Community Connection 👋🏻

[Karthikk]

Hey everyone! Excited to start working with you all We have a few community based programs and events in the plan, but wanted to fix existing pain points before we move ahead with the community growth.

I am here personally to listen to everything that the users have to say about RemNote (product/community). Feel free to express your thoughts, experiences, ideas, etc., and I will make sure to gather it all. This feedback would have a tremendous impact on the direction of the community here onwards, and we wish to make this into a permanent mode of communication soon.

This thread will always be listened to and responded to ASAP.

What to post here (not an exclusive list) :

1. Complaints about the community experience (either about the platforms like discord/forum or other aspects as well)
2. Problems that you have noticed happen to many others apart from you
3. Your expectations from the RemNote Community.
4. Your vision/wishlist for the community
5. Your ideas to make the experience better

What not to post here :

1. Feature requests for the RemNote product
2. Bug reports for the RemNote product
3. Account specific problems (kindly DM me or email the support for this)

One good example of what would be apt to share on this thread : Forum: Pinned List of Known Bugs & Popular Feature Recs (+ Bigger FAQ?)

[Shreyas_Kallingal]

I’m trying out Remnote currently. In general, I am put off by the stories I’ve heard from other users—particularly on Discord—about losing access to notes and not hearing back about it from support. While I understand that the development team is rather small, it is important to me that the app is stable, so I can put my trust in its longevity. And of course, software is never perfect—but I would want greater attention focused to issues of data loss and/or the inability to access notes.

While this thread isn’t the place to discuss specific bugs/features, I feel as though Remnote’s feature set is far above the competition (perhaps too far, too fast); I, and many others that I have talked to, would rather have more focus placed on bug fixing and polish. I really want to love this app and continue supporting it. But if I’m afraid to use it, then it becomes more of a burden than a tool. I’ve not seen members of the Remnote team address these concerns.

I think Remnote’s community is kind of disjointed. Most of the discussion on this site is about feature requests and bugs. It’s difficult to have back and forth conversations. On Discord, I have seen more constructive criticism of the app, and more free-flowing conversations that encompass a users’ consensus of sorts. While I obviously can’t speak for everyone, I think it would be beneficial if the developers/Remnote team would interact with us over there more frequently.

Additionally, I think many of us would like some sort of transparent roadmap for Remnote. As semi-early adopters, I believe it’s important to understand the direction Remnote is going in and to perhaps have a say in where we want to see it move towards. We want this app to succeed just as much as you do!

All in all, I have truly enjoyed Remnote so far and I’m appreciative of all the work that has gone into it. I just believe more community outreach would help keep the community engaged and the Remnote team more informed. Thank you for reading!

[Karthikk]

Hello @Shreyas_Kallingal ,

In short, you have highlighted some of the most important points that has made us realise the importance to engage with the community more. This is the first step towards that goal and it’s nice to hear we were right.

@Shreyas_Kallingal

I am put off by the stories I’ve heard from other users—particularly on Discord—about losing access to notes and not hearing back about it from support.

While it is true that the team hasn’t been able to respond to all the queries in Discord, and also the reason why we thought a dedicated community leader role would be required, stories of data loss/ inability to access notes aren’t that common, at least as far as we know. Additionally, anyone who has contacted support with such trouble would’ve been attended to personally by @Martin and received a solution ASAP.

Nevertheless, we want to take this opportunity to determine how far spread this issue might be prevalent. We do not take data losses lightly and we wish to reassure the community by addressing this issue publicly.

@Shreyas_Kallingal

While I obviously can’t speak for everyone, I think it would be beneficial if the developers/Remnote team would interact with us over there more frequently.

Noted.

@Shreyas_Kallingal

Additionally, I think many of us would like some sort of transparent roadmap for Remnote. As semi-early adopters, I believe it’s important to understand the direction Remnote is going in and to perhaps have a say in where we want to see it move towards. We want this app to succeed just as much as you do!

We appreciate the camaraderie and will reflect on best ways to improve this trust.

@Shreyas_Kallingal

All in all, I have truly enjoyed Remnote so far and I’m appreciative of all the work that has gone into it. I just believe more community outreach would help keep the community engaged and the Remnote team more informed. Thank you for reading!

