I ran across a blog post back in 2014 where the author had a list of 11 requirements for a Personal Knowledge Base (PKB). I have had the response that I dust off occasionally and half-heartedly keep up to date over the years sitting on my file server so I thought I would share it here for posterity. The one requirement I would add that I still have not adequately found a good solution for is mobile access and workflow.

PKB Requirements

1. Minimal Effort to Capture and Maintain
   • Export Highlighted Text in PDF (Acrobat)
   • Using Automator and Preview
   • Markdown
   • Safari Webarchives or CLI webarchiver
     • Chromium based browsers support MHTML if preferred.
   • Bookmarklets – Bookcision to get highlights from kindle books
2. All in one Place
   • All in the filesystem on your machine, and portable with Dropbox, Syncthing, Google Drive or Nextcloud
3. Non-proprietary (open source) file formats
   • Markdown (plain text)
   • PDF
   • MP3
   • MP4 (h.264), Youtube link, Youtube-dl
   • jpeg or png
   • webarchive (mostly portable) or MHTML (portable)
4. Ability to accept various kinds of input (text, video, audio, etc.)
   • See Item 3
5. Linkability
   • Store PKB in Dropbox (See Item 2 – not iCloud because you can’t link to files in it), a link can be generated using the Finder context menu.
6. Semi-automated input and organization
   • Combination of using built in tools (e.g. Safari, Preview, etc.) and Automator/Python/Bash scripts.
   • Also utilize a files metadata cmd + i
7. Searchable
   • Spotlight
8. Multiple organization schemes
   • Combination of folder structure, Make Alias from Finder context menu, and Smart folders
9. Web-based
   • Not exactly web based, but since every object can have a url, you can use a Wiki, WordPress, Blogger etc.
10. Accessible and operable via Graphical (GUI) and Command-Line interfaces
    • Since this scheme only uses tools that ship with OS X (mostly) you can generally do both.
    • Applications used:
      • Safari or Chromium based browser
      • Preview
      • Sublime Text 2 or VIM
      • Finder
      • Automater
      • Python 3
      • Bash
      • Marked 2
      • Alfred
11. Cross platform
    • While designed for MacOS, the files are cross platform. I don’t use Windows, but assume that you could find tools that are similar to accomplish the same thing in Windows and certainly on Linux.

Today in class, I was discussing how World War I began with my students.

We discussed the assassination of Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie.

It made me remember an event back in 1993 during the Bosnian War. I was acutely aware of the Bosnian War being in the military at the time and especially the Siege of Sarajevo. As I often do, I attempt to tie more modern facts with older facts to make it more real for the students, so I related the story of Romeo and Juliet in Sarajevo.

I remember this event so vividly. The bodies of Admira Ismić (Bosniak) and Boško Brkić (Bosnian Serb) on the front page of the papers lying in an embrace dead for days in the road. They were a couple from opposite sides of the street, so to speak. They were attempting to flee Sarajevo but had to pass through an area known as Sniper Alley. They had secured a ceasefire to allow them to pass. They made it to Vrbanja bridge before a shot rang out and Bosko fell dying instantly. Admira was shot next, fell, crawled to her lover, and embraced him while she lay dying over the next fifteen minutes. The bodies lay there for days in embrace.

This is why we study history, so these tales can be remembered.

Read the May 23, 1993 news article written by Kurt Schork who tells the tale far better than I ever could.