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If it is worth keeping, save it in Markdown

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Re: If it is worth keeping, save it in Markdown

#91
post #80

The killer app for markdown would be a collaborative editor that displays the raw markdown and formatted markdown side-by-side and makes both sides editable. Tech people can use `#` and `*` on one side for formatting, product people can use normal text-editor buttons like "header1", "italics", etc.

Someone is sort of building this on Obsidian: https://screen.garden

There’s also https://system3.md/relay

Re: If it is worth keeping, save it in Markdown

#92

The killer app for markdown would be a collaborative editor that displays the raw markdown and formatted markdown side-by-side and makes both sides editable. Tech people can use `#` and `*` on one side for formatting, product people can use normal text-editor buttons like "header1", "italics", etc.

This is a very common mistake wasting half your screen, it can't be no killer app

Re: If it is worth keeping, save it in Markdown

#93
post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

HTML is also worth considering. It's not quite as nice to write in as Markdown, but it's still pretty reasonable to hand write (or even read if it comes to it).

Is this sarcasm? or are we coming back full circle unintentionally?

It's not sarcasm. HTML is and always has been a decent format for hand-authoring documents. It's not as nice to use as markdown, but it does support more advanced use cases like coloured text.

And if you want an "archival" format that will stand the test of time it's pretty good (so long as your text encoding is readable, HTML will be).

Re: If it is worth keeping, save it in Markdown

#94
> The format deliberately avoids precise control over display details like font selection4. Following the rule of least power, I consider this limitation a feature. For contrast, consider PDF - a format so powerful that it can run Doom.

Just pick a more relevant format for contrast to see that this is no feature! It's not like PDF is the only alternative

Re: If it is worth keeping, save it in Markdown

#95

I’ve been self hosting linkding[0] and it has archiving capabilities. Saves in html not markdown but that’s basically the same thing. It’s been very useful and then I back the folder up to R2 for free. I enjoy knowing that if I find something I want to remember it won’t go away. Plus it works great for recipe sites because I don’t have to deal with ads. [0]: https://github.com/sissbruecker/linkding

I love linkding. I try to add sites to it whenever I'm tempted to just keep the tab open for later because it is cool.

Re: If it is worth keeping, save it in Markdown

#96
Keep it in the format appropriate to the information. If just the text is important, Markdown is probably fine. If the structure is important, keep it in HTML. If the layout is important, PDF. You wouldn't store a Gutenberg bible in Markdown, would you?

(Don't answer that - there's always one asshole who would)

Re: If it is worth keeping, save it in Markdown

#97
When it comes to web archiving, I've found that Markdown has some real limitations. Sure, it's great for basic text, but it struggles with things like embedded content and non-standard layouts. Try archiving a Twitter thread or an app-style webpage in Markdown, and you'll see what I mean. It just doesn't capture the full picture.

That's why I've come to prefer formats like webarchive, mhtml, or single HTML files for archiving. They're incredibly faithful to the original content - you get almost perfect rendering of the original page, complete with styling and layout. Plus, they can capture stuff behind paywalls or on logged-in pages, which is a huge plus.

The real challenge, though, isn't just about saving the content. It's about making that saved content useful. These archive formats are great for preservation, but they can quickly become a mess of unorganized files that are hard to search through or make sense of.

I think the key is finding ways to organize and interact with these archives more effectively. Things like full-text search across all your saved pages, the ability to add notes or highlights directly on the archived content, and smart tagging systems could go a long way. And it'd be really powerful if we could integrate these archives with other knowledge management tools we use.

It's an interesting problem space, and I think there's a lot of room for innovation in how we approach personal web archiving and knowledge management.

Re: If it is worth keeping, save it in Markdown

#98
When it comes to web archiving, I've found that Markdown has some real limitations. Sure, it's great for basic text, but it struggles with things like embedded content and non-standard layouts. Try archiving a Twitter thread or an app-style webpage in Markdown, and you'll see what I mean. It just doesn't capture the full picture.

That's why I've come to prefer formats like webarchive, mhtml, or single HTML files for archiving. They're incredibly faithful to the original content - you get almost perfect rendering of the original page, complete with styling and layout. Plus, they can capture stuff behind paywalls or on logged-in pages, which is a huge plus.

The real challenge, though, isn't just about saving the content. It's about making that saved content useful. These archive formats are great for preservation, but they can quickly become a mess of unorganized files that are hard to search through or make sense of.

I think the key is finding ways to organize and interact with these archives more effectively. Things like full-text search across all your saved pages, the ability to add notes or highlights directly on the archived content, and smart tagging systems could go a long way. And it'd be really powerful if we could integrate these archives with other knowledge management tools we use.

I develop a tool called HamsterBase that seems to address a lot of these issues we've been discussing. t's a local-first app. That means all your data stays on your own device - no need to worry about your personal archives being stored on someone else's servers. There's no sign-up or registration required, which is refreshing in today's cloud-centric world.

Re: If it is worth keeping, save it in Markdown

#100

My pain is that I couldn't find a decent md viewer for Windows: free, fast, simple, no distractions. Imagine notepad. I have to open my md files with VSCode or Notepad++ (nasty view).

Browser extension as MD reader is quite nice.

- https://markdownreader.github.io - https://github.com/simov/markdown-viewer

Those two are quite good.

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