FYI, this website is a nostr client. Nostr is a decentralized messaging protocol where many relays are used to share messages among many clients. There are mobile client apps like Damus, and there are web clients like this website. There are others. Some relays are free, and some relays are paid, which helps filter out spam.
Messages are cryptographically signed, and users are identified by their public key. Users typically follow other users like they would on Twitter, but the client manages everything, so there is no dependency on any relay.
Messages are typically posted to many relays at once and clients typically read from many relays at once. Jack Dorsey's message is being displayed here because it was copied to a relay that this website has access to. The same message is accessible elsewhere.
"Global" means that you download all the public messages that a relay has, instead of just downloading messages posted by people you follow.
The fact that this all had to be explained is exactly why it'll never catch on. The average user does not give a crap about decentralised stuff, nor all the terminology surrounding it.
It's the same reason mastedon had a huge surge of signups followed by very little activity - nobody wants to screw around with technology that has crappy holes you have to jumpt through.
I swear every decentralised platform is aimed at a very tiny niche community who have no concept of UX or usability.
I think there is nothing to prevent you from making a server that collects messages, it is just that, based on observation of how previous systems failed they have chosen a different model.
I have been thinking about this problem space a number of times and after first thinking my ideas were significantly better I have come to understand why nostr picked this solution.
Thanks. So what happens if there's a new feature? e.g. a market place or photo gallery. Do only some servers/relays provide it or is it rolled out everywhere?
Relays today are rather "dumb". Clients are "smart". So, for your examples, each client would have to implement a marketplace or photo gallery. Relays can store that data without having to really do anything.
My understanding is that message features are embedded in the messages themselves. So, it’s more a question of client support rather than relay/server support.
Clients can add new features and users that use these clients will be able to use these new features. Relays are there just to store and forward the data.
Messages are cryptographically signed, and users are identified by their public key. Users typically follow other users like they would on Twitter, but the client manages everything, so there is no dependency on any relay.
Messages are typically posted to many relays at once and clients typically read from many relays at once. Jack Dorsey's message is being displayed here because it was copied to a relay that this website has access to. The same message is accessible elsewhere.
"Global" means that you download all the public messages that a relay has, instead of just downloading messages posted by people you follow.
https://github.com/nostr-protocol/nostr