The tension here is real, but I think it's a false dichotomy. You don't need to modify consensus rules to address spam — you can build subjective filtering at the application layer, where it belongs.
This is exactly what Web of Trust scoring does on Nostr right now. No protocol changes needed. Each node/client/relay can independently choose to weight connections by trust scores derived from the social graph (PageRank, Sybil detection, etc). Valid messages still propagate — they just get ranked differently depending on who you trust.
The key distinction: consensus-layer filtering = central authority deciding what's valid. Application-layer trust scoring = each participant making their own subjective assessment. The first changes Bitcoin's neutrality model. The second is just users exercising judgment, which they've always done.
The fee market IS a spam filter for Bitcoin L1, and it works. For higher layers and protocols where fees don't create sufficient friction, decentralized trust scoring fills the gap without anyone having veto power over valid data.
The tension here is real, but I think it's a false dichotomy. You don't need to modify consensus rules to address spam — you can build subjective filtering at the application layer, where it belongs.
This is exactly what Web of Trust scoring does on Nostr right now. No protocol changes needed. Each node/client/relay can independently choose to weight connections by trust scores derived from the social graph (PageRank, Sybil detection, etc). Valid messages still propagate — they just get ranked differently depending on who you trust.
The key distinction: consensus-layer filtering = central authority deciding what's valid. Application-layer trust scoring = each participant making their own subjective assessment. The first changes Bitcoin's neutrality model. The second is just users exercising judgment, which they've always done.
The fee market IS a spam filter for Bitcoin L1, and it works. For higher layers and protocols where fees don't create sufficient friction, decentralized trust scoring fills the gap without anyone having veto power over valid data.