Gryffindor/HOL FAQ

The Ministry of Gryffindorian Information
Office of the FAQs

Welcome to Gryffindor, a house known equally for its bravery and insanity. If you are a new student and unfamiliar with HOL, or need a refresher course on all the new changes to the house and HOL, we have constructed this helpful section (a FAQ) to assist you on your quest for knowledge. We recommend that you read this entire document at least once.

In addition to this FAQ, there is also a very useful document known as THE HOL HANDBOOK. The HOL Handbook will answer most all of your questions as it is a compendium of knowledge designed to help you through your time on HOL. The HOL HANDBOOK can be found at http://hol.org.uk/handbook.php. Some of the information that is found in the handbook is available on this page.

IT IS A MANDATORY REQUIREMENT, STARTING 1 SEPTEMBER 2005, THAT EVERY NEW GRYFFINDOR READS THIS FAQ. RETURNING STUDENTS SHOULD READ THIS ALSO, AS A LOT OF RULES AND POLICIES HAVE CHANGED FOR THIS SCHOOL YEAR.

- READ THE ANNOUNCEMENT IN THE CR FOR FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS -

Click on the bookmarks below to jump to each section.

Hogwarts OnLine Information:

Main Page of HOL: http://hol.org.uk. On it, you’ll find links to just about everything you need.

How to Sign Up for HOL:

To become a member of HOL you must sign up with a proper name, i.e.: A first name and a last name, not including numbers, include spaces between the first and last name, and not the same as a famous person.

Fern Davant is a valid name.
FernDavant is not valid.
FernDavant457 is not valid.
Bob Newhart is not valid.

Next, you must take the entry exam to join HOL. The entry exam is a series of questions which will see how well you’ve read the handbook and how well you understand the procedures and policies of HOL. You can take this as many times as you want, but you must pass it to become eligible for the next step in HOL membership. Access the Handbook at http://hol.org.uk/handbook.php

Once you have passed the entry exam, you can be sorted into one of the four houses of HOL - Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw or Slythern.

After you have been sorted, you will receive a student ID. Then you must signup for the HOL OFFICE at http://www.hol.org.uk/office/office.php. Inside your HOL office you will find important information. This is also where you can sign up for classes, keep track of how many points you have, and see if you have gotten any awards.

HOL Status and Participation

Inside the office is a button where you can click that you are returning for a new year at HOL. As long as you indicate that you are active, and continue earning points for HOL you will be an active student. You don’t HAVE to earn points to be able to do fun things in HOL, but it is VERY important if you want your house to win the House Cup. More information on points will be given later.

If you go 60 days without earning points, you are a passive student, and you do not count as an active member of the house.

If you would like to quit HOL you have to set your status to quit by pressing the END MEMBERSHIP button, otherwise you will just be a passive student.

When returning for a new year, you must indicate this by pushing a button in your office. For new signups and new students, this is done automatically.

Classes, Graduation, and the School Year

There are three terms in an academic school year at HOL. Between each term there is a break where no points can be sent in and no work is given. The school calendar is as follows:

Autumn Term: September 19, 2005 - December 16, 2005
Christmas Break: December 17, 2005 - January 8, 2006
Winter Term: January 9, 2005 - March 24, 2006
Easter Break: March 25, 2006 - April 16, 2006
Spring Term: April 17, 2006 - June 23, 2006

HOL Classes can run over all three or just one or two of these terms. To signup for classes, use your office and click on the Signup For Classes link.

To graduate a year of HOL you must earn 3 Quills.

What are Quills?

Quills can be earned by taking classes, or doing extra work, or participating in contests. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO EARN QUILLS TO PARTICIPATE IN HOL! You will however not graduate to the next year without Quills.

HOL Forum Tour

So, you as a young student wish to find somewhere where you can chat and share information to your heart's content? Well, look no further than the HOL forums, a great place where students can gather and talk about almost anything, as long as they follow all HOL rules. The HOL forum is found at http://hol.org.uk/forum

The first section of forums in the HOL forum is the HOL section, which contains things related to HOL.

The first and most important forum in the HOL section is the Announcements section. Here, important news and information pertaining to HOL is given out for all to see. Helpful rules and forum guidelines have also been pinned in this section, so make sure to stop by and read these notices before you post. Only HOL staff is allowed to post in this section.

Below the Announcements section is The Great Hall, where students may discuss anything related to HOL. It should be noted, that most contests are announced in The Great Hall, rather than the Announcements so that students can reply with questions and concerns, so you must constantly check this. Inside, you can find topics discussing your HOL character, HOL lineage, and even family and friends around HOL.

