Tuesday, 13 July 2010
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A New Idea for Internet Accountability
By Justin at BeDeviantI was thinking of solutions to combat Internet pornography addiction the other day. While there is some good software on the market already, I see a need for a reliable, fool-proof solution. Something that combines technology with a true desire to help people who struggle with this addiction.We all know the stats, Internet porn is a plague that lots of people, both inside and outside the church, struggle with.
Like I said, there are some solutions out there but I think there’s room for something different. Something dependable and tamper-proof. Something that’s installed blindly and only able to be administered by the person you designate.
This idea’s for free. If you’re in development and see a way to make this happen, go for it. It’s all yours:
- Automatic Screen Capturing. The program would run in the background. You’d be unaware it was active for the most part, and that would be a good thing. The software would capture your screen image at random intervals throughout the day. You’d have no idea when your screen was captured, thus leading to the accountability part. If you know that someone could potentially see what you’re looking, you may be less inclined to surf to the places you don’t want to go. Knowing that someone else will see what you’re looking at is a powerful motivator.
- Email Screen Caps to Trusted Friend. The software would have the ability to automatically email the screen caps to the trusted friend of your choosing. All you would have to do is put that person’s email address in the preferences and let the software do the rest. Obviously this person will be seeing what you’re looking at, so you’d have to make sure this was someone you trusted. This could be the feature that excels where other applications lack. A consistent delivery system remains to be seen for Internet monitoring software. The other programs I’ve participated in as an accountability partner deliver sparse and unreliable results. If you could nail a consistent system, you’d easily have the best product on the market.
- Secure. Privacy would be of utmost importance for software like this. The goal is never to shame, but to bring light into the dark world of some of our Internet viewing habits. If you developed this, you’d have to be a pro at securing the data that’s going to and from the user’s computer. You don’t hear of too many people being embarrassed out of Internet pornography. Keeping someone’s digital life shielded from unwelcome eyes would have to be the primary goal in development.
That’s my idea. Have any suggestions to add? Have you had a good experience using existing accountability software? Let us know in the comments.
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About the Author
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- From: bedeviant
- Name: Justin
- About Me: A religious deviant who enjoys coffee, reading theology, graphic design, and spending time with his wife while creatively exploring the riches of the Spirit of Christ.
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Comments (31)
Not a bad idea.
Screen capture? That is just scary to me.
I actually wrote a program that does most of what he said, I mentioned it here, http://the-silent-struggle.xanga.com/729980072/accountability-guest-post-by-magistertom/
I can send a copy to anyone who is interested, or wants to give ideas as to things that need added or changed.
@NightCometh@xanga - @Katseye4pirates@xanga - I wrote a program that does just this, that's what I wrote about on that post on accountability on the-silent-struggle's site. (See above comment)
What if you both got off on the screenshots? Accountability fail...
How about just get a fucking girlfriend.
@bikerbo@xanga - That's just rude and ignorant. The vast majority of men in relationships, either with girlfriends or wives, still look at pornography online or in other ways.
@Megan - get a porn star girlfriend.
@bikerbo@xanga - You're being rude and disrespectful. This is a community for Christians to discuss Christian issues in a loving and godful way. If you can't do that, then take your comments elsewhere, heathen.
@NikBv@xanga - Yeah, whatever old man, I could kick your ass.
@NikBv@xanga - Your comment could have done w/o the "heathen" remark at the end.
As for the post, definitely think this could be a good idea - but your friend has to be both very trusted and very good at checking their email AND confronting you as well as just being support in general.
@ashleyannaka@xanga - You'd better be a Christian, or you can take your criticisms elsewhere. Have some respect.
@NikBv@xanga - I am a Christian.
I do not think the "heathen" comment was necessary. Do you think it's loving to call someone a heathen? Just curious.
I feel your statement is pretty hypocritical.
@ashleyannaka@xanga - You say you're a Christian, but I'm not sure.
Calling somebody hypocritical doesn't seem like the Christian thing to
do. I think maybe you'd be better suited to discussion on xanga, rather
than on revelife, which is for Christian discussion only.
