[*The Supreme Mugwump]

POTTERSWORLD
TERMS OF SERVICE (ToS)
&
General Forum Rules

Legalities
Ratings
Character Creation Rules
-- Multi Char Rules
-- Sig/Avatar Rules

Conduct Rules
-- General Board Conduct
-- Character Conduct (applies to everyone)
-- Adult Conduct (see Adult Area ToS; viewable to Adult Characters only)
-- Student Conduct (see The Student Handbook)

Game Rules
-- RP Gamer's Rules (applies to everyone)

Your Panel

Disciplinary Policy (applies to everyone)

By joining Potter's World you indicate that you have read and do agree to abide by these rules. Failure to do so may result in warnings, disciplinary action, or removal from the boards.

[*The Supreme Mugwump]

Legalities

The following Terms of Service (ToS) and General Forum Rules are intended solely for the purpose of sites that are a part of FANFICTIONWORLD.NET. It may not be copied in whole or part in any form (electronic or otherwise) without the prior consent of the owner.

Disclaimers
PottersWorld is an unofficial, not for profit RPG fan site, and is in no way connected with J.K. Rowling, Scholastic Books, Bloomsbury Publishing or Warner Bros. It is not endorsed by any of the aforementioned parties. Rights to characters and their images is neither claimed nor implied.

All members and visitors to our website must comply with and understand the following:

I.Monitoring and Content. PottersWorld.net will make every effort to monitor it's discussion boards, postings, and outbound links for material we consider inappropriate, but does not guarantee suitability of content for all readers. You acknowledge that PottersWorld.net is viewed/read at your own risk. If you come across material which you find offensive or inappropriate, please contact the staff.

While the administrators and moderators of this site will attempt to remove or edit any generally objectionable material as quickly as possible, it is impossible to review every post. Therefore you acknowledge that all posts made to this site express the views and opinions of the authors and NOT the webmaster, administrators, staff and moderators and hence they will not be held liable.

II. Links. Although we may provide links to other websites, we are not responsible for any material at these sites. You acknowledge that you visit these other websites at your own risk.

III.Our Privacy Policy. Any information given to us (email address, name, etc...) will not be given to anyone outside the staff of this site and will be used ONLY for contact purposes concerning this site. We will not email you unless it directly concerns this site. While this information will not be disclosed to any third party without your consent, the webmaster, administrators, staff and moderators cannot be held responsible for any hacking attempt that may lead to the data being compromised or corrupted.

IV. Removal of Material. Although PottersWorld.net encourages creativity and discussion, we reserve the right to remove, limit access to, or censor posts, threads, or other material that we believe are inappropriate for this website at any time based on the terms and conditions within this document or other administrative documents within the site.

V. Copyright Disclaimer. Copyright and Intellectual Property Disclaimer. By agreeing to become a staff member, prefect, or any character classified as a "stock" character, you agree that all characters, graphics, assignments, documents, rules or textbooks created in the commission of PottersWorld and any of its affiliates becomes the property of Potter's World. We reserve the right to reproduce, edit or delete any content as the need arises. Upon your departure of Potter's World, you agree to relinquish all control to the intellectual property created in the commission of your association with the site and all property will be utilized how the site administrators deem fit. This disclaimer should not be construed to expand beyond the community of Potter's World and/or any of its affiliates. Should you decide to post the character at another site, you do so with the understanding that this in no way diminishes the creative control Potter's World site administrators exercise over the characters created at this site.

VI.Character Disclaimer.The staff at PottersWorld wish to acknowledge that your character(s) is/are yours, and you own the rights to the name, any artwork, and text you post with them. Because this is an interactive, role-playing community, by posting here, you give permission to the staff and other members to use your character's name and prior actions in their text as part of the game, and as part of that interaction. This also applies to use in any archival context should the staff deem your character's name/text necessary.

In addition, should you decide to leave PottersWorld by either abandoning your account or requesting deletion, you allow other members to discuss your character in passing should they choose to do so. The staff of PottersWorld will make every effort to ensure that such future discussions are kept within the context of the game, and not used in an exploitative or inflammatory way.

(following is a copy of what you agreed to when you signed up an account)

REGISTRATION TERMS AND RULES

Please take a moment to review these rules detailed below. If you agree with them and wish to proceed with the registration, simply click the "Register" button below. To cancel this registration, simply hit the 'back' button on your browser.

Please remember that we are not responsible for any messages posted. We do not vouch for or warrant the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any message, and are not responsible for the contents of any message.

The messages express the views of the author of the message, not necessarily the views of this bulletin board. Any user who feels that a posted message is objectionable is encouraged to contact us immediately by email. We have the ability to remove objectionable messages and we will make every effort to do so, within a reasonable time frame, if we determine that removal is necessary.

You agree, through your use of this service, that you will not use this bulletin board to post any material which is knowingly false and/or defamatory, inaccurate, abusive, vulgar, hateful, harassing, obscene, profane, sexually oriented, threatening, invasive of a person's privacy, or otherwise violative of any law.

You agree not to post any copyrighted material unless the copyright is owned by you or by this bulletin board.

By joining Potter's World you indicate that you have read and do agree to abide by these rules. Failure to do so may result in warnings, disciplinary action or removal from the boards.

