5 ms·

Tell HN: Thank you for the noprocrast flag

130 points by nullptr_deref 5y ago

Thank you HackerNews for providing the `noprocast` flag! I was meddling with my account settings and I noticed the flag. I activated it and then HN said me to go to work. I really am grateful this feature exists within HN. Thanks for wonderful feature!

yodon 5y ago
If you're a fan of the noprocrast flag, I'll also recommend reading HN through https://serializer.io/ https://serializer.io/ which shows you only what's new on the top list since you last visited. It lets you "clear" HN much faster and helps you avoid burning another 20 minutes reading threads you've already read. I'm not affiliated with serializer but it's totally changed my life.
- stavros 5y ago
  That looks great, but it would be nice if I can only see the 30 stories on the front page. As it stands, I can just scroll forever, doesn't that kind of defeat the point?
  - yodon 5y ago
    You're seeing an infinite list because you've never visited before. Having scrolled down a bit, scroll back up and click the "Mark all as read" button at the top of the page. The next time you hit the site you'll only see new stuff that hit the HN home page since your last visit.
    - stavros 5y ago
      Oh very interesting, thanks! I thought it would be getting everything from the "new" queue as well because I didn't recognize some stories, and I got confused.
- chasebank 5y ago
  Any chance this is open source? I'd love to skin it exactly like HN and add a watch button for stories I'm interested in looking through comments later. I've been meaning to build this for a couple years now, just haven't gotten around to it.
  - yodon 5y ago
    Not the project author, but the code for serializer is at https://github.com/charlieegan3/serializer https://github.com/charlieegan3/serializer
- ac29 5y ago
  https://hnrss.github.io/ https://hnrss.github.io/ has many nice RSS feeds as well. You can set a customizable amount of points to increase or decrease the amount of stories in your feed.
- mshaler 5y ago
  I want serializer for Twitter. Please.
- charlieegan3 5y ago
  Thanks for your kind words about serializer :) Really happy you enjoy using it.
tchalla 5y ago
Thanks for letting us know. Now, be the next level helpful and point how to find it for others! I can't see it on my profile
- buzzdenver 5y ago
  Must not be rolled out to your profile. Click on your profile name, then under "email" I have "showdead", then "noprocrast", "maxvisit". and "minaway".
- dang 5y ago
  It's in all profiles. If it isn't, there's a bug. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsfaq.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsfaq.html has a description.
softwaredoug 5y ago
Another protip: Use Hacker News 'favorites' extensively to bookmark things to read later. It forms a nice reading queue from interesting stuff on HN. I also submit (appropriate) articles and favorite them for reading later.
- bombcar 5y ago
  This is especially useful when you see something interesting but with few comments - bookmark it and return later when the majority of comments have been hashed out.
- mtmail 5y ago
  Also the Instapaper browser extension adds a plain-text 'instapaper' link next to the 'x comments' text when you visit hackernews.
thisismyswamp 5y ago
I subscribe to a weekly hacker news newsletter (https://hackernewsletter.com/ https://hackernewsletter.com/) and find that helps me tame the urge to keep checking the website during the day.
- bengtan 5y ago
  Similar: https://bengtan.com/interesting-things/ https://bengtan.com/interesting-things/
- NackerHughes 5y ago
  I miss the http://n-gate.com/ http://n-gate.com/ weekly hacker news newsletter.
avtolik 5y ago
This is good, but I have way more sites I can procrastinate on. So I use a browser add-on to block them - LeechBlock NG for Firefox.
code_duck 5y ago
I have my noprocrast set to something insane (462?) and I don't even know what it means. So it shows up from time to time and I say to myself, oh. What? But then the minaway is only 2 minutes.
chinathrow 5y ago
I tried it, but then read HN in a private tab and ended up removing the flag again.
nathanasmith 5y ago
I've been using the Hacker News API[0] and Python's Flask web server to create my own curated version of the website. Not only does it place new articles, since the last time I refreshed, at the top of the list and marks them with an asterisk but it also features a carefully considered blocklist of terms and combinations of terms that I tend to fall into a rabbit hole on. Also some subjects, particularly highly charged political content that while important and deserving of careful consideration I would simply prefer to discuss elsewhere, do not show up in my feed. [0]https://github.com/HackerNews/API https://github.com/HackerNews/API
warning26 5y ago
Does anyone know of an implementation of HN-style noprocrast that works for other websites? Seems like it would be perfect for a browser extension!
- animesh 5y ago
  Leechblock is good and it works well.
rubyist5eva 5y ago
I’m just going to plug LeechBlock NG which is a fantastic extension for cutting down on procrastination on doomscrolling sites. Not affiliated just a happy user. https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/leechblock-ng/ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/leechblock-ng... https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/leechblock-ng/blaaajhemilngeeffpbfkdjjoefldkok https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/leechblock-ng/blaa...
mrlonglong 5y ago
What does "showdead" do?
- sockpuppet69 5y ago
  Shows dead
- hundchenkatze 5y ago
  Shows you dead posts https://news.ycombinator.com/newsfaq.html#dead https://news.ycombinator.com/newsfaq.html#dead
  - mrlonglong 5y ago
    Ah thanks
lucumo 5y ago
I have it set to allow only 1 visit in 100-ish years. But, since it still allows posting, and you can read the site while not logged in... Well, it doesn't really stop me. Honestly, I'd much rather that HN would just allow me to delete my account. That would help more.
- fknorangesite 5y ago
  > I'd much rather that HN would just allow me to delete my account. Agreed, but: remove your email address and change the password to random characters. The account may still be there but now you can't log in with it.
casion 5y ago
Could someone explain what this does?
- animesh 5y ago
  It will let you browse HN for x minutes and then take a break for y minutes. Default x and y are 20 and 180. This means you read for 20 minutes and then are blocked for 3 hours. When you are blocked it will display the remaining minutes to be able to read HN again.
windows2020 5y ago
If you enjoy this feature, I'd recommend Self-Control. It works on all sites (offline too).

