Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by adamgordonbell 538 days ago
I used org-mode for a while, but I wasn't an Emacs user, and using it just for that was not a great fit. No one ever says that, but let me say it:

If you aren't an emacs person, it is not going to be a fit.

Workflowy is a pretty easy-to-use web version of the outline part, which requires zero setup and the other features of org-mode I never got into. Other things extend beyond this into the PKM space ( Roam, Tana, etc ).

Also, Zettelkasten is an interesting thing, but more as a curiosity, some process that worked for a specific researcher in nineteen dickey two, not as some process you should use.

For me, the big great outliner was workflow. Roam improved on that, and things improved for Roam.
2 comments
iLemming 538 days ago
> Zettelkasten is an interesting thing, but more as a curiosity

Zettelkasten is just an idea, and a great one. I don't know what you think it is, but all these apps - Obsidian, Roamresearch, Logseq, Org-roam - are based on that idea.

link
adamgordonbell 538 days ago
I mean, it was a note taking system using a physical card catalog designed by Niklas Luhmann to help with his social science research.

The goal of my notes is so far from this that I found the ideas interesting but unrelated to how I use Roam, etc.

link
oliverchan2024 538 days ago
No tool can meet everyone’s needs. No matter what the tool is, as long as it has a user base, it proves its effectiveness—it’s just not suitable for you.

I was used many tools, include Workflowy and Roam. For me, org-mode & Emacs is the best tool of all, no tool can compare.

link
iLemming 538 days ago
Yup, I can concur. Having tried numerous different note-taking, project-management, PIM solutions over the years - Evernote, Workflowy, Notion, Todoist, rememberthemilk, Trello, etc., I have finally ended up with Org-mode and later Org-Roam. Nothing else even comes close to the versatility, control and liberating and empowering experience.

Sure, learning Emacs and Org-mode is quite some journey. But it's absolutely worth the time and effort.

I even try different new things from time to time - out of curiosity, and because so many times before, I have felt like being stuck in a bubble. And so far, I have not found anything much better than Org-mode.

link