Oddbean new post about login | logout If we standardize relay functionality, this makes development difficult, ossifies the infrastructure and reproduces the "federation" protocol constraint. If there were a standard "documentation" message so the client operators can make an educated decision, this may allow enough flexibility to prevent stifling development.
I'm of several minds here. On the one hand, yes I think we standardize relay usage labels (or roles) and users (client operators? getting fancy with your terminology here) can pick relays to serve in various roles. On the other hand, I worry that if we don't "ossify" at least some core parts of nostr (and instead keep breaking them), nostr will fail to interoperate more and more as time goes on.
True, the "computer interface" obviously needs to be standardized, however backend functionality such as data retention policy, spam handling, etc, these kinds of tapestry need to be documented and communicated to the client operator so they can make an educated decision about whether they want to use the relay. Today this is done with a webpage, and maybe just a link to a webpage is enough, but it could be standardized how to get to this information through the relay list. Another standard could involve linking through to your npub's "public dashboard" on the relay where you can change settings and check the status of your subscription