By an anonymous student
Every schoolkid knows that time, just before exams, when the temptation to bludge puts its thumb on the finely weighted balance of the mind against StudyGuilt 2.3 and iHope. It’s often in the form of a particularly good book or in my case, the internet.

The following is a list of highly addictive websites which I love.

1. StumbleUpon (http://www.stumbleupon.com/toolbar/ No subscription necessary, but it is useful for bookmarking and such.)
This is a great internet tool. The idea behind it is that you key in a list of preferred topics and it will take you to a website about them. If you have a particular topic you wish to look up you can specify the search to that.

It also allows you to “Like” “Dislike” and offer reviews of web pages. If you dislike something, you’ll get less pages of a similar type and the reverse for liking it.

One of the huge advantages of this particular tool is that it also helps one do some work if they feel overly guilty about it. If you put say, “Biology” into the search function it will come up with a lot of very good pages with biology studies and resources.

Addiction rating: 5 syringes

2. Webcomics (Some require subscription, but these are rare. Some are also NSFW)
Oh yes, this is a big one. Few who use the internet are unaware of the multitude of webcomics available to the Humble Procrastinator. Some are far superior to others in content and design. The quality functions somewhat like a pyramid with the few highly addictive ones at the top to the vast array of shit at the bottom.

Some of the best in my opinion are Surviving The World (http://survivingtheworld.net/), Looking For Group (http://www.lfgcomic.com/), Questionable Content (http://www.questionablecontent.net/), Doctor McNinja (http://www.drmcninja.com/), Girls With Slingshots (http://www.gwscomic.com/), Devil’s Panties (http://devilspanties.keenspot.com/index.html), XKCD (http://www.xkcd.com/), Rock, Paper, Cynic (http://www.rockpapercynic.com/) and Ctrl Alt Del (http://www.cad-comic.com/).

A larger list can be found here. These won’t suit everyone’s tastes and there are a whole lot not mentioned here but they’re a good way to kill time. Find one with a sturdy backlog and it’ll hook you for a week.

Addiction rating: Various. 1-4.5 syringes depending.

3. FML / MLIA (http://www.fmylife.com/ / http://mylifeisaverage.com/ No subscription required for either but login available.)
Both of these sites are based around raconteurring. Daily stories are posted by people for the amusement of others. FML takes a more pessimistic approach while MLIA has a more prominent sense of humour and features more “Oh Awesome!” stories.

Readers will likely get a lot of very interesting ideas from both sites. Caution and due planning should be taken for all but the spontaneous ideas and all creative expeditions must be reported back to the website from which they came with due credit given to the site for the idea.

Addiction rating: 4 syringes.

4. Social Networking Sites (Subscription required.)
These are notorious all around the world not only for providing a place that people connect, but also for their addictive qualities and add-ons. Some even gain that notoriety for scams or particular prominent stereotypes.

The ability to have instantaneous contact with groups of people around the world, and the collective power of things like Facebook Groups has enabled many to grow far beyond expected sizes. There’s a level of competitiveness between hardcore fans, as with most things.

The most popular are: Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/), MySpace (http://www.myspace.com/), Twitter (http://twitter.com/) and LiveJournal (http://livejournal.com/).

A full list can be found here.

Addiction rating: 3 syringes.

5. Forums and Bulletin Boards (Subscription generally required for posting, not always for reading.)
The internet is full of varied and interesting people. They tend to group together. While some of these groups aren’t advised observation material others provide a fun way to kick back and kill time.

Like social networking sites forums enable personal interaction generally with the idea being that people open up discussion ‘threads’ or topics which the community exchange ideas on. These can range from the inane to the intense to the obscene.

Some of the best in my opinion are: The Escapist Forums (http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums), XKCD Forums (http://forums.xkcd.com/) and the Rock, Paper, Cynic Forums (http://www.rockpapercynic.com/forum).

A relatively complete list can be found here.

Addiction rating: 1-4 syringes, depending.
6. TV Tropes (http://www.tvtropes.org/ No subscription required to read.)
TV Tropes consumes the soul. After reading, you will notice these everywhere you look. A little like English teachers hope to do with techniques actually.

Addiction rating: 4 syringes.

7. Online Games and Browser-Based Games (Online games generally require subscription. Browser-Based games generally not.)
Online gaming ranges from 2-bit browser based Pong to complex worlds such as that in World of Warcraft and everything in between. They are a good way to spend some time and many are more immersive than one would initially expect.

What you go for comes down to what you like in gaming. The casual gamers and those who aren’t used to the medium are more likely to go for Browser-Based games such as found on Newgrounds.com (http://www.newgrounds.com/). First-Person Shooter gamers will probably go for the online multiplayer included in recent games. Roleplayers are more likely to go for Online D&D and similar character-driven amusements.

Addiction rating: 1-5 syringes, depending.

8. Online Chat (Subscription sometimes required.)
E-mail is one thing. Instant communication entirely another. Online chat can happen in chatrooms such as on IRC channels or person-to-person over Instant Messenger programmes like MSN and Yahoo Messenger. Some websites and forums have chatrooms attached and others such as Meebo have their own style of communication.

I hold no responsibility for what you experience in chatrooms. Let that be warning enough.

Addiction rating: 4 syringes.