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BlockSuite: An open-source Notion-like editor with multiplayer support

blocksuite.affine.pro

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Re: BlockSuite: An open-source Notion-like editor with multiplayer support

#71

Post by kitsunesoba »

58x14 wrote: post #2

It seems like there's a lot of recent interest and effort in open-source or self-hosted Notion-like/markdown-with-widgets applications and platforms. AppFlowy ( https://github.com/AppFlowy-IO/AppFlowy ) comes to mind; I attended one of their monthly "town hall" meetings a few months back, and looks like they're rapidly increasing in popularity. I think there was another similar project like this on HN front page last…

I too use Obsidian for my personal things that feel too important to not always have up to date local copies of. It works well. Haven’t yet found anything I’m missing compared to Notion though.

Re: BlockSuite: An open-source Notion-like editor with multiplayer support

#72

Post by julienr2 »

jitl wrote: post #42
lewisjoe wrote: post #25

The approach here is a bit novel i.e treat each block as a separate editor instance (contenteditable) and somehow wire-up cursor movements to behave as if it's one big editable area. But it comes with its downsides as well. For example cross block selection doesn't work. If the entire page is one big editable area, then it becomes difficult to embed complex blocks like "kanban views" and calendar. I guess we should t…

Notion used this strategy until January 2021, when we rolled over to one-big-ContentEditable. I actually tried the tactic Affine is using, that is implementing drag-to-select gesture yourself and forcing that selection on the browser, but I hit a bunch of roadblocks on iOS and Android that made me abandon it and go with big-ContentEditable.

Curious about the issues you faced on mobile!

At Slite I was part of the mobile team, and the editor is using Slate. So to make it work in React Native we had to go for a WebView (similar to what Notion uses), with all the downside it can bring..

I tickled with the possibilty to do a native adapter of Slate, but the fact that it's based on a content editable, makes it complicated to adapt in React Native..

I have the feeling that block approach might fit better a more native integration on mobile. It seems similar to what Craft does, isn't it ?

Re: BlockSuite: An open-source Notion-like editor with multiplayer support

#73

Post by jiggywiggy »

lopkeny12ko wrote: post #12

Does anyone else feel that the whole entire-canvas-is-editable-by-default approach of Notion and similar tools is an extremely annoying antipattern? I want to be able to open a document in read-only mode. Otherwise, while just navigating through pages or reading content, it's far too easy to accidentally add text to a block by pressing anything on the keyboard, or move things around with an accidental drag of the mou…

Most developers think in abstract terms all the time. We can easily see the variables take shape and create our intended reality.

But for a lot of people that never do that, that's hard, the more closer edit mode is to reality to easier it is to understand what it will look like and the less brainpower it takes the creator. But yeah in some cases with notion the difference between read and edit mode is not significantly indicated.

Re: BlockSuite: An open-source Notion-like editor with multiplayer support

#74

Post by worldsayshi »

plagiarist wrote: post #44
lopkeny12ko wrote: post #12

Does anyone else feel that the whole entire-canvas-is-editable-by-default approach of Notion and similar tools is an extremely annoying antipattern? I want to be able to open a document in read-only mode. Otherwise, while just navigating through pages or reading content, it's far too easy to accidentally add text to a block by pressing anything on the keyboard, or move things around with an accidental drag of the mou…

I find it irritating at times but nowhere near as infuriating as traveling to the top of a large block to click edit. I'd happily accept a less permeable barrier into edit mode (like ctrl-click?) but it needs to still support the instant edits for these apps to be tools primarily instead of document readers.

I'm sure there's a very nice UX convention for this waiting to be discovered through some creative prototyping and user testing.

Spitballing bad ideas somewhere in the ball park of what could be prototyped: - Editing locked by default and locked whenever a clear non editing action occurs. Editing unlocked by right swipe, double click, enter key or something similar. Editing unlocked by looking at the text cursor.

Re: BlockSuite: An open-source Notion-like editor with multiplayer support

#75

Post by sebzim4500 »

hgs3 wrote: post #41
ncallaway wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Okay, but the word is in active use in this space for this exact meaning. Yours is basically an argument against domain specific language that doesn’t agree with common language.

Do you refer to the human using your software as a "user" or "player?" The term "multiplayer" is correct if you refer to them as a "player" but if instead you refer to them as a "user" then "multiuser" is correct. > Okay, but the word is in active use in this space for this exact meaning. Word misuse proliferates because those using terms incorrectly are not corrected. Instead of doubling down, there should be a cour…

If the rest of the world is using a word a certain way, they are right and you are wrong and no amount of whinging about it is going to change that.

Re: BlockSuite: An open-source Notion-like editor with multiplayer support

#78

Post by seanthemon »

jeron wrote: post #68
madeofpalk wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

First time I had a job that used Confluence as an idle tick i would just tick-untick-tick-untick the checkboxes on documents. I never realised that a) i was actually editing and saving the page, and b) it would send an email to the owner for every single tick/untick edit.

that's hilarious, how did you eventually find out?

He ticked off the wrong people.

Re: BlockSuite: An open-source Notion-like editor with multiplayer support

#80

Post by lopkeny12ko »

jitl wrote: post #45
lopkeny12ko wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean, an immutable website for consumption is exactly what most people want. I want to differentiate content editing and content viewing much the same way in software development you edit source code which is then built into an immutable read-only artifact . Is it really such a foreign concept that people want a dedicated editing-focused mode whose source is published into the final wiki page for viewing? Is this n…

Many tools that predate Notion open pages in "edit" mode: Microsoft Word, Apple Pages, Google Docs, Etherpad, Dropbox Paper, TextEdit, Nodepad.exe... We want to serve people who've used apps like those with their preferred writing experience.

This would be fine except for the fact that all changes are instantly committed in realtime, which is such an incredible usability antipattern.

If Notion had to be everything-editable-by-default, make it so that changes need to be explicitly committed and saved, much the same way one would do with Git. Otherwise it becomes impossible to track down these kinds of accidental mutations to the document, much less even realize that they have occurred.

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