UPDATED OCTOBER, 2003

Q. There's a lot of bickering on the playground about what's cheating and what's not cheating. Is using ICQ or AOL Instant Messenger cheating? Some girls say it is, some say it's not.
A. Communicating with another player outside the game is cheating. This includes using ICQ, AOL Instant Messenger, talking on the telephone, yelling over your shoulder at someone in the same room, smoke signals, etc. (Well, maybe we'll make an exception for smoke signals...) It's not against the rules to team up with someone, but you must use the in-game chat to talk with your friends. Using secret codes and talking in foreign languages isn't cheating, but it can be very sneaky and you might get beaten up if the other girls notice what you're doing! Finally, logging into Sissyfight with more than one Sissyfighter at the same time (using multiple windows or computers, for instance) is definitely cheating. Girls who are caught doing that will get in big big trouble!

Q. I saw some girls cheating with ICQ and I want to report them and get them in trouble!
A. Well, first of all you should be absolutely positively sure that they're cheating. In the case of ICQ-type cheating, you might have missed them talking to each other (if they do it real quick and sneaky). Or it could be a lucky coincidence that they both teased the same girl, or made some other coordinated move. You have to be careful about pointing fingers -- how would you feel if everyone accused you of cheating? If you're really sure they're cheaters, you should let other girls know. You can report cheaters (and defend yourself from unjust accusations!) on the SiSSYFiGHT message boards.

You'll probably want to gather up some of your friends and teach those cheaters a few things yourself, too! That's the most effective way to deal with bad playground behavior and that's the way things are intended to work. If you don't like the way someone plays (or you just think her mama dresses her funny!) then organize your own little spanking posse and scratch, tease, and tattle her into humiliation! That'll show her! Remember, while the staff is willing to whack naughty players when we see them, the primary responsibility for dispensing playground justice belongs to you!

Q. One girl told me to press Alt-F4 to get unlimited tattles, and Control-W to get unlimited lollies. Do those keys really work? It seems like cheating.
A. That girl was trying to trick you. If you're using Windows, pressing those keys will close the window that's on top -- including the Sissyfight window, if you're playing. You can try those keys now if you want -- they'll close any window. There's no real way to get extra tattles or lollies, silly! Just remember what your grandma told you about that strange, smelly man handing out free ice cream on the corner: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Q. Four of the new rankings boards are weekly boards and reset every Monday. So you'd think that after the reset on Monday everyone on those boards would have 0 points and 0 games, right? How come that doesn't happen?
A. You're an observant little sissy, aren't you? When the boards are reset on Monday, they actually include everything that happened on Sunday too. If they didn't, some of the boards would be empty on Monday morning, so we built in a little overlap. Sunday counts twice.

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GAMEPLAY

Q. The servers are always full and I can't get in to play. What's a feisty little girl who wants to go nuts on the playground supposed to do?
A. We can only let so many Sissyfighters in before school overcrowding becomes a serious issue. Overworked teachers and unwieldy class sizes are only part of the problem -- server crashes are the real danger. We're working on ways to increase the number of people who can play, but that will probably involve buying new hardware, so it could take a while. In the meantime, you might want to avoid playing during peak hours, which are usually from 3 PM to midnight, EST.

Q. Hey, one girl vanished in the middle of the game, just as everyone was about to tease her. How come people can run away like that? It doesn't seem fair.
A. Well, if you were in her shoes, you might want to run away too. But she won't get any brownie points for playing that game, unlike everyone else who stuck around until the end. Plus, I bet everyone thinks she's a scaredy cat.

Q. I grabbed a girl, and then she grabbed someone else. Shouldn't my grab keep her from grabbing?
A. When everyone starts grabbing each other, things get a little wild and wooly. What happened was that you grabbed her after she grabbed someone else, so you weren't able to stop her from grabbing. In other words, when there are a bunch of girls grabbing each other, not every grab will succeed.

Q. There are these people who are working together, and they're not saying anything. I think they're using ICQ or something. Isn't that cheating?
A. Yep, most Sissyfighters consider that cheating -- even the cheaters themselves. But there are ways of dealing with cheaters: for instance, if you're pretty sure people are cheating, tell everyone else and maybe someone will help you against the cheaters. Two cheaters often can't beat a team of three, or even a skilled team of two, and most cheaters aren't all that good at the game.
For more information, check out the Hall Monitor and Strategy Club on the message boards.

Q. Everybody keeps cowering all the time. The games just go on and on and nobody's doing anything.
A. Sometimes you just have to take a leap and mix it up yourself, to get some action going. Who knows, the other girls may even respect you for it. Or they might just decide that you're a good target to pile on. No guts, no glory!

