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April of last year, I logged out of Facebook. I didn't log back in until the birth of my son.. and only to announce it, share some pics, and get back off. As a

April of last year, I logged out of Facebook. I didn't log back in until the birth of my son.. and only to announce it, share some pics, and get back off. As a result, I missed Facebook's entire reaction to the 2016 US Election. Recently, I've added Twitter, HN, and a few other sites to my hosts file to block them. A few I check in on once a week or so. More focus, less noise. Overall, I think my life (and those immediately around me) are better for it.

radimm 9y ago
HN right?
imron 9y ago
> Recently, I've added Twitter, HN, and a few other sites to my hosts file to block them And yet here you are :-) The worse thing about being technically literate is knowing how to get around all the blocks you put in place to stop wasting time.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- tertius 9y ago
  My guess would be that he/she has a device that is used only at certain down times that does not have a blocked hosts file.
QuasiAlon 9y ago
Non techie here. Mind sharing what the hosts file is and how you use it? I've been hesitant to use 3rd party extensions/tools that block websites. I just assume if they are free they must sell my data. Also, controlling something on local machine could be cool. I'd experiment with adding/removing sites on random timeframes, to see if that could help me (one weird trick to help you overcome your social media addiction!)
- ramblerman 9y ago
  - on linux/osx its /etc/hosts - on windows its c:\Windows\System32\Drivers\etc\hosts If you add a line in it like 0.0.0.0 reddit.com www.reddit.com You tell the computer to use 0.0.0.0 (your own address) for those domains, and they subsequently won't load.
  - QuasiAlon 9y ago
    Thank you very much for your reply. I magic barred it on my mac and couldn't find it. A little more help? Know the direct path? Is it global or per browser? Thanks again.
    - seba_dos1 9y ago
      Those are the direct paths and it's system global. BTW. 0.0.0.0 is not "your own IP", that would be 127.0.0.1. 0.0.0.0 is non-routable, so always resulting in error.
      - QuasiAlon 9y ago
        Strange. Neither sportlight or alfred can find it. (and alfred does search though system files)
        philipps 9y ago
        The file name is just “hosts” and it’s located in a folder called “etc” - maybe that helps? I think there is also a macOS setting that hides certain system files. You may have to unhide it first.
    - TeMPOraL 9y ago
      Open terminal, type: cat /etc/hosts if it outputs something that has to do with network, you know the file is there :). It might be that default user-facing tools on Mac don't look for system files?
  - TeMPOraL 9y ago
dualogy 9y ago
Customized `hosts` file is the sanest approach to avoid extra tools for both blocking Ads and social media (incl those you don't have an account with but that still track you because they have their button/icon on nearly every random homepage). A great selection is at https://github.com/StevenBlack/hosts https://github.com/StevenBlack/hosts
jsemrau 9y ago
I did the same thing. Now am more and more enjoying going to real events nearby meeting real people.
BlackjackCF 9y ago
I deleted the Facebook app somewhere last year. I still have the option to go check Facebook when I want, but without the push notifications I find myself checking it less and less. It's still very useful as an events aggregator. I don't really use Snapchat, Instagram, or Twitter anymore and I didn't really miss them when deleting them off my phone. The only things I have to work on next are HackerNews and Reddit. I've been trying to replace my break times with book reading instead of Redditing/HNing. It's still tough because my breaks are relatively short and I don't feel like I get to fully immerse into the book before I have to set it back down and get back to coding.

radimm 9y ago

HN right?

imron 9y ago

> Recently, I've added Twitter, HN, and a few other sites to my hosts file to block them And yet here you are :-) The worse thing about being technically literate is knowing how to get around all the blocks you put in place to stop wasting time.

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
tertius 9y ago
My guess would be that he/she has a device that is used only at certain down times that does not have a blocked hosts file.

QuasiAlon 9y ago

Non techie here. Mind sharing what the hosts file is and how you use it? I've been hesitant to use 3rd party extensions/tools that block websites. I just assume if they are free they must sell my data. Also, controlling something on local machine could be cool. I'd experiment with adding/removing sites on random timeframes, to see if that could help me (one weird trick to help you overcome your social media addiction!)

ramblerman 9y ago
- on linux/osx its /etc/hosts - on windows its c:\Windows\System32\Drivers\etc\hosts If you add a line in it like 0.0.0.0 reddit.com www.reddit.com You tell the computer to use 0.0.0.0 (your own address) for those domains, and they subsequently won't load.
- QuasiAlon 9y ago
  Thank you very much for your reply. I magic barred it on my mac and couldn't find it. A little more help? Know the direct path? Is it global or per browser? Thanks again.
  - seba_dos1 9y ago
    Those are the direct paths and it's system global. BTW. 0.0.0.0 is not "your own IP", that would be 127.0.0.1. 0.0.0.0 is non-routable, so always resulting in error.
    - QuasiAlon 9y ago
      Strange. Neither sportlight or alfred can find it. (and alfred does search though system files)
      - philipps 9y ago
        The file name is just “hosts” and it’s located in a folder called “etc” - maybe that helps? I think there is also a macOS setting that hides certain system files. You may have to unhide it first.
  - TeMPOraL 9y ago
    Open terminal, type: cat /etc/hosts if it outputs something that has to do with network, you know the file is there :). It might be that default user-facing tools on Mac don't look for system files?
- TeMPOraL 9y ago

dualogy 9y ago

Customized `hosts` file is the sanest approach to avoid extra tools for both blocking Ads and social media (incl those you don't have an account with but that still track you because they have their button/icon on nearly every random homepage). A great selection is at https://github.com/StevenBlack/hosts https://github.com/StevenBlack/hosts

jsemrau 9y ago

I did the same thing. Now am more and more enjoying going to real events nearby meeting real people.

BlackjackCF 9y ago

I deleted the Facebook app somewhere last year. I still have the option to go check Facebook when I want, but without the push notifications I find myself checking it less and less. It's still very useful as an events aggregator. I don't really use Snapchat, Instagram, or Twitter anymore and I didn't really miss them when deleting them off my phone. The only things I have to work on next are HackerNews and Reddit. I've been trying to replace my break times with book reading instead of Redditing/HNing. It's still tough because my breaks are relatively short and I don't feel like I get to fully immerse into the book before I have to set it back down and get back to coding.