[karencarits]

I suspect many of these tools, including LogSeq, draw inspiration from Emacs and Org mode - the current version of LogSeq even supports org synatx!

But I've tried to dive into Org mode twice in the past five years, each time committing a few weeks to learning it. However, I eventually gave up and returned to Logseq. The steep learning curve was the biggest hurdle for me. Between understanding Lisp, figuring out and choosing between all the possible configurations and workflows, memorizing the keyboard shortcuts, and working through YouTube tutorials, the friction and mental load were just too high.

Logseq, on the other hand, provided most of the features [1] I needed while keeping the barrier to entry much lower - far, far lower than Emacs. But LogSeq is by no means perfect; I fear it will become bloated at some point (e.g., I have no interest in flashcards and spaced repetition learning)

[1] Outliner; data kept local; journal; simple task management; easy to insert quotes, code snippets, images; backlinks; possible to attach files

[dotancohen]

What did you find difficult to use about Org mode? I just jumped in and started using it, though I had already been familiar with markdown files previously.

[nickisnoble]

emacs shortcuts are unintuitive by modern reference points, it's hard to learn.

M-x === hit x and the ESC key (of all things) at the same time?