Five on Nostr: The problem with outbox is that the user has the mental burden now that not only ...
The problem with outbox is that the user has the mental burden now that not only should he understand the importance and implications of cryptographic keys but also do some research on relays in a similar fashion.
We could say this is the end-goal to normalize concepts like keys and relays but there has to be a learning path leading to that goal, coupled with the right incentives and UX.
This path is lacking from each and every nostr client out there right now. IMO it has to be communities bridging the gap, because you have an already bootstrapped natural trust that you take to the digital realm with you.
We cannot assume this trust will be built effectively by automatically following ppl, or attaching a default social graph to the user. This is the mistake of big tech. They want you to be comfortable, without friction so they control your experience on all levels.
If we want a realistic path forward we need to onboard real communities to nostr and create software that effectively builds up this learning path towards increasing user-control.
This is a tremendous task compared to go full haywire with outbox right away, or the other end of the spectrum, hardcoded relays forever.
It takes time but I'm hopeful we'll get there, we just need more focus on real communities.
Published at
2025-05-28 05:47:04Event JSON
{
"id": "6c1932dfb371a878733de1325a5ced0e6db5c357d7fb5d2408008f91930c029d",
"pubkey": "d04ecf33a303a59852fdb681ed8b412201ba85d8d2199aec73cb62681d62aa90",
"created_at": 1748411224,
"kind": 1,
"tags": [
[
"p",
"5ea4648045bb1ff222655ddd36e6dceddc43590c26090c486bef38ef450da5bd"
],
[
"a",
"30023:5ea4648045bb1ff222655ddd36e6dceddc43590c26090c486bef38ef450da5bd:c5ec102a80cf6145",
"",
"root"
]
],
"content": "The problem with outbox is that the user has the mental burden now that not only should he understand the importance and implications of cryptographic keys but also do some research on relays in a similar fashion.\n\nWe could say this is the end-goal to normalize concepts like keys and relays but there has to be a learning path leading to that goal, coupled with the right incentives and UX.\n\nThis path is lacking from each and every nostr client out there right now. IMO it has to be communities bridging the gap, because you have an already bootstrapped natural trust that you take to the digital realm with you.\n\nWe cannot assume this trust will be built effectively by automatically following ppl, or attaching a default social graph to the user. This is the mistake of big tech. They want you to be comfortable, without friction so they control your experience on all levels.\n\nIf we want a realistic path forward we need to onboard real communities to nostr and create software that effectively builds up this learning path towards increasing user-control.\n\nThis is a tremendous task compared to go full haywire with outbox right away, or the other end of the spectrum, hardcoded relays forever. \n\nIt takes time but I'm hopeful we'll get there, we just need more focus on real communities.",
"sig": "ad41325c82b2fdbab56655b25730a7d4f54a0b8f5d7605c2758d0cae3b761f8c85e244b39045e3717013f5a53bade661e92619b336c512fb5a42856e57a89587"
}