[Poll] Why don't you write filters for proxomitron?

[Oddysey]

In;

Want my two pesos worth? I'll tell ya.....

Essentially there are two kinds of filter sets, or configurations - one kind has everything in it that will try to do all things for all people, it can be described as very generic in approach. The other kind is specific to a given user only, it does things on a case-by-case basis, the opposite of generic.

Now one might think that a good filter set would be a combination of these two philosophies, and I'd probably agree with him/her. But when a very generic configuration set is published, for use (and modification) by anyone else, then it takes on a life of its own. As ProxRocks has repeatedly pointed out, merely adding one filter that works on its own to a whole filter set (such as sidki's) can be a hair-pulling experience. Or to put it in z12's words, it's a RPITA to try to make a filter for others to use, when you know that such a filter might be incorporated into a popular 'whole configuration set'.

So, have you tested your own filters with sidki's set, or Grypen's, or JD5000's? And not with just the latest version of each of those, but one version back, to take care of the slow-to-upgraders? That's a lot of time and effort, and it still doesn't guarantee 100% perfect operation for everyone, does it? In fact, here's a hot one for ya.... try installing the ancient but still useful JakxPack header filters. Do yours still work? And Kye-u's security filters, do your filters "play nice" with his? Care to take any bets on which filters will be dropped if there's a problem?

Suddenly, writing and publishing a filter, or a whole set of them, just got a mite more intense, didn't it?

I don't harbor any ill will towards an author who publishes a set of generic filters, there are times when such sets are needed, or at least they are useful. But in my own case, and I suspect in the case of many others, being ready and able to block ads from 1000 sites I'll never visit is not what I call the best use of Proxo. Of course, there are some folks who do try to visit as many websites as possible, and for them, such a generic filter set is probably a good thing. Me, I hit maybe 8 or 9 sites a day, and maybe two dozen more a week when searching for something, and that's it. I can cover absolutely all of my "anti-this or that" surfing needs with several specific filters, and a handful of generic ones from Scott's default config.

Are my filters sharable? Yes, of course. Will they do any good for everyone, or at least someone? Possibly, no way to tell for sure. So why don't I publish them? Easy - it's not the 'make it work with sidki' problem, nor any other support issue... it's simply a matter of being asked for a specific need. IOW, if you ask for a Yahoo Mail filter, chances are damned good I'll have what you need. It works only on Yahoo's web-based mail site, meaning that it's very specific - it's not generic by any stretch of the imagination. Which in turn means, it's worthless to everyone who doesn't use Yahoo. So why waste good Forum space by submitting a filter that might be useful to perhaps one or two others, particularly when no one asked for it?

One thing you can be sure of, sharing is good, and it spreads the wealth of knowledge, I'm all for that. But at the same time, I've done nothing 'innovative', all I've done is adapt what I've learned over the years to some specific cases. One might say of my configuration set, "move along folks, nothing to see here", and they'd be correct. The point being, I'm happy with how Proxo works for me, and I'm more than happy to share when asked, but I'm not going to flood the Forum with a bunch of filters that no one else will likely need.

That all adds up to be my 'round-about answer, now let me go back and directly answer your original question "Why don't you write filters for Proxo?" Are you kidding me? Hell, kid, I was writing code for computers when you were still wondering if this was a BJ or the real thing! (ref: Woody Allen's move titled "Everything You Wanted To Know About Sex".) I've contributed my fair share to the lore, all I wanna do now is veg out!! But you didn't make that a poll option, did you?



Oddysey