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An open source web-based flashcard studying system

github.com

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Re: An open source web-based flashcard studying system

#21

Post by mbork_pl »

o1y32 wrote: post #11
throwawaystress wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

Haven't yet seen this tool, but here's a quick answer. A few years ago, after skimming through the docs, I gave up on Anki because it seemed too complicated. I was using SuperMemo back when it was a DOS (and later Windows 3) application, I consider myself a fairly sophisticated user (e.g. I have a good expertise on LaTeX, even coauthored a textbook, I know Emacs very well, also authored a textbook), I've been a hobby programmer for over 3 decades and a professional one for 7 years, earlier I did a PhD in maths, etc., etc. And still Anki looked intimidating. That says something about "good enough". There's definitely space for an easy to use SRS out there.

I am using Anki now, btw, although I use it in a very simple way, but I think the point still stands. (Also, I agree that any new SRS should be somehow Anki-compatible.)

Re: An open source web-based flashcard studying system

#22

Post by hwgilbert16 »

frithsun wrote: post #19

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 usin…

Simple HTML5 games are on the docket for future releases. Nothing advanced - but still something stimulating other than pure flashcards.

This is a point where I’m not as well-versed. Would love to hear any recommendations for study games that you might find useful.

As a side note, this is more targeted at an older audience, i.e. ~16+.

Re: An open source web-based flashcard studying system

#23

Post by Jonnston »

I use anki right now. I mean this question in good faith, is there a reason for me to switch? I'm happ with anki, but I'm open to being sold.

Relatedly: Can I pay for this? Anki won't accept money, and it makes me nervous that one day the software is going to change and become unusable. I don't know how ankiweb can afford to host decks at no charge.

Re: An open source web-based flashcard studying system

#24

Post by kazinator »

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.

Anki also has an independent FOSS reimplementation for Android called AnkiDroid.

They can exchange data. Years ago I used Anki to prepare some decks which I then used with AnkiDroid.

I think AnkiDroid is mostly written in Kotlin now.

Re: An open source web-based flashcard studying system

#25

Post by hwgilbert16 »

mbork_pl wrote: post #21
o1y32 wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"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?

Haven't yet seen this tool, but here's a quick answer. A few years ago, after skimming through the docs, I gave up on Anki because it seemed too complicated . I was using SuperMemo back when it was a DOS (and later Windows 3) application, I consider myself a fairly sophisticated user (e.g. I have a good expertise on LaTeX, even coauthored a textbook, I know Emacs very well, also authored a textbook), I've been a hobb…

This is what the project is intended primarily to address. Tools like Anki are very powerful and accomplish what they set out to do, but they fell prey to feature overload in certain aspects.

All it takes is one quick look at their docs to turn people away to a more mainstream option. Condensing its features into a more bite-sized application can make a world of difference for usability.

Re: An open source web-based flashcard studying system

#26

Post by kazinator »

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.

AnkiDroid is a FOSS (GPLv3) implementation of Anki for Android.

https://github.com/ankidroid/Anki-Android

Re: An open source web-based flashcard studying system

#27

Post by [deleted] »

j45 wrote: post #16
alex-chew wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

[deleted]

Re: An open source web-based flashcard studying system

#28

Post by kazinator »

You're missing installation steps for how to use this on a phone without access to the Internet.

I can use AnkiDroid with the device in airplane mode.

For some users, it is absolutely critical that the spaced repetition program runs on a mobile device, because that lets them use any spare moments they have in any situation anywhere for the purpose of studying.

It's a web app, but the installation talks about Docker containers ... seriously?

Re: An open source web-based flashcard studying system

#29

Post by hwgilbert16 »

Jonnston wrote: post #23

I use anki right now. I mean this question in good faith, is there a reason for me to switch? I'm happ with anki, but I'm open to being sold. Relatedly: Can I pay for this? Anki won't accept money, and it makes me nervous that one day the software is going to change and become unusable. I don't know how ankiweb can afford to host decks at no charge.

If your reliance is on spaced repetition - in the current state - do not switch. An SRS has not been implemented yet, but it is high on the priority list.

Once it has been added, I’d encourage you to look around and see if Scholarsome can fit your use case. To be upfront - this is still very in-dev. Anki is much more feature complete, and will be for some time, but I’m a believer in shipping fast and early to get feedback from users.

I don’t have any plans to monetize my hosted option. At most, I may add a donate button in the future. Releases are all containerized, so it should be easy to host yourself on a system under your control if you trust that more than using a third party.

Re: An open source web-based flashcard studying system

#30

Post by hwgilbert16 »

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.

I’ve been looking into adding the ability to import sets from Anki, especially with how widespread it is. We already have it for Quizlet, but Anki will certainly be next to be able to be imported from.
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