42 sats \ 14 replies \ @siggy47 4 Jun 2023 \ on: Nostr keeps getting better nostr
I'm happy to see you are optimistic. I admit my enthusiasm has waned. I find the experience kind of disappointing lately. I am not an apple user, so I have not experienced damus. I used Iris as a web app, but if I got logged out it seemed impossible to recreate my data, despite regularly backing up my json files. Followers always went missing also, which led to a very disjointed experience. It's possible I was doing something wrong, or maybe I should just join the dark turtleneck wearers. I will keep trying.
The data lives wherever you choose to store it, i.e. the relays you choose to post to. So as long as you have access to the private key, you should be perfectly able to "recreate your data". If the relays you use is often unavailable, consider replacing them with more stable ones (check out https://nostr.watch).
Followers will vary as there is no single point of truth in nostr. You can have 1000 followers on my relay and 500 followers on the Damus relay. If one relay is unavailable, you'll "lose" those followers in your total follower count until the relay is back up. The only way to have a "stable" count like e.g. Twitter has would be to have a service running all the time that subscribes to all known relays and do a total count based on the notes it receives and then exposes this over e.g. a REST api for clients to consume.
There have been a lot of improvements in nostr UX over the last 12 months but there are still stuff to test, figure out and improve. Devs (usually) appreciate feedback on the stuff they build so don't hesitate posting a note, or create a Github issue, about any bugs you experience!
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Thank you for this fantastic response. It explained a lot. I will get back into it. Other frustrated users should read your explanation.
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I hope you don't mind if I pick your brain a little more. Regarding relays, if I recall I used 10 or 11, including one or two paid ones. I believe wine was one. I kept the same relay configuration post log out/log in. Have you or anyone you know experimented with restoring json files and what they experienced?
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No worries, happy to answer as much as I can!
Have you or anyone you know experimented with restoring json files and what they experienced
I'm not quite sure what you're asking here but I'll try to answer it anyway:
Every time you add or remove a relay, an "event" with your list of relays is created and signed by your private key and then sent to all the relays you have selcted. So let's say you log out of your favorite nostr client and then log in again, your nostr client will fetch your list of relays and connect to all of them (some clients may behave differently). As long as these events reach your relays, your data will be available as long as the relay is up and reachable.
"Logging in" on nostr really just means that you identify yourself by your public key so that the client can fetch your own events/data. And if you give it your private key, you'll be able to sign new events, i.e. write a new "tweet" or encrypt/decrypt a new DM. Logging out is just clearing the public key or private key from the client itself.
If this didn't answer your question, don't hesitate on asking again.
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Thanks for the response. I understand what you wrote. I have no issue signing new events after a "log out/log in". The issue is that I can no longer see my old events although I ostensibly downloaded, backed up and restored json files(Iris was the client), nor can I retrieve my saved profile data, though I also downloaded, backed up and restored those json files.
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Nostr is VERY early, it will get better with time. A few years from now, we will have decent alternatives to youtube, spotify, twitter, news outlets and who knows what else.
It just depends on US to build this future.
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Don't forget alternatives to Uber, Instacart, Airbnb, UpWork, Fiverr, etc... an alternative to the entire fiat world itself.
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I will keep trying. In fact, I'm looking for a good desktop alternative client to Iris. Any suggestions?
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Yeah, web clients are very clunky. The best one for me at this point in time is Coracle. Or Primal
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I'll give them both a try.
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primal is really good, but im still waiting for them to release some basic features. otherwise, i use damus.
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Gossip if you want a native experience, Coracle for a web version.
If you need help with Gossip feel free to ping me on nostr or join the Telegram group.
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I've had a good experience with Amethyst and haven't found anything on desktop/web that is as good. Yes it crashes even though I have a powerful phone but it seems to be making good progress as an open source project.
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I did use Amethyst early on. I was just more comfortable on desktop. Maybe I'll go back to it.
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