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Show HN: I made a minimalist spaced repetition tool

memordo.com

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Re: Show HN: I made a minimalist spaced repetition tool

#61
post #48

Theory / 2 Cents: don't just work on a GUI for spaced repetition cards, invent an open file format for spaced repetition (perhaps an XML plus an schema, or a JSON based file format, a subset of HTML or markdown, etc...). The idea is that you create a file format spec, perhaps even some open source libraries to operate on the file format. And then you sell a really nice GUI for editing that (perhaps a web page, perhap…

How about a directory (or zip file) of .txt files for the format of the cards.

Anki does it sort of like this. It's just a zip file but instead of a txt file, it stores cards in a Sqlite database. All the resources are in the same folder. Unfortunately, the data schema is not great (in my opinion) and so it has some limitations on how it can be extended.

I'm working on my own flash cards app (see my other comment) and decided to do something similar. I actually want people to create tools to create new decks. I think the ideal is something like what Anki has in Ankiweb, a place to share decks with others.

Re: Show HN: I made a minimalist spaced repetition tool

#62
Awesome, I'm going to try it out. I really think there's a lot of room for professional SRS tools.

A few things I've found using SRS.

- I often want to practice on the go, but Anki's mobile offering isn't great for inputting new cards, or managing partial cards (i.e. I think of a sentence I don't know).

- I have a couple modes of operation. When I'm studying I'm often at a computer, so I want bulk input/output - i.e. create a lot of cards fast.

- Offline support is essential, since my study time is usually during my commute.

Anyway, congrats on launching!

Re: Show HN: I made a minimalist spaced repetition tool

#63

Theory / 2 Cents: don't just work on a GUI for spaced repetition cards, invent an open file format for spaced repetition (perhaps an XML plus an schema, or a JSON based file format, a subset of HTML or markdown, etc...). The idea is that you create a file format spec, perhaps even some open source libraries to operate on the file format. And then you sell a really nice GUI for editing that (perhaps a web page, perhap…

Agreed. I'm working on a set of specs like this[1] to expand on the mnemonic medium[2][3] work Michael Nielsen and I started last year. I'll be interested to see how the ecosystem evolves…

[1] https://www.patreon.com/posts/bringing-ideas-36925173 (despite the URL, this is an unlocked post describing the high-level concept)

[2] https://quantum.country

[3] https://numinous.productions/ttft/

Re: Show HN: I made a minimalist spaced repetition tool

#64
It is hard take an idea, spend the time to build, and make it live. Congrats on doing this!

I'm not the target audience, so I can't comment on the value proposition. I'll just point out a few things I noticed on the site:

- The "Free" signup button brings you to the login and not register page. Also the $5 pay link goes to login too. I used the $5 link and then clicked register. Registered and was never asked for payment. - On the register, suggest not asking for username creation unless you really need it...just use the email as the username. - The step-though-guide last step has "next" and doesn't do anything. Should be close. There are a few good step guide packages out there you might want to consider. - In the app, clicking "Upgrade" give a 500 error. - If you try to create a card before creating a deck says need to select a deck. People probably will first click on create card first, so suggest have a default deck that you can select right away. - Created a single card and says I have 2 cards when studying. I think counting both sides of the card.

Re: Show HN: I made a minimalist spaced repetition tool

#65
What I'd like is a system to let me browse, create and organize my "notes," to use the Anki term of art, in a literate, flexible way. You could probably build it on top of Anki using tags and/or data hidden in HTML, but I think it would provide enough added value to justify paying for it.

Basically, I want WorkFlowy for Anki notes. I should be able to organize my notes into hiearchical categories and browse them easily. Currently, it's difficult to find the gaps in your Anki deck on a given topic unless you're very careful and thorough with your tagging. And even then, only being able to view one card at a time makes it hard to quickly scan through the cards under a given tag.