[*The Supreme Mugwump]

Ratings: The 12+ Rule and The HP Canon Rule

All of the sites of FANFICTIONWORLD.NET (PottersWorld, HarryPotterFanFiction, FictionCentral, The Dark Arts) pride themselves on being safe for users of all ages. While sometimes it can be hard for the limited staff to keep track of all Terms of Service/Forum Rules violations, we do our best in enforcing our rules and procedures. We also ask that our members help to dig up anything that may have slipped through the cracks. As such, we have two rules that govern the content of PottersWorld: The 12+ Rule (for areas of the board that are visible to the public without an account), and the HP Canon Rule (for areas of the board only viewable with an account).

12+ Rule:
Anything posted in a public area of the site must be rated 12+ or lower. This rule includes the forums and all posts viewable to the public without an account, all graphics and the PM system, and anything in the Profile Member pages. The rating 12+ is for material designed for children age 12 and above. It may be more appropriate for children who have acquired the developmental skills needed to distinguish between make-believe and reality. Themes and elements in your posts may include mild fantasy or comedic violence. It contains little or no violence, no strong language and little or no sexual dialogue or situations.

For more on Personal Conduct for students, please see the Student Handbook, post #9.

HP Canon Rule
Because PottersWorld is based off of the Harry Potter series of books by JK Rowling, all content should be based on this canon. That is, if it is part of the book-series, it can be part of PottersWorld. We will take our definition of what is allowed as far as sex, violence, and some plotlines from the books. For the most part, this also applies to use of movie-canon.

With PottersWorld, we are, in effect, writing a gigantic multi-faceted story. All aspects of this story, from the snog session in the broom cupboard to the knock-down-drag-out fight between dark wizards and Ministry members must be in compliance with our HP Canon Rule. We know this site can cover a lot of different action aspects, so use the guidelines below to help you keep within the spirit of the HP Canon Rule:

Forbidden Material
Posting of pornography, racist or otherwise discriminating remarks, threats of harm, material that breaks any law or otherwise totally unacceptable posts or links to pages that contain inappropriate material will not be tolerated. Such material is entirely at the discretion of the staff to judge.

Forbidden material can be (but is not exclusively):
-- cancer
-- rape
-- sexual deviancy
-- suicide
-- self-harm/cutting
-- child abuse
-- spouse/boyfriend/girlfriend abuse
-- incest
-- student-teacher relationships
-- arranged/forced engagements/marriages
-- mental illnesses including (but not limited to) anorexia, depression, ADHD
-- stalking and 'stalkerish' behaviour


Romance
Where there is a young male/female student body, there are bound to be romantic encounters, and that's just fine. However, keeping in the mind the HP Canon Rule and what has occurred in the books/movies, you will need to contain the ... erm, vigor with which you describe these encounters. The following rules will apply:
-- kissing is allowed, but NO TONGUES.
-- hugging, snuggling is fine but rubbing may get you into trouble. Keep the rubbing to hair, arms, faces, backs.
-- keep your descriptions of physical contact to above the waist (for females, the chest area is off-limits).

Marriage/Engagements
Marriage and engagements are allowed in the books, so it is considered 'canon' and therefore allowed here. Marriage and engagements are permitted ONLY between adult characters. A student must have graduated from Hogwarts before being allowed to be engaged.

Please read the Adult World ToS for further information on marriages (student characters will not be able to view the Adult World ToS).

Slash
Slash (same-sex romantic relationships) should be treated in the same way as the heterosexual relationships. Kissing is allowed, but no touching below the waist. This forum is not the place to push any political or moral agendas, so please be tasteful.

Pregnancy
Pregnancy and pregnancy scares (even joking about them) are not permitted among student characters. Adult characters are permitted to have children but must follow the rules for such laid out in the Adult World ToS (student characters will not be able to view the Adult World ToS).

Violence
Conflict will be a key element at PottersWorld as it also is in the Harry Potter novels. Good vs. Evil make for really exciting interactions and PottersWorld will provide many venues for that. Tough matches on the Quidditch Pitch, practice duels in the Dueling Arena at Hogwarts -- all are places that have a potential to bring some harm to your character or others.
-- descriptions of wounds are allowed. Blood may be mentioned but please try to be tasteful. You don't want to make your readers sick.
-- fights between characters are allowed, but try to keep the age of the participants in mind. Younger fighters will probably be doing mostly shoving, while the older characters may get into more serious fights. Think of what the books have.
-- any fights taking place at Hogwarts will be treated by the Prefects and Professors accordingly. As a general rule, fighting is not permitted in British boarding schools, so anyone fighting should be prepared to suffer the consequences from the Hogwarts staff.
-- battles between characters should also avoid descriptions of terrible wounds. This will be easier in magical battles, but old-fashioned fist fights between opponents should concentrate on the conflict and the feelings (rage? fear?) of the individuals, not the various damage done to their bodies. Descriptions should be brief and then move on.
-- the Unforgivable Curses will not be used by underaged characters (still students at Hogwarts). Adult characters will learn the Unforgivable Curse only if deemed necessary by the GM.

Abuse
Abuse is a touchy area. Of course, Harry was most probably psychologically abused at the Dudley's, however, it never went to physical abuse. Therefore the following applies:
-- physical abuse is defined as any physical harm cause to an under-aged individual by on over-aged individual.
-- no mention of physical abuse is allowed, even if it's in the past.
-- sexual abuse is defined as any abuse of a sexual nature (rape, forced groping, forced kissing) by any individual of any age.
-- no mention of sexual abuse (this includes, rape and forced marriage)
-- as Harry and Merope both experienced abuse at the hands of their parents we allow neglect and psychological abuse to be mentioned on the board. If the staff deem the content to push the boundaries of appropriateness it may be removed.

