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« on: September 07, 2020, 09:53 PM »
I'm really interested in specific benefits of direct text editing, but so far I am hearing *that* it is useful and important to you, but not much about *why*. That's OK, it is enough that it *is* important to you, clearly.
As far as general advice about how to choose a tool(set) in the current landscape, I maintain my position that "database vs. text" is a false dichotomy. It is definitely more useful IMO to state specific roots of concern that *may* arise from those two paradigms, such as "data ownership" (not a given with a DB, e.g. if it's using an open DB format and/or all content is markdown and it has a robust exporter). Which is part of why I want to know these specific advantages and use cases for external tools operating on text files.
It may simply come down simply to it "feels right". Or is rooted in a more abstract value or moral stance such as unwillingness (perhaps reasonable) to trust a company with your data under any circumstances. That kind of foundational limit will pretty severely restrict your choices, but that's OK if you understand and accept the trade-offs, if that specific value is important enough to you.
In the end whatever helps you be productive is great. It may not help others choose tools as a heuristic for evaluation and decision, but it's certainly a valid stance.
@superboyac, have you played with mind mapping tools? I would imagine so, but don't they work exactly like "Scapple"? Only some are way more mature than it sounds like it is currently... I would go crazy without Search. ;D
- Oshyan