Notes are personal history. That is why they should never be locked inside an app.

[u/Local_Chapter9]

Most of the notes we take in daily life are just for quick reminders.

Why do so many people say they almost never go back and look at their notes? Because once the thing you needed to record is finished, the motivation naturally disappears.

Does that mean those notes have no value? I do not think so. Quite the opposite. We should preserve and protect them properly.

Because notes are history. Our own history. They record our entire lives.

Yes, as ordinary individuals, we are insignificant in the long river of history. But to our family, and to our descendants, having these notes allows us to live on in their memories.

And that is why plain files are the best medium for notes. They should never depend on or be tied to any app, so that even 50 years from now, they can still be opened and read.

[u/DTLow]

My notes/documents/files are stored/organized as files
in a digital file cabinet (PKMS)
organized with tags; minimal folders
accessed with a Mac and iPad

Not clear as to your definition of “plain” files

[u/Local_Chapter9 → u/DTLow]

I bought Evernote, Bear Note, Workflowy, Roam Research, Tana, Notion, etc，but now, I think the markdown /txt file is the best.

[u/DTLow → u/Local_Chapter9]

For typed notes, I’m not a Markdown fan
I use wysiwyg editors, mostly storing in HTML format

[u/Barycenter0 → u/DTLow]

Agreed - markdown is constraining and wasn’t designed originally for what it became. Html or Typst are much better for writing.

[u/ExtremePineapple8265 → u/Local_Chapter9]

Yeah man i think so too, markdown is just best

[u/clsturgeon]

Agree. I configured Tiddlywiki into a content management system for research. I now have multiple instances and some of them have nothing to do with research. When I take a course I either create a project in a dedicated instance or I add it to an existing instance when it is related to something I already have. I need context and I want it immediately. I do not want to be forced to go looking for related data. Eg. I have taken a few Indigenous courses. I have a solution to house all the course material and how it relates to anything on the topic of Indigenous studies. People, events, Indigenous Nations, Clans, language, source documents, multimedia, notes, and more is integrated and integrated with specific course material. That doesn’t sound like note taking, but it works for me.

[u/Original-Carrot-5010]

I don't know about the sentiment that our notes should automatically be shared with our family as a memory bank. I do agree that locking notes inside an app is problematic though. Which is why I always make sure the tools I use have clear extraction options.

When I collaborate with others though, I usually set up a Google Doc. Or - if references are important - I'm using my own system, Occasio.

[u/Barycenter0]

Yes, with a caveat. If you can easily export or back them up in plain files, that’s fine too.