@strypey @arinbasu1 @sixohsix

hard to say where the messages end up

In Nostr, the data is stored by the Relay within its database. For further details visit “How does nostr store history of one’s posts?”

cc: @srijit

@strypey @arinbasu1 @sixohsix

“Does Nostr have a concept of private posts, encrypted with the recipients’ public keys, like SSB does?”

There are five types of Nostr relays. It may be possible through a whitelisted relay.

cc: @srijit

Though Nostr enables censorship-resistant global social networks, it may give a false perception that there are no privacy issues in the protocol as on today

This article, dated 27 Dec 2022, highlights a few privacy issues with Nostr protocol and apps related to privacy. The author unambiguously states that the post is not an attempt to create FUD and, instead, the objective is to make more users aware of the problems and possible solutions. The following aspects are highlighted:

1. IP leak using profile image
2. Metadata leak in encrypted DM
3. Issues and concerns with contact lists, relays and encrypted channels

#Nostr #Privacy

cc: @srijit

@schizanon

Your observations are apt. However I have a very limited understanding of Nostr till now.

The section titled “Users getting banned and servers being closed” in How does it solve the problems the networks above can’t? does attempt to address your concerns.

• Instead of requiring users to manually type new relay addresses (although this should also be supported), whenever someone you’re following posts a server recommendation, the client should automatically add that to the list of relays it will query.
• If someone is using a relay to publish their data but wants to migrate to another one, they can publish a server recommendation to that previous relay and go.
• If someone gets banned from many relays such that they can’t get their server recommendations broadcasted, they may still let some close friends know through other means with which relay they are publishing now. Then, these close friends can publish server recommendations to that new server, and slowly, the old follower base of the banned user will begin finding their posts again from the new relay.
• All of the above is valid too for when a relay ceases its operations.

I have not understood the concept of “server recommendation” till now. There may be explanation in one of NIPs. Similarly, I am not sure to what extent the ActivityPub based Fediverse experts will agree with the topic “The problem with Mastodon and similar programs”. The Fediverse ecosystem is vast and diverse and it will need time and effort to get a detailed understanding.

Till now the ActivityPub based Fediverse ecosystem works well for me and is mostly user friendly.

#Nostr #ActivityPub #Fediverse #NIP

cc: @srijit

@schizanon

Can relays not block each other?

In Nostr relays blocking each other are not effective (or do not make sense) as per the attached diagram. As mentioned here:

“A relay can block a user from publishing anything there, but that has no effect on them as they can still publish to other relays. Since users are identified by a public key, they don’t lose their identities and their follower base when they get banned.”

cc: @srijit

Nostr

Nostr (“Notes and Other Stuff Transmitted by Relays”) is an open protocol for censorship-resistant global social networks created by fiatjaf.

For a complete guide to Nostr visit this link.

My Personal Opinion
As of now Nostr is promising and work is in progress and, therefore, require time to mature. Most Nostr compatible relays and clients partially implement Nostr NIPs (Nost Implementation Possibilities) and hence compatibility is an issue. NIP-05 maps Nostr keys to DNS-based internet identifiers.

The approach of Nostr is completely different from ActivityPub based Fediverse and it is not worth comparing.

I am quoting my major concerns regarding Nostr from this Reddit link.

“What if you exposed your private key after years of using Nostr with a lot of notes and followers?”
“Is it possible to change your key? If not what are the best steps to do?”
“Even if you give up your followers and notes and create a new account, isn’t there a risk that someone will take over your old account and post on your behalf?”

If one limits itself to one browser based web app or one mobile app, there are less hassles in managing private keys. Everybody may not be comfortable with private keys which, otherwise, needs effort to manage. The usability of NIP-07 based desktop browser extensions is still not for an ordinary user with limited relevant technical exposure.

There are known headaches with Fediverse. I do not know how many Fediverse servers have blocked this instance of Fediverse. This concern or frustration does not exist with Nostr. Apparently, it is comparatively easier to build Nostr relays and clients.

At present, I find Fediverse more usable with relatively matured clients. The Nostr free relays do not perform consistently. Most probably the paid relays are better though I have not availed them.