Thank you for the wonderful post

[Badjer]

Not sure how much weight my thoughts will have in this thread as I am more exploring than a dedicated user at this pt.

I find the community here a little disjointed due to the many different access points. There is the Discord chat, the Forum here for resources/ longer thought out threads, Github for issues, email support for issues & Twitter which is basically used for random tips & marketing. Hoping I didn’t miss anything

As a result it is a little disconnected being part of the community since you need to jump to different places accordingly. This almost feels like a full time job unto itself.
I have seen many users in Discord not bother reporting issues since they have to go to Github as they say they don’t have the time. I feel some also don’t want to make a Github account just so they can report something for RemNote if the only time they use Github is for RN which is understandable. As a result it is quite possible there are more issues than the team is aware of. This, in turn, can be a killer since word of mouth can be quite powerful

It would also be nice to see more usage of Twitter. I hear many say I don’t know why this app isn’t used more as it has so much potential. I would venture because most of the conversations occur in places where you are already part of the community If you want to get it out there then it needs to be more than just forums. Just some thoughts
When someone comments via Twitter it is hit or miss if you get a reply. I think it is well intentioned but with the team being so small if too many community platforms are used then it is hard engaging with everyone

I think there needs to be more engagement with the team in the community. Right now it seems they are a shadow, there but not. Often you will see them on Discord but no one engages. Often users are asking for help & it is great if we can help. However, the team should monitor & jump in when no else has

The community is pretty quiet here for the most part unless a specific topic. Not sure how to fix that. Just an observation as someone looking outside in vs other apps

It is a nice community, don’t get me wrong. Hope this is not coming across negative. Just some things that perhaps could help some things

[Kamran]

It is really awesome and reassuring that we are taking a stance to address the RemNote community. many things have been mentioned by @Badjer and @Shreyas_Kallingal, and I agree with them.

I have been using RemNote since July 2020 and literally did the google search “flash cards with outline format note-taking app”. So I have seen the app grow.

I always had this concern from the beginning and that was, to understand and use the features; my knowledge from programming helped a lot, so people who are from a background that is non-tech, I feel like it is difficult for them to understand the app. There are very few Tutorials on Youtube, but I believe there should be active creation of such content in specific disciplines, like, using RemNote as a medical student(there is one about this, it’s great), for learning a new language and so on,

I have also noticed that there are some voids in communication while someone describes a bug.

Also, when someone makes a feature request, as to be expected some are really vague and there is lack of discussions on the part of the community to make them specific.

The above two issues, I believe can be solved (just my opinion of the solution, it can be anything), by creating a hierarchical community on say discord where there is a 24/7 availability of help via voice channels(language specific), the users can explain their issue and the helpers can help in real time, maybe by sharing screens or what not. if bugs are found they can be documented in a forum, or there can be meetings say every week for explaining the bugs again via sharing the screen, of the helpers to say the moderators, then say, the moderators can discuss these bugs with the developers.

I myself can volunteer to give say half an hour everyday, and in this way if we have a huge number of volunteers, I think the 24/7 helpline is not just a dream.

I hope the above explanation wasn’t too complex. Yah that’s it. Let’s hope for the rise of the community and great things.

(as I already said, the solution I suggested is just my attempt at solving the problem, there might even exist an exponentially better solution, key is the problem needs to be solved)

[Kamran]

The roadmap thing, specially for bug-fixes and feature requests, I believe even if we as users should have the visualization about what the team is working on.

It is beneficial because, if I report a bug and after it being confirmed, if I can see that my bug is at number 14 of the total bug reports and will probably be cleared in the upcoming update. Or if the reported bug will be taken care of in a very long time, so that we as users can have discussion of work-arounds for the time being (workarounds prove to be hints for great features)

Same with the feature request.

I know that these visualizations can be made if we go through the forum, but what we here mean is a list of such that have been acknowledged by the team and is being worked on, Visuals can be powerful

[Badjer]

Agreed
When I used Evernote for years & a request/ report was made the response would be thank you for your time. We will look into it & take it into consideration. However, you had no idea if they were really going to look into it or do anything about it.

When you compare to Roam Research (I know there are many haters here for some reason but it is my current app) if I make a feature request it is taken care of within hrs, sometimes days. Even when it is not the communication is very open, not behind closed doors. If there is a delay you are at least kept in the loop.

