> I am pretty much the same way. I'm in homeschool and I spend all of my time on my computer. I have about 5 friends, who I don't see all that often, and they are all interested in computers. Unfortunately, my parents don't think that I should even talk to people on the net. My dad's paranoid and he says that if he ever even catches me in a chat room, he's going to take my computer away. I haven't yet asked him how he is going to do that, since it is MY computer. He's another one of those parents who think that anybody who you haven't met is only trying to hurt you. My mom doesn't care if I talk to people on the net, but she says I'm a "chat addict" which I think is a stupid thing to say. If I spend all my free time talking to people physically, instead of over the net, does that make me a talk addict? What's the difference between talking to someone physically and talking to them over the net? One of my friends who lives down the street from me contacts me on AIM occasionally. I'm pretty sure that if my dad walked in while I was talking to him, even if I proved that the person I was talking to was a friend who lived a couple blocks away, he would get mad at me. I wish he would understand that most people are not insane axe murderers who want to kill me or give me a virus.

I think I've said this before. Maybe recently. But you shouldn't fault your parents for being overly-cautious. Having been a kid, a parent, and even a grandparent I know that it is better to be too cautious than not cautious enough. When something bad happens to your kid, it can be awful. A little over a year ago, a friend of mine lost his 16-year-old son in a car accident. He is still blaming himself for not buying him a bigger car, for not teaching him what to do when that right rear wheel drops off the edge of the pavement, for letting him get a job, (he was on his way to work). He even says, why didn't I talk to him for a few minutes, so he wouldn't have met the other car at the wrong moment.
I don't think he will ever get over it.
Cut your dad a little slack. If there is anything harder than being a kid, it's being a parent.
Howard