Isn’t using JPDB over anki an extremely bad idea?

14 comments

1. I agree, although not the the extent I’d call it an “extremely bad idea”. However, I feel like a lot of people don’t care, so it’s a non-issue for them. You can’t *make* people care about something they don’t consider important, and controlling one’s data is not important to the majority of people.

2. Cards are worthless. Lose them and you can make new ones. In the end what matters is your progress.

3. Technically there is an export function for jpdb review data, but having said that, the one review of the corresponding Anki import add-on does not sound promising:

   [https://ankiweb.net/shared/info/541896873](https://ankiweb.net/shared/info/541896873)

4. Not being able to have control over the data is a complete deal breaker for me.

   I’ve spent too much time (~700 hours not counting reviews) making my own cards with examples from the content I’ve read and watched. There were many times when I didn’t understand a word meaning until I’ve actually encountered it in a certain context. I also constantly update and relearn some existing cards. So, while some of them, which I perfectly know and never forget, became worthless, there are still many thousands of cards I haven’t completely learned and losing my deck would be a catastrophe.

5. The reason I use it is because it generates example sentences in Japanese as well as definitions in Japanese for words that I put in. I don’t have to create my own cards.

6. Most learners are casuals, they do not take learning Japanese seriously (and they shouldn’t, since learning Japanese is probably not that high on their list of priorities), so JPDB fits the bill for them. For those that know that they will strive to master the language, then I agree, using JPDB as an alternative to Anki is a terrible idea.

7. According to JPDB, I am a top user of the site and I have actually gotten so many cards to maturity that the idea of ‘losing them’ is not a real issue, the export function noted is one thing as well. I credit the site with really bringing myself up to an advanced level quickly, and to that end I do not need it like a beginner would (assuming no export) if it were to suddenly disappear.

   The actual creator posts on Reddit – so I will let them speak for themselves about future plans. If you are so inclined they do have optional support methods with perks for Patreons.

8. You can export Review data, which Is the part I care about the most. I do it about once a month. You’d have to make your own anki deck and anki Review history from that export. They’re also working on an API that might allow more things. I care about my data and I’m not really worried. There’s a good amount of tech Savvy JPDB power users. If anything happened I’m 100% someone will make a free tool to make an anki deck from the exported Review data.

   Imo a bigger downside of JPDB Is It cant currently be used offline.

9. I prefer the control I get with Anki. I would like to use some of the anime word lists they provide, but there appears to be no way to export the data so that I can use it in Anki (any text format would do, as I can easily modify the data if I could get hold of it). I’d be willing to pay (a reasonable amount) for such access.

10. Here’s a hard truth: Most people quit anki. I did several times. If you find something that makes you stick to learning without giving up then hold it tight and never let go.

    For lots of people that is jpdb. Even if for some reason jpdb were to not be all of a sudden, all of the time you spent learning consistently is still yours and no one can take it from you, you can simply take that progress and go elsewhere, and start from a higher starting point than before.

    Get attached to the progress you’re making, not to the mountain of cards you’ve made.

11. I don’t get your point at all. Losing years of hard work instantaneously? Isn’t the goal to remember the words yourself? Just like Anki it’s simply a SRS learning tool for the goal to learn japanese and not some kind of game to get all the achievements.

    If you buy the Tobira learning book after Genki 2, there is also no “supported method to interface with applications.”

12. Hi. I’m the developer of jpdb. Let me address some of your points.

    > You cannot export / download your cards for backup in case anything ever happens to the site.

    As it was already mentioned you can export all of your reviews already. And there’s already an API available (currently in closed beta testing, but will be publicly available) where you can download all of your decks. You can’t yet completely download everything (e.g. images and audio mined through our mpv plugin), but that will also be rectified in the future.

    > Due to the above reason, if they ever changed their mind and decided to monetize the service, your cards could be held completely hostage. Is that not correct?

    I understand this is hard to believe when nowadays it’s common for greedy corporations to screw over their users in search of profit, but I have no plans of doing so. If I was actually looking to make significant money I wouldn’t be running a niche service like this.

13. Just use what you like, if it works for you it does, if it doesnt change.

14. I prefer jpdb to anki as I find it easier to create a deck from a text you want to read and you can see what % you already know.

    Downside for me is that it can be hard to build beginner friendly deck to slowly introduce kanji.