Here we are not given that response but if there is not any feedback, if you have no idea if they are actually going to work on it, then you may get discouraged

The app is nice as it is depending upon a user’s use case. However, there are some features for some users where they need it for their workflow, not just want it. If they see app as it is they may just move on. If they see it is on roadmap they may look at things differently as they realize it is in the cross hairs

Same thing can be said with bugs. Some users might find a given bug annoying but easily live with since they don’t rely on that feature. Other users might need that feature & if there is no communication, if they see new features rolling out but no working being done on their bug, shows that a team really doesn’t care. Might not be that way but that is how someone looking outside in might feel if they can’t see a roadmap. If they can see behind the closed doors & see that it has been logged down & when it will be tackled then they can realize they have been listened to. Depending how important this is they may even be able to open a conversation about the priority level.

[Badjer]

@Kamran

people who are from a background that is non-tech, I feel like it is difficult for them to understand the app. There are very few Tutorials on Youtube, but I believe there should be active creation of such content in specific disciplines

I agree here. I have used many apps before, including Roam, & have never had such issues trying to get an app to work the way the features are advertised to do so. The way the tutorials are set up you get a surface level but can’t dive deeper. When they dive deeper it is made so technical you don’t really understand what is being said. I realize some of the team has a coding background but it can’t be explained to the users in the tutorials like you are one. Need to ask when making a tutorial how can we set it up so that it is easy for people to understand. I am still not sure if they can do certain things or if it is the way the interface is set up that makes it cumbersome.

It is difficult trying to use the tutorials as I find they are based on the previous idea. The issue with such an approach is you almost need to read the tutorial front to back vs jumping to pt looking for.

It would also be helpful if can find what looking for without knowing what that feature is. Example if I want to to be able to view & edit content while staying inline with my content it does not help me if you have a section listed as portals if I don’t know that is what they do. That setup is more like a table of contents where you are using it as a reference to topic x. Helpful if we ask what would the user be looking for & how can we list it so they know it is in this section vs well portals are listed

Just some things to ponder

[Karthikk]

@Badjer

I have seen many users in Discord not bother reporting issues since they have to go to Github as they say they don’t have the time. I feel some also don’t want to make a Github account just so they can report something for RemNote if the only time they use Github is for RN which is understandable. As a result it is quite possible there are more issues than the team is aware of. This, in turn, can be a killer since word of mouth can be quite powerful

thanks for highlighting this. We are coming up with a way that could probably help tackle this dilution of bug reporting/discussing happening across various platforms.

@Badjer

If you want to get it out there then it needs to be more than just forums. Just some thoughts

Good point. Noted.

@Badjer

I think there needs to be more engagement with the team in the community. Right now it seems they are a shadow, there but not. Often you will see them on Discord but no one engages. Often users are asking for help & it is great if we can help. However, the team should monitor & jump in when no else has

Yes, this is something that we are definitely trying to fix asap.

@Badjer

It is a nice community, don’t get me wrong. Hope this is not coming across negative. Just some things that perhaps could help some things

Not at all, thank you for sharing

@Badjer

Here we are not given that response but if there is not any feedback, if you have no idea if they are actually going to work on it, then you may get discouraged

Completely agree with you there and apologies for the trouble earlier.

@Badjer

It is difficult trying to use the tutorials as I find they are based on the previous idea. The issue with such an approach is you almost need to read the tutorial front to back vs jumping to pt looking for.

It would also be helpful if can find what looking for without knowing what that feature is.

We have identified the trouble with current onboarding and are working heavily for making a revamp The goal is to have the floor as low as possible, while leaving the ceiling high for power users to grow into.

[Karthikk]

Hey @Kamran! Thank you for sharing your experience and I think that’s a great idea, to start using discord’s voice and video channels to help the users. This is certainly in our upcoming community program plan and I am happy to hear that it resonates with your thoughts as well.

The 24*7 helpline sounds like a great idea. Thanks again for sharing.

[Impyrean]

Could you improve upon the dark mode for RemNote?

It’s basically inverted colors, and I understand if it’s not a necessary task right now. But, with me being a night-owl and the current inverted color "dark mode being uncomfortable and unsettling to look at, it’s bothersome to use light mode at night.

