To directly answer the title your article proposes:
The key questionto resolve is - how do you view the nostr protocol, and what population are you catering to?
1) as TheNostr, open system, with a user base of bitcoin and free speech maximalists?
Architecture composed from any level of relay pools + inbox/outbox, relays with their own degrees of access, entry and free association across relays. Typically what one sees by default when they open any Nostr-focused nostr client
2) As a closed/semi-permeable system, where the user base on selected relays can be any degree of content and specialization. Architecture would typically range from 1-community-1-relay, to 1-community-multiple relays, sparser enmeshment between relay communities. Emphasizes some explicit entry and a social contract of moderation by relay operator/org.
Both models exist on a spectrum, one actually is embedded in the other, and the task of designing the moderation tools and ethos is massively simpler in one over the other
On the content of the article:
Seems to align with the second model. Communities can adopt the norms you've provided at the individual relay level (computationally AND socially), but it cannot be imposed across the nostr ecosystem.
liminal ðŸ¦
npub1m3…qa5sf
2026-05-03 16:18:32 GMT
in reply to naddr1qq…tccc
Author Public Key
npub1m3xdppkd0njmrqe2ma8a6ys39zvgp5k8u22mev8xsnqp4nh80srqhqa5sfSeen on
wss://relay.ditto.pubPublished at
2026-05-03 16:18:32 GMTEvent JSON
{
"id": "73df3c4ebe0a6bdb19bf0835e1814184fa1bcce0c1a0c7b7eb50ded8707cc28a",
"pubkey": "dc4cd086cd7ce5b1832adf4fdd1211289880d2c7e295bcb0e684c01acee77c06",
"created_at": 1777825112,
"kind": 1111,
"tags": [
[
"alt",
"Reply to nostr:nevent1qqs8drl2qlgh0cdp6m55pl45a2aaw4c677xuwz3a63wdwz73v03snxcpz9mhxue69uhkummnw3ezumrpdejz7q3q2262qa4uhw7u8gdwlgmntqtv7aye8vdcmvszkqwgs0zchel6mz7sxpqqqp65w8glyed"
],
[
"A",
"30023:52b4a076bcbbbdc3a1aefa3735816cf74993b1b8db202b01c883c58be7fad8bd:ab008d4c6e90",
"wss://nostr.land/"
],
[
"a",
"30023:52b4a076bcbbbdc3a1aefa3735816cf74993b1b8db202b01c883c58be7fad8bd:ab008d4c6e90",
"wss://nostr.land/"
],
[
"E",
"768fea07d177e1a1d6e940feb4eabbd7571af78dc70a3dd45cd70bd163e3099b",
"wss://nostr.land/",
"52b4a076bcbbbdc3a1aefa3735816cf74993b1b8db202b01c883c58be7fad8bd"
],
[
"K",
"30023"
],
[
"P",
"52b4a076bcbbbdc3a1aefa3735816cf74993b1b8db202b01c883c58be7fad8bd",
"wss://nostr.land/"
],
[
"e",
"768fea07d177e1a1d6e940feb4eabbd7571af78dc70a3dd45cd70bd163e3099b",
"wss://nostr.land/",
"52b4a076bcbbbdc3a1aefa3735816cf74993b1b8db202b01c883c58be7fad8bd"
],
[
"k",
"30023"
],
[
"p",
"52b4a076bcbbbdc3a1aefa3735816cf74993b1b8db202b01c883c58be7fad8bd",
"wss://nostr.land/"
],
[
"client",
"Amethyst"
]
],
"content": "To directly answer the title your article proposes:\n\nThe key questionto resolve is - how do you view the nostr protocol, and what population are you catering to?\n\n1) as TheNostr, open system, with a user base of bitcoin and free speech maximalists?\n\nArchitecture composed from any level of relay pools + inbox/outbox, relays with their own degrees of access, entry and free association across relays. Typically what one sees by default when they open any Nostr-focused nostr client\n\n2) As a closed/semi-permeable system, where the user base on selected relays can be any degree of content and specialization. Architecture would typically range from 1-community-1-relay, to 1-community-multiple relays, sparser enmeshment between relay communities. Emphasizes some explicit entry and a social contract of moderation by relay operator/org. \n\nBoth models exist on a spectrum, one actually is embedded in the other, and the task of designing the moderation tools and ethos is massively simpler in one over the other\n\nOn the content of the article:\nSeems to align with the second model. Communities can adopt the norms you've provided at the individual relay level (computationally AND socially), but it cannot be imposed across the nostr ecosystem.",
"sig": "949c53390d87f11714e37723c65953c3b727eb6ff106e05d5b90e7a282783f064678bf8809c696415da2221f50413df79e94eda5b53d83cb40eaf77b7546e74d"
}