Did I do the right thing?

[Ulfwald]

I would have done everything you did, including have her open the mail in front of you and disclose it's contents to the entire family.

 

[pulse8]

I hope she didn't just lose all her privaleges because she made a pen-pal.

 

[Homerboy]

Er... I understand she "broke" the rules... but what was so incrimnating in the envelope? By the contents, it
sounds like she made a friend and you yoink them away from her?

If its her computer to use, and she uses it on dial-up only. Unplug her from the LAN and let her use the dial up... under supervision if you please. She is a "stranger" in your house... no matter how long she may have lived there. This cant make it easier on her.

You gotta loosen up some... cripes I let my 3yr old kid on the computer.

I do have to agree and sounds like you're running a dictatorship over there with the computers... If they are so inherantly evil then why have more than 1 in your house? I think you've seen too many stories about online fraud/theft etc etc...

 

[AFB]

Originally posted by: EyeMWing
Yes, she was aware of the rules and boundaries set for her, and she has broken them on numerous occasions (By crying until an adult gave in). Namely:
One hour intarweb/night (The line she uses to dial-in is the voice line)
DO NOT FSCKING PUT PASSWORDS ANYWHERE EXCEPT YOUR MIND
No online games. Period.
No filling out forms - period.
One email account - period.
DO NOT SAVE SH!T TO THE DESKTOP
Do not abuse the Macintosh internal speaker by using it to play rap music. Your headphones are fine, but my speaker is not.

And what was in the envelope? A letter, some pictures of a little girl and a cute puppy and some magnets (wtf?)

Nazi :disgust: You act like its a damn prison camp.

 

[DorkBoy]

Originally posted by: MacBaine
Was the letter from your girlfriend (the one that got tag-teamed on a boat by two other guys)?

funny

 

[edmicman]

isn't making her use a mac punishment enough?

 

[ATLien247]

Originally posted by: EyeMWing

And what was in the envelope? A letter, some pictures of a little girl and a cute puppy and some magnets (wtf?)

So, she has a penpal... what's the big deal?

 

[PanzerIV]

Come on EyeMWing what's the rest of the story? As of now it seems pretty drastic action for a kid her age. Is this some innocent pen pal from Ohio or is it an adult she's communicating with?

 

[HamSupLo]

Originally posted by: DorkBoy

Originally posted by: MacBaine
Was the letter from your girlfriend (the one that got tag-teamed on a boat by two other guys)?

funny

can someone elaborate?

as long as the letter isn't from some 40 yo pedophile, i see nothing wrong with having a pen pal.

 

[DrPizza]

Wow, you suck.

Talk about going overboard.
I can see grounding her from the internet for a while, but your rules... pretty anal if you ask me.

DO NOT FSCKING PUT PASSWORDS ANYWHERE EXCEPT YOUR MIND

I have to agree with that. Every time I write down a password and place it in a notebook, at least 3 or 4 foreign governments use their spy satellites to watch over my shoulder, peering straight through my roof using state of the art infrared technologies. And, to make it even worse, another 15-20 people show up between the hours of 2 and 3 am, while I'm fast asleep, to steal the password from the notebook.

Oh wait, I didn't realize... you, Mr. Super Computer Security Guy, use passwords like the name of your dog or something else easy to remember, rather than something like Ygm5r4hj.

/end flame

 

[rahvin]

You know it wouldn't be difficult to verify the identity of the people she is talking to if you bothered to talk to her about it. If it's people her own age I don't think it's a big deal. Frankly I think by the time she's 16 she's going to hate you, her parents and will likely end up getting pregnant or something stupid because your are so severly restricting her personal freedom. But I guess that's what happens when you don't talk to a kid and just react on innuendo and suspicion.

 

[EyeMWing]

Originally posted by: Bryophyte
Why was she spending huge amounts of time on the internet unsupervised without someone placing limits on it? Why can't she use a computer with no internet connection? Why can't she ask for someone in the house to help her with anything she needs to do on the computer?

Have you considered how hard it must be for her to live with someone other than her parents? She is probably reaching out on the internet because she is lonely. Address her loneliness and she won't need that outlet.

No serious limits were placed because my parents are used to raising kids with common sense. And there are no computers with no internet connection - all the remaining machines are Windows boxen on the domain with ICS access to one of the two dialup lines. Someone else is welcome to help her, assuming she is NOT in the "driver's seat." She broke the trust and has to deal with the consequences now.

Another contributing factor to her not being allowed to access any of these machines again is that she has this BAD tendency to save things like passwords in plaintext files on the desktop. I just logged myself into her account on the domain and it's exactly the same way. In fact, for lord knows what reason, her domain logon password is there, which is a capital crime and a potential security issue.

 

[Yossarian]

Originally posted by: edmicman
isn't making her use a mac punishment enough?

lol She should be put into a prison camp until she's 18 and receive regular beatings for her disregard of the rules.

To the OP, seriously man, taking away the computer is not the answer. You sound like a bit of a maniac with your ranting. Disable all internet access and do a better job teaching her how dangerous it is to give out personal information.