[Kamran]

I see you are a new user. Welcome to the community.

as this thread not being specifically for the feature requests, I’ll post this on feature requests and mention you there. @Impyrean

[Karthikk]

@Kamran

It is beneficial because, if I report a bug and after it being confirmed, if I can see that my bug is at number 14 of the total bug reports and will probably be cleared in the upcoming update. Or if the reported bug will be taken care of in a very long time, so that we as users can have discussion of work-arounds for the time being (workarounds prove to be hints for great features)

Yes we are in the process of designing a system that would notify the respective users regarding the status of the bug and also ping them once it has been fixed
Thank you for suggesting this.

@Kamran

Same with the feature request.

This might be more trickier to achieve than the bug fixes, nevertheless will note this down

[marcothesis]

@Badjer

When you compare to Roam Research (I know there are many haters here for some reason but it is my current app) if I make a feature request it is taken care of within hrs, sometimes days. Even when it is not the communication is very open, not behind closed doors. If there is a delay you are at least kept in the loop.

Here we are not given that response but if there is not any feedback, if you have no idea if they are actually going to work on it, then you may get discouraged

One thing to consider is that, Roam, by default have users already paying for it so they should be expected to a certain degree, be responsive to your level of support needed.

RemNote, on the other hand is still bootstrapping. While the community is important and all, can’t really expect the founders to hand hold every single free user out there when they run into problems. Any correspondence one get from the team is a bonus and to my knowledge, Martin still reply personally to free users even today. So I guess sometimes, it’s about managing our own expectations as well.

@Badjer

When I used Evernote for years & a request/ report was made the response would be thank you for your time. We will look into it & take it into consideration. However, you had no idea if they were really going to look into it or do anything about it.

And yes, Evernote is a really bad example of customer support, company direction gone astray when they were under Phil Libin. I probably used Evernote for about 10 years already, and their support are just people trying to clear support tickets.

[Badjer]

Was not suggesting anyone to be hand holding

Just supporting the idea of having a roadmap, of keeping things open. Letting users know where things are helps with the community.

I don’t believe helping each other should be considered hand holding. If that is felt in any way when helping people then that in itself is not very community based & would make users, whether free plan or not, hesitate is getting involved with such a community

[Karthikk]

@marcothesis

Martin still reply personally to free users even today. So I guess sometimes, it’s about managing our own expectations as well.

True that, he single handedly tries to maintain inbox zero for the support emails. Thank you for your kind words, nevertheless we do strive to respond to the community as much as we can

[Karthikk]

@Badjer

I don’t believe helping each other should be considered hand holding. If that is felt in any way when helping people then that in itself is not very community based & would make users, whether free plan or not, hesitate is getting involved with such a community

I think no one here feels that helping each other is similar to hand-holding. The community here is one of the friendliest and we only hope to nourish it as much as possible

[marcothesis]

@Badjer

Just supporting the idea of having a roadmap, of keeping things open. Letting users know where things are helps with the community.

Yes, yes, and yes. I support this view too.

@Badjer

I don’t believe helping each other should be considered hand holding. If that is felt in any way when helping people then that in itself is not very community based & would make users, whether free plan or not, hesitate is getting involved with such a community

Yes too. To be clear, hand holding is not a bad thing. It’s a matter of who is available to help hand hold someone new and clear their doubts. When the community is strong and active, anyone available stepping in to hand hold a lost sheep is great. But for the founder to hand hold / address each email would be a misuse of his time, IMHO. People still can schedule 1:1 demo with them, I mean who else does this??

Hopefully our tutorials and guides get better with time, taking all the great suggestions the community has already provided and less hand holding is needed for new users.

[marcothesis]

@Karthikk I am sure you have seen this.

I just want to capture this from discord as I felt the gist is what I and ‘many’ users align with in terms of RemNote’s direction and next steps to continue building the community. I think this is from the same @MAB941009 I’m tagging.

Only want to add: we are really underutilizing the strength of Discord, the voice channel!! Just using that for office hours biweekly with the founders in rotation will improve the community experience greatly. It helps us know the people behind RemNote better and in turn, them knowing us, the community better.