Accepting links other than URLs in (new) MindMeister

Jürgen Schulze

Dear friends,

for my workflow as a writer, it's been a blessing that the "old" MindMeister accepted references to files in DevonThink as links (as it is supposed to be).
The links have this format: x-devonthink-item://78F545E1-2567-4153-919B-66FAA075EBC4 https://www.linkedin.com/posts/devontechnologies-llc_devonthink-pkm-workflow-activity-7191698037176516609-TwsO?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios
They refer to a specific file in a DevonThink-Database. In the "new" MindMeister, this format is not recognised as a link anymore and cannot be entered as such. If entered as a note, it is not recognized, either. Workflow is becoming awkward here as in order to retrieve the referenced file, the note needs to be in edit mode as text in notes cannot be copied if not in edit mode.
Long story short: I have to stick to the "old" MindMeister in order to keep the flow.
Any chance to roll back to accepting the above mentioned format as a link as in the previous incarnation of MindMeister?

Thanks a lot and happy week to Vienna!
Jürgen

Joerg Koper

Hi @Jürgen Schulze and welcome to the community 👋🙂

I'll try to get the Meister Team aboard to better clarify your question. Cornelia from the team has considered whether a link shortener could help. I think that's an interesting option. Have you tried it yet?

Best, Jörg

Jürgen Schulze

https://community.meister.co/discussion/comment/10124#Comment_10124

Good morning, @Joerg Koper !
Thanks for coming back to me. That is a cool idea. The privacy implications, however, raise a red flag for me ( https://globalgurus.org/url-shorteners-and-data-privacy-what-you-need-to-know/ ) in particular, because these links point to internal data structure on my device. For me working in Cyber Security for the last 24 years, a bit of a deal breaker.
I trust MindMeister since 2007 but would not want to create "public" pointers to my HD. Also, I had the case where I was an avid user of a link shortening service that ceased operations. Quite a mess.
I can deal with it using the "old" MindMeister. Was just wondering where this capability went lost on the way to the "new" MindMeister and if it can be brought back with little efforts.
Cheers!
Jürgen

Joerg Koper

https://community.meister.co/discussion/comment/10165#Comment_10165

Good morning, Jürgen.

Thanks for the information. I'll talk about this problem with the team as soon as possible. It would be great to find a solution here 🤞

Best, Jörg

Joerg Koper

After briefly analysing the problem with my AI security assistance, it gave the following summarised answer:

The use of such link structures can pose a security risk under certain circumstances. As item links allow direct access to specific data, they could be a potential vulnerability in cloud-based software solutions if they are not carefully implemented and protected. Unauthorised persons could exploit these links to gain access to sensitive information.

I think this explains the decision best, to no longer provide those links in MindMeister 🤔

Best, Jörg

Jürgen Schulze

Hi Joerg,

Thanks for taking the efforts! That reflects my concerns albeit skipping one riskvector which is the link shortener.
As said, I do trust MindMeister and deliberately use(d) those links within my maps considering convenience versus risk proposition.
Couple ways to deal with it:
1) Implement a user warning if those links are used pointing to the potential risks
2) Adding a tick box in settings for using those links while accepting the risks
3) Disable sharing of maps containing those links
4) Disable taking maps public that contain those links
4a) Disable adding those links in public-/shared maps.
5) greying out those links in public / shared maps
6) Adding emergency disablement / greying of those links in case of a compromised account
7) Greying the links by default to make them illegible for preying eyes. As they won't work on another machine, anyway, that would pretty much void 95% of the risk of exploitation
8) Some or all of the above

I do know that this is a feature that would likely not be permissable in the corporate world anyway (confirming your findings. I had to make those decisions in one of my previous lives), it is a pretty cool workflow accelerator for individuals heavily integrating various solutions in their workflow. I, f.e., use MindMeister for building the structure, MeisterTask for putting it on a timeline, DevonThink for research and writing, Pages for setting and publishing on iBooks (or the Amazon stuff for Kindle).

I do know, though, that the list of nice to haves is an ever growing monster and, hence, ranking for usefulness and commercial feasibility is a monster task. However, the functionality has been there in the past and it might be a tad easier to bring it back to life! 😊

Thanks again and take care!
Jürgen

Joerg Koper

https://community.meister.co/discussion/comment/10240#Comment_10240

Hi Jürgen,

why don't you use MeisterNote for the research and (concept) writing? It can be combined perfectly with the other Meister Software. A further advantage is, to be able to comment on parts of it within MeisterNote. Even AI is now working very nicely.

Have you ever tried "Scrivener" as a writing and book publishing tool? I do also use it for some writing projects. And, I synchronize it with different devices, so I can continue on my iPad or Laptop wherever I am. Scrivener has many options for the export of books. You can manage links to the Meister Software there as well. Maybe you'd like to have a look at it.

Best, Jörg

Jürgen Schulze

Hi Jörg,

thanks for coming back to me!
Unluckily, MeisterNote came a little late to my workflow game to play a role. Also, MarkUp is not a format I'm using in any of the steps from conception to publishing. MeisterNote plays a role at many other tasks of my digital life, though. For anything related to dealing with large amount of unstructured data, I'm using my own instance of ContextSuite (NLU) of moresophy. For many reasons, I'm not using any of the current GenAI-providers for any of my tasks. Have a look here for some of the reasons: https://jschulze.com/projects/ChatGPT/

Scrivener can't replace DevonThink particularly not in research (DevonAgent). Also, I'm running an almost paperless office/private life with DevonThink Pro for more than 7 years now with TB of legacy data.
Also, the seamless synchronization between all my devices via a WebDAV-Server is very appealing. So, no benefits in using Scrivener for me. On top, I know the CEO of Devon Technologies and he's a very responsible, responsive guy listening carefully to his clients and implementing user feedback quickly. Also, support is second to none. So, it would not make sense for me to switch from my current setup. I would also not solve the Link-Thing! ((-;
Managing Map-/Task-/Projectlinks with DevonThink is a no brainer, too.
Take care!


Jürgen

Have a look here: https://www.mindmeister.com/blog/meister-news/2017/07/15/life-review-mind-map-template/
And here: https://larsbobach.de/es-geht-auch-einfach-crm-mit-meistertask/#close