FAQ

What is the purpose of Hogsmeade?
What is the deal with all these forums? What are they for?
What are the rules of Hogsmeade?
What is the House Cup? Why do we have it? How does it work?
How do I earn points for my house?
How do I lose points for my house?
What if I have a problem with the points I earned or lost?
What is the deal with the user levels? How do I get from one year to the next?
Where do I find the Sorting Hat, and why should I bother?
What if I have a problem with another user?
Who's in charge here?
What role do the various admins and moderators play?
How can I contact them?
How can I become a Prefect-in-Training?
What is "karma"? Why do some people have more karma than I do? And why did someone just jinx me?

What is the purpose of Hogsmeade?

Hogsmeade is named after the all-wizard village near Hogwarts. While many internet communities are filled with meaningless posts and conversations, Hogsmeade strives for a higher level of posting and communication among its members, separating it from the "muggles" of the net. All discussion should be appropriate for children of all ages.

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What is the deal with all these forums? What are they for?

Hogsmeade -- Magical Discussion
This section of the board is for discussion of the world of Harry Potter, including the books and movies.
- The Shrieking Shack
  The Shrieking Shack, named after the most haunted house in Hogsmeade, is for discussion of topics that might contain spoilers. This includes speculation on upcoming books and movies, as well as recently-released books, until the administration has lifted the spoiler rule for them.
- Hogwarts
  Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is a place to discuss the known world of Harry Potter, from your favorite scenes in the movies to discussion of the novels. Though we don't have classes, you can certainly talk about your favorite teachers. But be careful, they might be listening in.
Privet Drive -- Muggle Discussion
This section of the board is for discussion of mundane topics.
- The Three Broomsticks
  The finest inn in Hogsmeade, and a place where students and teachers alike will come to relax over a warm tankard of butterbeer. Topics here should be kept to more serious discussion.
- Zonko's Joke Shop
  This is the place to get out all the wackiness that can build up in your system. From jokes and polls to association games, the fun stuff goes here.
- The Ministry of Magic
  Here in the Ministry, we keep track of all the technical details. If you are having problems, we want you to tell us as soon as possible, so we can fix it. We will also inform you of any changes, updates, etc. The Ministry sets great stock in following the rules, and anyone who doesn't will be at the risk of public censure or worse. (Don't make us start an Azkaban forum! Just kidding. Mostly.) We also take feedback on how we're doing or what changes you think we should initiate.
House Cup
- The Great Hall
  This is the place to discuss the progress of the current House Cup, as well as to rejoice (or not) over past victories.
- Madame Puddifoot's Tea Shop
  The administration runs several contests, and you can find out about them here.
Diagon Alley
- Madam Malkin's
  Madam Malkin's is a costuming forum. Madam Malkin herself would love to discuss different styles, new fabrics, and methods of creating the perfect wizard robes for any occasion. If you're interested in dressing up, you'll find others who share your interests here.
- Flourish and Blotts
  This is the place to post your fan-fiction stories. Please make sure they're appropriate for the board.
House Common Rooms
These Common Rooms are a gathering place for each House, a place for the members to get to know each other in a smaller group. They are also an excellent place for coming up with ideas on how to win the House Cup.
The Prefects' Bathroom
This is a forum for administrators and moderators only, where they can come and discuss issues related to running the board.

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What are the rules of Hogsmeade?

Note: Breaking any of these rules could lead to action by the admins, from editing the post to loss of House points to banning, depending on the seriousness and frequency of the offense.

