I want to be able to ban myself from Metafilter temporarily.

February 8, 2005 3:27 AM

I want to be able to ban myself from Metafilter temporarily.
posted by pracowity to Feature Requests at 3:27 AM (60 comments total)

For example, if I need to focus on other things for two weeks, I want to be able to submit an irreversible self-imposed ban on myself for two weeks. Probably it could be part of the same function that Matt uses (or should use) to impose a time-out on people.
posted by pracowity at 3:28 AM on February 8, 2005

Ah, I see what you mean. You wish to prevent yourself from succumbing to the crack which is metafilter and don't want to be able to view the site for the next two weeks so you can get some work done?

What kind of computer do you drive? You can fiddle with all sort of your machines internet-thingies to prevent yourself from visiting metafilter. /etc/hosts and whatnot.
posted by dabitch at 3:37 AM on February 8, 2005

Well, I was hoping not to have to mess about with my machine's internet-thingies (at work and home) so I wouldn't risk messing up internet-thingies in general. A simple "I'm outta here until [date selection]" and a Submit button would be nice.
posted by pracowity at 3:56 AM on February 8, 2005

And here I was just getting used to seeing you hanging around here again.

Welcome back, and, er, see you later, I guess. I'd be happy to take any leftover crack off you hands.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 4:53 AM on February 8, 2005

pracowity: do you want to stop being able to read metafilter or posting to metafilter? when matt puts you on timeout, you're not allowed to post but you can read the site.
posted by Stynxno at 5:14 AM on February 8, 2005

prac: If you ask real nice, we could all snub you for awhile. OK? ;-P
posted by mischief at 5:52 AM on February 8, 2005

Or you could just, you know. Stop typing in the URL. Not nearly as dramatic but a bit more mature.
posted by Andrea at 5:55 AM on February 8, 2005

It would be best from my perspective not to be able to see anything but "Go Away Until [date], you [expletive]!" with date and expletive user-configurable.

But it would be simplest, I figure, to just duplicate on the account level what an administrator can do for any other account: prevent that account from posting but allow reading (which you would be able to do anyway by not logging in). Maybe link a new control or two on the to a copy of some existing code.

[And: Thanks, Stavros.]
posted by pracowity at 5:58 AM on February 8, 2005

Whoa... Someone calling themselves out in MeTa... And here I thought I'd seen it all! :)
posted by LouReedsSon at 6:01 AM on February 8, 2005

pracowity, it sounds like this'd be somewhere about pony number 20 in the current line -- I'd like to echo the suggestions for either some gentle mucking about in your /etc/hosts (or whatever -- the Internet has information to help you on this, some of it likely contained in AskMe) or the simple assertion of self control. Make yourself a MeFi jar and drop a buck in it every time you load up the page, or something.

And, yeah, then come back eventually.
posted by cortex at 6:13 AM on February 8, 2005

Andrea, another sign of maturity is seeking alternate solutions when the first and most obvious one doesn't work for some reason. Just, you know.
posted by Wolfdog at 6:24 AM on February 8, 2005

Matt, please delete this thread. We don't need its complete inanity cluttering up the front page. Furthermore, the author deserves to be shot for thinking that it's okay to put up such drivel. If shooting seems extreme, maybe you should just ban him for a few weeks and let him think about his sins.

Thanx!
posted by ashbury at 6:28 AM on February 8, 2005

free pracowity from this inane drivel

posted by mischief at 6:33 AM on February 8, 2005

Well, you could just alter your hosts file to read

127.0.0.1 metafilter.com

Of course, this is easily reversible, which is its downfall.
posted by Apoch at 6:36 AM on February 8, 2005

If Matt puts in some sort of "Ban Me" button he's going to get flooded with emails saying "I was drunk/not thinking straight, please please please unban me!"

What Andrea or Apoch said.
posted by bondcliff at 6:53 AM on February 8, 2005

SIMPLE ALTERNATIVE FOR PRACOWITY TO CONSIDER:

1) Create an HTML file bearing the meaasge -

"NO METAFILTER FOR NOW - OTHER MATTERS MUST BE ATTENDED TO!"

2) Set your browser to accept the HTML file as your default home page.

If that fails, you need to admit you have a problem managing your time.
Unfortunately, working to resolve that issue will require more than asking Matt for additional ponies.
posted by Smart Dalek at 6:56 AM on February 8, 2005

Update your hosts file. It requires no input by me and forces you out. Of course, you can undo it yourself, but try your best not to.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 7:11 AM on February 8, 2005

You could find someone you trust to act as a gatekeeper for your computer. Set up two different user accounts on your machine, one with full access and one with only what you need to get work done. When you need the plug pulled, your friend could just change the login info for your full account. That way, you really couldn't undo it yourself, even though you set it up.
posted by spaghetti at 7:21 AM on February 8, 2005

I sympathize. I was having the same problem until I found this (maybe off of a "Getting Things Done" blog?) I've saved it as my homepage in all browsers. It really does help!

