[Kie99]

Find a proxy.

[tinfoil]

that is a proxy. it just can't be blocked.

[Tyrian]

please inform me of these parental blocks once in place. and this will get you around such evil. trust me i know. www.download.com/Torpark/3000-2356_4-10586817.html slow as hell but it works.

Torpark isn't "around" anymore.  The more up to date (and user friendly) version is XeroBank.  It absorbed Torpark.  Also, that trick will only work if the parental controls block by DNS lookup.  If it uses any other sort of URL filtering, i.e.: by strings, it might not work.  Plus, the parental controls may also look for keywords in the webpage and block by that.  That list will be user programmable and will probably be modified by your parents during setup.

Depending on your level of experience, you might want to try registry editing.  Cut the registry keys and it should cripple whatever your parents installed.  Granted, this carries a great deal of risk, like killing your Windows install.  But if you're desperate, it might be worth a shot.  The only hitch is that you have to be able to actually find the keys...

[FUBAR-BDHR]

Have you tried explaining to them that the stuff you are working on now could give you a big advantage in finding a careerer at some point.  Assuming you are thinking of going into modeling or coding or some other area that an open source project such as this exposes you too.   

[vyper]

... even for the FS community, this has to be a first.

I SAW TITAN SPEAKIN' WITH THE DEVIL!

[Flipside]

To be honest, your best bet is to tow the line for now. I suspect the reason he is annoyed is not because of what you are doing, but the fact that he didn't know about it, and being a parent, that is automatically 'suspicious'.

[Akalabeth Angel]

To be honest, your best bet is to tow the line for now. I suspect the reason he is annoyed is not because of what you are doing, but the fact that he didn't know about it, and being a parent, that is automatically 'suspicious'.

      Maybe it went something like . . .

Dad: "What are all these downloads? 4 GB?"
Titan: "Oh yeah, I just downloaded The Babylon Project!"
Dad: "What's that?"
Titan: "This game some people made"
Dad: "You're downloading games illegally?"
Titan: "No, it's open source! It's a free game"
Dad: " Free game? I doubt it. I won't have you downloading illegal games in this house, you won't be able to visit there anymore."
Titan: "But dad, it's a free game, open source!"
Dad: "There's no such thing as a free game. You're banned from the site, that's final."
   
     (No Offense to Titan Sr. If he reads this )

[Flipside]

LOL You never know, it might have been

I suppose the thing is, for quite a lot of us, it's been a while since we were Titans age. I'm going to be 3 times his age this year, for example.

I'll admit, it seems a bit over the top to me, but then, I also have to admit that it isn't my choice to make. His Dad probably sees it as protecting his son from the evils of the Internet, and, of course, our own corrupting influence, or, as you say, thinks that he's downloading warez or the like.

Basically, trying to go around a ban will land you in more trouble if you get caught, whereas towing the line for a few weeks and then bringing up the issue as a discussion, rather than an evasion might actually earn a bit more kudos with him.

[vyper]

Or he could just turn the tables and restrict his parent's access to websites.

Wonder how keen his father will be on the idea when his porn is blocked.

[colecampbell666]

My parents were NEVER like this, nor are the parents of any of my friends. They accept that their kids are more computer-literate (for the most part)

[Whitelight]

@Flipside
Are you sure your not a dad?  
Eather that, or you sir, have an open mind  

I can understand parenting, raised three, and now have a grandson! That little guy can make me laugh  

Back on topic.
Titan, please listen to Flip. He knows what he`s talkin about.   

[Mars]

Personally I just had a huge fight with my parents because I suggested facing fans so they point out of windows rather than in... and apparently this suggestion was disrespectful.  So I may be biased, especially right now.

I say Titan is in a very precarious situation, and that whatever he does, he should take measures to either ensure his father cannot find out  he's involved in HLP, or he should play entirely by the rules.

[Akalabeth Angel]

Personally I just had a huge fight with my parents because I suggested facing fans so they point out of windows rather than in... and apparently this suggestion was disrespectful.  So I may be biased, especially right now.

