Community building at the edge of the Internet

# Community building at the edge of the Internet Source: [https://news.dyne.org/the-edge-of-the-internet/](https://news.dyne.org/the-edge-of-the-internet/) [Think & Do Tank](https://news.dyne.org/tag/think-do-tank/)What if your community could exist without phone numbers, email addresses or third party websites? What if all your community needed to provide digital services to its constituents was a Nostr Relay on the Local Area Network? The internet has given us incredible tools for connection, yet most community spaces \(Facebook groups, Discord servers, Slack workspaces\) operate on a fundamental trade\-off: you hand over your identity and data in exchange for access\. When you leave the platform, you leave behind your connections, your content, and your history\. There are good alternatives, but most of them are only available through the Internet and, if they go down, everything the community has achieved goes with it\. Nostr changes this equation entirely\.[In its paradigm,](https://news.dyne.org/the-future-was-federated/)your identity is a cryptographic keypair that only you control\. Your`npub`\(public key\) is your username, and your`nsec`\(private key\) is your password\. There's no "forgot password" email reset because there's no central server holding your account\.**You can use this identity across dozens of clients, relays, networks, or generate entirely separate identities for different contexts\.**Want one identity for your local bar community and another for professional networking?*Easy\.*No phone number verification, no email confirmation, no "real name" policy\. You and your community define what your identity means\. The problem is that Nostr is very new and thus its pioneers often face a cold\-start problem: they generate a key, open a client, connect to a public relay, and are immediately hit with crypto spam and content they didn't sign up for\. **A community hub solves this elegantly\.** ### A "Pyramid", but\.\.\. portable Pyramid is the name of a Nostr relay software\. It acts as the anchor: a clean, moderated space where your community's notes, images, and conversations live\. [GitHub \- fiatjaf/pyramid: a wondrous furnace of communityzenship backed by a dynamic ladder of socialhood a wondrous furnace of communityzenship backed by a dynamic ladder of socialhood \- fiatjaf/pyramid GitHubfiatjaf ](https://github.com/fiatjaf/pyramid/?ref=news.dyne.org)This is a feature\-rich Nostr server that includes: - **Group Chats**via[NIP\-29](https://github.com/nostr-protocol/nips/blob/master/29.md?ref=news.dyne.org)communities - **Collaborative Git repositories via**[**GRASP**](https://gitgrasp.com/?ref=news.dyne.org)**,**for shared documents or community projects - **Member\-only relay access**with whitelist controls, based on invitation from existing members\. - [**Blossom server**](https://github.com/hzrd149/blossom?ref=news.dyne.org)for binary file uploads—images, video reels, music, PDFs, all stored on your own infrastructure 👀**Behold Dyne\.org's pyramid relay:** [Dyne Nostr  ](https://relay.dyne.org/?ref=news.dyne.org)"Jumble" is a[Progressive Web App](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressive_web_app?ref=news.dyne.org)\(PWA\) that runs a Nostr client\. [GitHub \- CodyTseng/jumble: A user\-friendly Nostr client for exploring relay feeds A user\-friendly Nostr client for exploring relay feeds \- CodyTseng/jumble GitHubCodyTseng ](https://github.com/CodyTseng/jumble?ref=news.dyne.org)It is shipped with a so\-called "Community Mode", which lets you predefine a set of default relays for the people leveraging your build of the PWA\. Basically, when someone visits your custom Jumble instance \(i\.e`jumble\.your\-community\-domain\.tld`\),**they're immediately connected to*your*curated relay ecosystem\.**Not the global firehose\. 🪇**Here is dyne\.org's community client:** [Jumble Ouro Community\-governed fork of Jumble — a Nostr client whose features are voted on and shipped by an AI coding agent\. Jumble Ouro ](https://nostr.dyne.org/?ref=news.dyne.org) --- ## A cosy digital place ### It's cheap This setup can run on very scarce resources and can easily migrate\. It can even be decommissioned with near\-zero collateral costs for the people using it: the people never depend on a relay\. A person or a bot having to change their Nostr in/out\-boxes is the worst\-case scenario\. ### The escape hatch is always open Once they get the gist of it, people can start exploring other clients, rather than your community's build\. Maybe they collaborate on another GRASP \([Git over Nostr](https://gitgrasp.com/?ref=news.dyne.org)\)? Maybe they want a client for[live\-streaming](https://zap.stream/?ref=news.dyne.org)? Maybe they want to add the relay accessible in their**LBAN \(Local Bar's Area Network\)**in the settings of the client of their choice, because they want to vote for the next Karaoke track? They can always explore communities beyond, with the identity of their choice\. Your community hub is just providing a warm, welcoming starting point for a journey through cyberspace\. Not an enshitifyable cage\. ### This setup is ideal for: - **Local bars and cafes**that want a digital bulletin board and social space for regulars\. - **Neighborhood communities**sharing events, recommendations, and lost cat notices\. - **Interest groups**\(book clubs, running crews, gardening collectives\) that want a private\-ish space without building a whole Discord server - **Small businesses**looking for a lightweight customer community platform and an easy way to update their website through an app\. --- ## How do I use it? You need an**identity\.**One identity is two things: 1. An`npub`\. This is a unique public identifier of your**identity\.