Show HN: Evryca – fractal thinking tool to brainstorm and organize thoughts (evryca.com)
It has pivoted from what I originally started building at evryca.com.
Some years ago I got the idea of fractal conversation, instead of old-school tree/ladder-like comments. I wanted to see only comments related to the current level.
I started making "something" with fractal comments. This "something" was a project discussion platform. But it turned out that even I myself don't use it, and the idea of fractal comments stuck there unused.
And recently it dawned on me that it may be a conversation with yourself — thinking, brainstorming, taking notes, writing. So made this kind of cork/whiteboard, where one can dive into the subject and, being in the flow, write and see only related notes and rearrange them later.
I'm trying to make it flawless and add keyboard shortcuts where it's possible (Ctr+Enter to submit idea, drag-and-drop to rearrange, Esc to jump level up).
So finally I've made a tool that I use myself and will update it gradually (sorting, touch devices, ex/import (json, text), boards, more navigation with keyboard and other stuff, and login).
37 comments
[ 6.4 ms ] story [ 87.1 ms ] threadTried a bit kinopio and guess it can replace me Excalidraw in some cases (I use it as whiteboard). Just need to get used to UX a bit.
Looks like my approach does not replace yours visual whiteboard/map-like, they solve a bit different tasks.
Cool, I think) that it can coexist
Does "levels" mean "depth"? To give the feel how deep in the subject you are?
Don't stacked "parents" give that feel?
Yes! Level means depth.
> Don't stacked "parents" give that feel?
No! The stack doesn't give me that feel, because visually, it doesn't look like a stack. My brain perceives a series of plain text lines as a block of information. There's a reason we add symbols (numbers, discs) to checklists. We want them differentiated from normal text blocks. Of course you don't necessarily need to use symbols, you could also make use of relative positioning (between levels) or color (varying the intensity of the same color as you move up and down the levels, or use a color theme), etc.
Regards!
1) https://www.thebrain.com/
* not affiliated in any way
Will check closer that transparency feature you talk about.
Thank you!
My goal is to get some kind of seamless webrtc based sync going, both for multi-device use and also, maybe, for collaborative editing. Firmly committed to data not hitting any servers.
I made a similar iPad app to this idea a while ago, called Mindscope. Kind of a fractal whiteboard / Workflowy meets Scapple. http://www.mindscopeapp.com
Always wished I had the time to make a new version some day…
I plan to add view/export of board as a text, so it can be read as a whole.
A few suggestions about the UI:
Cards have no visual cue that they are stacked (I think this came up in some other replies here), so it is impossible to tell how much information can be found underneath. With books, for example, you can tell by their thickness roughly how many pages you can expect. But a general problem with digital content is that its dimensions can be infinite, especially if it is revealed/concealed interactively in a fractal-like manner as it is in your tool.
Personally, I would feel overwhelmed quickly after taking multiple nested notes, especially if I wanted to look up a piece of information that is hidden deep inside or if I wanted to reorganize my notes (although I think this is not possible yet in your app?).
I like that you made a breadcrumb-like navigation back to the parents - this helps a lot with orientation. But maybe also consider a more global navigation and a search tool to move more quickly between top-level notes and find notes that are deeply nested.
I would also adjust the font-size dependent on the amount of text in a card. If you enter a lot of text, cards quickly become too cumbersome to read.
I also think the parent card/header(?) should be differentiated much more against its child cards. I became a bit confused about which cards are clickable and which are not.
Nonetheless, I always appreciate people who build tools that they find useful for themself and share them with others, especially if they help with thinking.
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> backup option
Yes, it's one of main priorities for me.
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> impossible to tell how much information can be found underneath
"underneath" == "children" of card you going to click, isn't it? Yes, thank you. Didn't get this point from other comments (thought about "breadcrumb" navigation, facepalm.jpg). Thank you for emphasizing it. Got it. Nice example with books. I plan to add at least the number of children, but maybe will find other more elegant ways.
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> I wanted to look up a piece of information that is hidden deep inside or if I wanted to reorganize my notes
Yes, good point. For sure there are different modes of thinking: when you write/brainstorm, read what you've got, and work with it/rearrange/edit. So I want to try and add separate modes of interaction to help with it. For sure "read mode" — compiled text (of current branch, or entire board, when watching from root).
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> global navigation and a search tool
Yes. Search for sure, navigation between boards, clipboard to move stacks around.
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> font-size dependent on the amount of text in a card.
This is a slippery road leading to messy/noisy situation. I tried this approach, not in this project, but earlier in my UX/UI career. I know what you mean — cards can (will) hold a lot of text. I plan to truncate text with ellipses. Will try to find some balanced solution. But yes. Good point.
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> parent card/header(?) should be differentiated much more against its child cards
Hm. Will think about it. Thanks.
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Thank you again for your time and thorough notes!
Noteself saves its status within the browsers local storage as well, but you can save it as an HTML file to make it transportable between browsers, computers, devices.
I'm constantly shifting between work and personal devices and need the seamless transition - which would imply either self-hosting or 'login required' model, which may not fit your roadmap (although you do mention 'login' above, and also you mention adding im/export). Understand it's in development, however, and respect for the stage you've gotten it to so far. Good work!
Glad you liked it.
> paranoia / concern is that I can't save / copy / transport the thought-fractal I've created
Yes, it is a great concern and I'm going to add ex/import ASAP.
And yes, accounts and server storage will allow smooth transition between devices. But it's not yet in my priority — ex/import first.
Also adding Noteself to my collection)
English is not my native language. And I don't get if your comment is sarcasm)
My intention of using word "flawless" was to emphasize that one, being in the flow, can write thoughts not being interrupted by need to use mouse (shortcuts should help here).
Maybe I should use another word here... Could you please advise?
BTW are keyboard shortcuts considered as a "flaw"?