2023-09-29, 04:29 PM
(2023-09-29, 03:05 PM)bitmap Wrote: There are a number of ways to accomplish this end goal.
- Parental Controls. These are set per account. Each user would need their own account or at least each household with children would need restricted, relaxed, and unrestricted user accounts (or however you choose to organize it). Dashboard > Users > user name > Parental Controls
- Libraries. Set up libraries to restrict content. Right now I have Kids TV and Kids Movies libraries. Family might be a better naming convention but even that doesn't really fit. It's content that's kid-friendly or specifically-requested that nobody else wants. It lives there and folks still have access to those libraries but can skip over all of it if they choose. You can set access by user account.
- Again, libraries, but using symlinks. This is a bit more future-proof than my solution since you can grow a specific user's library with symlinks at any time based on whatever content you approve of at that point in time. With just libraries it's a hodge-podge of libraries plus parental controls.
Also be aware that some issues exist with image-based backgrounds and screensavers as well as searching (that haven't been fixed as far as I've seen since 10.8.. Content for backgrounds and screensavers is farmed from the metadata images of content and doesn't discriminate based on rating restrictions. So little Timmy might see a Friday the 13th poster screensaver image. Not explicit, but probably a little scary depending on age. Searching, on the other hand, can allow users to at least find restricted content, which could be problematic. Particularly if "R" is not your ceiling for film ratings.
Hmmm...torn between number 1 & number 2 (number three sounds a little complicated for someone at my skill level.) To be honest, I didn't think about setting up multiple accounts; the Parental Restrictions would definitely be helpful (especially if I can specify which content I want restricted or not and at what age level.)
Oh, and I forgot about the screensavers and searching! Thankfully, R rated content is about as far as I go for my library. But I am worried about what will happen if a kid accidentally selects Friday the 13th (is there a pop up warning? Is there a code that's needed to access it?)