My uBlock Origin filters to remove distractions

#1

Post by mig4ng » Wed, Sep 20, 2023, 1:53 PM UTC

Repository with my filter lists that block some distractions from sites I want to keep using.

I am pretty ruthless removing distractions from my life (e.g. no Instagram, Facebook, TikTok), but some tools I'd like to keep using some parts of it. E.g. Twitter/X, I dislike the feed but I like reading some threads that are shared here or on blog posts. Same for YouTube, I enjoy some videos but I do not want recommendations when I finish the video I was watching.

Feel free to suggest more, open issues, pull requests or send me an email :)

My uBlock Origin filters to remove distractions
github.com

Re: My uBlock Origin filters to remove distractions

#2

Post by pimlottc » Wed, Sep 20, 2023, 2:02 PM UTC

Needs blocks for Stack Exchange hot questions

Re: My uBlock Origin filters to remove distractions

#3

Post by perihelions » Wed, Sep 20, 2023, 2:06 PM UTC

A while back I worked out how to erase the pay-to-win monetization spoor from Reddit and Twitter,

    reddit.com##.awarding-icon
    reddit.com##.awardings-bar
    reddit.com##.give-gold-button
    
    twitter.com##:xpath(//div[contains(@style, "hex-hw-shapeclip-clipconfig")]):style(clip-path: circle(50%) !important)

Re: My uBlock Origin filters to remove distractions

#4

Post by philip1209 » Wed, Sep 20, 2023, 2:10 PM UTC

I use similar filters in my uBlock origin. I like this approach because it avoids installing more browser extensions, each of which risks security or privacy issues.

Re: My uBlock Origin filters to remove distractions

#5

Post by hutzlibu » Wed, Sep 20, 2023, 2:11 PM UTC

pimlottc wrote: post #2

Needs blocks for Stack Exchange hot questions

Oh yes, they are annoyingly interesting, which is fine when I am browsing for fun, but usually I go to StackExchange for a very specific problem and then suddenly, uups, where am I?

Re: My uBlock Origin filters to remove distractions

#6

Post by mig4ng » Wed, Sep 20, 2023, 2:13 PM UTC

pimlottc wrote: post #2

Needs blocks for Stack Exchange hot questions

That's true, feel free to open PR, or I might eventually add them too.

Re: My uBlock Origin filters to remove distractions

#7

Post by shortrounddev2 » Wed, Sep 20, 2023, 2:14 PM UTC

Would be cool to see some examples

Re: My uBlock Origin filters to remove distractions

#8

Post by mig4ng » Wed, Sep 20, 2023, 2:14 PM UTC

perihelions wrote: post #3

A while back I worked out how to erase the pay-to-win monetization spoor from Reddit and Twitter, reddit.com##.awarding-icon reddit.com##.awardings-bar reddit.com##.give-gold-button twitter.com##:xpath(//div[contains(@style, "hex-hw-shapeclip-clipconfig")]):style(clip-path: circle(50%) !important)

What does the last one do?

Re: My uBlock Origin filters to remove distractions

#9

Post by runjake » Wed, Sep 20, 2023, 2:17 PM UTC

If you use uBlock Origin, did you try to submit these filters to the uBlock Annoyances[1] or EasyList Annoyances lists before starting up this project?

That would help far more people that starting up yet another Annoyances list.

1. https://github.com/uBlockOrigin/uAssets

Re: My uBlock Origin filters to remove distractions

#10

Post by perihelions » Wed, Sep 20, 2023, 2:18 PM UTC

mig4ng wrote: post #8

perihelions wrote: post #3

A while back I worked out how to erase the pay-to-win monetization spoor from Reddit and Twitter, reddit.com##.awarding-icon reddit.com##.awardings-bar reddit.com##.give-gold-button twitter.com##:xpath(//div[contains(@style, "hex-hw-shapeclip-clipconfig")]):style(clip-path: circle(50%) !important)

What does the last one do?

I don't know if they still do it, but at the time Twitter charged money to display user avatars in a larger size, and styled as a hexagon. I think they were NFT tie-ins or something? They were difficult to ignore, so I wrote a snippet to turn hexagons back into circles.

[edit]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30012904 ("Twitter Rolls Out NFT Profile Pictures")