The next section is Quidditch Talk, where HOL quidditch games, quidditch announcements, and posts about how to try out for quidditch are made. This is the area where you can congratulate Gryffindor on a job well done if they win a game, or tell them that they tried hard if they lost.

Underneath Quidditch Talk is the Ask a Prefect board where you can field questions to prefects, professors, and other HOL staff to answer. However, please make sure to read the guidelines first, before posting, and please search the handbook for the answer to your question. Also, and perhaps most importantly, students should NOT answer questions in Ask a Prefect. This is to prevent conflicting or inaccurate information from confusing students.

The next section is the Offices section where staff offices are housed. In this section is a few subforums. The first is Professor Dybendahl's office where you can alert the headmaster to problems concerning the website or HOL office. Below that is the Hogsmeade office, where Jessa and other members of the Hogsmeade planning committee do their work, behind closed doors! The next office is the Awards Committee which gives out Order of Merlin's and Headmaster's awards, also behind closed doors. Finally, there is a section where RPG mods are planning the creation of the yet-to-be named HOL Role playing section.

So ends the HOL section of the forum.

The next section is the Students Lounge, where students can discuss anything at all. The first section under that heading is also called the Students Lounge. Inside, various discussions take place, and there are also four other forums. The Book Talk forum is where people discuss their favorite or sometimes lease favorite books. The Movie Talk sections allows people to talk about movies they like or have seen recently, and what sorts of opinions they formed over them. The Music Talk section allows you to share your favorite type of music and all your musical opinions with others. Finally, the Sports Talk section lets you talk about sports of all kinds with other HOLers.

Below the Students Lounge is General Harry Potter where you can talk about anything at all related to Harry Potter. Inside, is the HP6 forum where you must use spoiler tags to discuss things. If you do not use spoiler tags, you might spoil an unfortunate soul who has not read Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince yet, so be careful!

Under this forum is The Bulletin Board where you can tell people when you're leaving, or coming back from a vacation. Also, it's a place where people post birthday greetings and wishes to their friends. Keep an eye out on that special day, you might even find a message there for you!

A new section of the HOL forum starts here: HOL Classes. The first forum under this section contains important announcements about HOL classes, as well as Professor and Student Teacher introductions, and class explanations.

The next section after this is the class forum for the Headmaster's class: The Squibbler. The Squibbler is a fictional newspaper magazine which tells tales about events which 'occur' after HP 6. Underneath this section is a number of forums for a few of the HOL classes. Classes like Deep Thoughts with Harry Potter, History of Magic, and Magic of Flash are all contained in here.

The next section of the forum is HOL clubs. In here are contained the forums for HOL's clubs.

The first forum is for the HOL Tolkien Society, a club where enthusiasts of the writer JRR Tolkien meet to discuss his many and varied works, as well as the movies and other things based upon his works.

The next forum is for the Drama Club, a club where members who are interested in acting, plays, or even playwriting gather to discuss their mutual interests.

The final forum is the HOL PPC club, a pen pal club for HOL students.

Below this you can see a section titled Board Statistics. Here you can find out who has the most posts for the day, see birthday announcements, and look at what members are currently online. For you true statistics junkies, you can also spot the members HOL has.

Finally, at the very bottom, there's a button which allows you to change the color scheme, language, and version which you view the forum at.

Other Important Information for the HOL Forum

Login Issues:

Ask a Prefect Forum Rules: Only Prefects can answer questions in the Ask a Prefect Section on the HOL forum, once the school year starts you will lose points if you answer a question another student asked.

Spam: SPAM can be a lot of things: useless or pointless posts, especially anything whose sole purpose in life is to hike up your post count to get a broom, like lightning rounds. On the forum boards, campaigning for prefect, quidditch captain, etc. will be considered SPAM. SPAM will lose house points!

One word post, multiple one word posts, simple "I agree" posts, creating new threads that ask questions that have already been answered in the FAQ, posting in topics that are over a month old, discussing your broom, your lack thereof, the arrival of your new broom, the impending arrival of a new broom, etc., etc… is all considered SPAM, but is by no means an exclusive list. If you're not contributing anything to the discussion, don't post! You may lose points for it. At the very least, you risk irking your fellow schoolmates and professors. Remember that the boards will soon be managing 3000 registered students.

Brooms: Brooms are awarded every 100 or so posts. For example, after 100 posts, you get an Oakshaft; after 200, a Moontrimmer; after 300, a Silver Arrow; after 500, a Cleansweep One; after 750, a Comet 140; after 1,000, a Cleansweep Two ... and so on and so on. DO NOT SPAM in order to get a better broom. Brooms have no further importance for anything in HOL. Oh, and NEVER EVER ask how you get a broom on the HOL forum. It’s a silly question to be frank, and we post the answer everywhere and anywhere every year.

