Is there any way to turn off email data entry for automated goals?

I have an integration with Nike+ running set up, and I’d like it to be the sole source of entering data. Just avoiding temptation before it raises its ugly head. :smile:

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Go to your goal’s settings and then to the Reminders tab. Uncheck “Get reminded (and add data) by email”.

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Ohh thanks. Should have seen that myself! :smile:

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That will turn off email reminders altogether which may be what you want but I’d recommend going to Terrifyingly Advanced Settings and changing the data source to (for your case) IFTTT. That should’ve happened automatically though, the first time a datapoint came in via IFTTT, unless you manually changed that setting.

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Thanks! In Terrifyingly Advanced Settings, the data source is indeed IFTTT, but I have found that it’s also possible to update by replying to or emailing the bot.

Once, for example, my Nike app crashed half way into a run, and only half my daily goal was added to Beeminder. I just manually updated the graph by emailing with the remaining 0.5 miles or so.

I’m just trying to avoid cheating situations. :smiley: If I know that it’s possible to cheat by emailing a number in, I know there might be a time when I’m just like “Oh I’m too tired. I’ll just email the number in for right now to avoid derailing, and do TWO MILES tomorrow.” Or at least the temptation to do so. And at the end of a long day, I can’t fight temptation. I’d do stuff that I’m given no choice in – but give me a choice, and I cave in.

I hope I’m expressing myself clearly here, I haven’t had my morning coffee yet. :stuck_out_tongue:

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Ah, yes, most people don’t notice that you can technically email datapoints to the bot even when it’s not prompting you or showing you the format to use. It’s kind of an intentional loophole in case of technical difficulties and such. But maybe it’s time to just shut that down. Or maybe reject emailed data for autodata goals if you weaselproof the goal (which you should do!). We’ll think about this. And maybe keep this loophole quiet in the meantime. (:

And to help with temptation, notice how super slippery that slope is! If you ever decided to “just catch up tomorrow” then the next thing you know you’d be weeks behind with no hope of catching up and the entire point of Beeminder would be out the window! There definitely has to be a bright line beyond which you derail for the system to work at all. Related reading: blog.beeminder.com/cheating and blog.beeminder.com/catchup.

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I absolutely agree that it’s a slippery slope, and once you start doing that, it’s near impossible to stop! I agree that it’s better to derail under those circumstances. Early-morning-well-fed-energized Me appreciates this, but I don’t trust tired-and-grumpy-end-of-the-day Me at all.

And I certainly don’t want to end up ruining the whole point of Beeminder for myself in a moment of weakness. I guess it’s the same principle as Weaselproofing – removing the means of cheating.

Thanks for considering removing the loophole! :smile:

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Yes but No

‘Yes’ to the weasel-proofed rejection, ‘No’ in the general case. For instance, this is how I sometimes enter my weight when away from home. Or I use a command line script and the API.

There are so many slippery slopes available, we need to find ways to make our community robust (antifragile?) in the face of slipperiness, not just plug individual holes. Part of that does mean giving folks ways of helping their future selves, like the weasel-proofing option.

In this context, that might mean rejecting any datapoint added by an ‘unusual’ means (for that goal). Let’s not focus too much on ‘by email’ part of this thread.

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