CardMirror is Exiting Beta
Announcements and thanks concerning the CardMirror Version 1.0
I am excited to announce that CardMirror is exiting its beta phase and now has a Version 1.0 release!
At the outset I want to say that the outpouring of support has been overwhelming and deeply appreciated. Doing this project justice has been one of the more difficult things I’ve ever done, and with unexpected stakes; I had thought I was creating a niche tool for myself, my teams, and maybe a few of my friends, and never expected the tool to be adopted as widely and quickly as it has.
Some numbers:
- The web version of the app alone has seen 5,587 users who have visited the site a total of 41,750 times. That’s more than 20% of the size of NSDA’s last published graduating class. This group is likely primarily composed of Chromebook users who would otherwise be using Google Docs.
- 8,461 have downloaded the CardMirror desktop installer (though this double counts users who re-download the app manually when updating, so it somewhat overstates the actual user base).
- 1,553 users have used CardMirror’s live collaboration features. During the second day of Michigan Camp Tournament prelims, users collaborated live on 1,071 documents. A typical week sees 1,153 collaboration users; of those, 71% use collaboration features every day.
- 354 of the users who installed CardMirror are Linux users - about 4% of the total desktop installer downloads. This is an awesome trend!
On a qualitative note, I’ve heard from numerous teachers, debaters, and lab leaders about the extent to which CardMirror has liberated them from the inferior experience of Google Docs, the annual expense of a Microsoft Office subscription, or the tedious task of walking novices through the complex steps required to install and master a VBA-based Word template. So often, expanded access comes with compromises; I couldn’t be more proud that CardMirror has turned out to be a more accessible AND superior experience.
Honoring the resulting unexpected obligation has taken most of my available time this summer. I appreciate people’s patience and support as this has crossed the finish line. Over the next few weeks you’ll see the site returning to its usual programming of files, articles, and high school topic resources.
Finally, I am deeply grateful to everyone who has contributed to the project. Special thanks to feature contributors Cora Yang, Neo Cai, and Shreeram Modi - you have been a joy to collaborate with!
There are a few things that you should know if you are using CardMirror today, are thinking about switching your school to CardMirror, or are considering developing software that works with CardMirror.
Users
Two things:
First - please update to Version 1.0. If you are relatively up to date, CardMirror may offer you the update automatically; if you are not, you may have to redownload CardMirror from the site by following the installation instructions again. Future versions will offer to update themselves automatically. If you haven’t updated since the first announcement post, you’re missing out on tons of new features, including:
- Real-time, Google Docs-style co-editing
- Live views and linked copies, which allow you to keep frequently changing cards like uniqueness or impact defense updated automatically in all of your 2AC blocks by pointing them at a central file
- Card sharing works much faster; it now pushes cards to the client instead of having the client ask the relay for updates on a fixed interval, so sent cards arrive instantly
- Automatic card numbering
- A litany of other performance, stability, accessibility, and usability improvements, including automatic updates on MacOS, better crash recovery, better Word fidelity, and dozens of small quality of life improvements
Version 1.0 or later will soon be required to continue using collaboration features. Early versions of the beta were fairly data-inefficient; a minority of early beta users still currently accounts for a disproportionate chunk of my relay load by volume. The new protocol is faster for users as well, so updating is a win-win!
Second - as I’ve mentioned a few times, card sharing and live collaboration incur ongoing server costs on my end, and so will require a Debate Decoded subscription starting Monday, 8/17. Everything other than card sharing and live collaboration remains free.
To link your Debate Decoded account:
- Subscribe with any paid plan.
- Navigate to this link.
- Paste the code you see under the “Debate Decoded account” option in Settings > Collaboration.
If you cannot afford a Debate Decoded account, please reach out at my email, ant981228@gmail.com. Alternatively, you can follow the instructions on CardMirror’s GitHub page to set up and operate your own relay.
Schools
I have already spoken to a number of schools to help with IT approval for CardMirror. If this process worries you, please let me know what I can to make it easier. I am happy to field questions about data retention and have written a privacy policy that should help your IT department navigate the process.
If you would like to sign your students up for Debate Decoded / create an institutional account that all of your students can use to connect to the relay for CardMirror collaboration, there is a substantial institutional discount.
Developers
There is a plugin API and HTTP bridge for sending text and creating custom commands, the architecture of which you can find here. So far, CardMirror has integrated with new versions of Fast Debate Paste for Windows and Mac, as well as with Shreeram Modi’s flowing app called Ebb (app source code located here, plugin located here). As an aside, Ebb is fantastic and I would encourage everyone who flows on their computer to give it a try.
Over time, I will make some improvements to the way plugins are shown in the app to improve discoverability, as well as expand the plugin API to allow for more powerful integrations. For now, installation requires users to paste a GitHub link and operates on a whitelist model to prevent the mainstream user base from running untrustworthy code. If you are interested in developing an integration and would like me to whitelist your plugin, please reach out!
While I have your attention - DebateDocs!
College debaters, especially incoming freshmen - as the new season approaches it is time to start signing up for DebateDocs. For those who don’t know, DebateDocs is a Google Group that everyone can add to all their email chains. If you join you get everyone’s docs, but you must do two things in return:
- You must add DebateDocs to all your email chains. No free riders allowed!
- You must use the wiki and update it promptly.
Please reach out to me sooner rather than later; I’d love if we could avoid the annual flood of sign-ups happening the night before the season opener.
I appreciate everyone’s help in advance. DebateDocs is a public good that survives because everyone chips in. By working together we can keep the scouting workload manageable for debaters and coaches who have enormous competing demands on their time and energy at tournaments.