3 ms·

There are comments recommending popular apps like Notion, Joplin, Obsidian, etc. I find hard to trust those apps will last 10, 15, or 20 years. I have switched

There are comments recommending popular apps like Notion, Joplin, Obsidian, etc. I find hard to trust those apps will last 10, 15, or 20 years. I have switched note-keeping apps a few times in the past and no longer want to do so. That's why I decide I will not use any of those apps. Now I use MediaWiki through docker (with Sqlite database) on my home server. It's lightening fast for my personal use, and comes with tons of powerful features (categories, subpages, templates, math syntax, etc.). Because MediaWiki is the same system running Wikipedia, I believe it is very likely will run 10, 20, or even more years. It is not the most convenient to use, but I don't use it for quick notes, for which I just use the default note app on my phone.

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
kvark 5y ago
The beauty of Obsidian (at least) is that it does not matter whether the company is still around. It’s your files in a standard Markdown format.
- temp8964 5y ago
  I used to think so. Now I believe it's a misconception. Not all your notes can be just Markdown format. You will have image files. And then different apps handle image file location differently. Joplin turns attachment filenames to random strings. Also, Markdown format is insufficient. I will need categories and subcategories, etc. And then different apps handle those differently.
bmarquez 5y ago
I've previously bounced between different open-source notetaking apps but the great thing about any note format based on Markdown (Standard Notes/Obsidian/Zim/etc), is that it's pretty easy to move from one platform to another if they stop being maintained. Although in the end I ended up with Microsoft OneNote (with Obsidian for special cases), Microsoft isn't going away and they don't have a habit of killing core products like Google does.
- temp8964 5y ago
  Yes. I almost settled on Microsoft OneNote. I just don't like several things of it. The writing and reading experience is not great. And I constantly find I really need one note to belong to multiple categories, but OneNote forces me to think where to save a note (which leaves me writing fewer notes).
  - coffeeling 5y ago
    A solution to that is to have a fleeting / unfiled notes area where you write notes and to have a separate maintenance process where you file them. OneNote also lets you link to notes internally, so you can have a dummy in one place and a link to the actual note in the dummy.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

kvark 5y ago

The beauty of Obsidian (at least) is that it does not matter whether the company is still around. It’s your files in a standard Markdown format.

temp8964 5y ago
I used to think so. Now I believe it's a misconception. Not all your notes can be just Markdown format. You will have image files. And then different apps handle image file location differently. Joplin turns attachment filenames to random strings. Also, Markdown format is insufficient. I will need categories and subcategories, etc. And then different apps handle those differently.

bmarquez 5y ago

I've previously bounced between different open-source notetaking apps but the great thing about any note format based on Markdown (Standard Notes/Obsidian/Zim/etc), is that it's pretty easy to move from one platform to another if they stop being maintained. Although in the end I ended up with Microsoft OneNote (with Obsidian for special cases), Microsoft isn't going away and they don't have a habit of killing core products like Google does.

temp8964 5y ago
Yes. I almost settled on Microsoft OneNote. I just don't like several things of it. The writing and reading experience is not great. And I constantly find I really need one note to belong to multiple categories, but OneNote forces me to think where to save a note (which leaves me writing fewer notes).
- coffeeling 5y ago
  A solution to that is to have a fleeting / unfiled notes area where you write notes and to have a separate maintenance process where you file them. OneNote also lets you link to notes internally, so you can have a dummy in one place and a link to the actual note in the dummy.