HOL MAIN PAGE TOUR

HOL - Virtual Hogwarts main page offers many important links to many places. Beneath the banner you will see the date and HOL time so one can easily keep track. Above the banner, to the right, you will see small links to each House's official directory.

Below the banner, to the left is the current day, and to the right, is the time, HOL time that is. HOL time is also known as GMT.

The most locations and links can be found in the left-most table under the title “Main Areas” which include:

Entrance Hall- a link that merely gets you back to the main page.

Great Hall News - the place where you can get updated on the most recent happenings at HOL, updated by Ravenclaw Professor Prof. Rhiannon Llewellyn.

HOL Office - for students to access their student profile, and check out their friend's student profile! This is very important because here is where you can change your official contact email and sign-up for classes at the beginning of term!

HOL Classes - Here is where you can get the complete list of classes offered at HOL for the year. Listed with the title of all classes also are the professor in charge, websites, forums and contact emails.

HOL Forum - The place where everything happens! Join in on conversations about HOL, Hogwarts, Harry Potter or just life in general! Just be sure to follow all rules in place. *g*

HOL Handbook - A MUST READ BY ALL STUDENTS. Here is where all questions are answered, from "what is a broom?" to "what is HOL's dress code?"

HOL Contacts - Here is listed every single contact you will need for HOL, from the Headmaster himself, to your professors, to House prefects to club organizers!

HOL Calendar- Here is an electronic calendar which tells you all about upcoming HOL events or important events for Harry Potter fans like a new movie or book.

"Sub Areas" is a section of other important HOL links and directories. This includes Quidditch Arena where you can find the latest information on HOL Quidditch. The HOL Library where one can curl up with their favorite book written by an HOLer. HOL Hogsmeade where students can go to shop and some fun! The HOL Trophy Room is where one can find the latest awards awarded by each House and HOL as a whole. The HOL Vaults goes through some HOL archives of fun activities that students have participated in over the year, and Logout allows for those to remove those cookies set in place by the HOL main page.

Down the middle are the important links where you can Join HOL, sign up for HOL Classes, Play Quidditch, and Meet Friends. HOL signups are always open, so please feel free to signup anytime!

The task bar too your left is full of interesting things. At the top is the HOL Calendar which tells you what event is coming up next. Below that we have the Points Race status! Check to see where your House is in the race! Below that we have the HOL Search function. Can't find what you are looking for? Type in a keyword and you should be there faster than you can say "Floo Powder". Beneath that is the all important CGI Gateway to HOL Chatrooms on IRC, where you can visit HOL channels and meet and greet fellow HOLers in real time! Remember to be nice however. Then we have the options in Choosing an HOL Skin, from the regular HOL Default, to.. Crazy Banana Skins??? We then have the list of the HOL Forum's Most Active Posters and a recommended website, the HPGalleries!

That should conclude your tour of the main page of HOL! Remember to READ THE HOL HANDBOOK and we hope you have fun.

GRYFFINDOR INFORMATION:

Gryff.net:The Gryffindor Home Page: http://www.gryff.net
FIND EVERYTHING YOU NEED FOR GRYFFINDOR HERE!! Announcements, FAQs, everything….learn it, live it, love it. You must love it because you are reading it! :D

The Gryffindor Common Room (CR) : http://www.gryff.net/cr/

Registering for the Gryffindor Common Room:

To register to the Gryffindor Common Room, look for a link beneath the Common Room Banner with the words, "Register". Click that and fill out all the information. ONLY GRYFFINDOR STUDENTS AND STAFF CAN REGISTER FOR THE COMMON ROOM. You are only validated by the Admin if you have signed up with your HOL Name, the Email you used to register to HOL, and are a member of Gryffindor.

Accounts are deleted because:

1. Your Email address did not appear on Gryffindor database
2. Wrong/Incomplete HOL Name ( you *MUST* use your [u]FULL[/u] HOL name! If you're name on HOL is Hermione Granger, then please sign up for the Common Room as "Hermione Granger". Names like harrypotter4evah, Hermione, wa600, dkrebvwqw, or dragoness@email.com or anything like that are NOT acceptable usernames to register by)
3. You are not a member of Gryffindor House.

Validation for the Gryffindor Common Room: Once you've registered to the Gryffindor Common Room, you will be automatically set to VALIDATING, and you can check to see that you are in the group by looking to your left under your name, and you will see:

[color=red]Group: Validating
Posts: 0
Manes: 0
Member Inventory: View[/color]

This means that your registration is being processed by the Gryffindor Administration. While your registration is been processed, you cannot look up fellow Gryffindor member's accounts, perform searches, Look up the Member's List, PM other members or receive them. You CAN, however, post in the forums you can view.

