diff --git a/include/empio.h b/include/empio.h
index 36050477..70237ebc 100644
--- a/include/empio.h
+++ b/include/empio.h
@@ -37,7 +37,6 @@
 
 #define	IO_READ		0x1
 #define IO_WRITE	0x2
-#define IO_NBLOCK	0x8
 #define	IO_EOF		0x10
 #define IO_ERROR	0x40
 
@@ -48,7 +47,6 @@
 
 extern struct iop *io_open(int, int, int, struct timeval);
 extern void io_init(void);
-extern int io_noblocking(struct iop *, int);
 extern void io_close(struct iop *);
 extern int io_input(struct iop *, int);
 extern int io_inputwaiting(struct iop *);
diff --git a/src/lib/empthread/io.c b/src/lib/empthread/io.c
index 13d75ad7..5a50043b 100644
--- a/src/lib/empthread/io.c
+++ b/src/lib/empthread/io.c
@@ -73,27 +73,33 @@ io_init(void)
 struct iop *
 io_open(int fd, int flags, int bufsize, struct timeval timeout)
 {
+    int fdfl;
     struct iop *iop;
 
-    flags = flags & (IO_READ | IO_WRITE | IO_NBLOCK);
+    flags = flags & (IO_READ | IO_WRITE);
     if ((flags & (IO_READ | IO_WRITE)) == 0)
 	return NULL;
+
+    fdfl = fcntl(fd, F_GETFL, 0);
+    if (fdfl < 0)
+	return NULL;
+    fdfl |= O_NONBLOCK;
+    if (fcntl(fd, F_SETFL, fdfl) < 0)
+	return NULL;
+
     iop = malloc(sizeof(struct iop));
     if (!iop)
 	return NULL;
     iop->fd = fd;
     iop->input = NULL;
     iop->output = NULL;
-    iop->flags = 0;
-    iop->input_timeout = timeout;
+    iop->flags = flags;
     iop->bufsize = bufsize;
+    iop->input_timeout = timeout;
     if (flags & IO_READ)
 	iop->input = ioq_create(bufsize);
     if (flags & IO_WRITE)
 	iop->output = ioq_create(bufsize);
-    if (flags & IO_NBLOCK)
-	io_noblocking(iop, 1);	/* FIXME check success */
-    iop->flags = flags;
     return iop;
 }
 
@@ -328,27 +334,6 @@ io_shutdown(struct iop *iop, int flags)
     return 0;
 }
 
-int
-io_noblocking(struct iop *iop, int value)
-{
-    int flags;
-
-    flags = fcntl(iop->fd, F_GETFL, 0);
-    if (flags < 0)
-	return -1;
-    if (value == 0)
-	flags &= ~O_NONBLOCK;
-    else
-	flags |= O_NONBLOCK;
-    if (fcntl(iop->fd, F_SETFL, flags) < 0)
-	return -1;
-    if (value == 0)
-	iop->flags &= ~IO_NBLOCK;
-    else
-	iop->flags |= IO_NBLOCK;
-    return 0;
-}
-
 int
 io_error(struct iop *iop)
 {
diff --git a/src/lib/player/accept.c b/src/lib/player/accept.c
index 321e21bb..63891487 100644
--- a/src/lib/player/accept.c
+++ b/src/lib/player/accept.c
@@ -82,8 +82,7 @@ player_new(int s)
     idle_timeout.tv_usec = 0 ;
     if (s >= 0) {
 	/* real player, not dummy created by update and market update */
-	lp->iop = io_open(s, IO_READ | IO_WRITE | IO_NBLOCK, IO_BUFSIZE,
-			  idle_timeout);
+	lp->iop = io_open(s, IO_READ | IO_WRITE, IO_BUFSIZE, idle_timeout);
 	if (!lp->iop) {
 	    free(lp);
 	    return NULL;