Instapaper Questions

[ManBearWaffle]

I was hoping you could answer some questions about Instapaper. I've been an Instapaper user for over a year and I still haven't completely grasped the idea of the "Starred" and "Archived" sections. I assume the "Starred" section is for my favorite articles. But that also seems to conflict with the archives. What should my archives be if starred items are favorites? Why is there an archives section if Instapaper isn't meant for long-term storage?

Thanks

 

[yuanmoons]

When you star an article/item it goes to instapapers public list. So the star function is a way of sharing articles you like with all other instapaper users on the instapaper main site.

Archive is just your own archive. Also i think archive is limited to 250 items on the iphone & ipad and although it will prob be stored for a long time the developer doesnt guarantee it that it will, so you shouldnt rely on it in that way .... i think its all in the FAQ. Hope that helps.

 

[ManBearWaffle]

Thanks, I understand the starred section now, but I'm still not 100% on the archives. I understand what they're for, but I don't see the reason to archive them rather than leave them in the unread section. I think it made more sense when they were auto archived after you read them.

 

[yuanmoons]

Its a pretty obvious & well established practice to move stuff you've finished with out sight (out of mind). Just good admin. Archive is what it is - a log of old stuff you may or may not reference at a later date.

 

[ManBearWaffle]

Thanks, it makes sense now. I just wish there was a way to enable the old auto archiving.