efficient. It aims to be a simple and reliable way to create a global social network.
Nostr users run a client to publish posts and receive updates from others. Posts are signed with the user's private key and sent to multiple relays, which are servers that forward the posts to other users. Anyone can run a relay, which is a simple server that accepts and forwards posts. Signatures are verified on the client side, eliminating the need to trust the relays.
Initial Discussion of Nostr#
On November 16, 2020, a group called "Nostr" transitioned from a basic Telegram group to a supergroup.
On that day, the first participants started discussing the possibility of a decentralized social network and the potential for funding such projects. They also discussed the possibility of Nostr supporting smart contracts and potential names for the organization, including "Jaffer," "Bitease," "Bitcoin Disease," "Zeusnode," and "NOSTRA," "nostradamus," or "nostra." They suggested using the name "No Strings" as an alternative.
This was also when the group discussed the possibility of Jack's interest in the group. The group also discussed the possibility of hosting relays on nostr.coinos.io and the absence of @lntxbot in the group.
Throughout the remaining time in November and most of December, the group discussed the concept of using the first half of the public key as an identity in a browser-based application. Speakers expressed concerns about the security of this approach and considered alternative solutions, such as storing keys on hardware devices or using systems similar to Keybase's PGP setup. They also mentioned the possibility of using existing login names from platforms like Github or Twitter to attract users, although they acknowledged that this may not be ideal. The conversation also touched on a web application client and discussed the use of query string parameters in Server-Sent Events (SSE).
In December, the group continued discussing the possibility of using private keys in browsers, adding standardized event types called "groups," and using relays to forward encrypted messages to destinations. They also mentioned "NIPs" (Network Improvement Proposals) and the idea of a "lite" version of relays.
In December 2022, Jack Dorsey, the founder and former CEO of Twitter, joined Nostr as a supporter and advocate, taking Nostr to a new level.
Due to these reasons, the protocol, which was already steadily growing, took off. Many people who were previously unaware or skeptical started taking it seriously (as seen from the skyrocketing number of stars on the Nostr protocol's GitHub).
Principles of Nostr's Establishment and Growth#
This aligns with some of the original principles the community considered for Nostr's growth. From the beginning, the group discussed how to socialize and promote the Nostr platform and the principles that should be promoted. One participant, Ian Oneill, believed that "promoting Nostr is similar to promoting Moneysocket or Bitcoin or Freebank... each is a 'force of nature'... they grow organically not because someone wants to make a million dollars (although that may be a split in individual cases), but because the system follows natural laws and doesn't collapse, so despite political economics, they keep growing, and they were first created as a gift of freedom to contemporary people, especially future generations." The key, of course, is that he continued, saying, "These motivations are different from the motivations behind Ethereum and shitcoins. Their motivations are more like the founding of the United States in the years before banks had a say."