Publishers and subscribers

A Publisher is simply a node through which certain data enters the network. The data usually originates in an adjacent application that interfaces with the Streamr node, with the goal of delivering that data to Subscribers via the network. Streamr nodes relay the messages to other nodes they are connected to.

A Subscriber is a node in the network that wants to receive messages from a stream. Just like Publishers, they also relay the messages to other nodes they are connected to (this is why the Network scales so well). Subscribers may have a range of different motivations for joining a stream – there could be an adjacent application that wants the data, they could be Operator nodes that relay the stream for rewards (see below), or they may even want to help the stream for charitable reasons.