FAQs
Here are some answers to common questions we are asked, along with some tips and tricks that we have found useful.
How can I get KiddoNet’s safe browser and offline activities?
Is
KiddoNet compatible with IE5?
Why
was the wrong home page saved by mistake?
How
can I send my home page to a friend?
I've
forgotten my password. What do I do?
KiddoNet is currently free
of charge, giving you free access to a wide variety of games, activities and
web tools.
How can I
get KiddoNet’s safe browser and offline activities?
If you'd like the full
version of KiddoNet, which includes a kid-safe browser and great offline
activities for younger users, you can download it for free at our site at www.kiddonet.com, or get it for free on
CD-Rom. To get your free KiddoNet CD, simply send us your full name and mailing
address.
Once KiddoNet is installed
on a computer, the CDROM is no longer necessary to run the program, so you
can share this CDROM with as many people as you want.
Questions about
KiddoNet safe browser
How can I add Internet sites (My Favorites) to KiddoNet?
There are two ways to add your child's favorite Internet site to KiddoNet:
From the KiddoNet Menu
Click the Start Button and find look for KiddoNet.
Click "Add Favorite Site".
Type the Internet address of the site that you want to add.
Click the Next button.
Type a name for the new site, as you would like it to appear in the "My
Favorite" area.
Click the Finish button.
From Microsoft's Internet
Explorer
Go to your favorite site with Microsoft's Internet Explorer.
Click the Favorites button on the toolbar.
Click "Add to Favorites".
Click the "Create in>>" button and double-click the "Kids"
folder.
Click OK to save this site in "My Favorite".
How can I "turn off" or disable specific Great Sites?
KiddoNet's child development and education experts have carefully screened and selected the Great Sites. However, we realize that every family has its own criteria of what is appropriate for children, and we feel that it's a parent's prerogative to make these decisions. So, if you would like to prevent your children from accessing any of KiddoNet's pre-selected sites, we have provided you with a simple option to "turn-off" sites. This feature is available in Great Sites by clicking the link "Turn Off Great Sites". Great Sites will be updated and sites will change overtime, so you may want to check it periodically.
How can we allow our children to access one of the links that says "You Can't Go There"?
KiddoNet's safety features prevents children from surfing to outside links, but as a parent or educators it is your prerogative to allow your children access to other sites. If you'd like your child to be able to go on to a specific link from one of the Great Sites, we recommend that you make a note of the address of the Great Site and then go to Internet Explorer and type this address into the browser address line. You can click on the links and find out their addresses. Just add the address to Favorites > and file it in KIDS (this will add it to KiddoNet's My Favorites). The next time your child goes to KiddoNet's Great Sites, s/he will be able to continue on to the site you added through Internet Explorer.
Can I change the look of my KiddoNet browser?
Yes, you can select a
different theme or style for your KiddoNet browser from the KiddoNet Menu.
Click the Start Button and find look for KiddoNet.
Click "Browser Themes".
Click the browser descriptions to preview the themes in the box.
Click the theme you'd like to use and then click OK.
The browser that you chose will appear the next time that you enter KiddoNet.
Is KiddoNet compatible with IE5?
Yes, KiddoNet is compatible with IE5, yet in some versions, there is a
problem with one component and you'll have to upgrade it.
If you get a "wait while loading..." message in the local activities
(i.e. CoolToons, FunArt),
please save the following file
to your disk and choose to save it in the KiddoNet installation directory
(usually c:\kiddonet). It should take less than a minute.
After a home page has been approved
you will be able to see it at
( where you replace "YourNetName" with your actual NetName ) or by going to the Home Page Composer Center and clicking the option marked "View My HP".
It usually takes up to 2 days for a home page to be approved. Due to heavy traffic and the large number of creations that are made on KiddoNet, it may occasionally take us a little bit longer to check all the creations, - and that's why it may take just a little longer for you to see the home pages you've made.
Why was the wrong home page saved by mistake?
If you have more than one KiddoNet user on a computer, then you have to make sure that you are logged in under YOUR NetName, and not your friend's, brother's, sister's, mom's (it happens!!!), etc. The likeliest reason logged into KiddoNet under someone else's NetName. Since only one page can be saved for each NetName, the last one that was made is the one that is saved. Make sure when you enter KiddoNet to check whose NetName appears on the top toolbar - where it says: Hi/Hello 'NetName'.