All validating students have to wait at LEAST SEVEN (7) to NINE (9) days before they can be confirmed into the Gryffindor Common Room. We need at least that long to make certain that you are indeed a member of HOL and of Gryffindor House.

Once you've been validated, the administration will move you to the New User group. You can view profiles and receive PMs. A New User is not allowed to start topics. You are also not allowed to access Gryffmart or earn Manes.

First year promotion is done by the Gryffindor Administration, whenever they feel compelled to empty the New Users group. So you may have to wait for some time before you're officially a "First Year" on the Gryffindor Common Room. The whole validation to First Year process usually takes 10 days. Note again that all this is done MANUALLY, so please be patient. Whining about how long it's taking to get your account validated, and moved into your year group will upset the admins and shows us that you haven't really read this FAQ! Please be courteous.

As a first year, you can now start topics and earn Manes by posting (Please note that certain areas of the Gryffindor Common Room do not count to your post count or your Mane total) and buy items from Gryffmart.

IMPORTANT: HOW DO I KEEP (or delete) MY ACCOUNT IN THE CR?

Due to rolling admissions in HOL (meaning that sign-ups are constant throughout the year) we are always validting new students for the common room. However, many of our new students do not stay in HOL and our CR cannot accomodate the hundreds of accounts that will lay inactive. Therefore, in order to keep the CR running smoothly for our members, we have to institute a clean up program for our databases.

Your account will be deleted if:

1. You fail to login to your CR account for a period of 4 months. We will run a search on all users who have not logged in in 4 months. This does not mean that you have not posted for 4 months, as some members like to read the CR and do not post. It simply means that you have not visited the CR in 4 months.

2. Every member of the CR gets an OwlPost newsletter. You cannot unsubscribe to this. If you have a CR account, you get it. If your email bounces this newsletter back twice, you will get an email asking if your email information is correct, or if you still want your account on the CR. If we do not hear from you and your account shows inactivity for 4 months, it will be deleted.

3. You may also email a prefect or post in the CR that you would like your account deleted. We'd apprecite this as it would cut down on our work.

4. You have been expelled from HOL. (duh)

If your account has been deleted and you wish to reactiviate it, simply sign up again with your HOL name and your HOL ID. DO NOT make up a new name. Please use the original name that you signed up with.

Posting in the CR: Some General Rules & Guidelines

How do I find people on the CR? It's easy! Click on the Members link at the top of the page. You can use the drop down menus on the bottom of the Member search page to narrow down who you are looking for. You can search by year group or by name. If you search for a person's name, you do not have to type in their complete name, a few letters will work too.

SPAM (unnecessary posts): is unwelcome here in the Common Room, and anyone caught spamming will have their CR account manually edited by the admins so they will have to start over with their post counts. If the problem is severe, points will be lost.

"SPAM can be a lot of things: useless or pointless posts, especially anything whose sole purpose in life is to hike up your post count to get a broom, like lightning rounds. On the forum boards, campaigning for prefect, quidditch captain, etc. will be considered SPAM. SPAM will lose house points! Spam in the CR will mean a loss of manes and a reduction of post count. In some cases, your warning level will be raised as well.

One word post, multiple one word posts, simple "I agree" posts, creating new threads that ask questions that have already been answered in the Handbook, discussing your broom, your lack thereof, the arrival of your new broom, the impending arrival of a new broom, etc., etc… is all considered SPAM, but is by no means an exclusive list. If you're not contributing anything to the discussion, don't post! You may lose points for it. At the very least, you risk irking your fellow schoolmates, prefects, and professors. Remember that the boards will soon be managing 3000 registered students. Keeping the chaff (SPAM and junk) down will help ensure the grain (good discussion) doesn't get lost in the jumble. Or maybe what's there is enough…"

Also considered spam: posting in month old threads that have no relevance. Don't do this. Even if you are just catching up, don't post.

EXCEPTION: In the Zen of the Lion, spam is permitted... however all posts, spam included, MUST adhere to the Haiku form. And, of course, inappropriate language will not be tolerated under any circumstances.
EXCEPTION: In the House Elf Liberation Front (HELF) Spam that agrees with those forum rules will be allowed.

Ideas: If you have ideas for HOL or Gryffindor PM a prefect!). The more active you all are with activities, the more fun you will have. Remember, it's not just about points, it's about friendship and fun too!

