StarDestroyer.Net BBS

First off, I would post this in OT or Testing, but I'm posting from the library, and the content blocker is blocking all forums except this one and PSW for violent content (:wtf:).

As a result of a LAN party at my house that ran 20 minutes past the time when everyone was to leave, my parents have decided that I am addicted to the computer and cannot control myself from being on it constantly to the detriment of my grades. Consequently, my return to university is contingent upon my computer going back with Dad when he drops me off. I have to pack it up and load it in the van first thing upon getting back tomorrow morning. If I don't, my other belongings don't get unloaded and we go straight back home. I have no choice.

I'll sign on from computer labs as I'm able, but I won't be around as much as I used to. I will find a way to keep up with the D&D game I'm running here if at all possible. My books are also not going to school, but I know the rules well enough to go on. I'm probably doomed to be a bit player in STGOD5, but I'm not quitting just yet.

This situation is unlikely to change anytime soon, maybe not even into the fall semester. If my grades do improve, it will be taken as vindication of my parents' decision and I won't get it back. If I screw up, I won't be coming back to school. As I will be totally unable to complete papers for my various classes if they take more than one sitting in a computer lab to finish, the latter case is far more likely.

Reason isn't working at all. Dad compared me to an alcoholic in denial of his problem this morning and finally stormed down the stairs saying that I was sick. Saying that no, I'm not going to skip class for the sake of being on the computer only convinces him the more that I'm trying to throw him off so I can do just that.

The ironic thing is that if he was right, this wouldn't stop a thing. If I chose to just be online all the time at the expense of class, I could head out for a computer lab before the gigantic lines of later in the day form and just spend the day there. No messengers are on the lab computers and downloads are blocked (see you, AIM chatters), but other than that, the only thing this is preventing me from doing is saving documents, really. >_<

Before anyone asks, if I were financially independent I'd be out of here in a heartbeat, but I'm not. If I tell my parents that it's staying and just sacrifice the suitcase full of clothes I took home, my tuition won't be paid and I'll end up on the street 200 miles from home. I simply cannot win. It's not a question of whether I lose here; it's a question of how badly.

So, see you around. Might be back and active again later, might not. I simply don't know at this point. Goodbye.

Dude, that sucks to have crazy parents like that.

Plus, now how am I going to get my SWHS vid?

(And you all thought I'd forgotten!)

But seriously, that sucks man. Hope it works out for you eventually.

Heh. I'll have to turn the thing on so I can remove the web of 16+ character passwords I have protecting it. I'll see if I can slip in an upload of the video to Kernel's server real quick while I have it on.

I can actually sympathise with your parents somewhat, as I killed my second semester of college by spending to much time on the computer.

However, their lack of understanding of how little their restrictions would affect you leads me to believe they haven't in fact thought this through, and are fastening on this as a means of keeping you under their thumb.

Either that, or they seperately need to dowload porn, and have just killed any other computers they may have available.

Ouch. That sucks

Rogue 9 wrote:No messengers are on the lab computers and downloads are blocked (see you, AIM chatters), but other than that, the only thing this is preventing me from doing is saving documents, really. >_<

I'm not sure how your lab computers are set up, but could you save those documents to an internet hard drive? I don't know if there are any free ones left any more, but even some of the ones you have to pay for are fairly cheap.

The lab comps may also have 3.5" disk drives and/or zip drive slots. If the comps have a USB port, a memory stick can also save your bacon.

-- Joe Momma
...fucking around on the computer when he should be working on his thesis.

Rogue 9 wrote:Consequently, my return to university is contingent upon my computer going back with Dad when he drops me off. I have to pack it up and load it in the van first thing upon getting back tomorrow morning. If I don't, my other belongings don't get unloaded and we go straight back home. I have no choice.

I assume you've argued that you need a computer to do coursework? I certainly couldn't do my assignments without it. For larger assignments, why not get a USB Flash drive? They only cost about £20 for a 256Mb one.

Try asking a lecturer or someone to to write a letter to your parents telling them that a PC is essential for you to do your work, and that without one your education could suffer.

Joe Momma wrote:

Rogue 9 wrote:No messengers are on the lab computers and downloads are blocked (see you, AIM chatters), but other than that, the only thing this is preventing me from doing is saving documents, really. >_<

I'm not sure how your lab computers are set up, but could you save those documents to an internet hard drive? I don't know if there are any free ones left any more, but even some of the ones you have to pay for are fairly cheap.

Sign up for a Yahoo account, they have a Yahoo Briefcase you can save up to 15 or 30 megs of documents into for free.

Well, that sucks.

I will keep a list of all the good Halo movies you miss while you are on the "ban". When you get your comp back, I will send them to you. Good luck.

I'll do you a favor and move this to OT.

Durandal wrote:I'll do you a favor and move this to OT.

Won't that stop him from being able to read it?

Uraniun235 wrote:

Joe Momma wrote:

Rogue 9 wrote:No messengers are on the lab computers and downloads are blocked (see you, AIM chatters), but other than that, the only thing this is preventing me from doing is saving documents, really. >_<

I'm not sure how your lab computers are set up, but could you save those documents to an internet hard drive? I don't know if there are any free ones left any more, but even some of the ones you have to pay for are fairly cheap.