"neglect" -- to pay little or no attention to; to fail to care for or attend to properly.
"abuse" -- to hurt or injure

Recently, we've seen a very disturbing trend at PW of members creating 2nd characters, usually of the opposite sex of their primary character, for the sole purpose of attacking their primary character, in the bizarre attempt to make a third party jealous or to gain attention.

The usual scenario: established girl-character is going along just fine. New boy-character comes along and begins insulting, verbally abusing, even slapping around established girl-character for no reason. Girl-character collapses into ball of quivering jelly, copious tears pouring from her eyes (while the player watches hopefully for another character to swoop in and "save her").

Not only is this ridiculously melodramatic, it is dangerously close to being an abusive relationship, something NEVER permitted on a 12+ board. We as staff are truly baffled at the idea of a girl setting her character up to be abused just to get attention. There are much better ways to get noticed than that.

Mental Illness
Mental illness is an extremely touchy issue and so should be treated with maturity and compassion. With this in mind, the following applies:
-- No student account can suffer from a mental illness. This includes (but is not limited to) anorexia, depression and ADHD.
-- No adult account can suffer from any mental illness except exhibition of defective reasoning ability, memory loss, loose grip on reality, especially as the result of magical accident, malady or battle. Extreme cases must be applied for at the Private Communication forum.
-- Mental illness is not allowed to be displayed by non-player characters. The only exception are defective reasoning ability, memory loss, loose grip on reality. Extreme cases must be applied for at the Private Communication forum.

'Joking' about mental illness: Please be tasteful with your 'jokes.' Any joking around that seems to be intended maliciously will be deleted. If the joke is harmless in nature and done in good taste and fun, they will be left alone. This is entirely at the discretion of the staff to judge.

Example of 'good' joking:
-- "Are all Gryffindors as insane as you are?"
-- "Do you know what? You're making me crazy!"
-- "He's absolutely mental!"

Example of 'bad' joking:
-- "I think we need to send her to the mental ward. She can wear a straight-jacket and drool in her jello."
-- "He's a complete mental case, if you ask my opinion. He should be committed and pumped full of anti-psychotics."

Swearing
No severe swearing. No profanity is allowed. Note that posting a single letter plus several asterisks (*) following it to simply indicate swearing is considered the same as swearing, and it will result in a warning.

Following are the only swear words that will be permitted:
Arse, Ass/Asshole: "Don't be an ass, James." "Goyle couldn't find his own asshole with a map and a flashlight."
Bastard: "I don't care what you think, Draco. You can be a right bastard at times!"
Bitch: "I wish she wouldn't act like such a bitch."
Bloody: "Bloody hell, Ron. Where did you get that?"
Bollocks:"That's bullocks and you know it, Ron!"
Bugger: "Bugger off, Fred."
Crap: "Ah crap, I tore my Charms essay!" "Well thats a load of crap!"
Darn: "Oh, darn! I forgot my Potions book in the common room. I'll be back in a minute."
Damn: "Damn it! - my pencil broke." (putting "god" in front of this word is NOT acceptable)
Hell: "Go to hell, Malfoy."
Poop: "I hate Care of Magical Creatures," exclaimed Parvati. "Just look at my new shoe, it's covered in unicorn poop!"
Piss, Pissed off: "Piss off, Granger!" "Once she hears about that, she's gonna be real pissed off!"
Sod off: "I told him to sod off."
Sucked, Sucks: "That test today really sucked!" "Did you hear he made the Quidditch Team? That really sucks!"

PLEASE NOTE! Some words are also censored (meaning you are not allowed to use them) that we do not consider appropriate for use on this board in any discussion, but that may not be considered a vulgarity. Those words are: retard, suicide, pot head, queer, wtf, skank, and other words that could be considered slurs.

[*The Supreme Mugwump]

Character Creation Rules

In any role-playing game, keeping good track of active players is essential. Please read through the following rules, then enter your character in the Character Role-Call thread in the Enter Your Character forum. All characters in this forum will be considered ACTIVE unless further designated by the staff.

Guidelines and Rules for Character Creation

Your Rights as a Character Owner
Please read topic VI. in the top portion of the ToS called Legalities. This concerns your ownership of your own character. Basically what this says is that by creating an account and posting on PottersWorld, you give up sole ownership of this character and its name but only under the following conditions:

-- that you allow other characters to talk about your character (in a manner that follows all ToS rules) within the context of the game.
-- that if your character "dies" within the game, or is deleted (either at your request or by the staff), other characters can and may continue to talk about your character, using their name and events posted by you previously on the board (other characters will NOT be allowed to god-mode yours, in other words, give it actions that have not been created by you).
-- that the staff of PotterWorld will make every effort to ensure that treatment of your character is handled in a sensitive manner, in good taste and within reasonable bounds. That is, once you leave a site like PW, you can reasonably expect that what you have done there will not be exploited in a way that is unfit or unseemly for their character's reputation or yours.

Please remember, this is the internet. You can only expect a resonable amount of control over what you post on it; once public, you lose total control forever. Our site costs money to operate, and by allowing you to post here free of charge, you are a guest, and as such, can expect a reasonable (but not total) amount of control over your creation. Because this is an "interactive" game -- not a personal story but an interactive multi-player activity -- it is impossible to expect 100% control over your creation. By posting here, you acknowledge that you give up some of that control.