** 2. An`nsec`\. This is the secret key\. The one that controls it all and must stay secret for as long as it takes\. If you are starting from scratch, create an**identity**using an***app***\. No internet needed\. This is confusing at first, and there are many new words in the authentication flow:*"remote signer", "authenticator", "bunker", "passkey"*\.\.\. Essentially, the***app***is the tool that allows you to "log in to your account"\. It leverages some cool Planet Dyne adjacent technology from Lugano, code\-named NIP\-46 [Nostr \| NIPs Documentation site for NIPs Nextra](https://nostr-nips.com/nip-46?ref=news.dyne.org)Super 1337 users will want to look at the CLI tool:`nak` ``` # generate a secret key ~> nak key generate 1e90fa2e277921992920dfc4fc9126896e9a3af8ee0fa57fe8dbbf302ac90e68 # generate a public key from the secret one ~> nak key public 1e90fa2e277921992920dfc4fc9126896e9a3af8ee0fa57fe8dbbf302ac90e68 6cf7e488d65abbebd032336101c43d1f2e2a93ccc97856388a28f79e017f9336 ``` [GitHub \- fiatjaf/nak: a command line tool for doing all things nostr a command line tool for doing all things nostr\. Contribute to fiatjaf/nak development by creating an account on GitHub\. GitHubfiatjaf ](https://github.com/fiatjaf/nak?ref=news.dyne.org)At the time of writing, it's unclear if such an app exists on iOS, but on Android, there's this one: [GitHub \- greenart7c3/Amber Contribute to greenart7c3/Amber development by creating an account on GitHub\. GitHubgreenart7c3 ](https://github.com/greenart7c3/Amber?ref=news.dyne.org#amber-nostr-event-signer-for-android)Then, to log in, you can point at the QR from a web app and log in\. You can also create and manage identities using extensions for your browser: Firefox [nos2x\-fox – Get this Extension for 🦊 Firefox \(en\-US\) Download nos2x\-fox for Firefox\. Nostr Signer Extension \(for Firefox\) Diego ](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/nos2x-fox/?ref=news.dyne.org)Chrome [nos2x \- Chrome Web Store Nostr Signer Extension Chrome Web Store ](https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/nos2x/kpgefcfmnafjgpblomihpgmejjdanjjp?ref=news.dyne.org)### But let's talk about[wss://relay\.dyne\.org](https://relay.dyne.org/?ref=news.dyne.org)for a moment\! The dyne\.org community can use`wss://relay\.dyne\.org`as**outbox**\(write\) to save a profile, write notes, share photos and videos, collaborate on Git repositories, and chat in groups\. All while everyone maintains full control over their own identity\. For**inbox**\(read\), thats is incomming stuff, like DMs, replies, reactions to one's content, zaps, etc\.\.\.\) the community can use`wss://relay\.dyne\.org/inbox` **You can see your relay settings here:**[**https://nostr\.dyne\.org/settings/relays**](https://nostr.dyne.org/settings/relays?ref=news.dyne.org) The Pyramid[website](https://relay.dyne.org/?ref=news.dyne.org)is useful in some ways\. For example, you can set up your[NIP\-05](https://github.com/nostr-protocol/nips/blob/master/05.md?ref=news.dyne.org)\. This is just a funky way to write your`npub`\. Say your nick is`belli`, now people can find your`npub`by searching for`belli@relay\.dyne\.org`\. You'll find those settings by clicking your username in the upper\-right corner when you are logged in to the relay interface here: [Dyne Nostr  ](https://relay.dyne.org/?ref=news.dyne.org)On the Pyramid web UI, you will also find that there is a GRASP server\. Read more about GRASP here: [grasp: a simple protocol for decentralized git ](https://gitgrasp.com/?ref=news.dyne.org)Nomadic Group Chats anyone? This client is cool for that: [Nostrord \- Decentralized Group Chat · NIP\-29 Nostr Client Nostrord is a NIP\-29 client for decentralized group chat on Nostr\. Built with Kotlin Multiplatform \(KMP\) and Compose\. Relay\-enforced moderation, censorship\-resistant communities, cryptographic identity\. No servers, no sign\-up, no lock\-in\. The Nostrord TeamThe Nostrord Team ](https://nostrord.com/?ref=news.dyne.org)And a blossom server to store your pictures and videos\! You can store up to 256Mb of goodness on there\. Blossom is a wonderful concept for portable binary data\. Read[about it here](https://github.com/hzrd149/blossom?ref=news.dyne.org), or just try out a client that manages your blossoms here: [bouquet ](https://bouquet.slidestr.net/?ref=news.dyne.org)### Learn more\! The UX of nostr is wild; there's an increase in interest among builders, fueling all sorts of client development\. Rumble in the Jungle, essentially\! If you tested the[Dyne\.org community build of Jumble](https://nostr.dyne.org/?ref=news.dyne.org), you might have noticed that one relay in the network is[Spatia\-arcana\.com](https://spatia-arcana.com/?ref=news.dyne.org)\. They've written extensively to help onboard new people\. I urge you to consult the manual they're developing here: [The Pyramid Community Relay \* Getting Started with Pyramid \* Pyramid’s Features, pt 1 \(Home, Main, and Subrelays\) \* Pyramid’s Features, pt 2 \(Media, Chats, and More\) \* Managing Your Pyramid Community \* Benefits of Pyramid Membership \* Troubleshooting Your Pyramid Spatia NostraD\. ](https://spatianostra.com/the-pyramid-community-relay/?ref=news.dyne.org)Here's some very useful high\-level information about Nostr in general\. [Nostr \- Notes and Other Stuff Transmitted by Relays Notes and Other Stuff Transmitted by Relays ](https://nostr.com/?ref=news.dyne.org)**Nostr is more than a social protocol; it's a decentralized form of Digital Identity, a topic dear and close to the heart of Planet Dyne\.** [Privacy in EUDI Until process isolation is granted for every execution of zero\-knowledge algorithms, privacy\-preserving technology won’t protect us from mega\-corporations spying on us\. News From DyneJaromil ](https://news.dyne.org/privacy-in-eudi/)## \.\.so many questions\. That's ok\. We can't answer them all today\. But**feel free to drop a comment below or come say hi in the channels\! 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