Good luck.
posted by pomegranate at 7:50 AM on February 8, 2005

Update your hosts file to block Metafilter, then use these batch files to lock/unlock the hosts. Not a foolproof deterrent, but downloading the batch file, unlocking the hosts.txt, navigating to it, editing it, then saving seems to be a decent amount of hassle.
posted by fire&wings at 8:03 AM on February 8, 2005

Wolfdog, please explain the exact situation in which NOT typing the URL, using a bookmark, history, etc etc would fail. Is the computer haunted?

I find it incredibly selfish to ask Haughey to waste time coding a feature as pointless as a temporary ban, simply because a user doesn't have the ability to properly manage his internet usage.
posted by Andrea at 8:16 AM on February 8, 2005

This is actually a great idea. It might sound improbable, but a lot of members know when they need to step away, and might make good use of such a feature. Not just for time-saving I mean, but also in terms of imposing a little emotional break from the fray. I don't think any client-side rigging would really slow any of us down for long. It would have to be account-side.

But then... I suppose anyone really determined would just pony up $5 and play out the rest of their ban incognito... Anyway, it could be cool, but I guess it's an incredibly low priority.

Andrea: you could just, you know, not take the bait. See how not easy it can be? ;)
posted by scarabic at 8:18 AM on February 8, 2005

I sympathize with the need (this is why I so rarely visit AskMe now... I was unable to stop spending hours there unless I just cut it completely out), but yeah, it's ridiculous to ask Matt to do it for you.

The best thing would be a computer/real-word interface which would detect the metafilter.com domain being entered and emit (through USB?) a mild electric shock directly through the user's chair. Second offense, not so mild. You'll easily re-condition yourself.
posted by soyjoy at 8:25 AM on February 8, 2005

In lieu of the electric shock, I offer to stalk, bait, and deride any trying-to-quit members for the length of time they choose.

$.05 per noun
$.02 per adjective and verb

Satisfaction guaranteed.
posted by scarabic at 8:27 AM on February 8, 2005

I would like to order one haranguing that only uses prepositions.
posted by sciurus at 8:34 AM on February 8, 2005

Failing the electric shock technique, somebody oughta just make a browser extension that blocks you from site x for y amount of time. 'Course, knowing me, I'd just switch browsers. I am terrible.
posted by furiousthought at 8:39 AM on February 8, 2005

I find it incredibly selfish to ask Haughey...

I find it incredibly rude to call someone by his last name like that.

No, I don't. I'm just kidding. Have some incredible shellfish, won't you? They're delicious.
posted by pracowity at 8:42 AM on February 8, 2005

"imposing a little emotional break"

The minimum time-slice being...?
posted by mischief at 8:50 AM on February 8, 2005

scarabic, my computer is haunted. :( :(
posted by Andrea at 8:55 AM on February 8, 2005

*slaps pracowity*

Get the fuck out of here already, will you?

[Always happy to help]
posted by mr_crash_davis at 8:57 AM on February 8, 2005

I'm with Andrea- just exercise some self control.
posted by Doohickie at 8:57 AM on February 8, 2005

i think this is a great idea and absolutely sympathise , can we please have this as a feature ?
posted by sgt.serenity at 8:59 AM on February 8, 2005

scurius:

Of under! Of over! Of to, from, in, out!

Out! OUT!
posted by cortex at 9:16 AM on February 8, 2005

sciurus, even
posted by cortex at 9:16 AM on February 8, 2005

I can't take this abuse. I'm leaving MetaFilter.
posted by sciurus at 9:20 AM on February 8, 2005

How about if it's $5 to sign up, it's $10 to ban yourself. :)
posted by mathowie (staff) at 9:28 AM on February 8, 2005

cortex, somehow I find that incredibly arousing. Do you mind if I henceforth call you the "prepositional porn king"?
posted by taz at 9:36 AM on February 8, 2005

You can log out anytime you like, but you can never leave.
posted by kindall at 9:37 AM on February 8, 2005

In, in, in, baby.
posted by cortex at 9:37 AM on February 8, 2005

How about if it's $5 to sign up, it's $10 to ban yourself.

Better to make it free to ban yourself, $10 to change your mind. Or make it a dollar a day – the longer you're away, the more it costs to come back.
posted by timeistight at 9:50 AM on February 8, 2005

I sympathize totally with the request and I would also love to have this. However, I would have spent a few hours of my own time figuring out how to do it for myself before asking someone else to spend their time to do it for me.

Anyway, it's not hypothetical, I actually did cobble something together to do this very thing a few months ago, and it worked well. You alter your hosts file as described above, including all the URLs that cause you problems. You can open hosts in notepad by using "Open With" in the right-click menu. Just make sure when you save it you use quotes "hosts") so notepad doesn't append the txt extension.

