For folks running nostr services and apps here’s a guide on OAS compliance from @npub1hn0z...a8n2 which is written for the fediverse but mostly applies to our ecosystem as well.
What are other nostr app developers and relay operators doing with regard to the UK Online Services Act?
Apparently there is no legal exception for open source or apps that are not connecting to servers you control or apps that are entirely encrypted and peer to peer.
Basically they want us to KYC anyone they think might be based in the UK, and implement content filters.
There seems to be no way to be in compliance in Nostr without limiting all connections to a single gateway relay the way Primal does, and with geo location, including blocking tor and vpn connections, and content analysis of all text and media.
Basically insanity which is completely counter to the entire Nostr project. I knew there was some of OSA coming but I hadn’t paid attention to it. None of us want to KYC our users or build a content filtering system. I mean how do we know if a post is about a knife? Yes we can’t have content about knives! Or how do we determine who considers content hateful?
https://www.ofcom.org.uk/siteassets/resources/documents/online-safety/information-for-industry/illegal-harms/illegal-content-codes-of-practice-for-user-to-user-services.pdf?v=391681
What are Nostr devs based in the UK doing? Users? Relay operators?
The Nostr community needs to be part of this movement to resist KYC on all social media and potential *adult* content online.
What even is the legality of open source Nostr apps in the UK?
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There's a wave of research and people posting on social media that the new LLM agentic programming isn't improving developer productivity. This reminds me of when people said the same thing about email, the web, and mobile phones. Eventually the naysayers will be ignored and everybody will move on. The very idea that we would consider developing software without agents and LLM's. Just like the idea of doing business without a mobile phone or email or even computer seems insane.
I’ve been coming to the Dutch / German hacker camps for 24 years now. I’m giving a couple talks. Come find me and say hi if you’re at #why2025
This marks the brief moments when I indulge in drinking lots of club mate.
Bluesky's ATprotocol has implemented OAuth to enable new apps to use your identity via their hosted PDS identity server. Basically this is what you'd need to do in order to just get started building a Bluesky app... It's not easy and developer friendly the way Nostr is.... it's so complicated there are sold out 'masterclass' paid courses to just be able to login and sign events!
In the latest episode of revolution.social I talk to the co-founder and ceo of Substack, Chris Best. He is trying to navigate building an open advertising free platform, lock-in, and debates over what content they should or shouldn’t allow on their platform.
Nostr is a commons, it's something we all use, some of whom make money using Nostr, but none of us own it. We govern it through formal and informal means, but without the thing itself being owned by an individual, company, or government.
I sad down with David Bollier, researcher and author of many books about the commons to talk about social media protocols as a digital commons. And how a commons based open markets is the future of social media.
New episode dropping on revolution.social my interview with @npub1ewqq...s6s2 who used to run Trust and Safety at Twitter. After he left he spend a year digging in to how we’d do trust and safety in open permissionless social media protocols like Nostr.
I really enjoyed the conversation and I hope you do too.
To everyone on the Pacific coast stay safe. Remember, the Pacific Ocean is really big soir takes a long time for a #tsunami to cross it. For New Zealand it will arrive between 1am and 4am. That’s 8 hours from now.
There are traffic jams in Hawaii but folks should look for when it will arrive and plan appropriately. It’s not for a couple of hours.
I sat down to interview Kara Swisher on my revolution.social podcast where she is scathing in her critique of social media and the executives who founded and run the platforms.
I love how diverse the podcast ecosystem is... look at all these apps! https://episodes.fm/1824528874
I think this is something to aspire to for Nostr. We can have diverse open permisionless social media that's also easy to use and gets widespread adoption!
https://episodes.fm/1824528874