Choosing a Name
-- When registering, please use ONLY the first and last name of your character. No middle names, titles, or initials are allowed. You ARE permitted to have a hyphenated first or last name, but bear in mind the length of your name and how it will appear to others.
-- In the member panels, the system will truncate (cut off) anything beyond 16 characters long.(example: The name "Bernadine VanHousen" will appear like "Bernadine VanHou...")
-- The following last name prefixes ARE permitted with a space between them and the last name:

• De
• Del
• Der
• Dos
• El
• La
• Le
• St
• Van
• Von

-- Anything beyond this list MUST have staff approval BEFORE registration (see Staff Contact List).
-- Your display name WILL BE YOUR CHARACTER NAME. Pennames have no place here; enter the name of your character as your display name.
-- Do not register a canon character or surname without prior permission from the staff. Be unique, create someone original and fun!

Surnames (last names) on this list are NEVER to be used:

• Black
• Crabbe
• Dumbledore
• Dursley
• Goyle
• Granger
• Krum
• Lestrange
• Lockhart
• Longbottom
• Lovegood
• Lupin
• Malfoy
• McGonagall
• Moody
• Patil
• Pettigrew
• Potter
• Quirrell
• Riddle
• Snape
• Tonks
• Umbridge
• Weasley
• Zabini

Choosing a Face
-- For specific instructions on claiming a character face, see the Enter Your Character forum.
-- The term 'character face' refers to the image/model/celebrity you use for your signature/avatar image. You cannot use the same character 'face' as a previously registered character without first getting the okay from a staff member.
-- In accordance with our privacy rules, personal pictures are not permitted.
-- Choose your face wisely, as neither your name nor your face can be re-chosen. If, however, you are having difficulty finding a face for you character, you may enter 'to be determined' in your role call claim and PM a Governor when you have made your final decision. DO NOT PM A GOVERNOR unless you are claiming a face late. If you claim it in the normal post at the Character Role Call, THERE IS NO NEED TO PM A GOVERNOR.
-- If you are giving up a face for a new one as your character ages, also let the staff know, so they can remove it from the list and allow another player to use it.
-- If you try putting up a celebrity face that another player has claimed, you will be issued a warning by the staff.

Your Character's Backstory
-- All characters are unique individuals, but you should NOT start with any of the following to try to distinguish your character as different from the rest:

• descendant of a founder
• descendant of canon character
• part-anything other than human (we are all humans here, not vampires, not veela, not centaurs, giants, or other creatures as noble as they may be. The only exceptions are if these traits are in your family history, i.e. your great grandmother might have been a veela, but that doesn't mean that you have remarkable sway over men).
• having remarkable powers (no animagi, legillimens, occlumens, you can't start fires because you're mad, you can't freeze water with a glance - - this is Harry Potter, not X-Men.)
• bizarre physical characteristics, like amazing eye colour that changes, hair that grows or shortens on its own, or any other physical attributes outside of what is in the "real world".
• mental or physical disability of any kind.

Adoption/Guardianship
Under-aged characters (those who have not yet graduated from Hogwarts) may be adopted or taken under the guardianship of an adult character ONLY under the following conditions:
-- you must first acquire approval by the staff through the Private Communication forum
-- you cannot advertise for an adult character to adopt you via the Want Ads forum
-- you cannot mass-PM members controlling adult world characters to 'adopt' you
-- it has been properly set up and RP'd by your character prior to the adoption (no "snap" decisions)
-- you cannot be "unadopted"; once the arrangement has been made, it cannot be undone UNLESS the adult is deleted or dies.
Once proper permission has been obtained, you can begin to RP this adult person as your adopted parent or guardian. You may meet them at the common, student-adult areas such as Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley (should it be registration weekend).

Sorting -- Please be aware of our procedure for the Sorting into the Hogwarts Houses. Characters will NOT be able to choose their own house. They will be assigned to a house by the staff. This will take place when a new student enters Hogwarts for the first time and posts in the Sorting area in the Great Hall. If you disagree with this rule, it would probably be best to search for another RPG site.

Originality
It goes without saying that the character you create should be YOUR creation. We don't want to see a rehash of your fav character from a TV/Movie/Book. Not only is that copying, it is dangerously close to copyright infringement. If the staff feels you are modeling your character's traits too closely to that of a famous character, you will be asked to change it or be subject to account removal.

Gender
We do understand that because a good portion of new members on PottersWorld will come over from HPFF (harrypotterfanfiction.com), most of them will be female. But PLEASE remember that if Hogwarts is populated by 50 girls and 2 boys -- let's just say that the Yule Ball will become a very tedious affair. So take a look over the current membership in the Character Role Call thread and if it looks over-populated with girls, why not try a boy character? Boys can have fun too!

Twins
Twins are not permitted except by special permission of the staff. If special permission is granted, it must be under the following circumstances:
-- the 2 accounts must be created and maintained by different players/handlers
-- the player/handlers must live in different households so as not to confuse IP addresses. NO exceptions!
-- if one twin fails to pass to the following year and the other passes, they will cease to be "twins", and be merely be siblings of different ages.

Relatives
Please read the topic LOCATED HERE for more information about having relatives.

If you want to have family members involved with either of our two Adult factions (the Order of the Phoenix or the Chapter of the Cadena), then you will need to read CAREFULLY the following links:

Issues concerning your relation to the Order of the Phoenix

Issues concerning your relation to the Chapter of the Cadena

Multiple Accounts or Alters
When the same player/handler creates more than one account, we call this having an 'alter'. The first character created is referred to as the "primary" and any after that are "alters".