How can I send my
home page to my friends?
You
can send your home page to as many people as you'd like - simply send them the
address to link to your home page, or send them to KiddoNet, www.kiddonet.com, to the Home
Page Composer, tell them to click the icon "See Other Home Pages" and
to enter your NetName in the window at the top of the screen.
You can change or add things
to your home page by going to the Home Page Composer Center and clicking the
option marked "Change My Home Page”.
Please remember that if you
make any changes to your home page, it will need
to be checked again by our monitors!
Downloading
NetGames to Play Offline
Our
NetGames area is devoted to games that you play online, and they do not include
games that need to be downloaded or installed.
Games
Don’t Load
This
usually happens if your Internet connection is slow or very busy. Depending on
the game, some of our games have a lot of graphics and take longer to load. We
suggest that you try accessing our games at a different time of day and see if
this helps.
If
all you get is a gray screen, we suggest that you check your browser properties
to make sure that your browser supports Java-based games and activities.
Click here to find out how to check if your
browser supports Java.
Game Froze
This sounds like a problem with
your Internet connection. If the Internet is very busy and the connection is
slow it might take a while for graphics to load, causing a game to
"freeze". Please try
accessing the game again at a different time.
If this does not work,
please inform us and let us know the specific game you have been having trouble
with.
How do I know if my browser supports Java?
Most
of our online games were created in Java, a popular programming language for
the Web. If you are having trouble with our NetGames it might be because your
browser does not support Java. Here's what you can do to see if your browser
runs Java:
In Internet Explorer:
In Netscape:
1. Click "Edit" in the top menu bar.
2. Choose "Preferences."
3. In the Preferences window, click the "Advanced" option
4.
If there is a checkbox on the right side that says "Enable Java,"
then your browser can run Java. This box has to be checked for Java to run.
What is Flash and how do I get it?
Many
of the original games and activities in KiddoNet require the Flash player,
which is a program or plugin that allows you to run games and programs written
in Flash. The Flash program allows for more interactivity and animation in
games and activities on the Internet.
You can download the Flash player through your Microsoft Internet Explorer.
Go to the Macromedia site by typing in the URL Internet address at the top of
the screen (http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/), and hit enter.
Follow the instructions provided by Macromedia .
What is Shockwave and how do I get it?
Many of the games and activities
in Great Sites require the Shockwave player, which is a program or plugin that
allows you to run games and programs written in Shockwave. The Shockwave
program allows for more interactivity and animation in games on the Internet.
We recommend that you download Shockwave before your young children begin to
play with these sites because it takes a few minutes to download.
You can download Shockwave through your Microsoft Internet Explorer.
Go to the Macromedia site by typing in the URL Internet address at the top of
the screen (http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/), and hit enter.
Follow the instructions provided by Macromedia .
KiddoNet offers all our
members their own email accounts. To get an email account, simply register to
KiddoNet, and then log in to the KiddoMail program. You will be notified of
your email address. To send an email, click the Write Mail button on the
toolbar on the left in the KiddoMail program, and start writing your
message. You can use your KiddoMail
account to send email to anyone (as long as your parents say it’s OK).
All of KiddoNet's activities are currently free of charge, including KiddoMail.
</DIV>
KiddoMail is a safe email
program. As part of our security features, you will receive email from people
who:
1. Appear in your KiddoMail address book. (Make sure you give correct email
addresses.)
2. Have your safety password and include it in the subject of their email to
you.
You can access
your mailbox from anywhere in KiddoNet.</DIV> Just click the link “Get
My Mail” from the KiddoNet toolbar at the top of the screen.
This is because when you
logged in you probably used your brother’s password, the program remembers him
as the last user. You need to log in under your own NetName and Password, and
then all your mail should be back in the KiddoMail program.
To view new mail, you need
to click the Subject of the new message. This should open the message in the
Read Mail window. Even if the letter arrives without a subject, the words No
Subject should appear in the subject window.