130 points by nullptr_deref 5y ago

yodon 5y ago

If you're a fan of the noprocrast flag, I'll also recommend reading HN through https://serializer.io/ https://serializer.io/ which shows you only what's new on the top list since you last visited. It lets you "clear" HN much faster and helps you avoid burning another 20 minutes reading threads you've already read. I'm not affiliated with serializer but it's totally changed my life.

stavros 5y ago
That looks great, but it would be nice if I can only see the 30 stories on the front page. As it stands, I can just scroll forever, doesn't that kind of defeat the point?
- yodon 5y ago
  You're seeing an infinite list because you've never visited before. Having scrolled down a bit, scroll back up and click the "Mark all as read" button at the top of the page. The next time you hit the site you'll only see new stuff that hit the HN home page since your last visit.
  - stavros 5y ago
    Oh very interesting, thanks! I thought it would be getting everything from the "new" queue as well because I didn't recognize some stories, and I got confused.
chasebank 5y ago
Any chance this is open source? I'd love to skin it exactly like HN and add a watch button for stories I'm interested in looking through comments later. I've been meaning to build this for a couple years now, just haven't gotten around to it.
- yodon 5y ago
  Not the project author, but the code for serializer is at https://github.com/charlieegan3/serializer https://github.com/charlieegan3/serializer
ac29 5y ago
https://hnrss.github.io/ https://hnrss.github.io/ has many nice RSS feeds as well. You can set a customizable amount of points to increase or decrease the amount of stories in your feed.
mshaler 5y ago
I want serializer for Twitter. Please.
charlieegan3 5y ago
Thanks for your kind words about serializer :) Really happy you enjoy using it.

