One interesting bit about Nostr is with how the content is separate from its presentation. For example, in traditional HTTP, any document that you request will contain not only the content but also the instructions on how to present it.
Constraint Breeds Creativity
While this gave web publishers freedom over how they create their websites, it also made it so that there is no consistent view for any particular one. This can be a problem especially in making websites accessible for a wide range of people and devices.
However, this idea is nothing new. Gopher and Gemini are two thriving protocols that show how having a strict, rigid format allows for a consistent content presentation but still be an outlet for creative expression.
I think that one thing where Nostr shines is that it extends even past what Gopher and Gemini did. With it, content is stripped to its most basic form and it is the responsibility of the client how to present it. Where Gopher and Gemini has gophermaps and .gmi files, Nostr has database entries.
Client is King
Now, a user who publishes over Nostr has little to no control on how his content will look. This gives the client designers free reign on how their client can present the information that streams from a Nostr relay. I think that's a positive, since it's now possible to create "Nostr browsers" that will only display the type of content that you want to see.
Again, this is nothing new. Modern social media websites and platforms perfected the idea of "Client is King." The content of a post does not contain any instruction on how it will look. Maybe some of them will allow text formatting through Markdown, but a page's general layout will still obey how the designers of the website wanted it to look.
Convergence
At this point you might be asking yourself: "Well, what's the point then? If a modern social media website is the paragon of design consistency and 'content and design separation' then why are bothering with Gopher, Gemini and Nostr?"
Well, that's a tough question since it really does depend on what your goals are and your motivation for using these niche protocols. But I think one thing that they do great is that they allow you to take control of your information. Modern social media websites aren't really the best at keeping its users' interests at heart.
With Gopher and Gemini, what you get is a set of pragmatic rules that tell how content is separated from its design. Nostr extends this abstraction and provides rules where that content is nothing but a database entry and its presentation solely relies on the client that receives that data. I think that's a good thing since it provides design consistency present in modern social media websites without any "trust and safety teams" and "content algorithms" sitting in between me and my readers.
Photo by Museums Victoria on Unsplash.