Complaints/Problems : We want you to have fun and enjoy your time in Gryffindor. We strive to be an open, safe, and welcoming community. If you have a complaint about a member of our staff or another member of HOL, please contact a prefect by PM or email. If you prefer, you may also contact our Head of House Prof. Hatshepsut Nayhan, for extreme circumstances. We will not tolerate any rude, disrespectful, or malicious behaviour from anyone affiliated with HOL, and we promise to do everything we can to resolve the situation.

Signature Rules: you may have ONE image in your signature, 100 pixels high by 250 wide - please keep animations to a minimum as they take a long time to load. If you currently have one larger than this, please reduce or change it, or a moderator will be deleting it for you. Please also try to not have an excessive bunch of text in your sig! HOL has 4 lines of text as a rule - we won't *strictly* enforce that, but use some common sense - we don't need whole paragraphs.

Spoilers (aka anything from Harry Potter and the Half blood Prince or any information JKR has released about the coming books) are allowed in the Spoiler Section ONLY. Posting HPB spoilers in any other area will result in a month-long ban from the common room. Be considerate; many people have not read the book yet and we don't want to ruin it for them.

Personal Information: PLEASE remind all members to NEVER EVER give out ANY personal information like where you live to strangers on the internet!!!! I know that people should know this, but an 8 year old just might not understand the dangers of this!!! Please, all of the older members watch out for them and remind them NOT to do it - it's absolutely NOT allowed. Real names are discouraged, but not against the rules. Anything more than that is just dangerous. So if everyone will just have their Constant Vigilance in High Gear, we can keep our members safe.

Questions? If you ever have any questions, problems, or concerns, prefects have all had their rabies shots and their bites won't infect you. Seriously, feel free to go to them, they are here to help you!

OTHER GRYFFINDOR INFORMATION:

Avatars: Avatars are not allowed in the Gryffindor CR.

Year/Job Colors: Each User Groups is assigned a color on the CR. When you look at the listing of who is online at the bottom of the main page of the CR, you will see who is currently online. The crest, which varies according to the group, under your name corresponds to your group color.

Administrators = deep red
Den Leader Prefects = green
Special Project Division Prefect = green
Jr. Prefect = green
Prefect in Charge = lime green
Prefect in Charge in Training (PiCiT) = lime green
Gryffindor Professors = pink
First Years = silver grey
Second Years = orange
Third Years = bright blue
Fourth years = fuchsia (bright pink)
Fifth Years = bright red
Sixth Years = medium pink
Seventh Years = rainbow
House Creature/House Guardian = purple
CR Moderator = powder blue
Gryffindor Librarian = gold
Guests = peach
Quidditch Captain = silver blue
HOL Head Office = dark blue
Validating = black

Manes: Manes are the Gryffindor CR currency that you can buy items in Gryffmart and in Munjpets. You earn manes through posting in the CR and through various contests. Do not spam for manes. The board records all your actions and we can see if you are scamming for manes in any way. You will be fined if we catch you doing this.

Rubies: Rubies are Gryffindor's Internal House Points (IHP). Rubies do not count towards the HOL House Cup. They are for the use of the individual houses only and are given for a number of reasons - contests, as a reward for house spirit, a great attitude, helping others, den challenge participation - anything. Look for announcements in the CR on how you can earn manes. You can see how many Rubies you have in your profile and it is also displayed in the CR under your name to the left. They are also listed in your HOL student file, and a top list of Internal House Point earners can be found in the CR and at HOL. There will be an award for those who have earned the most Rubies each year.

Prefects: Gryffindor House chooses new prefects as needed. We do not announce, we do not accept applications, we do not accept bribes. We simply watch for students who exemplify the qualities of Gryffindor House, those who are thoughtful, helpful, knowledgeable, friendly and fun. Essentially, Professor Hatshepsut Nayhan, and the Gryffindor Prefects choose prefects when they see students deserving of the title who are willing to work to make Gryffindor House the best at HOL.

Common Room Moderators/Jr. Prefects: These positions again, are chosen by the staff as needed. These people have demonstrated responsibility while posting in the CR and we can tell that they will follow the rules and have read the FAQs. In some cases, if these students have further proven themselves as active participants of HOL, moderators and jr. prefects will be trained as full prefects when the time and need arises. If you are chosen for a prefect position, you are required to read and agree to the prefect contract, which outlines all your duties. You must accept these duties as part of your participation as a prefect. The house counts on your enthusiasm to make the Gryffindor experience a fun one!

There are four kinds of prefects:

Prefect in Charge: PiC The PiC is a prefect who has demonstrated leadership and responsibility above and beyond the call of duty. This person is selected by the administration and participates in administration discussions on sensitive house issues and decisions. He/she also makes sure that the prefects are doing their jobs and serves as a coordinator for the team. This position is not given based on seniority.

