The internet is a powerful tool.

Not just for communication and what not, but also for dealing with terrible roommates.

Just listen to this story where a roommate uses the internet as an effective way to get his roommate to do what he wants him to do.

The only question is, did he go too far or is his tactic just right?

Let’s read the whole story.

AITA for changing our WiFi password every day until my roommate does his share of chores?

I share a two-bedroom apartment with my college friend “Rob.”

We get along fine, but he’s gotten incredibly lazy about our cleaning schedule.

The agreement was always: I do the cooking, he does the dishes, and we split the rest of the chores.

But for the past three months, his attitude has been, “Eh, I’ll do it later.”

He doesn’t really mean it.

Spoiler: he never does.

The sink is permanently jammed with crusty bowls, plates, and forks.

I’ve talked to him nicely, left notes, even suggested we rotate tasks differently.

Every time, he just shrugs, says, “Sure, sure,” and then… nothing.

Then, a “motivational system” was implemented.

One night, when I was throwing out moldy leftovers he’d let sit for days, I snapped.

I realized I pay for our internet and utilities in my name so I figured, why not set up a “motivational system”?

I changed the WiFi password and told him he’d get it back once he finished a specific chore.

I didn’t expect it to be so weirdly effective.

He whined, but he did the dishes in record time to get the password.

Everything was going great, at least at first.

I’ll admit, I got a twisted sense of satisfaction from how quickly it worked.

But the next day, the dishes started piling up again, so I repeated the process.

He lost it and started banging on my door, saying I was “treating him like a child.”

I calmly said, “Well, you’re acting like one. Clean up, and you get the new password.”

He stormed off, but sure enough, half an hour later, the sink was spotless.

And now it’s become a routine.

Now we’ve been doing this little dance for nearly two weeks.

He complains to mutual friends that I’m “controlling him” and “humiliating him,” making him “beg for internet.”

A couple of them said it’s hysterical like I’ve discovered the ultimate life hack.

But others say it’s a step too far, that I’m basically forcing him into something, and I should just set adult boundaries or ask him to move out if it’s that bad.

But has it all gone too far?

Here’s why I’m conflicted: On one hand, the chores are finally getting done.

On the other hand, he’s started avoiding me, and there’s a real tension in our place.

He claims I’m “psychologically manipulating him” and that I’m “power-tripping” because I pay the bills.

Maybe there’s some truth there this whole Wifi hostage situation definitely isn’t a typical adult approach, but I tried being rational, making chore charts, having roommate meetings none of it worked.

So, AITA for basically locking him out of my internet until he contributes?

It seems that he found an effective solution to a problem. Why change it?

Commenters on Reddit chimed in:

You can’t just keep trying the same unsuccessful thing over and over:

Why isn’t HE embarrassed?

You get what you pay for.

If his roommate doesn’t like being treated like a child, he should stop acting like one.

If you thought that was an interesting story, check this one out about a man who created a points system for his inheritance, and a family friend ends up getting almost all of it.