#Nostr #ActivityPub #Fediverse #NIP

cc: @srijit

“I am happy because I want nothing from anyone. I do not care about money. Decorations, titles, or distinctions mean nothing to me. I do not crave praise. The only thing that gives me pleasure, apart from my work, my violin, and my sailboat, is the appreciation of my fellow workers.”

~ Albert Einstein

Source: https://medium.com/you-are-a-conscious-creator/9-quotes-full-of-spiritual-wisdom-from-albert-einstein-71768f883b57

Appreciation of fellow workers do matter. Unfortunately, this aspect has remained largely elusive in my life till now. Instead, I have been mostly assessed.

One needs to have enough endeavors and foresights, while exercising caution, to avoid dull and thankless or toxic environments both in personal and professional spheres.

#Reflections #Life

cc: @srijit

“What is Privacy?”
My Personal Thoughts

Introduction

It is quite difficult to develop an intuitive understanding of privacy to be able to define it and circumscribe it. In the article “On the Pursuit of Happiness… and Privacy” author Adam Thierer mentions that defining “privacy” is a legal and philosophical nightmare. Few concepts engender more definitional controversies and catfights. As someone who is passionate about his own personal privacy. He then provides thoughts from a wide variety of scholars that make it clear just how frustrating this endeavor can be. Even the authors Rachel Finn and David Wright and Michael Friedewald echo the same opinion in their publication “Seven types of privacy”.

Privacy has been a topic of discussion since the days of Aristotle. In the book “One of Politics”, Aristotle carefully distinguishes between the oikos – the private family life – and the polis – the public realm of political affairs. The essay On Liberty, published in 1859, by the English philosopher John Stuart Mill and The Right to Privacy written by Samuel D. Warren II and Louis Brandeis and published in the 1890 Harvard Law Review are seminal articles related to privacy. The following quote from the article “The Right to Privacy” is worth noting and though it was written in 1890, it is relevant even today.

“Recent inventions and business methods call attention to the next step which must be taken for the protection of the person, and for securing to the individual what Judge Cooley calls the right “to be let alone”. Instantaneous photographs and newspaper enterprise have invaded the sacred precincts of private and domestic life; and numerous mechanical devices threaten to make good the prediction that “what is whispered in the closet shall be proclaimed from the house-tops.” For years there has been a feeling that the law must afford some remedy for the unauthorized circulation of portraits of private persons; and the evil of invasion of privacy by the newspapers, long keenly felt, has been but recently discussed by an able writer.”

Perspectives of Privacy

In “What Government Should Know about Privacy: A Foundation Paper” author Colin J. Bennett says

“Although there is no consensus on how to define privacy, even in English- speaking nations, there is common agreement that privacy is something that every human being needs at some level and in some degree. This point is substantiated by a wealth of social psychological and anthropological evidence which has suggested that every society, even the most primitive, adopts mechanisms and structures (even as simple as the building of walls) that allow individuals to resist encroachment from other individuals or groups.1 Moreover, Dystopian visions of a world without any privacy have had a profound and symbolic effect on public consciousness in most societies. We may not know what privacy is, but we can all agree that something precious is lost when it goes away.”

Privacy is a fundamental (though not an absolute) human right recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. As per Article 12 of UDHR:

“No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.”

Similarly International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) 1966, Article 17 states the following.

1. “No one shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to unlawful attacks on his honour and reputation.”
2. “Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.”

Types of Privacy

There are seven types of privacy as per the publication “Seven types of privacy”.

