Official Hogwarts Rules

[Professor Matthew Potter]

The following terms are subject to change at Administration discretion without prior warning.

• List of Contents
  Section 1: General Rules
  Section 2: Role Playing Rules
  Section 3: Graphics Rules
  
  
• General Rules
  
  
  
  
  » 1. Respect: This is a very important rule that should not be taken lightly. If you wish to be treated with respect you must give it as well. Rude and immature behavior will not be tolerated.
  
  » 2. Administration: Whether an Administrator or a Moderator, if they ask you to do something please do not argue with them.
  
  » 3. Vulgar Language/Sexual References: This forum is rated PG13 - let's keep it that way. A censor will automatically block any use of foul language, but please do not attempt to be clever and evade it - if we wanted you to swear we would remove the censor. Also, in the area of sexual references please tread very carefully. Any content that we find to be inappropriate will be removed and a verbal warning will be issued.
  
  » 4. Racial/Religious/Prejudice Comments Posts containing anything that may be considered offensive will be automatically removed and immediate action will be taken. We take comments such as this very seriously, for it is not alright to insult anyone based upon who they are or where they come from.
  
  » 5. Character's Names Upon registering, you should modify your profile and include some necessary information such as your character's name. You may not leave you name as that you registered with - names like "Doggygurl18b04" will not be accepted. Instead, you must have the name (first and last) of your character. If you need help thinking of a name, ask an admin, another member, or check out a site like babynames.com. Also, please note that we do not accept character's names/histories from other books, movies, bands, ect. We strive for originality and copying another's work isn't original.
  
  
  
  
• Role Playing Rules
  
  » 1. No Cannon Character Relations: If you have not already read our plot, it is suggested that you do so. Because our time frame is set 200 years after the battle for Hogwarts, the trio and their children are long dead. Thus, we should see no applications for cannon characters.
  
  » 2. Cannon Character Relations: You are not allowed to have the last names of characters from the books, unless, of course, it is something simple like Black. However, if you are to use this particular name, you are not allowed to be related to a character from the book. Decedents of the trio or their friends, or even their children will not be accepted. Why? We would like our forum to be original, and if ten different people were descendants of Harry Potter it would hardly surface as original.
  
  » 3. God-Modding: This term refers to the unreal invincibility of a character, which often results in someone manipulating the actions of another character without the owner's permission. This is not tolerated at Hogwarts, and we do not want to see it used at all.
  
  » 4. Mary/Gary Sues: This term refers to a character that has no flaws, or is perfect in every way. Even in the real world, everyone has a few flaws - there shall be no exceptions here. Your character cannot be perfect in every aspect.
  
  » 5. Chat Speak: This term refers to words often used on the computer such as "lol" or "brb" - within posts this is not allowed unless you have something very brief to say OOC - in which you should make enclose these words in brackets so they do not get mixed in with your writing. This is allowed in PM's , but please keep it off of the boards.
  
  
• Graphics Rules:
  
  » 1. Size Limitations: The entire area of your signature should not exceed a width of 500 pixels by a height of 250 pixels. Why? It stretches the page for those who have a screen resolution of 800x600 and it slows down the loading process for those who use dial-up. If you are not sure exactly how big this is, click here. All graphic designers are to note that their banners should not exceed 500x200 pixels - that way, people still have room to include other things.
  
  » 2. Links in Signatures At this time we currently allow people to place links within their signatures, but please do not abuse this privilege. If we find that people are using tons of images/ size six font to promote a website we will alter this rule accordingly.
  
  » 3. Flashing Icons/Signatures Out of consideration to those who have epilepsy, flashing avatars or signatures will not be permitted at Hogwarts. These can trigger seizures and we would appreciate it if everyone could access this forum without fear of medical issues.
  
  » 4. Advertising: You may not advertise a forum anywhere outside of the 'Advertisements' or your signature/profile. Those caught doing so, whether it be anywhere else within the boards or PM will receive an immediate warning - next comes a ban. We will not tolerate any form of spamming.