Because we have had a large problem with members frivolously creating/deleting accounts in large numbers -- which does not give them enough time to properly develop a character -- the following rules are in place for creation of more than one account:

For all Members:
-- may not register more than 1 new account per term.
-- may not have more than 3 students at Hogwarts at any given time
-- may not have more than 4 accounts TOTAL without special permission from the staff (handling of stock accounts does not count)

If you have requested an account be deleted, or if an account is deleted due to inactivity:
-- you must wait ONE FULL TERM before you can register another new account
-- anyone with 10 or more accounts that have either been deleted by request or deleted due to inactivity within 1 calendar year will not be able to register any new accounts until their existing accounts reach the Adult World (graduate from Hogwarts)

For those with existing accounts ("the grandfather clause"):
-- if you already have over 3 students at Hogwarts, you may keep them
-- if you already have over the 4 character limit, you may keep them
-- the above rules apply for characters created AFTER today

If you want to try to risk ignoring these rules:
-- anyone attempting to register an account in violation of the above rules may have all their accounts deleted, and they themselves banned.

A word about IPs
IP -- (internet protocol) - a special number assigned to your computer/internet connection; it is also a primary way for the staff to identify which accounts go with with member.

The only way the staff has to identify whether an account belongs an individual member is through the IP. Therefore, the above rules WILL apply to those IPs. No one IP will be allowed to register more than one account per term. No IP will be allowed to hold over 4 accounts to the same IP except by special permission of the staff.

A word about Proxies:
Proxy -- a computer network service that may allow a member to hide their true IP.

The platform this board runs on is Invision Power Board (IPB) -- not to be confused with InvisionFree. IPB costs money to purchase and run, and therefore, it has FAR more to it than InvisionFree. We have some very powerful tools at our disposal, ones that can capture and store every IP that has ever logged onto an account on this board. Using those tools, the staff have the ability to search each IP thoroughly, and can keep a very accurate record of what accounts are connected through the IPs.

Some people may try to sneak on more accounts than allowed using a proxy server. This is not a good practice. First of all, you cannot guarantee that the proxy you use will be "private". Most proxy companies have a limited number of IP numbers to use, and you may find your character sharing the same proxy IP with another member -- someone who may misbehave so badly, they get banned. In that case, your account would be banned as well. Proxy sites are also somewhat of a pain to use; if you log onto our site through a proxy site, you may find your refresh time is incredibly slow, you cannot see certain things, or certain functions (like using editing or formatting) doesn't work for you. So too, if you slip up JUST ONCE and log on with another IP, our system keeps a record of this. Your supposed "secrecy" would be forever breached.

Account Security
It is your responsibility, not the staffs, to keep your account information private. Please keep in mind the following:

-- Think twice before registering someone else's account on your computer, even as a nice gesture. Anything this other person does to their account (disciplinary action, etc) will lead straight back to your account and you may be held responsible. Understand this -- there is no other way for the staff to track accounts except by IP addresses and if yours is connected to another's account, you may suffer the consequences of their actions.

-- DO NOT GIVE OUT YOUR LOGIN/PASSWORD TO ANYONE!! We cannot stress this enough. We do not accept the excuse that "my sister/brother/friend used my account and racked up those violations, not me!" You and you alone are responsible for your accounts.

[*The Supreme Mugwump]

Signature/Avatar Rules
(how to show your character in the best light)

We've all heard the saying, "a picture is worth a thousand words". Once you have created your character, you may want to give him or her a face. Pictures (or graphics) are the easiest way to do this; they can be visually appealing (or menacing) to other characters and give a real flavor and dimension to your posts.

Below are the specifics of avatars, signatures and a guide to the information contained in your panel.

AVATARS
The avatar is the small square picture that appears just under your display name in the upper left-hand side of a post. Though small, this is a powerful picture; it is often the first thing a reader will see about your post. The following rules must apply to avatars:
-- must be no bigger than 100x100px (pixels)
-- the image rated 12+ or lower
-- total file size used can be no bigger than 50kb

To set your avatar:
1. Click on MY CONTROLS (found in the upper right-hand corner of your screen)
2. Click on EDIT AVATAR SETTINGS (found on the lower left-hand side of the screen under the Personal Profile section)
3. Locate the entry ENTER A URL TO AN ONLINE AVATAR IMAGE and the blank box next to it. Paste in the URL of your avatar from your image hoster. NOTE: though the selection is still there, we do not allow uploading of images to PW; that function, if tried, will not work.
4. Click UPDATE AVATAR.

You should now see your avatar displayed. If you have done these things and you receive an error message and/or your image does NOT display, it could be one of the following:
-- your avatar file name is too long. If you have your avatar image in a sub-sub-sub album of your image hoster account, it may have created a long file name, something the avatar loader will not accept. Move your image in your image hoster to a base album with a shorter name.
-- your offsite image hoster link is broken. Check the URL name carefully.

------------------------------

SIGNATURES
A signature is the area of pictures/text that appears at the bottom of posts. The area can house a larger picture of your character and perhaps links to your author's/artists's pages. It's a little piece of personality to follow your posts and in conjunction with the avatar, can really help define your character.
The following rules apply to signatures:
-- Images, links and text may be rated no higher than 12+
-- you must not have more than four lines of text.
-- images/pictures alone must be no larger than 500x200 total. (see illustration below)
-- text appearing in the signature must be no bigger than the #2 setting on the font size selector.