Sub-PiC position: Prefect in Charge in Training (PiCiT "pick it") is a PiC in training. He/she goes through a grueling initiation process where they must learn to pick their noses discretely.

Den Leader: A prefect who manages a den and carries out contests and motivates her/his den to Gryffindorian glory. May also help organize contests.

Special Projects Division Prefect: (SPD) The SPD prefect thinks up ideas for house contests and carries them out. The annual Gryfftoberfest is among these things. There is one prefect who is chosen to coordinate the SPD activities.

Jr. Prefect: A prefect who helps with many of the duties of the prefects but is in training for the full position.

Dens: Dens are located in the Common Room. You will be sorted into a den and assigned a prefect who works with you in the den. Dens do competitions each month and participate in fun activity which are worth different prizes each month. Please participate in your dens, it’s a fun way to get to know people and also be active in your house. You will get an email to tell you what den you have been sorted into. Den names change every year. In the past they have been shades of red (ruby, maroon..), lion names in different languages, and this year lion habitats around the world.

House Creatures: We have a few House Creatures. First, there is Humfrey B., who makes random appearances and causes a lot of havoc. He also watches out for rule breaking and reports directly to prefects and profs, so you had best be on your best behavior! Some students have formed a club to plot his demise.

There is also Boris the Sock, which is a creature kept by Prefects Fern Davant and Cynthia Stout. He's harmless as long as he's fed. The Memory of Prof. Rob Black is the ghost of our former Head of House, who was sadly eaten on a hunting trip by a manticore.

House Guardians: The Gryffindor Fat Lady guards the CR portal and sometimes walks out of her frame to visit various sections of the CR. Sometimes you will see the Gryffindor ghost, Sir Nick lamenting about his near-headlessness. Finally there is Apollyon Pringle who was the former caretaker of the Gryffindor Dorms. The dorms were demolished and the towers arose in their place. Mr. Pringle is cranky waiting for them to be finished and has taken up temporary residence in the CR. Just don't mess with his floors or hide illegal pineapples. That drives him crazy.

Gryffindor Quidditch Team: If you are in Gryffindor and you want to try out for the Quidditch team, YOU MUST read the announcement that is posted in the Announcements section of the Gryffindor Common Room forum. (Which means you have to have an account in the CR to read it.) DO NOT email ANY member of the team for information. The information posted in the announcements section (labeled GQT Tryouts) should answer all of your questions. If it does not, feel free to PM Missa Matz for more information.

The Gryffindor Cheerleading Squad

1. What is the Gryffindor Cheerleading Squad?

The Gryffindor Cheerleaders are a group of gryffindor students that are here not only to support their house quidditch team but to improved and maintain the gryffindor spirit. Our duty is not only to the Gryffindor Quidditch Team but to the whole gryffindor house. Cheerleading is not as easy as one may think. It's about responsibility, commitment, spirit, friendship and it is also about having fun and doing something good for your house. It's about showing the rest of HOL what gryffindors are, it's about appreciation and love and above all it's about pride, the pride on the Gryffindor House. We are to keep up with that pride and keep it high. To make a better house, a happier house and a house full of spirit with people that care, work and love their house.

2. What are the Spice Girls?

The spice girls are the Gryffindor cheerleading squad, every member is to chose their own spice name.

3. Who is our coach?

Kiara Bell.

4. Who is the Captain (aka Head Cheerleader)?

The Captain of this Squad is Tiffany Styles. Lizzie Watson is the Co-Captain and Tawny Tonks is the head of the Special Spirit Squad.

5. How can I become a Gryffindor Cheerleader?

To become a Gryffindor Cheerleader you have to pass the tryouts. Then once you pass the tryouts you will be placed on the Special Spirit Squad. You have the choice to be moved up to a regular cheerleader once you have proven that you will be an active member. If you wish to remain on the Special Spirit Squad you may do so.

6. How do I try out?

Cheerleading tryouts will be held throughout August. They will be as it follows: Send an owl to gryffspice@gmail.com with your HOL name, HOL ID, year, e-mail address, time zone, why you want to be a cheerleader, activities you are in HOL and RL, and three cheers no longer than four lines. They have to be original. If we find out you copied them you will be disqualified.

7. What would I have to do as a cheerleader?

Once you have passed the tryouts, you are to post 2 new cheers each month, attend at least one monthly meeting and to 3 out of the 6 games the Gryffindor Quidditch Team plays. You are to be responsible, hard working, dedicated, creative and spirited. You should also download IRC since there is where all the meetings and quidditch games happen. See the IRC FAQ.

