I'd like to know more about diigo cached pages.

If a bookmark is created, and the page changes, what happens to the residual bookmark along with any (if any) annotations?

Does the bookmark preview & link reference the new page?
Does the cache remember the old original page?
And what happens if a bookmarks associated URL "ceases to exist" on the web?
Does everything eventually end up in the diigo cache?
And lastly, what about searching for a key phrase within the cached pages as opposed to a single word to narrow down a search. (The advanced search is gone.)

I know there are new features like notes that can be bookmarked without associated URL's soon to be added... (Because I have seen some of these features like the "My Stuff" tabs on search pages late at night when the developers are "working on the site.")

RSVP....

Did you ever see your notebook file converted into diigo?
I had a couple of them (small ones) finally arrive.

But to this date, I have never seen my big one (the one that counts) and one very small one imported. I've uploaded it twice now, and seen nothing.....

This tool has potential. Close, but I'm still not sure it's the answer to us "google notebook dropouts."

When using the diigo toolbar to save bookmarks, every time i want to save bookmark into a list (or group) for that matter... (which is the way I have chosen to "pre-categorize" bookmarks to go back and add tags later)

It is necessary to select the list box to bring up the list. (which, by the way first comes up a little messed up until a list item is selected)

It would be smart to allow users to configure toolbar items such as "Automatically save bookmark to list" and "Save bookmarks as private" etc...

SUGGESTION #1: CONFIGURABLE DEFAULTS
The quick save option provides some of this capability, but doesn't provide enough flexibility. So extra steps are required to use the standard bookmar save button because DIIGO TOOLBAR DEFAULTS ARE NOT CONFIGURABLE. (This makes it more difficult (and less likely that users) take the time to properly tag and build the Diigo public / private database.)

SUGGESTION #2: DIIGO TOOLBAR IS MISSING A BOOKMARK STATUS INDICATOR.
When browsing to a page, shouldn't the Diigo toolbar somehow indicate that the current page being viewed has already been bookmarked by me? I know that this info (and more) is displayed in the Diigo sidebar "This URL" tab, but the sidebar is not usually open.
ADDED BONUS HERE: STATUS INDICATOR WOULD CONFIRM SUCCESSFUL BOOKMARK SAVE! (I'm not comfortable "hoping" that my bookmark saved OK... I want to be sure!)

SUGGESTION #3: BOOKMARK BUTTON USER SHOULD DISPLAY USERS PRIVATE TAGS
(I know they appear once you remember the first letter of the tags, but when multi-tagging, you still have to remember all the tags you want to apply.)
I love the way the way all the recommended tags show up when clicking the Bookmarks button on the toolbar. It's a shame that above that (or below that) a list of "My Tags" does not show up the same maner. That way a user could easily visually click select his own relevant tags without having to remember them and type them in one by one. (Much easier to select an apply all tags that apply.

PS:
I also did notice that at times, the highlighting feature does not seem to always work in Firefox. I believe they save OK, but just don't always re-appear. HOWEVER... I'm led to believe that this issue has something to do with another totally unrelated plugin (non diigo) which is ultimately responsible for this.

Joel,

Overall, this is an excellent implementation of bookmarking on steroids!

YOU ASKED FOR MORE SPECIFICS ABOUT THE PROBLEM:
The problem I was referring to was relative to the "dropdown box" that appears when you click on Diigo bookmarks and then select "add to a list." The dropdown / combo box) that appears does not look the same as the "share to a group" box. Unlike the"share to a group" box, nothing appears in the "add to a list" box when it is first displayed. (The width is ok, but the height is almost non-existant. I think it's because the "share to a group" box first opens and displays the "-------------------" where as nothing at all shows up in the "add to list box" when it is first opened. (As a selection is made in the "add to list" box it then appears correctly. )


USER GUI ISSUE REVISITED:
Being and avid bookmarker, the way the bookmark button in the toolbar currently works ends up in being a rather INCONVENIENCE FOR PRIVATE BOOKMARKING. I'm sure I'm not alone in my assessment.

When saving and tagging bookmarks, presently, I'm left with two options. (Even though the bookmark list field pulls up / remembers my personal tag naming conventions as I begin to enter them in the tags field....)

Without a visual representation of my tags to "click-select."... Private bookmark / taggers are left with the following scenario......

1.) They have to think.. Did I apply all the appropriate tags? (Since I can't see them there there's a significant probability that I'm going to miss one.)

2.) Or they can say, "screw the tags!" I'll go back later and properly categorize them. That adds a huge extra step. And even if I choose to do this, when editing the system defaults to totally replace tags, instead of adding to them. (So here I run the risk of deleting any previously applied tags by accident.

3.) The last option is to use meaningless "speedkey" prefixed tags which I will explain below.

Before I get to that, I understand your logic for keeping the gui clean. But I sincerely feel this is viewed as a major drawback for many users who are used to seeing their tags (in button form) right in front of them.

Choosing to only show public tag buttons on the bookmarks button definitely does help to normalize tags amongst diigo users, and that makes perfect sense. But not having this feature available for private tagging definitely puts private "bookmarkers" (for research purposes etc.) at a disadvantage which could lead them to choosing an alternative solution.