No spoilers without warning, except in the Shrieking Shack. Spoilers include any speculation on upcoming movies and books, as well as which characters are in a story; any plot points, major or minor; pictures and changes for the upcoming movies, until they have been released world-wide. If you feel you MUST post a spoiler in a forum other than the Shack, please put the word SPOILER (in caps) in your subject heading, and be sure that the heading doesn't have any spoiler information in it. (An example of what not to do is, "SPOILERS: Diggory Dies!") Something like "SPOILERS: Thoughts on Book 4" is appropriate. Please try to use a color for the text of your post that will make it necessary to highlight in order to read.
No spamming, flaming, or trolling. These will be grounds for major point loss and/or banning.
- spam: To cause a message board to be flooded with irrelevant or inappropriate messages. 2. To send many identical or nearly-identical messages separately to a large number of forums. This is more specifically called `ECP', Excessive Cross-Posting. This is one sure way to infuriate nearly everyone on the Net. 5. To bombard a message board with multiple copies of a message. This is more specifically called `EMP', Excessive Multi-Posting.
- flame: 1. vi. To post an email message intended to insult and provoke. 2. vi. To speak incessantly and/or rabidly on some relatively uninteresting subject or with a patently ridiculous attitude. 3. vt. Either of senses 1 or 2, directed with hostility at a particular person or people. 4. n. An instance of flaming. When a discussion degenerates into useless controversy, one might tell the participants "Now you're just flaming" or "Stop all that flamage!" to try to get them to cool down (so to speak).
- troll: To utter a posting designed to attract predictable responses or flames; or, the post itself. Derives from the phrase "trolling for newbies" which in turn comes from mainstream "trolling", a style of fishing in which one trails bait through a likely spot hoping for a bite. The well-constructed troll is a post that induces lots of newbies and flamers to make themselves look even more clueless than they already do, while subtly conveying to the more savvy and experienced that it is in fact a deliberate troll. If you don't fall for the joke, you get to be in on it.
(Definitions heavily inspired by the Jargon File)
Do not post anything inappropriate for young children. It will be deleted, and you will incur point losses in proportion to the offense. This includes linking to inappropriate sites. (Note: Some exceptions for links to PG-13 fanfics may be allowed, but check with your prefect or an admin first.)
Be polite. No insults, swearing, or rudeness. This will result in point losses and editing, and, if such behavior continues, could result in banning.
Use proper English. Not everyone on the internet who reads Harry Potter is a native English speaker. Out of courtesy for those who are still learning, post with good grammar, so that no one has to spend time deciphering your posts. This also makes it easier for native English speakers, who won't have to spend a long time trying to decipher cryptic "netspeak" messages like, "How R U ppl?" Excessive use of netspeak may result in point loss and editing.
Typos are acceptable, since it is often hard to avoid them, but if you find that you are prone to them or have a hard time with grammar, write up your responses in a word processor with a spelling and grammar check. Then you can copy and paste them into the reply window. You might also have a friend or family member read over them for you.
Common internet abbreviations are acceptable. These include:

IMHO: In my humble opinion
MHO: my humble/honest opinion
IIRC: If I remember correctly
IRL: In real life
BTW: By the way
AFAIK: As far as I know
J/K is just kidding.
FAQ: frequently asked questions
PM: private message
LOL: laugh out loud
ROTFL: rolling on the floor laughing
EG: evil grin
VEG: very evil grin
RL: real life
IRL: in real life
BTW: by the way
FYI: for your information
YaBB: Yet Another Bulletin Board, which is the program that this forum is built on.
RP: role play(ing)
IC: In character
OOC: Out of Character
BIC: Back in Character
LV: Lord Voldemort
MoM: minister or ministry of magic
DADA: Defense Against the Dark Arts
YKW: You-Know-Who
DA: Dumbledore's Army
JKR: JK Rowling
PoA:Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
GoF: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
OotP or OoP: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Limit picture size in your personal photo, your posts, and your .sig. This is common courtesy, since not everyone has super-fast connections, and downloading large pictures or animated .gifs can stall their computers or take precious on-line minutes. Remember, there are those who pay for every minute they are on-line. If this is abused, the size of personal pics will be manually restricted, and .sigs may be edited. Also, avoid animated .gifs that flash excessively or can otherwise distract readers.
Discussion of religion, politics and other sensitive topics may be conducted, but be warned that these often simply lead to flame-wars, and the first hint of such may result in closed threads, loss of points, and possible bans. If you do discuss these topics, remember to be respectful of the views of others, but be aware that you likely aren't going to change anyone's mind.
Post new topics in the correct forum. There are different forums at Hogsmeade, each set up to discuss different aspects of the world of Harry Potter. Please be aware and use the different categories, as it will help the board stay organized, so that people who don't want to discuss one aspect can just go straight to their favorite subjects, without having to wade through other topics. If you are confused, please ask an admin for help on where to post a topic. The people in charge of the forum may take it upon themselves to move a thread, if it is located in the wrong forum. They may also merge topics if they discuss a similar topic, so make sure your new thread doesn't discuss something in an already-existing thread.
Do not post simply to raise your post count. This will result in lost points, because it can eat up our allotment of bandwidth. If you receive a warning on this, please cut back on short posts, especially those that have little to nothing to do with the topic of the thread.
Stay on topic. Some drifting of subject will be allowed, but complete changes of subject should be handled by starting a new thread. Frequent violations will result in losing points.
Post intelligently. We realize and welcome the fact that many of our members are younger and don't have the education and experience of some of our older members. However, this is not an excuse to post things that do not add to a topic of conversation. If you are interested in a topic but find that you can't understand all of what is being said, just posting, "Wow. I'm lost," is not a good idea. Instead, explain (or quote) what was said and ask for more clarification. Except in Zonko's, random, pointless posts will be considered as attempts to up your user level and will be deleted. Repeated offenses will result in loss of points.