8. Why have meetings?

The meetings are to share our thoughts, ideas and discuss the plans we have for our house this year. hopefully our house will be more supportive this year and will participate in what we organize for them. Our work is for our house not for ourselves. Meetings will be held once a month. The times will be posted in the cheerleading area which is password protected.

9. Where are the meetings held?

All meetings will be held on the official cheerleading channel #spice jar in IRC. See the IRC FAQ.

10. Where can I get the password to access the cheerleading area?
The Cheerleading area is "Mixed Spices". It is located in the Merlin's Management section of the CR and it is password protected. Once you are a member of the Gryffindor Cheerleading Squad you will be sent a PM with the password to access he area. Please do not bug prefects and professors for this password. Kiara, Tiffany or Lizzie will send you a PM within a week after the final cheerleading list is posted. In case you do not get a pm and your name is on the list contact us at gryffspice@gmail.com, lizzie.watson@gmail (Lizzie ) or, luv_2_sing_07@hotmail.com (Tiffany)

11. What do I do if I can't attend the monthly meetings?

You should send an e-mail to gryffspice@gmail.com or PM Tiffany or Lizzie notifying them that you will not be able to attend the monthly meeting.

12. Where do I send all my cheers?

There will be a "Cheers" thread in the cheerleading area where you should post all the cheers you come up with. You may also e-mail this cheers to our address: gryffspice@gmail.com where we can save them and put them in our archives.

13. How do we cheer?

We cheer in the IRC channel #grandstand during the quidditch matches. Please use the gryffindor colors and try to be organized. Remember that the cheers are to be supportive to our team and not offensive to the opposing team. Please do not use cheers out the top of your head if they have not been approved Kiara and Tiffany because if they are offensive you will lose house points. While cheering in #grandstand you are also to be in #spicejar where you will get all your instructions and where if you come up with a good cheer out the top of your head it can get approved by Kiara, Tiffany or Lizzie.

14. What is the Special Spirit Squad?

The SSS, or Special Spirit Squad, are a group of Gryffindor students that not only cheer on the Gryffindor Quidditch Team, but also promote and maintain Gryffindor spirit. The SSS is part of the Spice Girls, but they are not required to attend games.

15. What do I have to do as a member of the Special Spirit Squad?

As a member you must be active in HOL, Gryffindor, and any activities that the Special Spirit Squad takes part in. You must also post four cheers a month and attend all meetings. You do not have to attend games.

16. Where can I get the password to the Special Spirit Squad subforum?

Once you become a member you will receive the password for Mixed Spices by PM in the CR. The password for the Special Spirit Squad's Subforum is posted there.

17. What do I do if I can't attend a meeting a Special Spirit Squad?

You should send an e-mail to gryffspice@gmail.com or PM Tawny Tonks notifying her that you will not be able to attend the monthly meeting.

Other important information:
* If you are a quidditch player you can not be a cheerleader
* Lizzie will be in charge of the squad on days Tiffany cannot make it.
* The official e-mail address for the cheerleading squad is gryffspice@gmail.com
* If you have any questions please e-mail us.

Gryffindor Library: http://gryff.net/library This is where you can submit fan fiction and other fun things to be posted for all of Gryffindor to see. Check the forum for contests where you can win unbuyable items from Gryffmart.

Owl Post: Once or twice a month, you should receive an Owl Post from Gryffindor. This is a newsletter which tells you what is going on each month inside Gryff and it is very informative. All members of the CR will receive Owl Post. If you do not wish to keep your account in the CR simply reply that you wish to have your account deleted. If you have an account in the CR, you automatically will get the newsletter.

SUN (Studious Un-Relenting Nerds): SUN is the Gryffindor Study Group organization thingy. Basically, it gives you an opportunity, place, and environment to get together and study with your fellow students from the HOL classes, helping each other with the lessons and assignments. As the tag line goes, to study better, understand better, and perform better in the classes, plus giving us a better chance in the House Points Race!

1. Who are the Leaders of the Studious Un-Relenting Nerds?

The Head person of the Studious Un-Relenting Nerds is Prefect Jonathan Rico, with Prefect Jessie Barren who is Co-Head of the Studious Un-Relenting Nerds.

2. Why should I join a study group?

A study group provides the extra help you need in a class, guides you when you are in doubt, saves the time of your professor, helps you perform better in class, promotes house unity and friendship, and is also helpful in the run for the House Cup. Plus, we've other fun things planned for the future too.

