Answers: Do you have the latest version of Macromedia Shockwave installed? If not, you can download it here. Follow the instructions on the page. Macromedia Shockwave Player is available for Windows and Mac.

The firewalls of some companies and schools may also prevent the use of Goldfish. Persuade your company or school IT department head to change their settings or use Sockscap to bypadd the firewall settings (Windows only).

For other issues, you can send information about the issue to Kolumbus via the feedback form.

Question: Is there some way to prevent bad behaviour in my rooms?

Answer: You can kick troublemakers out of your room by selecting them and pressing the KICK OUT button in the bottom right corner. You can also lock your door or password protect it to keep other users out. This can also be very convenient when creating a room.

You can report harassment in public rooms to staff by sending feedback to Kolumbus.

Answer: You only hear the voice of the characters who are within hearing distance from your own character. The text of the characters just out of earshot may be a little clear, but the rest is replaced by dots. If someone is shouting it can be heard throughout the entire room.

Question: How do I shout and whisper?

Answer: At the bottom of the screen, to the left of the text box, is a menu where you can choose your speaking method. When you whisper, your speech can only be heard by the selected character nearby (click on the character to select it, the arrow will show the selected character). When you shout, your speech is heard by everyone in the same room. However, be sure to change your way of talking back to normal, as constant shouting gets on everyone's nerves. Shouting can also be done by pressing the Shift key while pressing Return.

Question: How do I dance like a disco god?

Answer: Click the dance button in the lower left corner of the screen. If for any reason you want to stop, you can click the button again.

Question: How can I get out of a room if someone is standing in front of the door?

Answer: You can exit both public and private rooms by clicking the square behind the front door. Even if the door is blocked with standing characters, you will be able to get out.

Question: I've seen the characters smiling and frowning in private rooms. How do I do that?

Answer: Characters recognize and express emoticons. You can smile by typing :), frown by typing :(, or if you want to look a little angry, you can type :-/.

Answer: You can get your own room at Caf� Heaven. Go to Caf� Heaven and walk up to the yellow and green devices in the right-hand corner and click on them. You will then be prompted to name your room and give it a description.

Question: How do I get furniture for my room?

Answer: You can order furniture via SMS. Open the catalogue by clicking the button in the lower right corner of your toolbar and search for the furniture you want. Send a text message from your mobile phone to 173400 with your Fisherman name and soon a piece of furniture will appear in your hand. Furniture prices are shown in the catalogue before you decide to buy. Furniture can be ordered with a Sonera or Radiolinja subscription.

Question: How can I buy furniture for my friend as a gift?

Answer: Just like you would buy for yourself. Just put your friend's character name as the username in the text message instead of your own.

Question: Can only Radiolinja subscribers order furniture?

Answer: Since September 29, 2000, furniture has also been available through Sonera subscriptions.

Question: What's the big hand in the top corner of the screen?

Answer: The big hand acts as a storehouse for the furniture you own. You can hold more stuff in your hand than you can see all at once. Click the arrow buttons next to your hand to look at your next handful of furniture. You can also donate furniture you own to other users. Drag the piece of furniture you want to donate to the character you want to gift it to.

Question: Can I decorate someone else�s room?

Answer: It is up to the room owner to determine whether others can decorate the furnishings in their room. If you don�t have permissions from the room owner, you can�t move or take furniture with you.

Question: How can I change my room name and description?

Answer: While on the hotel view, you can go to the My Rooms tab and select the room you want to edit the name and description of by clicking on the Room Information button.

Answer: It's a goldfish. You can gather your own list of friends on the fishing line and send them messages. There is a Help button on the Goldfisher that explains the various functions of the device.

Question: How do I get my Goldfish friends to appear on the fishing line?

Answer: You can use the Find button on the Goldfisher to find characters by name. Once you have found the character you are looking for, you can send them a friend request by pressing the Add Friend button at the bottom of the Goldfish screen.