This is quite a simple and modern way of keeping notes.
It uses the same Markdown markup language as this forum.
One can even create websites with this easily. Either by subscribing to their service or doing it yourself. One just needs to convert the pages to a website with for instance this:-
and place them on a webserver and you've got a website.
Did anyone look into this and try it out, please?
I can explain why I believe it’s very useful.
Thank you
PeerTube is a decentralized alternative to YouTube. Instead of being owned and run by one big tech company, like Google owns YouTube, PeerTube is made up of many small, independent servers—each run by different people or organizations. These servers, called “instances,” can host and share videos on their own terms, but they can also connect with each other to form a bigger network. This means no single company controls what gets shown, taken down, or promoted.
What makes PeerTube special isn’t just that it's free from corporate control—it’s how it delivers video. When you watch something on YouTube, the video comes straight from Google’s data centers. That costs money and concentrates power in one place. PeerTube flips this model: when someone watches a video, their computer also helps share that video with others watching it. It’s like if your device becomes part of a tiny swarm, passing little pieces of the video to other people nearby. This doesn't require any technical setup—it happens silently in the background.
This swarm-sharing uses a browser-based technology designed for this kind of cooperation. It doesn’t rely on the classic file-sharing tools people associate with torrents. Instead, it uses newer technology built directly into modern web browsers, allowing people to share video data between themselves securely and efficiently. Because of this, regular torrent programs—the ones often used to download large files—don’t work with PeerTube videos. They speak a different language. PeerTube's sharing system is more like a friendly neighborhood network than a traditional downloading pipeline.
The result is a system that gets stronger as more people use it. If a video goes viral, PeerTube doesn’t break under pressure—it actually performs better, because more viewers means more helpers. This is the opposite of platforms like YouTube or Vimeo, where a sudden spike in traffic can strain servers or trigger ads to offset bandwidth costs.
In a world where major platforms control what we see, track what we do, and profit from our attention, PeerTube offers something radically different: a shared system, powered by the viewers, resistant to censorship, and built for community rather than profit. It's not just an alternative to corporate video hosting—it's a shift in how we think about media distribution, ownership, and participation.
Thank-you.
On their "pricing" page it says:
No sign-up required.
No strings attached.
Then says it's $48 a year per user.
Which is it free or $48/year.
Also, it's been noticed that some apps that are touted as freeware and to have an offline user interface, but act (slow down) as if they are web connected lending to the question as to if the app is really stand alone or being used for AI purposes (or other). Example:
https://www.drawio.com/
I can't seem to find this page. You. might have eneded up on some related page, some service/platform that runs on PeerTube, perhaps.
Peertube is open source and free.
It's free and open source.
There's a big difference between freeware and open source.
Ok, I didn't know you were referring to Obsidian.
It's not open source but it's free to use. If you wish to use their sync features it's not free.
I still recommend it even though there are quite a few similar ones out there.
Obsidian is a true offline desktop application, unlike a progressive web app (PWA) like draw.io, which typically relies on online services. This significantly lowers the risk of data being transmitted without the user’s knowledge. Moreover, the type of person who uses Obsidian often values privacy and control, and many are technically inclined—routinely monitoring their network traffic. If Obsidian ever attempted to send data online without consent, it's highly likely this vigilant user base would detect and report it quickly.
Thank-you.
Would you happen to have experience with a free secure cloud service, please?
Well, there’s the saying about there not being any free lunches.
Also the word secure is too vague as is the word service. And cloud.
Security and privacy is very hard nowadays.
It’s all very relative. Depends on who you believe your adversaries are and what you need and why.
For relative security I recommend getting a cheap VPS and installling for instance Nextcloud on it.
I say relative because it’s not feasible to really know what the company that you rent the server from is like and whether it is trustworthy.
If I were a nefarious alphabet soup agency I would set up tons of small internet service companies just so I could get my hands on more private data to analyze.
So you don't have any experience with a secure or private cloud service, because it doesn't exist based on your parameters, which is why you didn't recommend one? Understood.
The reason for my question is because, some experience was had with another "mind mapping" program. The data, and time spent with it was lost during a computer OS upgrade. The thought was to give Obsidian a go, but didn't want to waste time only to lose it again. Privacy is believed to be a perk of Obsidian as it is an offline app. My HDD is pretty full which is why a cloud is being considered, but then there's the security issue.
If my understanding is correct, Obsidian can have a "vault" created off the computer. If you have experience with Obsidian, can the vault be put on a USB stick instead of a cloud, and more importantly, if the OS is updated, and Obsidian reinstalled, will a new install of Obsidian recognize the data on the stick, please?
...it's complicated...
Without proper and verified (tested that they work) backups it's just a matter of when and not if you lose the data. It's like writing in sand on a windy beach.
Yes. Try out Obsidian. The vault is just a folder gilles with .md fules which are just text files with Markdown formatting. They don’t take up much space unless you have huge text files. And images can be added to etc.
So it's very minimalistic, just a folder + subfolders with .md files. So yes, a new install of Obsidian will recognize it.
Markdown is the same language that is used for formatting here on this site.
The vault or vaults can be stored on USB sticks too.
If you need to sync your notes to other devices (for free without using Obaidian’s I recommend installing and configuring Syncthing https://syncthing.net/
Understood. Thank-you.
You recommended Obsidian.
How long have you used it for, please?
Not that long.
There are others, but I tried Logseq and didn't like it and immediately knew that Obsidian was what I had been looking for.
Here's a concise comparison of Obsidian with several similar tools across key dimensions:
| Feature / Software | Obsidian | Logseq | Roam Research | Notion | Zettlr | Joplin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open Source |  (core is proprietary) |
 (AGPL) |
(fully closed) |
(closed) |
(GPL-3.0) |
(MIT) |
| Modern UI | (minimal, plugin-rich) |
(clean, outline-based) |
(graph + outline) |
(slick, commercial) |
 (functional but dated) |
(basic, utilitarian) |
| Speed | (local, fast) |
(local, fast) |
(cloud-based, laggy) |
(cloud sync delays) |
(local, snappy) |
(local, fast) |
| Intelligent UI | (plugin-dependent) |
(block refs, outliner) |
(contextual backlinks) |
(template-based) |
(limited) |
(basic) |
| Offline Support | (full) |
(full) |
(requires internet) |
(limited offline) |
(full) |
(full) |
| Extensibility | (rich plugin system) |
(custom JS plugins) |
(limited) |
(API, no plugins) |
(limited plugins) |
(plugins, scripts) |
| Graph View | (interactive) |
(built-in) |
(iconic feature) |
|
|
(via plugin) |
| Community Consensus | (very active, praised) |
(strong OSS community) |
(innovative, divisive) |
(mainstream popular) |
(niche academic use) |
(stable OSS user base) |
Would you like a recommendation based on a specific use case (e.g., Zettelkasten, research, journaling)?
