From ddacd7c859602b972e46286a59e99aefd3b31090 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: mleku Date: Fri, 20 Dec 2024 05:19:19 +0000 Subject: [PATCH] first draft of NIP-78 Nostr Relay Chat --- 79.md | 87 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 87 insertions(+) create mode 100644 79.md diff --git a/79.md b/79.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..80b7e96 --- /dev/null +++ b/79.md @@ -0,0 +1,87 @@ +NIP-76 +====== + +Nostr Relay Chat +---------------- + +`draft` `optional` + +IRC is a very old style of instant messaging that has been used on the internet since 1988 when the first form was +written and deployed at University of Oulu in Finland by Jarkko Oikarinen. + +There has been numerous additions to the protocol and the latest version is 3. This NIP is for something that is a +lot more like the original, and will be primarily for a purely synchronous, and asynchronous messaging will be possible +only via clients implementing a message cache and uploading them to their follows when they connect, so the relay is by +default never retaining the message stream (saving data storage and query processing). + +If users want asynchronous message delivery, there is existing kinds for this purpose, this NIP only concerns itself +with synchronous messaging, and only defines ephemeral message kinds. + +## Message Kinds + +There are two new message kinds defined for this protocol: + +- NRCMessage - a message posted by the user to be broadcast to active subscribers. +- NRCConnect - a message indicating that a specific user has connected or is about to disconnect. + +### NRCMessage 23514 + +This message type simply contains a text message in an optionally minimalistic Markdown format, suggested to implement +the following basic markdown features: + +- Bold, Italic, Underline, Strikethrough, Monospace `backticks` +- Hyperlinks (though http/s prefixes SHOULD also cause the client to render a hyperlink) +- Headers 1 to 6 +- Double linefeed paragraph separation +- Images/embeds - but also optionally render them if the file extension is recognised +- Preformatted monospaced via either indentation or optionally syntax labeled backtick fences + +The reason for supporting these features is to facilitate use of the chat for technical discussions. It is OPTIONAL to +actually implement (since for a TTY or speech based client this may not be practical to render) + +### NRCConnect 23515 + +This message type is simply an "online/offline" text in the "content" field, and is used to facilitate "join/part" +messages to be rendered. This also facilitates the ability for direct messages to be resent if the receiver was offline. + +## Chatrooms via Hashtags + +The simple use of `t` tags and a hashtag MUST be recognised as meaning a message is sent to subscribers interested in +this specific chatroom. `#general` will be a default in clients for the initial room that is rendered in an not yet +configured client, clients should receive all events in the background and populate a hashtag list to enable favourites. + +## Automatic Subscription + +Follow lists include hashtags, and relays should only send messages that are on the user's follow list OR are tagged +with a hashtag they follow AND NOT users or hashtags on their mute list. This is additionally facilitated by Directory +Spidering to gather the available user information required. + +## Directory Spidering + +Relays supporting this NIP should include a "directory spider" feature that periodically polls all the relays that it +can find from user's relay lists [NIP-65](65.md) and [NIP-17](17.md) Direct Messaging relays all following event kinds: + +- 10002 Relay List Metadata +- 10050 Direct Message Relay Lists + +in order to gather all relevant relays to the users who are permitted to use the relay (this is most easily implemented +by designated relay "owners" whose follow lists designate first level allowed users and the lists of these follows are +additionally permitted in order to facilitate easy access, this can be informal, or on a paid subscription basis). + +Further, to facilitate necessary user interface features, all following kinds of users permitted to use the relay should +be sought and cached: + +- ProfileMetadata 0 +- FollowList 3 +- MuteList 10000 + +The relay lists can be used to acquire a set of sources to interrogate, and from there these event kinds are needed in +order to implement the features of this NIP. + +## Direct Messages + +Contain `P` (private) tags and are only sent to the users authed with the designated public key, and are additionally +encrypted using [NIP-44](44.md). + +Optionally clients can implement the ability to resend direct messages that the recipient may not have seen due to the +client having seen a NRCConnect offline message signalling the user is not receiving messages thereafter. \ No newline at end of file