So you--a studly guy looking for a date--were talked into the whole Internet match-making deal and reluctantly set up an online profile. Eventually you attract a few nibbles and are thus lead to email exchanges. Letters are tossed back and forth for a while until you finally narrow the list down and graduate to a chat client. You're hooked. The conversation is intelligent. The photos are gorgeous. Next thing you know, you're sitting at a restaurant waiting for the Internet angel to appear. Only she has a beard. Or perhaps it was a he posing as a she. It's all a blur as you rush out the door.
Back at home, you delete the online profile. Only that's not enough. The mystery date is also your friend on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and other social websites. He/she has your email addresses, your IM screen name(s). There's no escaping without deleting accounts and starting from scratch. What's a guy to do? Install an "ex" blocker plugin, that's what. Designed for Firefox and Chrome, the Ex-Blocker plugin literally blocks all traces of the ex-significant other from your side of the Internet.
Although it's not clear how the plugin will actually block names from the entire Internet, it asks users to simply fill in the full name, Twitter username, Facebook address, and blog url in this form. Want to block an ex-girlfriend or boyfriend? Just add another "ex" and the plugin will filter them out. The only drawback to this "ex-blocker" is that users will need to manually apply filters to email clients. It may also block other people who share the same name. Chat clients naturally have a built-in blocker so users will need to make that manual adjustment as well.
According to JESS3, the plugin's developer, Ex-Blocker has blocked over 833 "exes" thus far. A few more will be added by the time I'm done with this article.