To set your signature:
1. Click on MY CONTROLS (found in the upper right-hand corner of your screen)
2. Click on EDIT SIGNATURE (found on the lower left-hand side of the screen under the Personal Profile section)
3. Enter your text or create your links to your pictures.
-- to create links, click on the "tree" button located above your text box. Paste in the URL to your graphic in the box that pops up.
4. Click on UPDATE MY SIGNATURE.

You should now see your signature displayed.

Signature Content
Because this forum is technically acting as a role-playing setting, please use only character-related or plot-line related material in your signatures. Graphics of your character or themes along those lines are fine, as is promotions of your favorite PottersWorld affiliation ("Go Death Eaters!", "The Order Rules!"). However, please DO NOT put items that have nothing to do with the game or your character in your signature, i.e. your favorite rock-band's logo, your own website, your favorite TV show. The only exception to this is that you ARE allowed a small link to your own author's page at HPFF/FicCentral or your own artists page at TDA.

Members are allowed to use lines and quotes not written by them in their signature graphics (pictures) and in their text WITHOUT providing credit to the original author. However, you are allowed only 3 lines of uncredited quotes. If you use 4 lines or more, you MUST provide credit to the author or musical artist.

If a quote is used that is a one-line slogan from a company, this WILL need to be acknowledged. (ie. The brand name)

Graphics for Clubs & Groups
Please see the Student Handbook and the section on Clubs for further information on icons or graphics for clubs.

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REQUESTING AN AVATAR/SIGNATURE
There are two ways in which we recommend you get a signature set if you can't make them yourself -- use our own forum here to request graphics (in Graphics Central - you must be a member of PW and must have passed validation to see this forum) or use an off-site location called The Dark Arts.

To request a signature set from The Dark Arts, either sign into your TDA account or sign up, then follow their request instructions. The wider variety of photos you can give the artist to work with the better, but if you link them to a large gallery then be sure to define the mood you would like conveyed. If you have chosen an actor who has pictures of them at a variety of ages, specify what age you would like the set to be of. Within reason, you will be allowed to re-request sets as a character "ages," but please do not abuse this privilege as the artists of TDA generously use their free time to make your sets.

If you request and are granted a sig set by an artist at TDA, it is in their rules that you MUST put an acknowledgment to the artist in your signature text.

Lastly, you may not request a set until your post in the face claim has been approved. This is to prevent sets being made for people who are trying to claim a face that has already been claimed by a previous user.

SPECIAL NOTE: I have been informed by an administrator at The Dark Arts that some members from PottersWorld have been abusing the signature set requests area, requesting new graphics for every term at Hogwarts (every 4 weeks). This is EXCESSIVE and tries the patience and time of the personnel at TDA.

There is absolutely no need to have a new set for every term, but if you feel you must do this, do NOT request it from TDA. You will need to create your own set or find someone on your own to do this.

If our good name at TDA is abused further, they may refuse future requests from Pottersworld players and that would be sad. Or we may be forced to take measures that mean, once loaded, you will be unable to change your sig sets. I don't think anyone wants to get to that point.

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PERSONAL PHOTOS
Within your personal account settings is an area that says you can load a "personal photo". This is a reminder that no true personal photos are allowed on this site. Personal photos are defined as pictures of yourself, your family, friends or even your personal surroundings (school, home, etc.) or even pets. These are NEVER allowed. Online predators can take advantage of this and attempt to track you down.

[*The Supreme Mugwump]

Conduct Rules: General Board Conduct

(the following rules apply to every location within PottersWorld)
1. Purpose: These forums have been set up for the sole purpose of providing a setting for a role-playing game based on the Harry Potter series of books. If you need to carry on a discussion into something unrelated, please move it offsite. Before you joined the forum you agreed to it's terms and conditions. If you decide not to abide by these conditions, your account here will be terminated.

2. Personal Info: Do not publish or otherwise give out any personal information about yourself or others, such as addresses, telephone numbers or full names.

3. Treatment of Others: Please respect your fellow members. Rudeness, harassment, or abuse towards any member of the forums is prohibited. This includes incessant requests for a certain member to post or forcing them to RP scenes of issues that they may not be comfortable with.

Please read the article about Harassment here.

Bullying/Player Coercion
Pottersworld is an RPG accessed by people of all ages and backgrounds, and while all of our characters may be around the same age, it is important to be mindful of the age gap that does exist in real life. Some members are legally adults and others around their mid-teens (or younger) and while the romance here is 12+, be aware that some may not feel comfortable involving themselves in that kind of expression.

It is also important to remember that while your characters are friends/dating/mortal enemies, those dedications do not extend outside of what is being played on the board. No single person is obliged to RP with someone if they have other pursuits they wish to do with their characters. You have no say in how they spend their time here. It's not worth getting angry over if someone isn't replying as quickly as you want them to, or they are choosing to RP with someone else over you.

Try writing in a partnership and be understanding that sometimes inspiration and time constraints are a factor. A person may feel a strong tug towards another character or thread that does not involve you. Trying to force people to RP with you IS bullying and will not be tolerated.

If you have heard of or are the victim of this kind of behaviour, please don't hesitate to contact a Governor and we will investigate the matter.

4. Treatment of the Staff: Respect must also be extended to the staff, and this included IC staff (prefects, professors, etc.) The staff work many, many long hours keeping this site working and thriving. Abuse to the staff will not be tolerated. If you ever have dealing with a staff member that you feel are incorrect or not fair, please contact another staff member. Abuse to staff also includes a term we call "stalking" where a staff member is pestered with continual questions or repeated requests. We are here to answer your questions, but please do not abuse this privilege.

