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PLAIN TEXT. PAPER, LESS · 139

2 Proprietary Apps Designed to Set Your Data Free

Because it’s time to stop renting space for your notes and start being your own landlord

Ellane W

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Rent to buy, or don’t rent at all

When you choose to keep your notes in locally stored plain text files, you’re choosing to be your own landlord. Keeping notes in a proprietary app is the same as renting: the land you’re building on belongs to someone else, with no guarantee of continuing access.

It was good to see Steph Ango, Obsidian’s CEO, using the same analogy I’ve been ruminating on for years. The only time renting anything makes sense is when you have no other choice, or when it’s a temporary, strategic move and when the rented property is not your only home base. For example, writing the draft of your book in text files then working in Scrivener to prepare them for publication.

Two proprietary apps designed to set your data free

It shouldn’t be confusing, confronting, or complicated to be in charge of the things you write. It should be the norm!

As well as ubiquitous linking, I would like to see the day when developers of proprietary apps have…

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Ellane W
Ellane W

Written by Ellane W

Designer and educational publisher for 30 years+. Plain-text advocate. Still using paper, but less of it. https://linktr.ee/miscellaneplans

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