OK, so now you're blocked from visiting all the sites in the hosts file. What's to stop you from, in a moment of weakness, simply undoing the changes you've made? You password protect that file, using something from here. Make up a completely-impossible-to-remember password, write it down somewhere, and give it to someone you trust. So now you can't change hosts until your compadre a provides you the password. Worked for me.
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 9:53 AM on February 8, 2005

I agree that this isn't a problem Matt should have to solve.

I don't agree that "Duh, just use some self control" is an appropriate response to a question which is essentially saying, "I have problems exercising self control, and I need some help with that."

And that's about all I have to say 'bout that.
posted by Wolfdog at 10:01 AM on February 8, 2005

Why not make this a Pro feature?

Seriously, in one thread I see Matt asking around: "What would you like to have in a Pro account?" and in another thread I see him saying "I don't have time to code this thing that people seem to want." :)
posted by vacapinta at 10:25 AM on February 8, 2005

pomegranate: excellent! Thanks for that link. Oh, also, uhh, my name is "mlis" and I am a MeFi addict.
posted by mlis at 10:44 AM on February 8, 2005

All together now: Hi, mlis.
posted by pmurray63 at 10:58 AM on February 8, 2005

Step 1: We admitted we were powerless over Metafilter, and that our lives had become unmanageable.
posted by quonsar at 11:29 AM on February 8, 2005

Step 2: ???
posted by cortex at 11:31 AM on February 8, 2005

Step 3: PROFIT?
posted by sciurus at 11:37 AM on February 8, 2005

from pracowity's profile:

Location: Poland
Zip: 80251
Occupation: Not since the Russians left.

man, I don't know why, but I can't stop giggling.
posted by adzm at 12:05 PM on February 8, 2005

more crack please.

I did the /etc/hosts thing a while ago to get some work done. I have no self-control, and as a bonus, I'm lazy too. When I tried Mefi, got nothing, and remembered what I'd done to the hosts file, I just couldn't be bothered changing it and went back to work. Ta-dah.
posted by dabitch at 12:11 PM on February 8, 2005

Yeah, so, uh, make it a pro feature. That'd be so awesome, that one of the features that I'm paying for is to keep me from the site. :) I'm not even being sarcastic.
posted by graventy at 12:57 PM on February 8, 2005

pracowity if you send me your IP and disable any firewalls you may have running I'll ... uh ... "fix" this for you. But it might be a lot more than $10 to get back.

Seriously though stupidsexyFlanders idea sounds great. If you just need a little help you could just keep the password in your car or something. I often find when battling this kind of thing that even 30 seconds of inconvience is enough to deter.
posted by Mitheral at 1:39 PM on February 8, 2005

2 words, stupidsexyFlanders: proxy server.

Of course, you could always block all of those you can find, too...
posted by Zed_Lopez at 2:15 PM on February 8, 2005

What a great idea for a utility. Make the program a little bit like CWS (e.g. locks and hides itself) and have it altering the hosts file until a set date/time. Charge 3 dollars for it.
oh, and 4... profit.
posted by seanyboy at 3:29 PM on February 8, 2005

Can Matt stop me from masturbating for two weeks? It's really cutting into my work time. Please implement this feature ASAP.
posted by Krrrlson at 4:14 PM on February 8, 2005

Seanyboy, it would make a nice Firefox extension, don't you think? No need to modify the hosts file, just intercept the URL in the browser. I like stupidsexyFlanders's idea: password protect it and give someone the password. 'Course, you could just disable the extension. Is there any way that could be locked, too?

Andrea, et al: Asking someone else to control one's behavior when one lacks self-control is a problem (and selfish). But finding alternative ways to exercise self-control other than the direct-stifle-desire way (when one has great difficulty with that) is just another form of self-discipline and commendable, don't you think?
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 4:23 PM on February 8, 2005

"Can Matt stop me from masturbating for two
weeks?"

Does the pope shit in the woods?
posted by mr_crash_davis at 4:55 PM on February 8, 2005

It's very possible a *cough* custom goatse pic on the homepage would precipitate a fortnight of uncontrollable shrinkage. Like a MeFi neutron bomb: ban-everyone-at-once!

I would like to order one haranguing that only uses prepositions.

You can't even begin to afford that, biatch.
posted by scarabic at 5:47 PM on February 8, 2005

I don't agree that "Duh, just use some self control" is an appropriate response to a question which is essentially saying, "I have problems exercising self control, and I need some help with that."

And that's about all I have to say 'bout that.
posted by Wolfdog at 10:01 AM PST on February 8

So, I have a problem with stating the obvious. I guess.


from pracowity's profile:

Location: Poland
Zip: 80251
Occupation: Not since the Russians left.
man, I don't know why, but I can't stop giggling.
posted by adzm at 12:05 PM PST on February 8

Yeah, and as someone who's ancestry is entirely Polish, I love it! By the way, pracowity, where in Poland are you (or is it just a Polish joke)?
posted by Doohickie at 6:39 PM on February 8, 2005

.
posted by mcgraw at 12:27 PM on February 10, 2005