In many cases the attachment
should appear directly in the message you received or as a link. If the
attachment is a picture, and you don't have a program that can open that
picture, then you will have a problem viewing the attachment, unless it is in a
format that your browser recognizes (for example, if the ending of the picture
is .jpg or .gif. </DIV>
To set your password, go to
the Goodies folder and type in a password; then press OK.
If you want to receive mail by having people use your password - the
password needs to be in the Subject: field of the email.
Setting A Signature
Setting your signature is easy. All you need to do is type into the
signature window the text you want to appear at the end of all your email
messages, like "Waiting to hear from you! Write soon!" or whatever
you want,
and click the OK button. Then click the Write button on the left toolbar,
and you'll see that your signature already appears at the bottom of the
email. Write your message and send it, and the person you send it to will
see "Waiting to hear from you! Write soon!" at the bottom of your
message to
them.
And remember, you can change your signature any time you want! Just go to
Goodies, type in a new signature into the signature window ("From a
future Broadway star!") and click OK.
If you get a link in an email but it is not "click-able" then all you need to do is copy it and paste it into your Internet browser. Highlight the text and then use your keyboard to copy (Ctrl + C) and then paste (Ctrl + V).</DIV>
Because we're concerned
about the safety of our users on the Net, we cannot give out their names or
email addresses, just like you wouldn't want us to give out yours. That would
not be safe. We also don't recommend that you advertise on your home page or
anywhere on the Net that you are looking for friends to write to you. That
might attract the wrong kind of friends.
Your correct KiddoMail
address should end with @kiddomail.com (and NOT @kiddonet.com).
KiddoNet adheres to U.S.
federal laws governing Internet practices and privacy: COPPA - the Children's
Online Privacy Protection Act - requires that we obtain verifiable prior
parental consent in writing any time we request personal information from a
child. Your parents can send us their consent for you to have a KiddoMail
account by either faxing or mailing us the consent form, or by calling our
toll-free number and stating the required information. If you don't have a
KiddoMail account yet, click here for
more information.
There are two different
kinds of KiddoMail accounts available:
*Restricted communication - You will receive mail only from people
included in your KiddoMail address book or who you have given your KiddoMail
password to.
*Full, unlimited communication - You can receive mail from anyone.
Your parents indicate which account they give permission for you to have, at
the time that they give their consent.
ChitChatting is not that hard - you just need to become familiar with all the text options.
The ChitChat window is divided into two: The top part is where the chat appears, the bottom part is where the different texts you can choose from appear. To pick a text, first click a button to choose a category, like Questions, then click the text you want to send, and click the SEND button. If you are looking for a specific text - use the Quick Say feature - just start typing in the word in the window, and all the texts that include that letter will begin appearing. Then, like above, click the text you want to send, and click the SEND button. If you want to send a text to only one or two people in the room, select the text you want to send, then click the name or names of the kids you want to send it to, and THEN click SEND. Easy, right?
Don't forget to add smileys and other decos to your texts - click the DECOS button, choose the deco you want, and click the SEND button.
Oh yeah, and just in case you DON'T find what you want to say...you can create your own list of sentences - but remember, we'll have to check 'em first. Click the link to Add Your Own...enter the texts you want to add, and click OK to send them. After we've checked them, you'll be able to access them from your MY WORDS list.
Why can’t we write our own texts?
ChitChat does not allow free text because it is a completely SAFE chat - the only one around - and while
we do allow you to submit your own texts, these get checked first, and if they're OK, only then do they get
added to your own personal list of words - that you can access by clicking MY WORDS.
We are constantly updating the list of sentences, questions and comments, and even take texts that users
submit for their MY WORDS list...
I've forgotten my
password. What do I do?
Sorry if you've forgotten your password on KiddoNet. But, for safety and privacy reasons we
do not provide passwords via e-mail. Is it possible that you still have the email we sent you
confirming your registration? Could it still be in your “Old Mail”? Why not try looking for it.
If you can't find it, we would appreciate it if you would re-register to KiddoNet (it's free!) and
perhaps write down your new NetName and password in a safe place (but one you can
remember!).
Better yet, make sure to come to KiddoNet a lot, and then you'll always remember them!