Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

An open source web-based flashcard studying system

github.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

11–20 of 103 posts

Re: An open source web-based flashcard studying system

#11

Post by o1y32 »

throwawaystress wrote: post #9
TheDong wrote: post #4

After skimming the site and code: Do not use this, just use anki. Anki has a free web version (anki web), and has free-as-in-AGPL desktop apps as well. Maybe one day this software will be comparable to anki, but right now it's missing spaced-repetition (which is the only thing that really makes large decks usable), and practically all the other features of anki.

Wow, that’s an unnecessarily harsh criticism. The OP spent a lot of time coding this up, it’s still in progress, and they should feel proud of it! Anki isn’t for everybody, and maybe this person made a UI that speaks to some people better than others. I count myself among the camp of people who like SRS but dislike Anki.

"Anki isn't for everybody"

But I didn't see a single sentence about how this is different from Anki and why? Why do you want to reinvent the wheel when Anki is good enough?

Re: An open source web-based flashcard studying system

#12

Post by alex-chew »

blasterjeff151 wrote: post #5

It's a good start! Keep working on it - Anki has aspects that are very, very dated (IMHO) and an open source competitor would be good for everybody.

I'm curious which aspects of Anki you find to be "very, very dated"? I haven't used Anki for very long, nor have I looked into any advanced-looking features, so perhaps I haven't run into those aspects you were referring to.

Re: An open source web-based flashcard studying system

#13

Post by j45 »

TheDong wrote: post #4

After skimming the site and code: Do not use this, just use anki. Anki has a free web version (anki web), and has free-as-in-AGPL desktop apps as well. Maybe one day this software will be comparable to anki, but right now it's missing spaced-repetition (which is the only thing that really makes large decks usable), and practically all the other features of anki.

Release early and often, or release when it’s all done.

Shipping isn’t easy.

Anki is definitely nice and full of features but also a victim of design by committee and kind of consulted at times.

Lots of space out there for options and alternatives.

Re: An open source web-based flashcard studying system

#14

Post by j45 »

hwgilbert16 wrote: post #6
TheDong wrote: post #4

After skimming the site and code: Do not use this, just use anki. Anki has a free web version (anki web), and has free-as-in-AGPL desktop apps as well. Maybe one day this software will be comparable to anki, but right now it's missing spaced-repetition (which is the only thing that really makes large decks usable), and practically all the other features of anki.

The project is still early in its development. Spaced repetition is something that has been recommended to me and has already been planned for the project from the beginning. The current flashcard implementation is not what it is intended to be in its final stage - it’s more of a showcase of initial functionality and a proving ground for building upon what other projects (like Anki) already offer. Anki web is an opti…

Well said about Anki.

I use it and it’s not for the many, and learning with spaced repetition should be.

Re: An open source web-based flashcard studying system

#15

Post by j45 »

matt_daemon wrote: post #10
TheDong wrote: post #4

After skimming the site and code: Do not use this, just use anki. Anki has a free web version (anki web), and has free-as-in-AGPL desktop apps as well. Maybe one day this software will be comparable to anki, but right now it's missing spaced-repetition (which is the only thing that really makes large decks usable), and practically all the other features of anki.

At a minimum I would say any new SRS app or site needs to be Anki-compatible. It just has such a big lead in terms of mindshare in the space - though I agree with other comments that it definitely has some seriously dated features. Any interest is the space is good imo.

It has a lead but is no where near mainstream where the maximum amount of people could improve their opportunities to improve their lives.

Re: An open source web-based flashcard studying system

#16

Post by j45 »

alex-chew wrote: post #12
blasterjeff151 wrote: post #5

It's a good start! Keep working on it - Anki has aspects that are very, very dated (IMHO) and an open source competitor would be good for everybody.

I'm curious which aspects of Anki you find to be "very, very dated"? I haven't used Anki for very long, nor have I looked into any advanced-looking features, so perhaps I haven't run into those aspects you were referring to.

Ask 10 non technical users

Re: An open source web-based flashcard studying system

#17

Post by j45 »

hwgilbert16 wrote: post #7
anotheraccount9 wrote: post #3

I wonder how to compares to Anki

Anki has more features at the moment, but we’re hoping to go beyond its capabilities while addressing its shortfalls.

Feature count won’t make it better than Anki, but user experience will.

Re: An open source web-based flashcard studying system

#19

Post by frithsun »

I'd like to create one with basic and obvious gamification integrated into the design.

Every aspect of my child's life is intensively, scientifically designed to be addictive and hyperstimulating except learning.

Then we're back to digital flash cards that somehow manage to suck even worse than analog hand written flash cards.

Not beating up on your early demo. Solid foundation. But please try to imagine a child using it and enjoying it. And whatever design decisions that implies will probably serve us adults better too.

Re: An open source web-based flashcard studying system

#20

Post by oofsa »

blasterjeff151 wrote: post #5

It's a good start! Keep working on it - Anki has aspects that are very, very dated (IMHO) and an open source competitor would be good for everybody.

Have you tried the latest version of Anki? Its design has become modern. From a technical perspective, a software written in Rust, Python, Svelte, and TypeScript should not be considered "very dated". The only issue I see is that I still haven't figured out what "card" and "note" mean, even though I've been using it for more than a year.
Post reply on HN