5. Board Moderation: We understand the desire to help, but if you're not a moderator, please don't moderate the board. You can offer helpful advice, especially to new characters/members. But please do not tell characters/members if they are doing something wrong. We do not want to place people in the position of judging each other; that is the staff's responsibility. Please report any rule breaking to the staff (see Staff Contact List).

6. Board Promotion: Occasionally, we may need to take on additional staff. Trust that we will notice helpful people, and will potentially promote. But don't PM us asking for a promotion... that won't really help you and could be seen as staff stalking or abuse.

7. Song lyrics / Poem stanzas: Copyright violation is a very serious issue, one of the few ways in which websites can be shut down.

At PottersWorld, you may use no more than 3 lines of quotes (text, lyrics, etc) without giving a credit or acknowledgment of the original author. Should you use 4 lines or more (no more than 4 lines can be used in an individual post), you should include an acknowledgment to the original author/artist at the end of your post.

Example: *the above lyrics are from the song "The Rose" by Bette Midler.

-- for written material, give the name of the author
-- for lyrics, give the name of the performing artist (you need not give the songwriter)

If you wrote the text/poem/lyrics yourself and you go over 3 lines, you must still note this so the staff does not think you are copyright infringing. Please keep serenading, song writing, crooning and balladeering to a minimum. This is supposed to be a magical world dealing with issues of magic learning, mysteries and all things Harry Potter. This is not "High School Musical" or Julliard.

8. Translating Non-English Words/Phrases If you choose to use non-English words or phrases in your posts, signatures, profile page or anywhere else on this site, you MUST provide a translation into English. This can be in the form of a small note at the end.

9. No spamming. Spam is defined as Silly Pointless Annoying Messages. Spamming can be described as posting nonessential, off-topic, one-word or even empty posts, and multiple topics that already exist or are similar in nature to already existing topics. Don’t spam. It just ruins the experience for everyone else and is annoying. Spamming involves too short posts, posts not on topic, posts placed in the wrong forum, as well as burns, insults, and put downs. All posts must be in character except in the Help/Ask Staff Sections or where designated. All regular In Character posts must be a minimum of twenty words
Special Note: Quoting someone else (copy/pasting their words into your post) as a way of holding a "conversation" does NOT count toward the 20 word minimum. Those 20 words must be those written by you, not someone else.

10. No double posting. Double posting is making two or more consecutive posts. Doing this does not give others adequate time to reply. Edit your original post rather than make a new one. Please do not create a new topic if there are topics regarding your point already available. If you cannot find an existing topic in relation to your query or thought, you can then feel free to post a new one. We do understand the sometimes computer glitches happen; if you accidentally double-posted the same thing, please report it in the Ask the Staff forum, to the pinned thread ("Double Post Boo-Boo's"). It will be taken care of by the staff.

There are areas around the board where double-posting IS permitted. Those will be marked specifically as such by instructions in that particular forum's pinned rules (example: The Owlrey).

11. Linking. Because this is a role-playing game forum, linking to other websites is not permitted. The only exceptions are The Dark Arts (the-dark-arts.net) and the websites of FANFICTIONWORLD.NET. including HarryPotterFanFiction.com. You are permitted to link to your author's page at Harrypotterfanfiction.com or at Fictioncentral.net, or your artist's page at The Dark Arts. You CANNOT link to a specific story.

No images may be put within individual posts unless you have prior permission of the staff.

You may not link to any threads you make in Pottersworld to "advertise" what you have written. The site is routinely cleaned out and so your link will at some point "die." Additionally, its just not needed as the profile pages let readers follow your posts/topics anyway. The only exception is linking to your own Character Library thread.

12. Promotions of Other Sites: Topics and threads containing advertising or promoting other websites are not permitted.

13. Staying Active: PottersWorld is an active board, and we want active members. All accounts that are inactive for two months will be deleted unless you have made prior arrangements with a Governor. By "inactive" we mean you have not logged into your account. Once deleted, an account is gone forever and cannot be revived. Read more on this policy here.

If you have a student character(s), the rules for class advancement are located here in the Student Handbook. Student accounts that are not reasonably active are not advanced to the next year.

14. Absences: Everyone needs to be absent at one time or another. You do not want to leave the people you are RPing with hanging by leaving without notice, so please post in the Absence Thread when you will be gone. There are more explanations of this policy located in the first post of the Absent Thread.

15. Ask the Staff: This document cannot possibly encompass all the variables to the rules. When you are in doubt that a particular action or plotline is ToS compliant, ASK THE STAFF! They are only a PM away. The staff are any of the Governors or Magistrates.

[*The Supreme Mugwump]

Conduct Rules: Character Conduct

Two very important distinctions need to be made when entering the role-playing world. They are "character" and "player".

Character -- the entity you created for PottersWorld, the one you registered with. Most characters on this board will start at students at Hogwarts.

Player -- the person behind the computer screen controlling the character. The real YOU. Also referred to as the "handler".

In Character (IC) vs. Out of Character (OOC)
In Character refers to within the world of the characters, rather than the world of the players. That is, you should make decisions about actions based on what your character would do, how your character would behave based on his/her past actions and experiences. A character talking to another character is an IC interaction, set within the IC world, while two players talking about a real life football game or their real lives is an Out of Character ('OOC') interaction.

All posting at PW needs to be IC except for the following forums:
-- Things You Need To Know First
-- Your Plot

Thus, IC and OOC are basic concepts for roleplaying, and complaints/praises about player behavior will often employ them. For example, "That was funny, but not really in character." (This would suggest that the action in question was not something the character would have likely done; rather, the player of that character is being criticized for trying to get laughs by breaching realism.)

