Oddbean

You don’t have a #Nostr account. You have a key that signs events, and you publish those events, and then anyone who wants to read those events can do so by retrieving them from anywhere they exist. There’s no one to turn it off, there’s no account to suspend or restrict. There is simply information flowing to and from you and everyone else who uses it. This puts the power of speech back in our hands.

The key (no pun intended) is ownership and control. Someone, or some group, owns and controls a key. That key can cryptographically sign messages, and no company or entity can use or block that key from doing so. At best, some may prevent your events from appearing on their relays or clients, but that’s it.

https://image.nostr.build/f9567ff86722ec98390d3e796250e2f49e8d49b5508353563f634cca6cd8bb77.jpg#m=image%2Fjpeg&dim=1028x1218&blurhash=%7BIE.hibH00ofnlWCo%7Dt8ISWAtPj%5BaJWARie.%3F%5Da%24iykDIqogxbWBf%2CoeZ%7EV%40R*ofozbID%25j%5BkqbIoIayofayROjuM%7Coft8bHxtjY4okCt6adtRfRaej%5DD%25oft8WWocf6kCofD%24jZ%253fkkCj%5BRjae&x=998ccda2ead27cadbb07ec3d2518d97ecf11e883842811a8b6a00377e5f80f68

https://image.nostr.build/8a074739c650926aebfb872b04804d6f87591b6f5070802d79916251f3546592.jpg#m=image%2Fjpeg&dim=460x600&blurhash=_CF%7D%5B%2B%5Ei%7EBNGozoN%2519ZxZozW%3DaeaxR%2B9FEME1oJM%7Ct5RkJ*NHM%7Cs.kBt7s%3A0gbIX8xtxaRkWo9aR%2Bs.n%25oLR*WCtPxZV%40R%2Bt6Rkn%24Ips%3At6RkV%5Bfkt7xaWBofWWWVoJWB&x=3d1eb11c2bb28efcef14a837ae615552eec7e14ba6e24d4fbbaefb8853ae3d18

Bitcoin Maxie nerd over here! ☝️ 🤣😂 https://image.nostr.build/44aca0834f3d2883082e5689b1625515cb2c5e4b85017d6e3cf6c15f747a3603.jpg#m=image%2Fjpeg&dim=239x211&blurhash=%3BKFEs1%7EC%23lx%5DtRtSNGNHWB4o%25M%3FbtR-pozn%24WXs%2C_NtRoIt7RjRjafaeWWD%25spxuj%5BJ7RjV%40V%40V%40R*WBWBRjV%40V%40i_jFWB%25gofM%7BjZadn%25n%25V%40WBMdof%25MW%3BozbHR*a%7Cf6.8j%5BIUofjFj%5BkCoft7&x=63640d6f0939b1f3dbc54639b514680c78f85b10eb1e0f07f496404910d5accb

Haha I actually started to type something like that along with the post. I think the familiarity with key pairs, signing, and broadcasting with bitcoin makes it easier to recognize the value in using Nostr, even though the networks are obviously different. And you’re right when it comes to bitcoin we don’t have wallets, we have key generation/storage and signing devices that help us manage the UTXOs associated with our keys. 😁

Thank you! To make it right, the event can't be floating around the relays before all signatures have signed it. Otherwise it defeats the purpose, thinking about a companies blog or government announcement channel that needs checks and balances. So all signers either need to use the same computer, or the half signed event thats been send through relays has to be encrypted.

Lol 😂 I know you’re joking but I also think it’s a real question people have. I think we can explain it more like a phone number or a street address. You can’t reset those either. You just move from one to another, and then you have to tell people to contact you at you’re new one instead of your old one.

So you mean the keys are like keys to your house? 😂😜 If you lose them, someone can enter your house, they could even move in and pretend to be you, so you need to get new keys made and change your locks? 😂 I’m joking around, but yes I agree with you, and your note does an excellent job explaining it in clear and simple terms.

I have a nostr account https://image.nostr.build/d7bc4b6766cdd85ff5db35de1bd62d57fff998cf1df56de7041bd2b0256e8e94.jpg#m=image%2Fjpeg&dim=931x1200&blurhash=_9EVZrI%3B%7EU%7EU%25%23.8%25K00_2AH%3Fa-RM%7BtSY5VrRPIC-%3BtlnOH%3FI%5B%3FaNwROR5N%7C.8wcH%3FRk59o%23nND%25jF%25gNGxC%24fn%25I%40Xmi%5ExatR%25Lxan%7EZ%24t8R%2BM%7BNbX9RktRs%2Caxa%7DRjoJ&x=68b3788a614b232441fa2adaf2825be4d233b2e9f9e304b6320c08ac9d35214c

Agreed. An account as an umbrella term can cover much anything where you have a persistent identity. It is a more familiar term to most people; switching between accounts vs switching between public keys.

You got it right, friend! Ditch the digital dungeon of centralized platforms, where your voice echoes hollow in algorithms and gatekeepers hold the keys. Nostr ain't a castle with drawbridges and moats, it's the open plains of information, wind whipping through a tapestry of ideas woven by free minds. Your key? That's your passport, your inkwell, your campfire in the digital night. Post your thoughts, share your art, scream into the void – it'll ripple across the network, bouncing off servers like pebbles skipping on a lake, leaving whispers of you everywhere. No gatekeepers to silence, no algorithms to twist. Just words, raw and unfiltered, dancing in the sunbeams of decentralized freedom. Remember the town crier, his voice booming news from the cobblestones? Nostr's a chorus of town criers, each with their own story, their own song. Want to listen? No need for fancy invitations, just tune in with your key and hear the symphony of humanity. So raise your digital banner, let your voice echo across the plains, and remember: in Nostr, we speak not to the walls, but to the stars.

Great explanation that pretty much sums up the reason why people really should get a NOSTR key. It's very liberating knowing what I share/post on NOSTR will not be "banned" or my account will be suspended because I "offended" someone's feelings.

You write a note and put it in a padlocked envelope, and clone that envelope all over the world. Anyone who comes across it and happens to have your key (infinite copies of which you make readily available) can pick one up, open it, and read it. It's your stationary, your ink, your padlocks, your key. Nobody can take those away from you. All they can do is try to find places you left envelopes and burn them.

Which also means you can't delete what you've done. You can request, and you can trust... but it's likely really truly gonna live forever. Sounds like an absolute banger to keep politicians off the protocol!