floppy @floppy@fosstodon.org

Using a dark theme in Thunderbird (e.g. TT KeepDark), but some HTML emails are displayed with black text on grey background? Try this:

Menu > Preferences > Display > Formatting > Colors...

And then select "Always" for "Override the colors specified by the content with my selections above". I also have "Use system colors" activated.

No-nonsense interface to YouTube videos: invidio.us

Might be around for a while, but just discovered it. Really happy about this find. Immediately replaced my Firefox search keyword.

To return to the topic, maybe it would be a clever idea to create switch costs for browsing. Depending on the number of tabs that are open, the frequency of switching tabs or their similarity (e.g. Reddit vs. non-Reddit), Firefox is paused in the hard way for a certain number of seconds. Not completely sure about those ideas, opinions are appreciated.

In the real world switch costs are often reflected in the world, e.g. by taking different tools or going to some other place, which takes time. But in the computer world, e.g. switching from one tab to another goes in no time, which can lure one into splitting one's attention into ridiculously small time slices, where one does not get anything done anymore. At least that's my working theory.

In psychology switch costs is the price one pays for multi-tasking. Roughly speaking it takes some effort to switch from one task to another, which is why having many different tasks on ones plate at the same time makes one perform worse than doing them in sequence.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Task_switching_(psychology)#Switch_cost

Currently I am thinking about how this could be extended neatly to react on certain webpages in Firefox, without killing my workflow completely. Checking window title is easy. It's possible to read the URL of the currently selected tab, even while Firefox is open. But STOPping the browser for 30 seconds sounds harsh for a program that can be used in a productive way in principle.

The program is a daemon for Linux that gets notified whenever a different window gets activated (read: focussed or selected). I use a program called Rambox (like Franz) to access my social media. Whenever that window is selected, a STOP signal is sent to the underlying process, followed by a CONT signal 30 seconds later.

I see potential problems, when messengers rely on timing in a certain way for example. But so far I haven't experienced any trouble.

xkcd link: https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/862:_Let_Go

On a neurobiological level, a small reward follows when one checks for new messages. The reward and the causing action can be dissociated by delaying the reward. In consequence, checking for messages is less rewarding and less addictive.

Inspired by #xkcd comic xkcd.com/862/ and some basic knowledge of cognitive psychology, I wrote a program that interrupts my access to my social media for 30 seconds before I can use it.

It helps me spending less time on social media and being more aware of how I spend my time.

Details, technical stuff and more ideas in the thread. Thanks to @wizzwizz4 for pointing me to the comic.

https://breathe.sh/

Instructions from the website:

1. Enter the URL of any site that stresses you out

2. Bookmark the redirect link

3. Next time you visit, follow the bookmarked link

4. Be greeted with a chance to stop and breathe before being redirected to your more stressful activities