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What is the House Cup? Why do we have it? How does it work?

The House Cup was designed to recreate an important aspect of life at Hogwarts. Students can earn and lose points for their house. It is intended to be fun, and a way to reward students who make contributions of time, talent, and effort to the board. Please note that some aspects of the Cup from the book may carry over. For example, not all the Slytherins will be fair and impartial in their point awards, and may be harsher or more lenient in the punishments, as well. This should be taken in the spirit of role-play, not as a personal affront.
Because the houses do not have an equal number of members, a "divisor" system is in place. The total points for your house are divided by the number of people who earn over 20 points. The 20 point minimum was chosen so that someone who earned only a small amount of points, then disappeared, did not adversely affect a House's performanc in the Cup.
The House Cup is awarded every two months. After the cup is awarded, all totals are returned to zero, although a running total is kept for each user, so they can see how many points they have earned since implementation of the new record-keeping system.
Please note: Sometimes the house cup will not go the way you want. Please be mature about it. It can be painful, especially if you've put in a lot of effort, but remember, this is all in the spirit of fun. If you need to vent, please feel free to do so in your common room.

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How do I earn points for my house?

The primary purpose of the House Cup being to foster interesting and intelligent posting and to encourage people to work for a better Hogsmeade, points will be given for all actions which promote this idea, including but not limited to starting or contributing to interesting discussions, exceptional fan art or fan fiction, and pointing out problems with the site (such as broken links, typos, bugs, etc.). 20 points will also be awarded for recruiting new members, though they will only be counted once the new member has demonstrated his or her commitment to the community by achieving Second-year status. Whilst the administration will be working hard to track all of these, we can't be everywhere at once - yet - so please inform us if you think we've forgotten something.

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How do I lose points for my house?

Points can be lost for breaking any of the rules of the board. If you lose points for your house, please do not take it as a personal affront, as it is intended only to improve the board. Points can also be taken away if you change your username. The administrators have a hard enough time keeping track of people when they use one name only. A small fee of points will be assessed for requested name changes. More will be docked for unannounced changes to a username.

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What if I have a problem with the points I earned or lost?

If you feel you were awarded fewer points than you earned, or that you had more points taken away than you deserve, email or PM the person who made the "error." They may not have realized how much time you put into something, or they might have misinterpreted your actions. Try to work it out with them. If you are not able to, contact your house Prefect for assistance. They can discuss with the other person your feelings and try to come to an acceptable conclusion. If that does not work, or if the person you have the problem with isyour house prefect, contact one of the administrators. (Your best bet is Ping, as she has an obsessive dedication to the board.) All efforts will be made to rectify the situation.

Please note that publicly complaining, or trying to skip steps in this procedure to go "straight to the top" is not recommended, as all it does is send the message you are not willing to sort out your problem quietly and wish to make a big fuss. Since most people do not like big fusses made out of perceived or actual mistakes of theirs, this can irritate them immensely, and hurt your cause in the long run.

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What is the deal with the user levels? How do I get from one year to the next?

User levels are based on the number of posts that you make. This should not be taken as incentive to up your post count. Such behavior will result in having many posts deleted and in the loss of points. The quality of your posts is much more important than the quantity. User levels are currently as follows:
1st year: 0-49
2nd year: 50-99
3rd year: 100-199
4th year: 200-399
5th year: 400-799
6th year: 800-1599
7th year: 1600-3199
Graduate: 3200+
Upon graduation, you may request a special title to go with your username. Again, do not use this as motivation to spam the board!

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Where do I find the Sorting Hat, and why should I bother?

The Sorting Hat link can be found here. Being sorted into a house allows you to participate in the House Cup, and also adds to the environment. The House Cup will email your results to the administration, who will put you in the correct house. Please test only once. The administration will know if you've tested more than once and may take serious measures if the hat is abused. (It's old, after all!) A lot of effort was put into the Sorting Hat questions, so please answer honestly.