1. Privacy of the person encompasses the right to keep body functions and body characteristics (such as genetic codes and bio-metrics) private. Privacy of the person is thought to be conducive to individual feelings of freedom and helps to support a healthy, well-adjusted democratic society.
2. Privacy of behaviour and action includes sensitive issues such as sexual preferences and habits, political activities and religious practices. However, the notion of privacy of personal behaviour concerns activities that happen in public space, as well as in private space.
3. Privacy of communication aims to avoid the interception of communications, including mail interception, the use of bugs, directional microphones, telephone or wireless communication interception or recording and access to e-mail messages.
4. Privacy of data and image includes concerns about making sure that individuals’ data is not automatically available to other individuals and organisations and that people can “exercise a substantial degree of control over that data and its use”.
5. Privacy of thoughts and feelings addresses that people have a right not to share their thoughts or feelings or to have those thoughts or feeling revealed. Individuals should have the right to think whatever they like.
6. Privacy of location and space means that individuals have the right to move about in public or semi-public space without being identified, tracked or monitored. This conception of privacy also includes a right to solitude and a right to privacy in spaces such as the home, the car or the office.
7. Privacy of association (including group privacy) is concerned with people’s right to associate with whomever they wish, without being monitored. This has long been recognised as desirable (necessary) for a democratic society as it fosters freedom of speech, including political speech, freedom of worship and other forms of association.

Privacy related laws in India

As stated here, the Constitution of India does not patently grant the fundamental right to privacy. However, the courts have read the right to privacy into the other existing fundamental rights, i.e., freedom of speech and expression under Art 19(1)(a) and right to life and personal liberty under Art 21 of the Constitution of India. However, these Fundamental Rights under the Constitution of India are subject to reasonable restrictions given under Art 19(2) of the Constitution that may be imposed by the State.

Recently, in the landmark case of Justice K S Puttaswamy (Retd.) & Anr. vs. Union of India and Ors., the constitution bench of the Honorable Supreme Court has held Right to Privacy as a fundamental right, subject to certain reasonable restrictions.

Additional References:

1. https://gilc.org/privacy/survey/intro.html#fnlnk0020
2. https://privacyinternational.org/explainer/56/what-privacy
3. https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/human-rights-act/article-8-respect-your-private-and-family-life
4. https://www.oecd.org/digital/privacy/

#Rights #Privacy #HumanRights #PrivacyLaws #MastIndia #Freedom #FreedomofSpeech #Mastodonindians #India #RighttoPrivacy

cc: @srijit

Liberty and Freedom
My Personal Thoughts

Freedom and liberty mostly are most synonymous. As stated here,

“Liberty entails the responsible use of freedom under the rule of law without depriving anyone else of their freedom. Freedom is discussed in the context of free will and self-determination, balanced by moral responsibility.”

In Liberty Versus Freedom: A Differential Approach, the distinction between freedom and liberty has been discussed, from an Indian context, in significant detail. Here are a few salient excerpts.

“In the Constitution of India, Right to Freedom has been guaranteed under Article 19 and Right to Life and Liberty has been guaranteed under Article 21. These Fundamental Rights along with the others are also known as Negative Rights. Negative because these rights cast a negative duty upon the state not to infringe or violate these rights. Neither freedom nor liberty has been defined under Article 19 and Article 21.”

“Indian Constitution does not differentiate between freedom and liberty on a jurisprudential basis. These rights usually go hand in hand. The courts do not hesitate to read article 21 with article 19. Thus in the Indian context, the difference between freedom and liberty is quite slim. Even otherwise, liberty and freedom are often referred to as two sides of the same coin and sometimes used interchangeably as well.”

#Liberty #Freedom #MastIndia #Mastodonindians #India

cc: @srijit

বদল

এখন আর আমাদের কোনো অশান্তি নেই
কেননা আমরা দল বদল করেছি
হয়ে গেছি ওরা।
সেদিন সারারাত জুড়ে চলছিল সেই বদলের উৎসব
পালটে যাচ্ছিল ধ্বজা
থমথমে উল্লাসে ভরে যাচ্ছিল প্রাঙ্গণ
আর গান আর হুল্লোড় আর জয়ধ্বনি আসছিল ভেসে
আর ভোজের সুবাস।
কোনো অশান্তি ছিল না আর, কেবল
আগুনের হলকার পাশে
তখনও তোমার মুখে গতজন্মের ছায়া দুলতে দেখে
তোমাকে নিঃশব্দ দেখে
আমরা এগিয়ে এসে বলেছি : ভয় কী,
এই তো ভালো হলো
আমরা এখন হয়ে গেছি ওরা
আর কোনো অশান্তি রইল না আমাদের
দেখো কেমন চমৎকার কেটে যাচ্ছে আমাদের কৃমিকীট জীবন।

~ কবি শঙ্খ ঘোষ

#Bangla #Bengali #বাংলা #কবিতা #শঙ্খঘোষ #Poem #ShankhaGhosh

cc: @srijit

@AnirbanM

“একটা কিছু ভালো বলা মানে অন্য কিছু হেলা করা নয় যে স্যার!”

