Reb Frumfiend - I hope that you're able to see that that logic isn't coming from your yetzer tov.
Now of course, you can't expect the filter to do the job for you. But it does give you a little more space, and make the battle easier, so that you can grow without having to watch your back at the same time. And even at times of weakness, a good filter can stop you from falling.
Briut - I agree with the necessity for filters. However, when it comes to nedarim, that path can lead to some very sticky things - like people who make a neder, and say that if they fall (or they don't put on a filter), they won't eat certain types of food, or they'll donate a certain amount of money to tzedaka. And the result of that is that 1) you're using a punishment, which doesn't work as well as you might think, and 2) you're punishing yourself, which very often takes the place of real change. It's a lot easier to feel really guilty, and give some money to charity, than it is to actually stop doing something which is very tempting.
Now, I'm not saying there's never a place for that - I'm just warning that there's a lot of danger to it. I'd recommend setting a deadline here, and then coming back before the deadline and telling us how it went when he addressed the issue.
