The helper approach that only points at this site
When a friend asks me for the address, I never send it. I send this site. This article is why.
The three addresses
Nexus Market publishes these three onion addresses. Present as supplied, in no order, with no ranking. This site does not probe them and shows no uptime figure.
nexusb2l7fmqnefwphyy7m5zjhlkytlbo7qbb5lu5dlczr3azgii2gyd.onion
nexusma2iqgauqqvjcgds4ckv5xbf272tkfagq4epojjhsgleqpwxiqd.onion
nexusabcd6tyfhdwilyitaqiri6tisj2v2hueyjuj6qkvd6azvi5tuqd.onion
What a pointer does that a paste does not
A pointer teaches the friend where the address lives. A paste teaches them nothing except that I have it in my head.
A pointer scales. Next time they need the address they know where to look. A paste means they come back to me every time.
A pointer keeps the trust in the source. A paste puts the trust in me, and I am not the source; the site is.
How I phrase the pointer
I say the domain out loud, or I write it down on paper if we are together. I do not send it in a chat. I do not link to it in a message. I say the words.
Saying the words is enough because the domain is short and the friend can type it into Tor Browser once they have Tor Browser.
What the friend does with the pointer
They open Tor Browser, which they installed from its own site. They type this site into the address bar. They open this site, and they see the three onion addresses at the top of any article.
They copy one. They paste it into a fresh tab. That is the visit, in the shape I would use myself.
Why not just paste
Because a pasted address in a chat is one substitution away from being the wrong address, and the friend has no way to tell. A pointer is one lookup, and the lookup has its own second source built in because the friend can compare against another list if they want.
Because a paste creates a fiction that I am the source. I am not. The site is. The friend deserves to know that.
Because a paste is a one time gift. A pointer is a habit the friend can use for years.
What I do if the friend asks for the paste anyway
I say no. I say why in one sentence. Chat is not a place to send an address. I offer to sit with them at their desk if they want a walk through, or to hand them a paper note if they want an offline reference.
They usually accept the pointer once they hear the reason. If they do not, the pointer is still the right answer.
The three addresses live in one place, on purpose
The three onion addresses at the top of this article live on this site. They live on nowhere else that I control. That is a deliberate concentration. The whole point of the site is to be the place they live.
A helper who understands the design of the site does not fight the design by carrying the addresses off it into a chat. A helper works with the design by pointing.
Small habits that keep the pointer clean
- Never paste an address into any chat, ever.
- Never link to a specific page on this site when the domain is enough.
- Never say I trust this site more than X other site in the same breath, because trust comparisons in a chat come across as recommendations.
- Always say the domain when it comes up, so the friend hears it more than once.
What the pointer leaves the friend with
A short piece of knowledge about a place to look, which they can use forever, from anywhere. That is the largest thing I can give them in the smallest package.
The helper approach that only points at this site is the helper approach at its most durable. Everything else the friend needs to learn they will learn from doing.
The helper approach on paper, for later, the paper note that also points at this site
What this article is not. This is not a claim that this site is the only source. It is a claim that pointing at a source is a different action from carrying the address across for the friend.