আমি আপনার সঙ্গে একদম সহমত। আমি এভাবে লিখতেও চাই নি। আমি দুঃখিত। আমার ওইরকম একটা “disclaimer” দিয়ে দেওয়া উচিত ছিলো।

আমি নিজে নানা দেশের খাবার খেতে খুব ভালবাসি। আমি কর্ণাটকে প্রায় তিন দশক ধরে আছি। আমার প্রিয় শহর মাইসুরু। আমি বুঝি যে এক জায়গার সংস্কৃতি ভালোবাসা মানে অন্য সংস্কৃতিকে হেয় করা নয়।

তবুও টানটা থেকে যায়। আপনার পোস্ট দেখলেই প্রথমেই সুবর্ণরেখা নিয়ে আপনার লেখাটার কথা মনে পড়ে যায়। তার সঙ্গে ঋত্বিক ঘটক ইত্যাদি। ওই ভাবের স্রোতেই আপনাকে বাঙালি খাবারের কথা লিখে ফেলি।

#বাংলা #Bangla #Bengali #Culture #Food

cc: @bengali_convo @srijit @Farah

@anniezaidi

“Privacy is a transient notion. It started when people stopped believing that God could see everything and stopped when governments realised there was a vacancy to be filled.”

~ Roger Needham

“You have zero privacy anyway. Get over it.”

~ Scott Mcnealy

#Privacy

cc: @srijit

@Mer__edith, @signalapp

My suggestions for Signal Messaging App

1. When you unambiguously recognize that privacy is a human right, why does Signal messaging app make it mandatory to register with a phone or a mobile number unlike Element and, thus, compromising privacy?
2. Since, due to privacy reasons, It is not at all prudent to share the phone or mobile number, I request that you enable an option to also have an username similar to Telegram Messenger. It is safer to share a unique username linked to Signal messaging app instead of a phone or a mobile number.
3. An interesting option can be to enable linking Fediverse (Pleroma, Friendica, Mastodon etc.) id with a browser and the mobile app based Signal messenger app. This may significantly enhance the user-base of Signal.

#Privacy #Signal #SignaMessenger #Fediverse

cc: @srijit

Facts, Truth and Information

Discussions related to facts, truth and information are not new. They have been happening since time immemorial. They still continue to happen, more intensely, in this age of ChatGPT.

Thomas Jefferson was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. On 14th June 1807, Thomas Jefferson wrote the following to John Norvell who was a newspaper editor and one of the first U.S. Senators from Michigan.

“To your request of my opinion of the manner in which a newspaper should be conducted, so as to be most useful, I should answer, “by restraining it to true facts & sound principles only.” Yet I fear such a paper would find few subscribers. It is a melancholy truth, that a suppression of the press could not more completely deprive the nation of it’s benefits, than is done by it’s abandoned prostitution to falsehood. Nothing can now be believed which is seen in a newspaper. Truth itself becomes suspicious by being put into that polluted vehicle. The real extent of this state of misinformation is known only to those who are in situations to confront facts within their knowledge with the lies of the day. I really look with commiseration over the great body of my fellow citizens, who, reading newspapers, live & die in the belief, that they have known something of what has been passing in the world in their time; whereas the accounts they have read in newspapers are just as true a history of any other period of the world as of the present, except that the real names of the day are affixed to their fables. General facts may indeed be collected from them, such as that Europe is now at war, that Bonaparte has been a successful warrior, that he has subjected a great portion of Europe to his will, &c., &c.; but no details can be relied on. I will add, that the man who never looks into a newspaper is better informed than he who reads them; in as much as he who knows nothing is nearer to truth than he whose mind is filled with falsehoods & errors. He who reads nothing will still learn the great facts, and the details are all false.”

