Mute alert() calls when not in debug mode; Enter & exit debug mode via url/cookie; Throttles alerts when active

protectAlert.js

// warning - This gist is probably be 'too clever', and has two side effects which you might not want:
// - It doesn't queue alerts but silents them, so you may miss some calls
// - You might forget about it or another developer won't know about it, and won't have a clue why alert() calls don't work
	(function(){

		window.debugMode = false;
		if(/startdebug/.test(location.href)) document.cookie = 'debug=true';
		if(/stopdebug/.test(location.href)) document.cookie = 'debug=false';
		if(document.cookie.indexOf('debug=true') > -1) debugMode = true;

		var _alert = alert;
		var lastExec = +new Date();
		window.alert = function(msg){
			if(debugMode) {
				var now = +new Date();
				if(now - lastExec > 2000) {
					_alert.call(window, msg);
					lastExec = now;
				}
			}
		}

	})();