- MAKE IT EASY, AND MINIMIZE THE CHANCE TO MAKE MISTAKES IS THE ONLY VIABLE SOLUTION TO ALL OF THIS... Remember, many of your users are data junkies so they probably have a lot of stuff to bookmark, and that takes time to do it right They also have their own naming conventions for private tags which would be meaningless the the general population. In current form, I'm going to resort to using meaningless tags prefixed with "speedkeys" such as "-" and "=" which are meaningless to most. But at least that will bring up a full list of tags I can choose from. (Since buttons are not there for me to easily remember / select.)


Ultimately bookmarkers actually have four choices if they want to use this tool for research and private bookmarkings etc.

1.) Quick save, (using defaults available) with the intentions of going back an wasting time editing each save.

2.) Applying appropriate tags (mostly from memory, because I have to remember the first letter in the tags to bring it up.)

3.) Save to a group or a list instead - But here I have to click an extra check-box, make a selection and then go back and do the re-edit thing which wastes time. (This only allows the user to apply one list / group so it's not really even a solution.

4.) HERE'S MY CURRENT SOLUTION... Use meaningless tags (prefix a normal tag with a speedkey as mentioned above. (This way, at least the users entire list of private tags appears from which he/she can choose. (CURRENTLY THIS IS PROBABLY THE MOST EFFICIENT SOLUTION AROUND NOT SHOWING PRIVATE BUTTONS. But it still makes a mockery out of viable naming conventions, and how silly will things look if these private bookmarks are later made public?)

Just food for thought!
RSVP!

Joel,

Didn't hear from you after responding to the request for more info on the Toolbar Quirks / Issues thing.
Just wanted to make sure you saw my reply. (& help improve this solid tool for all users!)

Thanks,
& Thanks for Diigo!

Clifford,
Check the "About Diigo" pages. I think it says something about there being 12 in the diigo team.

Sean,
Your statement regarding the export function at diigo being the most important thing signifies a high level of wisdom.

Google,
Why did you have to abandon us notebook users?
Everything always seemed to work as advertised, it was bulletproof, and I never needed any help.

And Joel Liu,
Why doesn't anyone from diigo respond to current problems and issues presented in diigo user group threads? While the replies I have seen here (from diigo) are informative, they don't address problems we as users are experiencing. Too busy, don't care, or don't know? (Upon numerous attempts to shed some light on a real issue, all my user threads and emails remain un-answered!)

(Not trying to make any enemies here with the diigo team, and my apologies if I am coming across as impatient.) But I've learned that I'm not alone in the fact that I feel like I'm searching for windows errors in their knowledge base. (And all I'm getting back is the all too common response that "No additional is available at this time.") THE WORST RESPONSE IS NO RESPONSE.

Thank you Joel.....
As I offered previously....

Please feel free to log into my account and search for the following bookmark:

"Mel's Diet Blog -RE-ADDED"
Tags: BUG, *WEB on 2009-02-07 -All Annotations (6) -Cached -About
in list: =RWT
more from www.melsdietblog.com

While a filter by tag will bring up the bookmark in a large list of similarly tagged bookmarks... No search (even using any keyword in the title "Mel's Diet Blog -RE-ADDED" will retrieve the bookmark!

As you may be aware, after I couldn't find it originally, I re-saved the same web page and assigned it a slightly different name ("-RE-ADDED") suffux. This resulted in replacing the original bookmark. (I had expected there to be two separate bookmarks pointing to the same page, but maybe that assumption was wrong.) Regardless, what I ended up with was this one single bookmark which "hijacked" all the tags and annotations. (Nice that these annotations / tags were not lost, but Just like the original bookmark... This new / "replaced" bookmark still won't come up in any search.)

And as I mentioned earler... I'm just looking for a new (well built) home for my Google Bookmarks.

Sorry I went "off topic" here guys.

Thank you.
I'm not trying to be a pain in the @55, honestly. I'm trying to help!

UPDATE: FAITH RESTORED!

Received this response from diigo:

Hi Robert,
We stopped indexing new bookmarks to prepare a hardware upgrade.

All I needed to hear......

Had similar problems when updating tags and renaming bookmarks.
After getting the Success response to tag and bookmark title changes, bookmarks reverted to the old info. The updates were dropped, and no change was in fact made.

Also had the same problem when deleting bookmarks. Sometimes it takes several tries.
(You keep deleting them, but the keep "popping back."

I don't trust quick-save either from the toolbar, because I don't get confirmation if the save even takes place.

What almost concerns me more than this is that the search feature does not return searches on all bookmarks, even when I am searching for a word in the bookmarks title.

Also, their server (s) seem to go down frequently without warning. Hope this is just growing pains, but I don't get that warm feeling that this service is ready for prime-time.

ONE SIMPLE EXAMPLE OF THE FRUSTRATIONS I AM HAVING:

"My Dashboard" has a recently added private bookmark titled and displayed as follows:
*Mel's Diet Blog -RE-ADDED Tags: BUG, *WEB on 2009-02-07

I can not retrieve this bookmark via any search whatsoever, using any words even in the bookmark's title.
It only appears when I go to the "My Tags" and click on the taq. (I also can go to "My Bookmarks" and use the filter box to find the tag. But as far as searching for it any other way...... FORGET IT!