Even during the times of epic Mahabharata, we see a similar scenario while depicting a fact. From Prasad Modak’s Blog, we learn the following.

“Drona (Dhronacharya) was the royal guru to Kauravas and Pandavas. He was a master of advanced military arts, including the Devastras. Arjuna was his favourite student. Drona‘s love for Arjuna was second only to his love for his son Ashwatthama. During Kurukshetra war Drona was on the side of Kauravas.

All knew that defeating Drona was tough in the war. So, Lord Krishna played a trick. He asked Yudhisthira to tell guru Drona that Ashwathama was killed by Bhima. Yudhisthira was not ready to tell a lie. So, Krishna made a war trick and asked Bhima to kill an elephant which had the name Ashwatthama. And then they announced loud that ‘Bhima Killed Ashwathama’.

Drona approached Yudhisthira to seek the truth. This time on the pressure from Krishna. Yudhisthira gave an answer that was a halt truth. He answered “Yes, but Naro wa Kunjaro wa” meaning Yes, Ashwathama is dead but I am not sure whether it is your son or the elephant”. This explanation was not heard by Drona in full as it was morphed with the sound of drums that Lord Krishna had asked to play.

Drona believed that his son Ashwathama is dead. He dropped his powerful array of weapons and sat down to meditate towards atmasamarpan i.e. transcending his soul to the heavens. Draupadi’s brother Dhrushtadhumana took this opportunity and severed his head with a sword.”

#Facts #Fact #Truth #Lies #Information #Misinformation

cc: @srijit

এই পৃথিবী বড় ব্যস্ত

এই পৃথিবী বড় ব্যস্ত
দু’-এক মুহূর্তের মধ্যেই মৃতদের ভুলে যায়
যদিও আমি আজও জীবিত
তোমার কাছে তবুও আমি মৃত্যু-নদীর পারে চ’লে গেছি
আমার এই দিন, আমার এই রাত্রি
আলো, অন্ধকার, কোলাহল, কাজের তাগিদ নিয়ে
রোজই আমার কাছে উপস্থিত
কারণ এরা জানে যে, আমি মৃত নই
এরা জানে

কিন্তু তবুও তোমার কাছে আমি মৃত্যুর অন্ধকারের ভিতর হারিয়ে গেছি

নেপোলিয়ন হতে পারব না আমি কোনও দিন, মুসোলিনি হতে পারব না
রামমোহন বা গান্ধী’র মতো একটা স্তম্ভ হয়ে উঠতে পারব না কোনও দিন
বিরাট জনতা কোনও দিন সহসা-প্রকাশিত সমুদ্রের মতো আমার চোখে দেখা দেবে না
সেই সমুদ্রের পারে অতিকায় শৈলের মতো দাঁড়িয়ে সমুদ্রকে সম্ভাষণ ও শাসন
করতে পারবে না কোনও দিন আমার ব্যক্তিত্ব
দেশে-দেশে আমার নাম শুনতে পাবে না কোনও দিন
শুনতে পাবে না কংগ্রেস’এ-কংগ্রেস’এ আমার…

এই সব কিছু আমার কাছে কেউ পাবে না কোনও দিন
অতি-দূর থেকে আমার মহোচ্চ ব্যক্তিত্বকে পুজো করবার বা ভালোবাসবার অবকাশ
তোমাকে দেবার মতো শক্তি আমার নেই

নিকটে আমার পায়ের নিচে কিংবা মুখোমুখি ব’সে বিহ্বল বিক্রিত হয়ে যাবে তুমি
সেই সিংহ-গহ্বর থেকে জন্মায় নি আমার জীবন
সেই সব কিছু আমার কাছে কেউ পাবে না কোনও দিন
কোনও দিন পাবে না তুমি