      If it's cooler outside than inside you should probably have some facing in and some facing out (in accordance to the wind direction) to help facilitate the moment of cool air through the house. Or so my mom's theory goes.

[Mars]

It was 80F inside and 80F outside, so it's sort of a moot point to have fans at all...

[Polpolion]

So why can't you come on here at the library or at school anymore, Titan? Don't go blatantly disobeying them by deleting the parental controls (I'm sure you could if you tried), but checking in on here every once in a while from school or a library can't hurt.

And if you're going to debate this with your parents in a real, valid, thoughtful discussion, I must say this: learn about logical fallacies. Don't point them out to your parents blatantly like "oMg! That= IDIOT REASONING!!", and perhaps not at all, but just understand where they are using those fallacies, and eventually, you will be able to use that to your advantage, either directly or indirectly.

The only way you can win a discussion as such is to get your parents to take you seriously. You've already betrayed their trust a little bit by downloading all this FS garbage, and given your age, this will be extremely difficult. From past experiences, these types of parents are the most difficult to reason with. Above all: Don't lose your temper. Don't whine. Don't beg. Don't pester. Do think. Do be intelligent. Do be patient. Do be persistent.

If you don't win the discussion within a few minutes after its start, give it up gracefully and come back later with either different or improved points. Continue this process for a while and you will both have increased your parent's trust in you, you will seem more intelligent to them, more respectable, and above all more reasonable. If you don't get what you want through these said intelligent methods, at the very least in other areas of conflict with your parents you'll have a tiny leg up.

Also, try to pander to their conservative side at first. Trying to liberalize them blatantly early on will only piss them off. It will be difficult, but once you have their trust you can gradually start either pointing out errors in their beliefs in parental involvement, or gradually make them more liberal.

And here's the tricky thing: You could have the most perfect argument ever, your parents could agree with you, but out of spite, they don't let you do it. That's why you need to get on your parents good side about things. Do your chores and then some before talking to them.

All in all, you'll be one of the luckiest kids ever if you manage to persuade parents like yours to share your viewpoints.

EDIT:

BTW, the more your parents shout at you and beat you, the more you've outdone their ability to parent.

[S-99]

In situations like this is just where i get better at bypassing stuff without walking on eggshells. You can do what you want of course titan. Might as well abide by the parents. In my mind it doesn't matter if i bypass them or abide by them. In this case abide by them for sure. And do all of  your computing elsewhere in the meantime obviously. See if you can get downloads going elsewhere also. Download resumer that runs on most computers installed on mobile storage of sufficient size

[haloboy100]

To relate myself, being Titan's age,

I'm at a pretty much hate relationship with my parents, so I wouldn't know much about how to handle this. My dad got in a fistfight with me a few weeks ago, think he cracked one of my ribs, and he'd probably end up doing it again if I argued with him. (He's stereotypical Italian, go figure)

As for Titan's situation, I'm even less experienced in that. I was exposed to the evil, evil part of the internet way way back when I was younger (grade 3-ish) while searching for ROMs, so since my parents know that I already know pretty much everything about the birds and the bees, they pretty much never really care what I do on the computer. Then again, I have three 7-year-old triplet siblings to distract them, which explains why my parents never see what I do on the computer.

Anyway, given your position, if it were me I would argue my point to the bloody end, putting in effort the way thesizzler posted. Then if I failed I'd resort too bypassing the parental control program, since if I still had my parents they'd never know anyway

[IceFire]

*sigh*

I've seen this kind of thing far too much.  You know...and why should a kid/teenager/whatever have to argue with their parents so that their parents will come to a more reasonable and logical outcome instead of a kneejerk reaction based on no knowledge or understanding?  Unless we're missing something here.

I guess I have a beef with this kind of thing.  Drives me around the bend.

[Mars]

But how many teenagers see their parents as ignorant and unwilling to change, and just end up exactly like their parents?

It's something to always watch out for in ourselves I guess.

[Androgeos Exeunt]

But how many teenagers see their parents as ignorant and unwilling to change, and just end up exactly like their parents?

It's something to always watch out for in ourselves I guess.

That's a good point, actually.