Re: Show HN: I made a minimalist spaced repetition tool

#66
post #65

What I'd like is a system to let me browse, create and organize my "notes," to use the Anki term of art, in a literate, flexible way. You could probably build it on top of Anki using tags and/or data hidden in HTML, but I think it would provide enough added value to justify paying for it. Basically, I want WorkFlowy for Anki notes. I should be able to organize my notes into hiearchical categories and browse them easi…

I use Roam [0] with Neuracache [1] to get a similar workflow to what you're describing. My notes are hierarchical and searchable w/ Roam. If I want to create an Anki entry, I add #flashcard anywhere in the note. I use secondary tags and links to further categorize these notes. The next time I import my Roam db to Neuracache all #flashcard entries are synced.

[0] https://roamresearch.com/ [1] https://neuracache.com/

Re: Show HN: I made a minimalist spaced repetition tool

#67
Good idea in principle, appears to be well executed, but this must not be a service. Just because it can be made into one, it doesn't mean it should be.

No reason whatsoever why this can't be a locally hosted offline web app that uses local storage for its state. I can see some people wanting to do their exercises using several devices and for that an optional syncing service would make sense, but adding a permanent online dependency for what is inherently an offline app operating with local data makes zero sense. Even if it were free.

Re: Show HN: I made a minimalist spaced repetition tool

#68
post #19
post #18

Please, do not use white lies on your web. This is not free to use. This is useless on free. It's like tesla saying that chargers are free to use on front page, then on pricing: but only first 0.1kWh. this is dark pattern.

This is a valid point. What do you think would be respectable amount of free cards? - or is having a card limit even the right way to of differentiate between free and premium? Very interested in hearing your points - i'm totally new to this.

I think once you talk to your potential client base, then you may see that a tool for spaced repetition is in far less demand than ready-made card stacks on specific subjects.

If it's at all possible (and it is in very many cases), the vast majority of people would rather pick up an existing stack and start learning instead of spending time on creating it from scratch. Ultimately the goal is to learn and the simpler the solution, the better it is.

That is, your target audience consists of people who are not interested in pre-made stacks or who can't find any on a subject they are interested in. Try and understand who these people are, imagine their use-cases and then see how to give them enough as a hook, but without being obviously useless out of the box.

One of the options is to not limit card counts in free, but rather offer paid features that would actually justify a monthly charge - cloud storage of their stacks, shared multi-device use, ability to share stacks with other people or to use stacks shared by others (! e.g. in school setups). This sort of thing. Monthly fees should be well justified and fair.

Re: Show HN: I made a minimalist spaced repetition tool

#69
post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a valid point. What do you think would be respectable amount of free cards? - or is having a card limit even the right way to of differentiate between free and premium? Very interested in hearing your points - i'm totally new to this.

I think once you talk to your potential client base, then you may see that a tool for spaced repetition is in far less demand than ready-made card stacks on specific subjects. If it's at all possible (and it is in very many cases), the vast majority of people would rather pick up an existing stack and start learning instead of spending time on creating it from scratch. Ultimately the goal is to learn and the simpler…

You described me. What's the best in the market for the user you described?

Re: Show HN: I made a minimalist spaced repetition tool

#70
post #51

I'm always curious on what type of feedback the author really is looking for or if it is just cheap ad. $5 for unlimited and basically 25 cards for 'free' makes it quite obvious that this tool does not provide anything the market already offers. Aren't people analysing what is already out there? Anki/Ankiweb is free. What student will every pay $5/month for your service? No one. I assume that you will visit your subs…

Thank you so much for your valuable feedback! This was a proof of concept of the idea of creating cards through a chrome extension. There is still a lot of crucial features missing, and I know that now. But from my experience Anki is not an easy tool to use for non-technical users, so the aim for memordo is to have the easability of quizlet but the functionality of anki.

HN might not be your target audience. There are a lot of "power users" here.

As an aside I wrote up why Anki doesn't work for me, perhaps you'll find something there that inspires you.

https://medium.com/@iandanforth/why-anki-doesnt-work-for-me-...

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