If two notes were confirmed in the same block for the same new id via OTS then PoW used to reduce spam maybe the same PoW nonce could also be used to break ties? But i do see how using position in a block as being simpler.

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It is simpler which is a big win, but the main reason what you said wouldn’t work is because someone could claim a zillion names at no cost and never publish a nostr event to prove it. Then when someone decided to claim a name that the spammer had claimed (he could fit a million in the OTS transaction if he wanted), he could just reveal his first “claim” and rugpull the whole protocol. In Nomen, there is a 5 byte fingerprint in the metadata. The fingerprint is the first five bytes of the HASH-160 of the name. It’s right there, in the open, on the blockchain. You can tell if anyone has claimed a name you want without publishing a Nostr event just by scanning the blockchain for your fingerprint. No chance of getting rug pulled by a sneaky squatter.