<!--begin JBN edits--> <h2>Nostr? Ummmm...</h2> <p> Notes and Other Stuff Transmitted by Relays. Unlike traditional social media, it is a <em>Protocol</em> (like email), not a <em>Platform</em>. </p> <h2>Is Nostr a Bitcoin thing?</h2> <p> No. Nostr has no direct relationship to Bitcoin, it does not depend on Bitcoin, and it is not required to use Nostr. In fact, it's ok if you don't understand Bitcoin. Even if you've never heard of Bitcoin, <em>You can still use Nostr.</em> </p> <h2>What is a client? What is a relay?</h2> <p> A client is the app you use to connect to a relay - think of it like a browser for notes. Each of the many Nostr clients you have to choose from has its own look and features -- but they all connect to Nostr relays. In this way, Nostr clients are like web browsers that connect to websites -- but instead of connecting to a server to see websites, your Nostr client connects to a Nostr relay to see notes. Relays store notes. </p> <h2>What is a note?</h2> <p> There are many different kinds of Nostr notes, but the basic note type is readable text. Just like a social media post, it might have a url to a website or a reference to an external image or video in it, and just like social media platforms, when your Nostr client finds a note like this stored on a Nostr relay, it previews content from the links for your timeline. Other note types include long-form text notes, like blog posts, and short chat texts. </p> <h2>TLDR?</h2> <p> To build your social media timeline, your chosen Nostr client calls your chosen Nostr relays to find notes from all the Nostriches that you follow. </p> <h2>So every note has a different relay?</h2> <p> Nope! Each relay stores as many notes as it wants, and you choose how many relays you want your client to connect to. Each of the many Nostr relays you have to choose from might specialize in a certain type of note, or in notes from certain creators, but for most purposes, you can connect to just a handful of relays and see just about all the posts in the world. </p> <!--end JBN edits-->