ঘাসের ভিতর ঘাসের মতো পৃথিবীর ভিড়ে
আমি ভিড়
আমাকে নিয়ে পৃথিবীর স্বচ্ছ স্বাভাবিক ভিড় তৈরি হয়
আমি প্রত্যক্ষ নই- আমাকে খুঁজে বার করতে হয়
আমার মৃত্যুও ভিড়ের ভিতরে: কখন জন্মেছি, কখন শেষ হয়ে গেলাম, কেউ খবর রাখে না
পৃথিবীর এক গুচ্ছ মৃত ঘাসের মতো: এক দিন সবুজ ছিলাম, এই আনন্দ নিয়ে হারিয়ে যেতে হবে-

~ কবি জীবনানন্দ দাশ

#Bangla #Bengali #বাংলা #কবিতা #জীবনানন্দ #Poem #JibananandaDas

cc: @bengali_convo @srijit

@element

Challenges in using Element Personal

My friend and I have been using the personal version of Element for quite some time now. We both agreed that it is the best messaging app which truly addressed our concerns of privacy.

My friend was using Desktop version of Element on Windows 7 while I was using both Element Web and the Desktop version on Windows 10/11.

For my friend, the desktop version of Element was working fine. Few weeks back, an update message appeared, and he clicked the button. Element closed (which happened for all upgrades), and relaunched itself after the upgrade. All new messages, from me, subsequently failed to decrypt. All older messages, from me, continued to show as usual.

As per my suggestion, my friend explored the web version with the latest version of Mozilla Firefox. The web version has the same problem. All new messages, from me, fail to decrypt. A message box appears asking me to open other “linked devices”.

Also, the same thing happened when he tried to open a new, fresh account (linked devices do not exist for this account, clearly).

From my side, there are no problems. I am able to read his new messages but he cannot read my messages since they fail to decrypt at his end.

What do we do now? I am unable to find a customer support option for the free personal version of Element. Right now, we have no other choice but to sadly abandon the personal version of Element.

#Element #Matrix #Support #SecureEncryptedMessaging

cc: @srijit @matrix

Why the love for sports by the average child matters?

In my opinion, this article titled “I am the Mom of the Average Child” is one of the interesting articles regarding parenting children of India. I too live in a society of Bengaluru city amidst high caliber students who excel in education or sports, music and other extra-curricular activities. The author Mathangi Murali appropriately echoes my thoughts when she says “The school, society celebrates children who are top scorers or good in sports and extracurricular,which rightfully they should. Amidst all this, my average child who is a spectator and cheers his friends with full heart goes unnoticed.” And I am also familiar with large number of so called average children.

It is the love of sports of these average children who provide the ecosystem and their parents fund the infrastructure for the sports achievers at school level sports in Bengaluru. During their primary school years, parents enroll their children in private sports training centers and academies to promote good health and to make use of their time effectively. These training centers usually cost about the same as the annual school fees. Most children cannot love and enjoy the game for long. The coaches, and even the parents, push them towards competition, and many children are exposed to the harsh realities of sports at a young age. Some children excel and bring pride, but others are forced to face elimination before they can even fully understand the sport. The coaches, while not to be blamed, do so for their own survival and career. Many coaches develop a tendency to take these average trainees for granted even during training sessions. Once again, it is not their fault. They are the product of the ecosystem which we have created in India. Their trainees need to win matches and events.

Most schools in Bengaluru do not invest in basic sports training, and only select the best privately trained children for their school teams. Some schools arrange training for the kids selected in school teams. To participate in a professional private sports training program, one has to balance sports training, sports competitions, school exams (typically four in a year), home work, school projects etc. Unless the child is a state or national level medal winner in individual sports (badminton, tennis, swimming etc.) or a very high potential in team sports (cricket, soccer etc.), the probability of quality support from school will be low.

I also want to highlight the significant time and energy expended by the parents who sometimes deny their personal and professional priorities for the sake for participation of their wards in sports. I agree with Mathangi Murali that the society and school must rightfully celebrate the achievers. She also says that “Amidst all this, my average child who is a spectator and cheers his friends with full heart goes unnoticed.” Many parents of the average children drop out. Some continue without expecting any returns. It is these children and their parents who should matter most since they silently and significantly contribute towards developing and nurturing India’s sporting heroes.

#Sports #Child #Children #Training #Parenting #MastIndia #MastodonIndians

cc: @srijit