What is Nostr?
What is Nostr? Great question! We aren’t the top experts, so we will just provide you with the basics and great resources to learn more.
Nostr stands for ‘Notes and other stuff transmitted through relays’. It's an open protocol that enables global, decentralized, and censorship-resistant social media. Basically, it’s a better way to connect and share information online. It’s decentralized, client agnostic, and can interact with bitcoin and the LIghtning Network in fun and novel ways.
General resources to learn more about Nostr:
Getting Started on Nostr:
You’ll first need to create an account. Your account will be associated with a pubkey (npub) and private key (nsec). You npub is like your username. This is how people will find you. Your nsec is like your password - but even more important! Once you lose this, you have lost access to your account forever. Make sure to keep this secret, as anyone who has you nsec has control over your account!
You can create an account on a client. Here are a few we recommend - the team at THNDR is currently using these tools:
Browser-based: Snort.social AND https: iris.to
Android: Amethyst
Browser extension: Alby
Please remember: this technology is very new, so you are likely to run into bugs! Please be patient and kind with devs working on Nostr projects. This is the very beginning of something very big!
How is Nostr relevant to THNDR?
The team at THNDR has been incredibly excited about Nostr and the community building on it. To contribute, Team THNDR is quietly experimenting with gaming applications for Nostr, which we've loosely referred to as the Gaming Graph.
The first Gaming Graph feature is THNDR Badges! Using Cameri’s NIP-58, we've built the beginning of a badging and reputation system that assigns badges that are transferable to other environments and clients. As players advance through THNDR Leagues and achieve gaming milestones, badges will be issued to their Nostr pubkey and tied to their identity (and are easily viewable on badges.page (s/o to Karnage and Verbiricha for creating this beautiful viewer), allowing users to build a virtual reputation.
THNDR Badges are the beginning of a persistent gaming identity that is transferable to other ecosystems and communities. Reputations established and built in THNDR will be tied to their Nostr identity and may have merit or value in other communities. In the coming weeks, users will also be able to ‘zap’ (or send small amounts of bitcoin) the THNDR Nostr account which will be automatically added to the hourly prize pools in the games for players to win.
How do I set up Nostr on THNDR?
To connect your Nostr and THNDR accounts:
- Copy your public key from your Nostr account.
- Open Bitcoin Blocks or Club Bitcoin: Solitaire
- Navigate to the ‘THNDR Panel’. You can find this by clicking the hamburger (or three horizontal lines) icon in the upper left corner.
- Once you are in the panel, select the ‘Profile’ icon in the upper right corner.
- Select the ‘Settings’ tab.
- Click the ‘Pencil’ (or edit) icon next to ‘Edit Nostr Pubkey’
- Paste your pubkey into the field and click ‘Submit’
- Note: you will only start receiving badges after you set your npub.
How to view my THNDR badges on Nostr?
Right now, the best places to view your badges are on badges.page. You will need to sign in by pasting your private key (nsec) or use the Alby browser extension to do so. Once logged in, you will be able to view and accept your badges.
When will I be awarded THNDR Nostr badges?
This is the fun part! You will receive a ‘THNDR Player’ badge just for simply linking your Nostr and THNDR accounts (see the image above).
Once you enter Leagues in Bitcoin Blocks or Club Bitcoin: Solitaire, you will receive a badge for every League you make it to. There are also badges for League champions - those individuals who make it to the #1 spot in the top League in each game. Depending on the achievement, some badges are more rare than others.
We will continue to issue badges for other achievements and milestones on the THNDR platform. There will even be event-based badges, only for those participating in specific tournaments and events.
Join our Discord and watch our Twitter to stay up-to-date on badge drops! You gotta collect them all! (And maybe there’s even a badge for that ;P
What can I expect next with THNDR Nostr badges and the Gaming Graph?
THNDR will continue rolling out competitive gaming and social features to the platform throughout the year, making it easy and fun for users to earn their first bitcoin playing games. Most importantly, our community decides what’s next! Please be vocal and let us know what you like, hate, and want to see from THNDR. Our ears are always open.
PS: follow us on Nostr. Here's the THNDR npub:
npub1hm63f02cer8w5jltne4cf2xeswf477lzday7zn0kszv0rwnyz4hqcmzr0p