@chix0rgirl@xanga - yeah, I was Christian but atheist now but it's hardcore Christians like nikbv that made me turn away.
@bikerbo@xanga - @chix0rgirl@xanga - @ashleyannaka@xanga - NikBv isn't a Christian…
I recently hacked one of my friends email accounts. He was apparently the registered accountability buddy for one of his other friends with a similar program. From what I saw of all the activity reports, programs like that do an excellent job, with perhaps one tiny little security flaw lol.
one other thing, why are the severely repressed ones the ones with the more bizarre deviant impulses? seriously the average person who only looks at porn once in a while with no aversion or compulsion, probably has a far more mundane experience, than somebody who is fully aware that somebody else is monitoring them. you are probably not even remotely going to help somebody who asks you to be there accountability buddy, they probably have an exhibition fetish, or you have a voyeurism fetish, either way it is a stupid ineffectual idea.
@NikBv@xanga - LOL.
@MagisterTom@xanga - I figured that, but that still doesn't really change the fact that the heathen comment wasn't necessary. :P
Except for the part that they could randomly capture my bank account information, sounds like a good idea.
I have tried having friends (key emphasis on more mature than myself) that are more mature than myself provide accountability. But it is voluntary. My reason for this has been because the decision to depart from this sin HAS to be my decision. If I can't be honest with the sin in my life on my own then there are deeper roots that need to be taken care of first.
Well, just color me surprised! You mean that Christians are secretly addicted to porn? I wonder if these are the same Christians who call gay people abominations, sexual deviants, perverts, etc., and who support legislation to criminalize love. The same folks who then run off to smoke meth with a prostitute, or to get F'ed in the B in an airport bathroom, or to find their favorite altar boy for a roll in the hay...
Or, apparently, to go home and watch hours and hours of porn before finally going to bed and getting some shut-eye to prepate for their big day of limiting access to condoms and blaming gays for AIDS. (Who needs condoms? I never have sex because I'm too busy jacking off to profiles on rentboy.com!)
Here's my advice to all you Christians who struggle with your sexuality, whether that struggle manifests in an addiction to porn or in a penchant for gay hookers: Loosen the leash, man. Let yourself explore your sexuality in an environment that is safe and consensual. Married? Engaged? Dating? You and your partner can explore together!
Maybe once Christians blow a few guilt-free loads, they'll stop promoting intolerance and hate. Maybe they'll get over their addiction to porn, and they'll view it instead as a way to spice up their sex lives.
CovenantEyes isn't free, but my husband uses it and it works pretty well. You can't get around it because the info isn't stored on your computer, and if you uninstall it your accountability partner is notified. It sends links to sites, though, not screenshots. The screenshot idea isn't a bad idea. There would need to be some way for it to blur out sensitive information like credit card or banking information, though. That's not to say that you wouldn't trust your accountability partner, BUT if their email account got hacked or something, you'd be in for some serious trouble if there were pictures floating around with sensitive financial information and who knows what else.
It's funny (in a really sad way) to read the comments here and see all the judging. Non-Christians are never going to convince Christians that sinning will solve all their problems and Christians are never going to convince non-Christians of pretty much anything having to do with sex.
Have you guys seen what xxx church has put out, called x3 watch( and this one i know is free)?.... rather than screenshots they have a url capture system and a flag list(which i will admit has been wrong on occasion, but the accountability partner) The program also notifies the accountability person if it gets shut off or uninstalled.
There are three free programs like this (sort of) that can be found through xxxchurch.com.. I heard the leader, Craig, speak at a youth convention a few years back and I really liked him and his message. If you or anyone you know has a porn addiction-i highly reccomend this site : ]
God Bless.
1st Peter 3:3-4
the only thing that may be a downfall for both your idea and also X3 watch (which I use) is the potential for you to cause your accountability partner to be tempted by pornography. This actually happened to me in the past. My partner decided to check out some of the sites I viewed and then began viewing them again.
X3 Church offers a program that logs websites with suspicious content and e-mails links to those websites to an accountability partner of choice. It will also log any hours that the program is turned off (and because there's only one reason to turn it off, it can be assumed what those hours mean). It's free, and the website offers other support options as well.