With the type of feedback requests I read on here, I imagine it must be hard on the devs.
70% of the requests I read here outrightly implies turning Bear note into a full blown word processor.
I think folks forget that Bear is fundamentally a note-taking app. Not a Wiki. Not a “collaboration board”. Not a CRM. Not a DMS. Not a spreadsheet. Not Google Docs. And, definitely not Notion.
Folks, IT IS A SIMPLE, NOTE-TAKING APP.
You’re supposed to just fire it up and be able to write notes as quickly as possible without much getting in your way.
If you want something like Notion, then go use Notion. Some of the suggestions range from outright ridiculous requests to very specific ones that only 0.0001% of people need.
Maybe it’s because the devs are just doing such a brilliant job? Because using Bear is just so nice, intuitive, natural and it looks so sexy, you just want to use it for everything?
I don’t know - it’s a forum where users should feel safe and comfortable discussing their needs. It’s the dev team’s job and right to decide what and how they use all the postings and comments on this forum.
However, I would say that everyone should be kind and considerate when participating in these discussions, no matter if you think your needs are “what Bear is for” vs not.
And they do a good job. Just let them handle all these requests and let‘s see what the result is. While each request remains a wish told to the devs, you however pretend to know what the real bear is and wants people to leave because they use bear different than you.
Each request is a good one. And the devs job is to see if at all and how a request can be implemented. Sorry, just to be honest, you are not in the position to put yourself over other users
I’ll also humor you: maybe it is also a sketching app, since it allows sketching. While at it, might also call it a spreadsheet app since it features tables and cells and rows.
The developers call it a note app for one job: writing quickly. Don’t believe me, look at the attached screenshots.
Get the picture yet? Or I could simply paint you one with Bear NOTES using ascii characters.
100%. The devs understand, i think, that most people who use bear love it, and that the most important tool for productivity is your own work ethic and motivation to overcome procrastination and just crack on with the work or learning. They designed a tool that works great for that.
I think they probably have a sense of which honey-do requests are pursuant to constructive feedback and designing a great app, and which are inappropriate.
The forum is obviously a somewhat disproportionate representation of people who want to be productive and think that some perfect tool is the barrier to them achieving that, when in reality pursuing that is a form of procrastination. There is some pkm video out there (the only one worth watching) that essentially says exactly that.
Now that beta testing is wrapping up, i come here reflexively as a means of procrastination. It’s clear that many others are the same.
Yes, you are correct by confirming me. As long as the lines per note are not limited it is indeed a good writing app, not only for quick notes.
What is your motivation to become a class representative anyway? Do Matteo and Danilo really give the impression that they need an advocate to protect them from greedy users?
It doesn’t leave a nice impression if you divide us users into two classes, into those worthy of the application, and those who are not. Actually your message is to tell us to which class you belong. But however you feel or think you will not be able able to prevent what users generally do: making requests as a form of communication with the devs. A communication that indeed can lead to the insight that bear is not the right app and to the decision to go in peace without loosing the sympathy for the app you are leaving. The leaving is however each users own decision and nothing you have the right to demand. Another kind of user to which I probably belong has learned to compromise. I know that there is no other app that can offer me the same like bear can do. In that sense I am not a fanboy but a loyal user: loyality indeed has to be deserved and is not a present given to the developers for nothing. And as long as I am an user of this app I will make requests which I never would misunderstand as a mandat.
Bear 2 is the result of making possible countless user requests from the last years. You also can contribute by being constructive, f.e. telling your wishes and needs. Neither will the developers break at it nor will the program be disturbed in its development. Just like 5 years ago, no one could know what today’s Bear 2 would look like, I’m glad that no one can guess what a future Bear 3 will look like. I just know that the bear will always be the one bear that we met here in this forum and that is close to our hearts.
premise This is very personal and represents only me.
Generally speaking, I don’t like when people feel other people want them to stop expressing themselves, regardless of whether this is their true intention or not. I’m also sure any appeal to fewer feature requests might work for a limited time on one channel but not for the others (mail, support, socials, app store, …).
I think it’s pretty clear by how Bear is designed that one of our values reducing the learning curve with minimal UI and more. This had various advantages also for the pro users but is a potential extra challenge for every new feature.
When we released the first alpha of Bear 1 (7 years ago) we were very ok with the feature set at that point. I think it’s pretty safe to say we still use regularly 50% of Bear’s features, maybe less. Users had very different opinions so we listened, elaborate, study, and eventually figure out how to work those new features. So Yes, managing feature requests is hard, but it also made Bear what it is today.
Developing Bear is keeping a balance between community requests, the tech world around us, and (last but not least) our vision and values. Without user requests, Bear will be possibly barebone and not appealing for some but if we do everything is not Bear anymore.
I honestly think we should listen to everybody and then think by ourselves because, In the end, it’s our call to decide what to do and what not to do and eventually take praise or blame for our choices.
You’re supposed to just fire it up and be able to write notes as quickly as possible without much getting in your way.
not necesarilly true. It is just your user case or your interpreatation.
(it is a writing app - among other several things = ) maybe it is also a sketching app, since it allows sketching. While at it, might also call it a spreadsheet app since it features tables and cells and rows.
By contrast, it is a writing app by definition (screenshot from Bear web) :
So, it is absolutely ok that people want to see some feature which they expect from a writing app. I do not remember that anybody would often expect anything remotelly replacing full-time word processor. It is not even possible, due to markdown app nature, I would say.
Actually all the writing apps rose up because a word processor like word is not a good environment for writing. Rather than that it is more suitable for design and Lay-out of text
@krssno Sorry, I put my words in confusing way - of course, many of us searched for a writing app because we did not want to use word for writing ( = we want to “replace” it), but I meant that I do not think that many people here suggested features typical for full-fledged word processor (e.g. tabulator setting, many fonts formats, textboxes, comments etc = with focus on processing all phases of production of a text document) or that they push Bear in that direction.
They usually just suggest some feature they experience to be important for their use of a simple writing app (with focus on just writing, not other phases/ways of text preparation - like commenting, collaborating, reviews, versions etc)
