Apple banning Damus is as bullish for Nostr as China banning mining was for Bitcoin.
I got into Bitcoin as a direct result of China's ban. I had been on the sidelines since 2017 smugly telling everyone that when the government decided the party was over, it was over. I didn't really get it. Then the ban, and I started to watch very closely. What persuaded me was not as much what I saw, but what I didn't see. I didn't see the system crash, I didn't see panic, I didn't see people stop using it, I didn't see any Bitcoiner give up, I didn't see a single instant of down time.
It was such a non-event that I started to get really excited about the possibilities, and I started to read. Then I realized that these weren't mere possibilities, many of them were realities, and many more were virtually assured certainties (some have since become realities as well).
Nostr cannot be stopped by the likes of Apple any more than Bitcoin can be stopped by the likes of China. And I know the surface level argument is that it's just the zaps and then just on notes and bla bla bla. But it's not. It's the first assault on Nostr from the mainstream, and it's a sneaky ambush dressed in rhetoric. China said the mining ban was due to environmental concerns. It wasn’t. The truth behind the rhetoric is that they're scared. They're scared of you. You degenerate, unruly, ungovernable children of the Cypherpunks. And they should be.
So, Will, don't be a martyr. Look to your own interests. Martyrdom is already upon you whether you would choose it or not. But we are not cannibals, we do not require your sacrifice. Nostr and all its Nostriches have benefited massively from your work, we are incredibly grateful, and most of us, recognizing the cowardly assault on our citadel, will likely stand behind you to the bitter end. But Nostr is here. The can is open, the worms…everywhere, and just as Bitcoin doesn't need Satoshi to survive, and it doesn’t need Muun or BlueWallet to survive, Nostr doesn't need Will or fiatjaff or any particular person anymore, and it doesn’t need Damus or Amethyst or any particular client to survive.
The lesson in letting sleeping ostriches lie starts now. Pay attention.