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That sounds great, but it seems like a Hard Problem, given that lots of sites/apps use modals for necessary things like logins and shopping carts. I suppose one approach would be to inject some kind of 'close and stay closed' control into any elements that cover the page (nice for paywall gray screens, too...)

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I'm not sure it's all that hard. It's never been a great idea to make core user flows reliant on modals (by all means use them, but make sure you either practice progressive enhancement or have a fallback). Sites doing so are at risk of failing their users. That said, I'd love for a solution akin to popup blocking: block the popunder but alert the user that it happened and allow them to show certain ones.

I use 'nuke anything' for the gray screens. Click the stuff you never want to see again and it's gone forever.

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