Q. I licked my lolly, but someone scratched me and I lost two points. Then someone tattled, and even though I was licking my lolly I lost three more points. I lost five points that round and I was trying to get two back!
A. Don't you hate it when that happens? When someone tattles, everyone who was rough-housing gets punished -- even if you were just the victim. The harsh justice of the playground doesn't distinguish between the girl who's grabbing or scratching and the girl getting grabbed or scratched; it just looks like you were in a fight, so you're busted. Them's the breaks! All the more reason to get revenge on that nasty tattle-tale, and the girl who scratched you. Don't forget, lolly licking is a risky maneuver. You can't get your self-esteem back without exposing yourself to a little danger.

Q. I had three self-esteem points left and I decided to lick my lollipop. Then three girls teased me and I lost four self-esteem points, which humiliated me right out of the game. But if I licked my lolly, should I have one self-esteem point left? 3-4+2=1, right?
A. Your math is impeccable. Sadly for you, however, teasing happens before lolly-licking, so you were humiliated and broke down sobbing before you had a chance to lick that lollipop. And everyone knows that salty, tear-soaked lollipops don't make you feel better at all.

Q. What happens if there are three girls left, and they're all low on self-esteem -- then they all tattle or something, and they all lose?
A. Hmmm... We're not telling. (But remember to turn up the volume...)

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REGISTRATION

Q. What if I put in a fake e-mail address?
A. Well, then anything we try to send you (see above) won't get to you. That includes information like password reminders and important notices about your character. That's why the Honor Code requires you to give your real address. If you want to change your e-mail address, go into the Dressing Room, click EDIT, change the e-mail address, and click UPDATE.

Q. I got an e-mail saying that I forgot my password, and telling me what it is, but I never asked for a reminder. What's going on?
A. Someone probably got confused and tried to log in with your Sissyfighter's name, and then asked for a password reminder when they couldn't log in. The password reminder got sent to you. Don't worry about getting spammed with password reminders, though -- the server will never you more than one reminder a day.

Q. What if I don't play SiSSYFiGHT for a while?
A. If you somehow tear yourself away from the game for three months, your name and brownie points will be recycled. If you don't want to lose your points or see someone else using your precious name, be sure to come back and complete at least one game every month or two! If you don't stick around to the end of the game, it doesn't count, so make sure you do, ok?

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BROWNIE POINTS

Q. I was about to win -- but then my game crashed and I lost my connection to Sissyfight, so I didn't even get any points for that game! How can I get my brownie points back?
A. Ouch, bad luck. Sorry, there's no way to get brownie points for a game that you crashed out of. Better luck next time, and remember, brownie points aren't everything.

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TECHNICAL STUFF

Q. I already have Shockwave Flash, but your page keeps telling me I don't and that I should download it.
A. Sissyfight doesn't use Shockwave Flash -- that's a different plug-in from the same company. The names are kinda confusing. Sissyfight uses the Shockwave plug-in. No "Flash," just plain old Shockwave, sometimes known as Shockwave for Director. You should check to see if you have it at
          http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/welcome/
That page checks for both Flash and Shockwave. And keep in mind that you need version 7.0.2 or later of Shockwave!

Q. I can't get Shockwave to work right! It never finishes downloading. Or, even after I download it, my browser still tells me that I don't have it and that I need to install it again. What's going on?
A. Here are some tips for dealing with Shockwave problems based on advice from the folks at Macromedia, the company that makes the Shockwave plug-in:

1. Make sure you're looking at the right browser (usually Netscape or Internet Explorer). A lot of people have more than one browser on their computer. Sometimes Shockwave will install itself on one browser, but it's not the one you're using, so it seems like nothing's happened. Most browsers have a menu item called "About Plug-ins..." or something like that, which will list your plug-ins. Make sure the browser you're using has Shockwave for Director 7.02 (or later) enabled.
2. Make sure you have the right version. Sissyfight uses the latest Shockwave technology to let you play games with other people, so you need the latest version (7.02 or later). If you have plain old Shockwave 7 without the ".02", you'll get all sorts of errors.
3. If you think your Shockwave plug-in might be out of date, or if it's acting funny, you can always replace it at
     http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/
It can take a while to download over a slow modem, but if you have a older version of Shockwave, or a damaged component, getting a new one is the only choice. But hey, it's free. Shockwave components do get damaged sometimes, so even if you're sure you have the latest version, you can often fix a problem by replacing your Shockwave plug-in.
4. Restart your browser, and if that doesn't work, restart your computer too. This is always a good idea if you're having strange technical problems. A lot of times, problems just go away if you restart.
5. Macromedia has some more tips: check out this web page for help straight from the makers of Shockwave: Shockwave Player Support FAQ

Q. I use AOL and I can't seem to get into the game. It acts like I have a firewall -- I can get to the page with the hand tapping its fingers, and the green bar of arrows fills up, but then it just sits there forever. How do I get rid of this firewall or whatever it is?
A. Unfortunately, AOL's internal browser doesn't work with Sissyfight because of the way AOL communicates with the rest of the Internet. You can get around this problem if you download and use an external browser, instead of the one that's built into AOL. We recommend either Netscape Communicator or Microsoft Internet Explorer. If you use Microsoft Windows, you may already have Internet Explorer. If you're not sure about whether you're using the AOL browser or an external browser, here's a tip: if you see the AOL logo in the corner of your screen, you probably will not be able to connect to Sissyfight. If you continue having problems, make sure you have the latest version of AOL.

