Rabble on Nostr: In part of our launch of the Creator and Journalism Accelerators ...
In part of our launch of the Creator and Journalism Accelerators note1z866al6xs9xhnlqgwt0lkxr9lrynstyc52ls29sej96hfxpwxzws5u3m9u some people have asked why we're doing this on Nostr and not ActivityPub and the Fediverse. It's a good question, and the answer for me is about the way both the protocols and the culture of the people creating them work. I wrote this out here in a reply, but it deserves it's own post. So here's my why Nostr instead of Mastodon & ActivityPub.
There are a lot of things that Mastodon & ActivityPub can’t do.
* User identities are tied to a server; if the server goes down, you lose your account, as happened when queer.af had their domain name seized.
* Users can’t migrate between servers. In some servers there’s a system where they can request a migration, where they can stop using one account and point their followers to a new account, but server admins need to allow this, and your followers don’t automatically follow your new identity on a new server.
* On a single server, it is impossible to change your username!
* Fediverse servers have total control over your account and data; they can see all of your private messages or write new ones on your behalf.
* The fediverse is a network of fiefdoms, each server admin having total control over their users. Often they are benevolent and use their power to decide what behavior is acceptable on their server, but it’s opaque. Most fediverse server admins keep their moderation and defederation decisions secret. So, users must choose a trust and safety regime without any understanding of the rules and how they’re enforced. When combined with the very limited ability to migrate between servers, only with server admin's permission, it’s a problem.
* Each kind of fediverse server is isolated. You can use a Peertube instance to federate with other Peertubes for video, or Mobilizon for meetup-style events, or Pixelfed for Instagram-like photo sharing, or WriteFreely for blogs. But each of these is isolated. I need a new account on an instance of each of these servers. They all run the same protocol, but they aren’t actually interoperable. You can’t use a single fediverse identity with your profile and followers in Peertube, Mobilizon, WriteFreely, and Pixelfed. You need a totally separate account in each one. With Nostr, you can use dozens of apps all with your same identity, content, and followers.
* The fediverse has no privacy; there is no system of end-to-end encrypted messaging. In Nostr, you can have private direct messages and even private groups that are encrypted. Nostr even supports encrypted private file sharing.
* The fediverse has no system for micropayments. The zaps on Nostr enable easy ways to fund creators and journalists with either one-off tips or subscriptions to unlock paid content, like paid Substack newsletters or OF accounts.
* Lastly, and most importantly for me, the culture of fediverse server admins and developers is vindictive. It’s a community that attacks people who make proposals or want to try out new ways of using the network. That is why there is no search, no ability to choose an algorithm, no private groups, no private messages, no system for payments, etc. Those have all been proposed or even built, but the fediverse culture has gone after those people, punishing them for suggesting new ways of doing things.
There are a lot of things that Mastodon & ActivityPub can’t do.
* User identities are tied to a server; if the server goes down, you lose your account, as happened when queer.af had their domain name seized.
* Users can’t migrate between servers. In some servers there’s a system where they can request a migration, where they can stop using one account and point their followers to a new account, but server admins need to allow this, and your followers don’t automatically follow your new identity on a new server.
* On a single server, it is impossible to change your username!
* Fediverse servers have total control over your account and data; they can see all of your private messages or write new ones on your behalf.
* The fediverse is a network of fiefdoms, each server admin having total control over their users. Often they are benevolent and use their power to decide what behavior is acceptable on their server, but it’s opaque. Most fediverse server admins keep their moderation and defederation decisions secret. So, users must choose a trust and safety regime without any understanding of the rules and how they’re enforced. When combined with the very limited ability to migrate between servers, only with server admin's permission, it’s a problem.
* Each kind of fediverse server is isolated. You can use a Peertube instance to federate with other Peertubes for video, or Mobilizon for meetup-style events, or Pixelfed for Instagram-like photo sharing, or WriteFreely for blogs. But each of these is isolated. I need a new account on an instance of each of these servers. They all run the same protocol, but they aren’t actually interoperable. You can’t use a single fediverse identity with your profile and followers in Peertube, Mobilizon, WriteFreely, and Pixelfed. You need a totally separate account in each one. With Nostr, you can use dozens of apps all with your same identity, content, and followers.
* The fediverse has no privacy; there is no system of end-to-end encrypted messaging. In Nostr, you can have private direct messages and even private groups that are encrypted. Nostr even supports encrypted private file sharing.
* The fediverse has no system for micropayments. The zaps on Nostr enable easy ways to fund creators and journalists with either one-off tips or subscriptions to unlock paid content, like paid Substack newsletters or OF accounts.
* Lastly, and most importantly for me, the culture of fediverse server admins and developers is vindictive. It’s a community that attacks people who make proposals or want to try out new ways of using the network. That is why there is no search, no ability to choose an algorithm, no private groups, no private messages, no system for payments, etc. Those have all been proposed or even built, but the fediverse culture has gone after those people, punishing them for suggesting new ways of doing things.