Sign up for a Yahoo account, they have a Yahoo Briefcase you can save up to 15 or 30 megs of documents into for free.

or just get multiple gmail accounts with their 1gig of storage. i've presently got several invites right now i need to get rid of.

How they hell do they expect you to do college coursework only using the university computer labs? From my experience they blow (the timeframes open and availability).

Hey, have you thought about floppy disks? It seems to me like a lot of schools would allow you to use those to save documents and stuff-- at least, at mine, you can. I'd be greatly surprised if you couldn't...

If floppies wouldn't have enough room, I'd recommend a jump drive-- pricey, but they do great, or at least they always have in my experience....

Elheru Aran wrote:Hey, have you thought about floppy disks? It seems to me like a lot of schools would allow you to use those to save documents and stuff-- at least, at mine, you can. I'd be greatly surprised if you couldn't...

If floppies wouldn't have enough room, I'd recommend a jump drive-- pricey, but they do great, or at least they always have in my experience....

floppy disks are generally pieces of shit that are prone to breaking very easily. USB drives are much more stable, offer a greater storage capacity and are less prone to breaking. a cheap 16 meg one can be had for less than $30.00. there's also zip disks, if the uni offers zip drives on its machines.

Elheru Aran wrote:Hey, have you thought about floppy disks? It seems to me like a lot of schools would allow you to use those to save documents and stuff-- at least, at mine, you can. I'd be greatly surprised if you couldn't...

If floppies wouldn't have enough room, I'd recommend a jump drive-- pricey, but they do great, or at least they always have in my experience....

Floppy disks are horribly unreliable. We used to use floppies at work in order to boot machines so we could Ghost them, and after about fifteen boots they'd stop working correctly - generally one of the files would get corrupted.

(Although I went back to the cave a couple of days ago and Kent had finally managed to figure out how to burn bootable Ghost CDs... god, it looked sooo sweet seeing Ghost come up in about five seconds rather than fifty.)

That's unnecessarily cruel, but your parents will have to relent if they receive a letter from a prof. explaining the necessity. Just make sure to keep your eyes on what's truly important to take from college: an education. The computer shouldn't be impeding that, and if you do get its use back, make sure you're keeping in mind that grades > SD.net.

Your parents are still asinine and stupid. Hope to see you back soon, <3!

Well, good luck to you Rogue, keep us updated when you can.

Good luck Rogue. I'll miss you and your posting.

Rogue 9 wrote:No messengers are on the lab computers and downloads are blocked (see you, AIM chatters), but other than that, the only thing this is preventing me from doing is saving documents, really. >_<

WARNING: overly elaborate plot coming up. You have been warned.

If you can find a friend with a server and some spare megabytes, you might be able to set up an FTP site or an SMB share which you could use to save documents onto. It's cheaper than a USB drive, more reliable than using floppies, and less of a pain in the ass than using Yahoo Briefcase or Gmail (although if you want to go that route I have four invites). I believe that Internet Explorer has the ability to treat FTP sites like ordinary folders.

Before anyone asks, if I were financially independent I'd be out of here in a heartbeat, but I'm not. If I tell my parents that it's staying and just sacrifice the suitcase full of clothes I took home, my tuition won't be paid and I'll end up on the street 200 miles from home. I simply cannot win. It's not a question of whether I lose here; it's a question of how badly.

The streets are paved with computers. I have the carcass of a computer near me, with Windows ME, 256 MB RAM, and generally bad but usable specs, and it could be brought back into service if there was someone to use it. The ISP around here has a room filled with rotting computers. I suspect there are quite a few people in any university town with similar situations. The university itself might be a good place to ask, since I assume they have a long tradition of having computers, and that naturally entails upgrades.

As long as you aren't hung up on having a good computer, I don't think there's much keeping you from getting one and discarding it later, unless your parents do inspection visits or something.

So, see you around. Might be back and active again later, might not. I simply don't know at this point. Goodbye.

You will be missed.

Maybe what your parents want is to get out there and enjoy your years in College the Old School way.

You know, missing classes because you've been up all night drinking beer and having wild sex orgies with hot college chicks.

They figure they are helping you along these lines by getting you to spend less time on the computer.



I say this in part because one of the reasons that was bandied about when my parents "encouraged" me to move out was that I would have to socialize more. Hah! Showed them.

Well your problem sucks but the fact of the matter is that students have gotten through college without computers for centuries. Your little hiatus isn't, or at least shouldn't, scare you for life. When you're fiancially independent you'll be free to make these decisions for yourself, but until then it's best that you sit back and enjoy that fact that you're getting an educational oppertunity most people never see. You have it better than the overwhelming majority of the world's population, never forget that.

You should be able to buy an old comp for ~$50 and use that for intarweb and papers, no?

Sorry to see you (sorta) go.

I found that even when young, it was easy to log on 1-2 times a day through the use of friends, school computers, $50 oldies, etc. even while the house internet connection had been cut.