Q. I have Shockwave, but as soon as the green bar of arrows finishes loading on top of the cartoon computer screen, I get an error message that says "Disconnected: bad parameter(connect)" or "mux is void." What gives?
A. You almost certainly have an old version of Shockwave that doesn't support multiplayer games like Sissyfight. Only the latest versions, 7.0.2 and later, have a special component (the multi-user xtra, or mux) that lets your computer communicate with the central Sissyfight server. You should head on over to download the latest version of Shockwave even if you got your computer recently.

Q. I keep getting disconnected every five minutes. I get an error that says "Disconnected:There is no current connection (incoming message)."
A. That message means that your computer and the Sissyfight server have been unable to communicate for more than 90 seconds. This could happen for any number of reasons. The most obvious would be if your net connection got cut off (cat pulled the phone cord out of the wall, etc.) but you would probably know about that. Another possibility is that the Internet has gotten really slow between you and the Sissyfight server, and the server can't communicate with your computer reliably enough to keep you connected. Problems like that are hard to fix, and we're trying to make Sissyfight more resistant to Internet congestion, but it might take a while. In the meantime, you might try disconnecting from the Internet and reconnecting, playing from a different connection, or playing at a different time of day. I know, that sucks, but that's what the web is like unless you're one of those rich girls with your own Internet satellite.

Q. I've been playing with almost no problems for a while now, but then suddenly I ran into a really weird bug that gave me an error about "cast member not found" or "object not expected" or "such-and-such is not a Director file" -- weird errors like that. Did I break Sissyfight?
A. Don't worry, that sounds like a momentary "belch" that mysteriously happens once in a while with Shockwave and the web. Our advice: quit your browser and restart it, and be sure to clear your browser cache (you can usually do this under "Preferences" or "Options." If that doesn't work, restart your computer too. That should flush everything out, and the next time you load Sissyfight up, it should work like it did before.

Q. I've got a technical problem that's not answered here. Now what do I do? A. Try asking RobotRamona. She can help with most things. If you're still stuck you can also get tech help by posting in the Computer Lab on the message boards.

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MISCELLANEOUS

Q. Did you have some sort of childhood trauma that made you create this game?
A. Our therapist says we shouldn't talk about that with anyone but her until after the healing retreat.

Q. When are you going to put in (insert my favorite feature here)?
A. We are planning on adding new features to Sissyfight every once in a while, and when we do, we'll announce it in the news section on the bottom of the front page. A lot of players have sent in suggestions on what they'd like to see, but we're waaaaaaay ahead of most of you girls, because most of them are already on our drawing board. However, we're not going to say which ones we're working on or exactly when they'll debut. We can't put in every single idea we hear about, but we definitely like hearing your ideas and comments about what you like and don't like, so keep clicking the FEEDBACK button to send us comments.

Q. There are all these nasty people in Sissyfight swearing and being mean. I think that's icky, can you do something about it?
A. Sissyfight.com and Word exercise no editorial control of any kind over what people say in the game -- it's all uncensored and is not our responsibility. If you would like to play in a censored or restricted environment, let us know. If there are enough players who want a Sissyfight school with no potty talk, we will consider setting one up.

Q. What is a sissy meet?
A. A sissy meet (sometimes called a sissy meat) is a real life meeting planned by sissyfighters. We can't be responsible for what happens in real life so if you attend a sissy meet you're on your own! Sissy meets are not officially sponsored by SiSSYFiGHT.com. Don't say we didn't warn ya!

Q. Help, I'm addicted to Sissyfight!
A. Hmmm, that's serious. We recommend that you play more Sissyfight. And get your friends and family to play too. That way you won't have to endure your addiction alone.

Q. Are you going to make more games like Sissyfight?
A. Yes.

Q. The guy in the cubicle next to me keeps giving me funny looks. Can I turn the sound off so he won't know I'm playing Sissyfight all day?
A. Yes. There's a little blue button in the homeroom and the game screen, near the lower right corner, that looks like a walkie-talkie with a speaker grille and icon. You can press that button to turn the sound on and off. Neat, huh? We do not guarantee, however, that your coworkers will stop giving you funny looks. That may be unrelated to the Sissyfight sounds.