OOC can also have almost moral connotations, when it is said to be unrealistically interfering with IC factors. For instance, some players are criticized for interfering with their character's actions and psychology to produce a desirable OOC effect. These players are often believed to be treating the roleplay as a "game" rather than as storytelling. While the term game is often used to describe roleplay, purists observe that important traits distinguish it. For instance, in a traditional "game", the player molds the character, forcing it to play out the wishes and desires of the player, whereas in roleplay, the player themselves attempt to become the character and "realistically" portray him or her, as an actor might portray a role.

In role playing communities, it is high praise to have said of your character that is was playing an action IC, while it is considered an insult or the sign of an amateur to be told your character is behaving OOC.


A final note: even in their darkest days, Tom Riddle and Draco Malfoy were always respectful to the professors and staff at Hogwarts. Perhaps everyone should think upon this when they decide how their characters would behave in certain situations. Sure the Marauders had some mis-adventures, but they did not run rampant throughout the school. Please try to rein in your enthusiasm at playing bad characters; this is not a reform school. I'm sure Hogwarts had to expel the occasional student; please don't make us do the same thing.

[*The Supreme Mugwump]

RPG Gamer's Rules

Rules for actual role-playing can be found in the following document:

Role Playing: The Art Form

[*The Supreme Mugwump]

Your Panel

Your panel is the area to the left of your post. It contains all sorts of information about your character, most of which is placed there by the system. It's a good idea to glance at this area every now and then -- some things will change periodically, perhaps without your knowing it!

The panel is also a good way to see the status and information of other characters. You will know which characters are which, how long they've been around, what their house is, etc.

A
This is the name you registered under and will appear to all users.

B
This is your chosen avatar.

C
This is your member title. There are many sorts of titles, some assigned by the staff (like the shopkeepers or ministry officials), and some assigned by the system based on your post count (beginning player, novice, etc.)

D
This is your assigned group banner. There are many types of groups -- it would be a good idea to keep an eye on your group banner, because it can change at any time, indicating that you can see areas of the board you were never able to before. Reasons for the group banner changing MIGHT be post count, tasks performed, school lessons completed, etc.

E
This area shows your personal member statistics.

F
This is your affiliation. If you are a student, this will show your house once you are sorted when you reach Hogwarts (Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Slytherin). If you are an adult, this will either be blank, Wizarding Citizen, a feather (to indicate a member of the Order of the Phoenix), or broken chain (to indicate a member of the Chapter of the Cadena).

G
This shows the character's Career title; for adult characters only.

H
This is the Governor's Quality Poster Seal, awarded to member's who exhibit excellent writing and RPing skills.

J
Your Warning Level Bar. If you click on the number/percent (0%) sign, you will be shown your account record. This will show any violations you have committed and any permanent records the staff has attached to your account (such as graduation dates, explanation of suspension, etc.). Each time you are warned, the level will rise by 10%. Please see the Disciplinary Action post below for further information.

[*The Supreme Mugwump]

Users found to be in violation of the rules can find a variety of actions taken based on the offense.

DISCIPLINARY POLICY

There are two kinds of disciplines at PottersWorld:
1. discipline that is real, the result of real rule-breaking of the forum rules. (OOC)
2. discipline that is part of the game, part of the role-playing at Hogwarts and beyond. (IC)

When you receive a warning PM, this is usually the result of the automatic warning system the staff will activate, the indicator of which is found in your panel (see Your Panel). By clicking on the percent number, you will be shown a box containing the comments about your infraction. Repeated warnings can result in suspension, deletion and banning.

The staff will use a code when issuing warnings.

IC: If the message starts with IC, this means the post is being made "in character" of the role-playing. In other words, your character is being warned for perhaps a rule breaking at Hogwarts. These warnings are not board disciplines, they are part of the game (yes, the staff plays too). Your character should pretend they are serious, perhaps a detention or other punishment is issued. You will not be suspended or banned from the board for multiple warnings UNLESS your warnings exceed 50%. At that point, you will be issued a REAL OOC warning (see next), which will be issued against your account and against your record. 3 IC warnings will equal the same as 1 OOC warning and multiple IC's may prohibit your character from making it to the adult world.

OOC: If a message starts with OOC, this means things are more serious. This is an action that was taken for genuine TOS violations. These should be taken very seriously. Usually when a member hits 50% warnings, they are suspended, and continuation of infractions after the suspension is lifted will result in deletion of account.


Failing to follow any of the Rules of the Forum can be cause for a member to have disciplinary action taken against them. Following are examples of ways in which actions may be taken:

1st offense for a minor infraction:
-- Informal warning: member may have a PM sent to them by Staff, detailing the problem.
-- Editing of post: the post the member made may be edited by Staff.

2nd offense for a minor infraction:
-- Formal warning: member will have a 10% warning issued to them in the warning bar underneath their avatar in their panel (read more about the warning bar in the Panel information area).
-- Editing of post: the post the member made may be edited by Staff.

3rd and later offenses for a minor infraction:
-- More Formal warnings: member will have more warnings issued against them in 10% increments. Repeated warnings can result in suspension, deletion of account and banning of the IP.

Major Offenses:
-- Depending on the nature of the offense, your account may be suspended, deleted and/or your IP banned.

All rulings and actions against members will be entirely at the discretion of the webmaster, administrators, staff and moderators of PottersWorld.