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What if I have a problem with another user?

The best method of dealing with it is to send the user an email or private message and try to work out your differences. Because we can't see each other face-to-face, misunderstandings over the net are common. It might be that you simply misinterpreted something that was said. If that does not resolve it, speak with their prefect about their behavior.

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Who's in charge here?

Username	Title	Rank	House	Special duties
Ping	Minister of Magic	Administrator	Gryffindor	Board owner. Her word is law.
JuwannaJedi	Hufflepuff Prefect and Head of the Magical Desserts Division	Administrator	Hufflepuff
Pro. Dumbledore	Headmaster	Administrator	Gryffindor	Handles issues related to Hogwarts
Pro. McGonagall	Deputy Headmistress and Head of Gryffindor	Administrator	Gryffindor
Pro. Snape	Potions Master and Head of Slytherin	Administrator	Slytherin
ChoChung	Defense Against the Dark Arts Instructor	Administrator	Gryffindor
Madam Malkin	Maker of Fine Apparel	Global Moderator
Jan-lo	Madam Malkin's Assistant	Administrator	Gryffindor
ChoChung	Defense Against the Dark Arts Instructor	Prefect	Gryffindor
Justina Creylin	Slytherin Prefect	Prefect	Slytherin
Kenobi Maul	Quidditch Team Captain and Tutor	Prefect	Slytherin
Sabriel Saraneth	Graduate	Prefect	Ravenclaw
Madeleine	Gryffindor Prefect	Prefect	Gryffindor
PermlessGirl	Ravenclaw Prefect	Prefect	Ravenclaw
Tiamat	Slytherin Prefect-in-training	Prefect-in-training	Slytherin
Heather	Hufflepuff Prefect-in-training	Prefect-in-training	Hufflepuff

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What role do the various admins and moderators play?

Administrators
Administrators have the power to assign students to the proper house, assign custom titles, ban users, and make modifications to posts, including moving topics and editing and deleting posts. Administrators can award and subtract points from all board members.
Prefects
These students are assigned specifically to help out with the members of their own house. While they have power to award and subtract points from all board members, they also pay special attention to the members of their own house, making sure their fellow house-mates follow the rules and are helped out as needed. They also have the power to edit and delete posts, and move, merge, and split threads.
Prefects-in-Training
These are junior Prefects, recent additions to the staff who are called in to assist the prefects in performing their duties. Their role is the same as those of a Prefect, but they are going through a trial period before being inducted as full Prefects. If they successfully perform their duties, they will eventually become full Prefects.

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How can I contact them?

You can find Administrators' and Prefects' contact information below. Those not listed are still available by private message from the board.

Ping
Minister of Magic
E-mail: ping@hogsmeade.us
ICQ: 44645855
MSN: llhilton@hotmail.com
Heather
Hufflepuff Prefect-in-Training
E-mail: dgzotz@yahoo.com

Madeleine
Gryffindor Prefect
E-mail: lyzbeth13@hotmail.com
AIM: Lyzbeth13
MSN: lyzbeth13@hotmail.com
Sabriel Saraneth
Ravenclaw Prefect
E-mail: magpi@sbcglobal.net
AIM: FelixCat220
Kenobi Maul
Slytherin Prefect
E-mail: drogo.knotwise@gmx.net
AIM: Drogo Knotwise
ICQ: 146157682
MSN: drogoknotwise@hotmail.com
Yahoo: drogo_knotwise
Tiamat
Slytherin Prefect-in-Training
E-mail: sekhmet42@hotmail.com
AIM: Tiamat Awake
Private Message
Permlessgirl
Ravenclaw Prefect-in-Training
E-mail: shiny_star44@hotmail.com
ICQ: 162454447
MSN: shiny_star44@hotmail.com
Private Message

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How can I become a Prefect-in-Training?

Prefects-in-Training are nominated where and when they are needed. When one is needed, Ping selects, with the administrative team's advice, the person best suited for the job. Requirements are consistent intelligent posting, maturity, commitment to the community and also a familiarity with the members and customs of the boards.
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What is "karma"? Why do some people have more karma than I do? And why did someone just jinx me?

Karma is meant to be a fun way to show someone you appreciate something they've done. That's what the "charms" are for. All users can "charm." All users can also "jinx" someone. This, too, should be taken in a spirit of light-heartedness. Some Slytherins have been known to seek jinxes!
Karma points are reset at the beginning of each house cup. Return to the top.