I think the "bad" yak shaving is one where you never get any task done. If you actually create TeK, and metafont and so forth, then that isn't the "bad" sort.

I think the "bad" yak shaving is one where you never get any task done. If you actually create TeK, and metafont and so forth, then that isn't the "bad" sort. Whether it actually qualifies as Yak Shaving is an expedition I will not go on, but I think you have to go back to the original source (the xkcd comic), and then interpret the "point" of it and so forth. That might be a worthy detour, and you can tell us at the end if it counts as a yak shave.