Live data from Hacker News

Any open source porn blocking setups?

news.ycombinator.com

21–30 of 34 posts

Re: Any open source porn blocking setups?

#21
I suggest you figure out what you are getting out of it and find another way to get that which lacks whatever downside you feel this has.

My opinion:

Porn can be "addictive" because there is a significant emotional component to human sexuality and porn mostly gets a rise out of people by being shocking, which is why so much porn apparently revolves around social taboos (interracial, group scenes, barely legal in terms of age, etc). But the more you watch it, the more inured you become, so you need to move on to even more shocking things to get the same effect.

I think people suggest relationships as a solution because emotional intimacy can get that same strong emotional response without needing to keep upping the ante in an unhealthy way.

Do with that personal opinion what you will.

Best.

Re: Any open source porn blocking setups?

#22
post #17
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not every lifestyle permits intimate relationships. And not everyone can just snap their fingers and "get a long term relationship".

Exactly what kind of "lifestyle" doesn't permit an intimate relationship? Being a Catholic priest? Being a hermit like Unabomber Ted Kazcinski? If your lifestyle doesn't permit an intimate relationship, which is one of the best things about being a human, then you need to find yourself a new lifestyle.

Sorry but you are just naive.

Re: Any open source porn blocking setups?

#23
post #22
post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly what kind of "lifestyle" doesn't permit an intimate relationship? Being a Catholic priest? Being a hermit like Unabomber Ted Kazcinski? If your lifestyle doesn't permit an intimate relationship, which is one of the best things about being a human, then you need to find yourself a new lifestyle.

Sorry but you are just naive.

Wow, that's a really informative reply.

Re: Any open source porn blocking setups?

#24
post #17
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not every lifestyle permits intimate relationships. And not everyone can just snap their fingers and "get a long term relationship".

Exactly what kind of "lifestyle" doesn't permit an intimate relationship? Being a Catholic priest? Being a hermit like Unabomber Ted Kazcinski? If your lifestyle doesn't permit an intimate relationship, which is one of the best things about being a human, then you need to find yourself a new lifestyle.

You might be suffering from depression that is crippling enough that it would be cruel to ask someone to be with you.

Re: Any open source porn blocking setups?

#25
post #24
post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly what kind of "lifestyle" doesn't permit an intimate relationship? Being a Catholic priest? Being a hermit like Unabomber Ted Kazcinski? If your lifestyle doesn't permit an intimate relationship, which is one of the best things about being a human, then you need to find yourself a new lifestyle.

You might be suffering from depression that is crippling enough that it would be cruel to ask someone to be with you.

I guess when I hear the term "lifestyle", it seems to me like a way of life that's voluntarily chosen, rather than imposed by medical problems. Also, this was a response to a HN user asking about his particular situation, and no mention was made of any serious medical or psychological problems (other than a supposed "porn addiction") which would understandably make finding a long-term relationship difficult.

I do agree with the GP that not everyone can just snap their fingers and "get a long term relationship", but for someone who has no other obvious impediments to one, and thinks they look at porn too much, my advice is to at least try. It seems obvious to me that the excessive porn is an outlet for frustration from not having a real relationship with a real human. There's only one reasonable way of solving that IMO, and that's going out and finding (or trying to find) such a relationship. Trying to turn yourself into Buddha is not reasonable IMO; people are supposed to have intimate relationships.

Re: Any open source porn blocking setups?

#26
Why all the moralizing, when codesmoothie is asking for a technical solution?

Yes, porn is destructive. Codesmoothie didn't ask for our feelings on it. Just answer the question.

One thing I'd recommend is using OpenDNS. They have policies that allow for blocking that kind of material.

Codesmoothie in addition to whatever technical solution you decide on, I'd recommend asking a trusted friend to hold you accountable, like someone else suggested.

Have your trusted friend put the OpenDNS settings in your router and have him set (and keep) the password for your router.

Re: Any open source porn blocking setups?

#27
post #23
post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry but you are just naive.

Wow, that's a really informative reply.

Not everyone believes that romantic relationships are "one of the best things about being a human." Just because you believe it, doesn't mean everyone else does, or that you should imply that people are somehow "less than" for feeling otherwise.

As to your other comment, have you considered people who have mental illnesses/disorders? Their lifestyle (in every sense of the word) would not permit a romantic relationship, too bad they can't just "find another one".

Re: Any open source porn blocking setups?

#28

You started off by asking about technological solutions, but my first observation is that this isn't a problem you can likely solve by those sorts of means. My second observation is: is it really a problem? Most of the supposed porn-addicts I've known have not actually fit the definition of addiction, "pleasurable but the continuation of which becomes compulsive and interferes with ordinary responsibilities and conce…

I do understand that using tech to ease my adddiction may not be very effective. However, I do think it is worth a shot. After all, it is the nature of the Web that has made porn use and/or addiction so prevalent.

My addiction does greatly affect my life and occasionally ruins my productivity. Sometimes I would stay up until 2AM watching porn while perfectly knowing I have to wake up early the next day. So yes, I would really describe it as compulsive.

That said, I think an addiction could include a 15-20 minute use. I'm strongly against porn (multitude of reasons), yet I watch it, which points to my being compulsive. 15-20 minutes doesn't seem like a lot, but I still consider it precious time that's wasted.

Re: Any open source porn blocking setups?

#29
post #13

What you describe is going to be very, very hard to achieve. Looking at this simply from the standpoint of addition for the sake of simplicity, if you cannot utterly, completely, totally (etc) eliminate every possible chance for you to be able to access what you're trying to access. Whatever you try, you will know that there's a way to work around it and find yourself surprisingly motivated to bypass any limitations…

Thank you for your response.

> Unfortunately I think you would need to lock yourself in a room to achieve the kind of solution you're trying to get at.

While addictions can be so extreme as you described, this doesn't describe me, and I don't think (correct me if I am wrong) it is very typical of someone who would consider themselves addicted to pornography. Typically before my session, I would be in a worse than normal mood, or just really wanting to release. If my computer suddenly locked up for an hour, I would likely "sober up" and go do something else.

> You need to replace the stimuli you're currently using with other stimuli of some kind. Just flat-out removing it absolutely stupid and not going to work.

I agree that is very hard to remove a pleasure source all at once, and a plausible route would be to go incrementally. Reading the other comments, I would agree that spending more time with people in general (not just romantically) would be a healthy alternative.

Re: Any open source porn blocking setups?

#30

You started off by asking about technological solutions, but my first observation is that this isn't a problem you can likely solve by those sorts of means. My second observation is: is it really a problem? Most of the supposed porn-addicts I've known have not actually fit the definition of addiction, "pleasurable but the continuation of which becomes compulsive and interferes with ordinary responsibilities and conce…

I do understand that using tech to ease my adddiction may not be very effective. However, I do think it is worth a shot. After all, it is the nature of the Web that has made porn use and/or addiction so prevalent. My addiction does greatly affect my life and occasionally ruins my productivity. Sometimes I would stay up until 2AM watching porn while perfectly knowing I have to wake up early the next day. So yes, I wou…

You could go through the list of sites on the EasyList for adblock - which are full of porn site ad block rules - and block those sites. You can change your hosts file to redirect to localhost or perhaps to some website that reminds you to quit viewing porn or offers you something else to think about.
Post reply on HN