7 ms·

Good to know that I'm not the only one. And not only do I highlight the text, but I just keep clicking, highlighting and un-highlighting. So I'm probably really

Good to know that I'm not the only one. And not only do I highlight the text, but I just keep clicking, highlighting and un-highlighting. So I'm probably really overloading their servers with the AJAX callbacks.

wheels 17y ago
I do the same. The New York Times and similar sites that have actions on highlight drive me nuts.
- paulgb 17y ago
  Out of curiosity, do you (and this question is open to other compulsive selectors) tend to play with things physically when you read as well? Eg. subconsciously pick up a nearby object and start playing with it. (I do both, and I suspect they tend to go together)
  - lallysingh 17y ago
    Yes I do, and now that you mention it, I'm sure it's two manifestations of the same behavior.
  - branden 17y ago
    Yeah I'm the same way. I'm a compulsive highlighter and I often find myself disassembling pens or mechanical pencils, or folding paper, or removing the plastic coating inside a bottlecap, or balancing my glasses on the tip of my finger...The people I spend time with in meetings must wonder if I'm actually paying attention.
  - ryanwaggoner 17y ago
    Not while reading, but I'm notoriously bad when I'm on the phone...small objects all over my house and office are in a constant state of displacement because I pick them up and set them down somewhere else while on the phone.
  - aichcon 17y ago
    Haha, yes, absolutely. I always like to have something to distract my hands. Rubber erasers are heaven for this.
  - CraigBuchek 17y ago
    No, not usually.
- barrkel 17y ago
  AdBlockPlus. It flags .tynt.com as adware, so sfgate just seems like inert text to me. With respect to NYT, I've found this rule to be quite effective: |http://graphics8.nytimes.com/js/app/* http://graphics8.nytimes.com/js/app/* Kills that nasty action.
- lallysingh 17y ago
  Same here. Those tiny inline balloon popups are always in the way!
10ren 17y ago
I highlight to track my position, so it's easier to keep reading after I scroll. Hmmm, scrolling is not ideal for reading (e.g the Kindle pages, I think). Problem = opportunity, so maybe one solution is a plugin that automatically adds pagination (not actual pages, just mark them with horizontal bars - I think easy enough to do in greasemonkey).

wheels 17y ago

I do the same. The New York Times and similar sites that have actions on highlight drive me nuts.

paulgb 17y ago
Out of curiosity, do you (and this question is open to other compulsive selectors) tend to play with things physically when you read as well? Eg. subconsciously pick up a nearby object and start playing with it. (I do both, and I suspect they tend to go together)
- lallysingh 17y ago
  Yes I do, and now that you mention it, I'm sure it's two manifestations of the same behavior.
- branden 17y ago
  Yeah I'm the same way. I'm a compulsive highlighter and I often find myself disassembling pens or mechanical pencils, or folding paper, or removing the plastic coating inside a bottlecap, or balancing my glasses on the tip of my finger...The people I spend time with in meetings must wonder if I'm actually paying attention.
- ryanwaggoner 17y ago
  Not while reading, but I'm notoriously bad when I'm on the phone...small objects all over my house and office are in a constant state of displacement because I pick them up and set them down somewhere else while on the phone.
- aichcon 17y ago
  Haha, yes, absolutely. I always like to have something to distract my hands. Rubber erasers are heaven for this.
- CraigBuchek 17y ago
  No, not usually.
barrkel 17y ago
AdBlockPlus. It flags .tynt.com as adware, so sfgate just seems like inert text to me. With respect to NYT, I've found this rule to be quite effective: |http://graphics8.nytimes.com/js/app/* http://graphics8.nytimes.com/js/app/* Kills that nasty action.
lallysingh 17y ago
Same here. Those tiny inline balloon popups are always in the way!

10ren 17y ago

I highlight to track my position, so it's easier to keep reading after I scroll. Hmmm, scrolling is not ideal for reading (e.g the Kindle pages, I think). Problem = opportunity, so maybe one solution is a plugin that automatically adds pagination (not actual pages, just mark them with horizontal bars - I think easy enough to do in greasemonkey).