tchalla 5y ago

Thanks for letting us know. Now, be the next level helpful and point how to find it for others! I can't see it on my profile

buzzdenver 5y ago
Must not be rolled out to your profile. Click on your profile name, then under "email" I have "showdead", then "noprocrast", "maxvisit". and "minaway".
dang 5y ago
It's in all profiles. If it isn't, there's a bug. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsfaq.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsfaq.html has a description.

softwaredoug 5y ago

Another protip: Use Hacker News 'favorites' extensively to bookmark things to read later. It forms a nice reading queue from interesting stuff on HN. I also submit (appropriate) articles and favorite them for reading later.

bombcar 5y ago
This is especially useful when you see something interesting but with few comments - bookmark it and return later when the majority of comments have been hashed out.
mtmail 5y ago
Also the Instapaper browser extension adds a plain-text 'instapaper' link next to the 'x comments' text when you visit hackernews.

thisismyswamp 5y ago

I subscribe to a weekly hacker news newsletter (https://hackernewsletter.com/ https://hackernewsletter.com/) and find that helps me tame the urge to keep checking the website during the day.

bengtan 5y ago
Similar: https://bengtan.com/interesting-things/ https://bengtan.com/interesting-things/
NackerHughes 5y ago
I miss the http://n-gate.com/ http://n-gate.com/ weekly hacker news newsletter.

avtolik 5y ago

This is good, but I have way more sites I can procrastinate on. So I use a browser add-on to block them - LeechBlock NG for Firefox.

code_duck 5y ago

I have my noprocrast set to something insane (462?) and I don't even know what it means. So it shows up from time to time and I say to myself, oh. What? But then the minaway is only 2 minutes.

chinathrow 5y ago

I tried it, but then read HN in a private tab and ended up removing the flag again.

nathanasmith 5y ago

I've been using the Hacker News API[0] and Python's Flask web server to create my own curated version of the website. Not only does it place new articles, since the last time I refreshed, at the top of the list and marks them with an asterisk but it also features a carefully considered blocklist of terms and combinations of terms that I tend to fall into a rabbit hole on. Also some subjects, particularly highly charged political content that while important and deserving of careful consideration I would simply prefer to discuss elsewhere, do not show up in my feed. [0]https://github.com/HackerNews/API https://github.com/HackerNews/API

warning26 5y ago

Does anyone know of an implementation of HN-style noprocrast that works for other websites? Seems like it would be perfect for a browser extension!

animesh 5y ago
Leechblock is good and it works well.

rubyist5eva 5y ago

I’m just going to plug LeechBlock NG which is a fantastic extension for cutting down on procrastination on doomscrolling sites. Not affiliated just a happy user. https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/leechblock-ng/ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/leechblock-ng... https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/leechblock-ng/blaaajhemilngeeffpbfkdjjoefldkok https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/leechblock-ng/blaa...

mrlonglong 5y ago

What does "showdead" do?

sockpuppet69 5y ago
Shows dead
hundchenkatze 5y ago
Shows you dead posts https://news.ycombinator.com/newsfaq.html#dead https://news.ycombinator.com/newsfaq.html#dead
- mrlonglong 5y ago
  Ah thanks

lucumo 5y ago

I have it set to allow only 1 visit in 100-ish years. But, since it still allows posting, and you can read the site while not logged in... Well, it doesn't really stop me. Honestly, I'd much rather that HN would just allow me to delete my account. That would help more.

fknorangesite 5y ago
> I'd much rather that HN would just allow me to delete my account. Agreed, but: remove your email address and change the password to random characters. The account may still be there but now you can't log in with it.

casion 5y ago

Could someone explain what this does?

animesh 5y ago
It will let you browse HN for x minutes and then take a break for y minutes. Default x and y are 20 and 180. This means you read for 20 minutes and then are blocked for 3 hours. When you are blocked it will display the remaining minutes to be able to read HN again.

windows2020 5y ago

If you enjoy this feature, I'd recommend Self-Control. It works on all sites (offline too).