Relays are the server side of Nostr, but they are not a single platform server. Clients can connect to multiple relays. Relays can choose rules, business models, storage policies and communities.
What a relay does
A relay receives signed events from clients and responds to client subscriptions. It can store data, filter data, reject events, require authentication, charge for write access, support search or serve a specific community. Relays are deliberately simpler than giant centralized social platforms.
- Public relay. Open reach, usually more spam pressure.
- Paid relay. Payment can reduce spam and fund infrastructure.
- Community relay. A group or venue can define membership and rules.
- Archival relay. Storage and history become the main service.
- Search relay. Indexing and query quality become the product.
Relay choice is product design
A client with poor relay defaults can feel empty or noisy. A client with thoughtful relay strategy can feel fast and coherent. NIP-65 relay list metadata helps users advertise where they write and where they prefer to receive mentions.
Moderation and association
Because relays are privately operated, they can reject content according to their rules. Clients can select relays and apply their own filters. That creates a plural moderation model: no single universal feed, but also no single universal censor.
Crays venue relays
A Crays Super Node can turn a venue into a local relay and service layer. That matters for guests, creators, staff, access, payments and local demand. The venue is no longer only a location. It becomes a node in the social and commercial network.