What makes a note-taking app last a lifetime?
I think it can be evaluated from two aspects: content and software.
Content Lifetime Usability
As a user of note-taking software, you must believe that the notes you write completely belong to you and can be freely processed without being bound by the note-taking software.
However, most note-taking software today uses proprietary data formats, or even private formats stored in vendor databases.
Even if there is an export function, it is difficult to export to other note-taking software.
Users can only pray that the vendor’s life span is longer than their own, and that they will not do anything wrong in their long life.
In this regard, Slashnotes has two basic starting points: Git-based and plain text-based.
Git is a widely used open-source version control tool that allows you to easily store and sync your notes.
You can choose to use a free Git hosting service, or set up your own Git server, and easily migrate.
Plain text ensures that almost all text editors can view and modify note content without being limited to specific editors, including Slashnotes.
Of course, Slashnotes also supports Markdown format (a subset of plain text format) by default to provide more complex functions.
Software Lifetime Usability
Although the lifetime usability of note-taking software is relatively less important than the lifetime usability of note content. Because as long as users have complete control over their content, the software can be easily switched.
However, each switch of software will inevitably require a new adaptation period, and with increasing use time, the user’s usage habits will become more and more complex.
Therefore, the lifetime usability of note-taking software lies in whether the note-taking software can be continuously improved with the user’s usage habits.
Slashnotes’ approach to this is to be open source.
That is, the source code is completely open, and users can modify it at will without any authorization.
At the same time, Slashnotes also has a built-in customization mechanism, which allows users to easily customize the software to meet their own usage habits.
Even users can create their own private content formats to meet specific usage scenarios.
Summary
A lifetime note-taking software needs to meet the lifetime usability of both content and software.
In my more than ten years of experience in taking notes, I have encountered many problems with note-taking software, such as software going bad and migration.
And this is only in the past ten years, in the next few decades, I don’t want to repeat these tortured experiences.
So I decided to create Slashnotes, to make notes an assistant and witness to life’s journey.
Currently, Slashnotes is still in the early development stage, and only the basic framework of the desktop Web version has been completed.
If you want to experience or participate in advance, you need to have some programming experience.
For specific experience and participation methods, please refer to Slashnotes code repository on Github: https://github.com/slashnotes/slashnotes.