I notified tech support, and except for getting an email thanking me, they have not replied to subsequent emails. I'm beginning to wonder here about the benefits of using this service as a replacement for Google Notebook. The only reason I save things is that I might want to find them later.

Even if the guys at diigo could at least send me a followup indicating there is an issue, and what to expect next, I would feel better about sticking around. I've even given them permission to log into my account and experience this firsthand. Never get a reply. And a search that doesn't work results in a service that's not worth using.

I'm sticking around for a few more days. After that, I'm outta here. Google Notebook will be around for a while longer, and atom export is available. In the meantime, I'm sure there are many other bookmarking sites that will be enhancing their services to provide a viable alternative to Google Notebook.

Let me guess, you're new here, and you're an x-google notebook user?
(Obviously, that's why I'm here.) Scary part is, apparently the diigo service has been up for quite a while. How can it be that I found all these errors the first day while I was learning what the service can and cannot do. Had I not been "testing it out" I never would have uncovered these issues. IN THE PAST TWO YEARS, WHY HASN'T ANYONE ELSE SEEN THESE PROBLEMS?

Unfortunate considering I had come to the conclusion that this was the best replacement for Google Notebook.

If you want to see more info about the problems I (and several others have encountered) do as search in the User Forum for my other thread using my name in the Search Group Topics search box.

I read somewhere else that diigo just wasn't ready for prime time. I'm beginning to think their assessment was correct. Hope I am wrong, because this looks like a promising tool.

The only good news here is that late last night... One of the developers was online (Joel Liu) and he was apparently making system modifications to the search pages, so something was going on. (I couldn't search, strange logon promps were appearing asking for authentication I didn't have, i was redirected to 404 / 401 blank page server errors, and when I did occasionaly get to these pages, they had new features and options on them. Since then, the pages are back to the old designs.)

Sincerely,

Robert Tupper

Anybody else care that they may not be finding items in their own private bookmarks?
I doubt that this is an isolated issue!!!!!!!!

Don't assume you're not effected! Problem is....
Finding out whether your search results are effected is difficult to ascertain.
I've only caught this so far in one simple private bookmark. I haven't bothered to spend the time to find if others are effected.

I just happened to do a test search and was surprised the specific item I was looking for was not there.
I then spent a day trying to figure out what I was doing wrong.
Bottom line - Nothing. Unless I'm mentally challenged, IT'S A SERIOUS BUG!

I have spent a ton of time trying to figure out why the item is missing from the search, and if there are any ways to get it to re-appear through the search. The only thing I haven't done is completely deleted the bookmark, and recreated another identical one. (Because I want the developers to be able to find and correct the problem for everyone's benefit.)

If you do have the problem (and I bet you do) and you are "un-lucky" enough to find it....
You will quickly realize all serch attempts (even via a simple single tag, or single word in bookmarks title search) to locate the effected bookmark fails, and the resulting query does not include all items you expect.

So if you're saving items you think you'll eventually need to find again ("finding that needle in the haystack") ... You may never find what you are looking for. (If this search problem / bug is not retroactively fixed for all preexisting bookmarks in the DIIGO system!

The way in which I uncovered this search problem is that I was a new user. I was evaluating Diigo and learning it's features with only a small set of private bookmarks.

(About 100 private bookmarks imported from my browser bookmarks. The one that was dropped was a bookmark I manually added using "One-Click."

As a current user of Google Notebook, ready to migrate to something else...
-I was trying all the different features -bookmarks versus lists, groups etc. in an attempt to find out what methods work best for efficiently saving and retrieving data.)

Wanted to elaborate on one thing...

FILTERING YOUR BOOKMARKS BY TAG DOES FIND THE MISSING BOOKMARKS.....
If you select "My Bookmarks" and use the filter by tag, the missing bookmarks do appears in the list..

IT'S THE SEARCH BOXES THAT DON'T WORK...
(Both search box at top of diigo pages and Firefox addins do not retrieve the missing bookmarks.) Nor does the advanced search return any results for those of you who know how to find that.) Searching for a tag or a key word (even a word in the title) still brings up nothing.

UPDATE:
I have a lot of bookmarks in system with the tag *WEB. (It's the default tag I apply to the One-Click save option.) When I filter using this tag, (After selecting "My Bookmarks" from top of screen) I see all the bookmarks with that tag..

But when i do a search on the taq, I only see a few of them. This is outright weird. I'm going to rename the tag from *WEB to WEB and see if that makes any difference. (Wildcard?) But this still doesn't explain why searching for a keyword (word in title) of the bookmarks doesn't retrieve items properly.

UPDATE: FAITH RESTORED!

Received this response from diigo:

Hi Robert,
We stopped indexing new bookmarks to prepare a hardware upgrade.

All I needed to hear......

UPDATE: FAITH RESTORED!

Received this response from diigo:

Hi Robert,
We stopped indexing new bookmarks to prepare a hardware upgrade.

All I needed to hear......