> this is intangible & ungraspable. it compares in no way to files. if you think it does compare to files, explain how. The web allows people to accomplish com

> this is intangible & ungraspable. it compares in no way to files. if you think it does compare to files, explain how. The web allows people to accomplish computing tasks without needing to deal with files. Of course it’s not a 1-1 comparison. That’s the point. Files are not necessary. > chiefly i see the web as in no way offering the user-directed malleability that a personal computer has. the web never achieved the vision of writability that Tim Berners-Lee imagined. it should. but it hasn't. I agree, but files don’t solve that problem. >> None of these things are done better by simply having folders full of files. > this is not what files are though. they're also symlinks and extended attributes. None of these things are done better by simply having folders full of files with symlinks and extended attributes. > and again i'd argue that most every system is better when it has files under it. tools like Roam are better when there's user-manageable files underneath: the excellent open source Foam (https://foambubble.github.io/foam/ https://foambubble.github.io/foam/) does just that, and is easier to manage for it, while retaining the non-file-centric linked-web-of-documents feel that Roam/Zettlekastan-notes is known for. the alternates you cite aren't alternatives: they're all doable, easily, as files and folders. to not afford the common-man's offering for these applications is a travesty & a crime. It’s not the common man’s offering. Almost nobody wants files. That’s why systems that are not file-centric have vastly outcompeted file-centric systems. Files add an additional cognitive burden. > my father greatly prefers managing photos by folders. it's the only system that has made sense to him. he's found every alternative jarring & frustrating. He’s obviously in the minority now. > there's a common ground, something tangible & real about the OS having constructs & tools for managing digital things, and my dad gets it, & can use it. not being subject to each application's intangible, abstract digital entities, having "real" digital entities is empowering. I agree with this in part, and I don’t personally like the way the web works. However I don’t think files are an adequate solution, and I am not denying the reality that the web and fileless apps do in fact work better for most users. Files are no more ‘real’ than any other digital entity. They are just old and have a lot of tools around them, but they also have limitations. Also see other people’s comments about the issues of file formats. > You also simply ignored the other examples, like notion, or roam research. > still not sure what any of your arguments are. you cite applications but don't provide even an elementary review of how or what characteristics are different, how the experience is different. your parade of other applications is just adding more chaff. i think your analysis is weak. You seem to understand that there are Apps that don’t use files and present what you call ‘abstract digital entities’. You seem to understand that these have prevailed because people like them. You seem to understand that this has happened even though they don’t expose files to the end user.