Oh and about passwords, you really can't win. Rule #1--don't use the same password in multiple places. Rule #2--never write your passwords down. Try to meet both those requirements after a week online and you either fail or have the memory of an elephant.

 

[bootymac]

Seems a little harsh judging on the info you've given (in otherwords, more info damn you!)

 

[shimsham]

Originally posted by: pulse8
I hope she didn't just lose all her privaleges because she made a pen-pal.

yah, that would suck. ask her whats going on. since she lives with your parents, im assuming theres some family issues, and maybe shes having a hard time making friends at school, etc.

total cut-off would be too harsh if its just an innocent penpal. and those rules are kinda strict. i give my 5 and 7 yo more freedom than that. i just watch what they do, and restrict accordingly (which has only happened once due to comp activity).

 

[PanzerIV]

Originally posted by: EyeMWingI just logged myself into her account on the domain and it's exactly the same way. In fact, for lord knows what reason, her domain logon password is there, which is a capital crime and a potential security issue.

Eye, do you have some NSA servers in your house or what!! LOL...what's with the tight azz security measures for a home network? Precautions are wonderful but this seems extreme.

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

So I guess this post confirms she got the mail I sent eh?

 

[Sspidie99]

I will not pass judgment since I do not know all of the other aspects of this situation. I will agree though that children need guidelines and rules. Parents should never let children get aways with breaking the rules. However, I believe that parents need to spend more time talking to their children though. Good behavior should always be rewarded. Its hard to say if you were right or not, since I do not know the history. However, you get rid of the internet and allow her to use the computer for homework.

 

[shimsham]

Originally posted by: PanzerIV

Originally posted by: EyeMWingI just logged myself into her account on the domain and it's exactly the same way. In fact, for lord knows what reason, her domain logon password is there, which is a capital crime and a potential security issue.

Eye, do you have some NSA servers in your house or what!! LOL...what's with the tight azz security measures for a home network? Precautions are wonderful but this seems extreme.

agreed. 2 years of broadband and having wife and kids on all the time, and never a virus, etc. thats with just ZA firewall, and no AV.

 

[Twista]

Originally posted by: amdfanboy

Originally posted by: EyeMWing
Yes, she was aware of the rules and boundaries set for her, and she has broken them on numerous occasions (By crying until an adult gave in). Namely:
One hour intarweb/night (The line she uses to dial-in is the voice line)
DO NOT FSCKING PUT PASSWORDS ANYWHERE EXCEPT YOUR MIND
No online games. Period.
No filling out forms - period.
One email account - period.
DO NOT SAVE SH!T TO THE DESKTOP
Do not abuse the Macintosh internal speaker by using it to play rap music. Your headphones are fine, but my speaker is not.

And what was in the envelope? A letter, some pictures of a little girl and a cute puppy and some magnets (wtf?)

Nazi :disgust: You act like its a damn prison camp.

In fact, for lord knows what reason, her domain logon password is there, which is a capital crime and a potential security issue
which is a capital crime and a potential security issue You need to get outside and get some air... step away from the pc. Wth shes in the 5th grade and you say "which is a capital crime and a potential security issue" Just get her aol kiddy account or something that would atleast let her do homework (home-and-work) which sometimes need a computer. Are you going to drive her to the library everytime to just type something when she could print at home?

 

[TranceNation]

my suggestion if for YOU to seek counseling on your control issues

 

[pyonir]

please come back in here and tell us all it was a joke and you got us all good. Please? please tell me there aren't people like you running around?

 

[Homerboy]

"Topic Title: Did I do the right thing?"

Apparently the consensus is no you did not do the right thing on any level. I think we all (or at elast most) suggest you re-think your actions and maybe sit down with her, discuss why what she did was "wrong" (is it wrong to make a penpal? We all should have our internet removed for these forums shouldnt we?).

You need to get off you're high-horse home-networking-admin soapbox and treat her likes shes... oh I dunno... a 5th grade girl chatting online *GASP*...

 

[marquee]

You werent very clear on what was in the envelope, like other people mentioned, if its just friendly penpal letters between 5th graders, I don't see what's the big deal. Sit her down, tell her to be careful on the internet, that should be the end of it.

Now even if it turns out to be some crazy adult that sent her something, taking away her computer access completely is going overboard. Look how vital computer skills are in the world today. Now she's going to grow up not having them, all because she made a mistake (and yes, kids do make mistakes). She deserves maybe just being grounded for a while, and having her activities monitored more closely. Like put the computer in a place where an adult can glance over and check on what she's doing.

 

[MacBaine]

Originally posted by: PanzerIV

Originally posted by: EyeMWingI just logged myself into her account on the domain and it's exactly the same way. In fact, for lord knows what reason, her domain logon password is there, which is a capital crime and a potential security issue.

Eye, do you have some NSA servers in your house or what!! LOL...what's with the tight azz security measures for a home network? Precautions are wonderful but this seems extreme.

He likes to pretend that he is running a super-1337 network which contains all sorts of sensitive data. Search for posts of his and you can see first hand how full of himself he is.