You almost have it here, Derek, but not quite. In order to mute something, I am first forced to see it, internalize it, and then react to it. 

While muting is a powerful tool, and should definitely be used, other tools also need to be available for those who choose to use them. I want to use a tool so I don’t have to be exposed to the bottom-feeders of Nostr AT ALL. 

Not because I’m “weak”, or “love censorship” or any other inane label people would want to put on me. But because I want to control my experience on Nostr and that means not being exposed to the worst of the worst, even before I’m aware that it exists.

This is why I truly appreciate the work nostr:npub1wmr34t36fy03m8hvgl96zl3znndyzyaqhwmwdtshwmtkg03fetaqhjg240 is doing on nostr:npub14h23jzlyvumks4rvrz6ktk36dxfyru8qdf679k7q8uvxv0gm0vnsyqe2sh . Will it be perfect? Of course not! It’s the first of its kind. But it will get better and (this is the important bit) there will be others. If I don’t like how nostr:npub14h23jzlyvumks4rvrz6ktk36dxfyru8qdf679k7q8uvxv0gm0vnsyqe2sh is working, I can turn it off or choose another one. 

Nostr is censorship-resistant not because there are no algorithms. But rather because there will eventually be SO MANY algorithms it will be impossible to game them all.