3. How many students do I need to start my own study group?

Four or five interested Gryffindors from your class, but more are welcome. Also remember that there can only be one group from a class. For example, we will have only one group for the class Handwriting Analysis, and not more, for the time being at least. If you need help in Handwriting Analysis, and there's already a group for it, you have to join it and cannot form a new one. This is a rule, however, we'll think of modifying it if there is excess of participation.

4. Can I start a study group?

Sure, just get together with four or five other interested Gryffindor students from your class, fill out the application, drop us an owl, or post in the CR. We'll be happy to have you as a part of the team.

5. Can I become the leader of my group?

Jon and Jessie select the leaders. We feel that new students who have never taken classes at HOL do not fully understand the way most HOL classes work. (We are sure some of you do, be we are speaking in general). Also, most newbies perhaps don't know each other well enough, plus it'd be unfair to allow others select their own leaders, if first years are not.

6. Is it necessary to join the study group of my class? Do I have to join the groups of all my classes?

Not at all, study groups are only meant for extra help and group study. Only join those that you feel would be useful for you, of those classes that you find difficult, or need extra help in.

7. Do I have to be active in a group to pass the class?

Well...no. Study groups are an independent Gryffindor in-house organization. But prolonged inactivity in your group may result in penalization, or eventual dissolving of your group.

8. What do I do if I no longer want to be a part of my group?

You speak to your group, and when your decision has been accepted, ask your leader to drop us an owl. But please be clear about your priorities when you join a group in the first case.

9. Can I send in the homework that we did together?

ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY NOT!!! Homework is not a group work thing. Do your homework on your OWN; do NOT expect to submit someone else's answers as your own. The group is only there to help you, not to do your work! The same goes for extra assignments.

If you have any questions that have not been answered, please feel free to PM Jonathan Rico or Jessie Barren.

Humfrey's Hollow: is the Gryffindor Drama Group. Here you can join in the drama games, take a go at script writing, and work towards putting on some of the finest performances imaginable. Joining the Drama Club couldn't be easier, simply keep a look out for application information that will be posted, then following the directions in that announcement, should lead to your membership to the drama group being accepted. For more information, feel free to PM Ilona Littrell, Aelita-Chan or Wylie Weasley.

The Paw Print: is the Gryffindor newspaper magazine type thingy. Not quite a tabloid, but pretty close. The time frame for issues are normally once a month, though they may be delayed for any reason. Joining Paw Print is by an application process, which gets posted in the Common Room Announcements whenever any new writers are needed. The Paw Print's location is at http://pawprint.gryff.net

The Dueling Towers/Gryffindor Dorms: This is the place for relaxed role playing where you can learn spells, make potions, and have all sorts of fun. It’s currently in the beta testing stages.

**The Towers are currently NOT open. Anyone who finds and signs up for these boards without permission will have their account deleted, and face fines on their CR accounts for failing to follow directions. Watch for announcements in the Gryff CR for further details.

GRYFFMART

Gryffmart is the CR store. The currency is manes, which you collect through posting or sometimes through your participation in Den challenges or CR contests. You access it by clicking on the Gryffmart link at the top of the CR. Items are there for purchase and they do a myriad of things. Some give random money, some steal money from others, some enable you to have effects on your name. Items are also awarded for participating in quizzes. The library and dens give away special limited edition items too. See announcements in your den or the library for details.

You may also open a bank account and earn interest on your money. The interest rate is 4% for everyone, and is collected once a week. You can buy an item and use it to auto collect your manes from the bank, so you do not have to do it yourself every week. Manes in bank accounts are not collected every week unless you click on your bank account or have auto-collect. There is a fee for withdrawing manes, but not to deposit.

You can also give items to other users and see who has the most money on the CR by clicking on the menu to the left in Gryffmart.

Earning Manes and Special Items from Gryffmart: If you would like to take one of the many ongoing quizzes that the staff offers to you to earn Gryffmart unbuyable items, click on the Quiz link on the left menu in Gryffmart. If you get a certain percentage of the questions correct, you will receive a prize and sometimes some manes. These special items cannot be bought and might earn you some nice things in the CR! The more special items you collect, the better the rewards will be. Look for announcements in the CR too!

Years First through Seventh, prefects, professors, and administrators can use Gryffmart. Guests, New Users, and Validating cannot.

MUNJPETS

You may have a pet on the CR if you earn enough manes.

CREATING A PET
There are now many pets available for creation in the adoption agency. These vary in price and starting statistics. As Hogwarts students, you are allowed to have a cat, rat, an owl or a toad. You may choose the type of icon that will represent what your pet looks like.

If you happen to adopt a pet you will be given a special grant in order to help you take care of it. However if you disown a pet you will be fined for your neglect, or if you abandon numerous pets and abuse the system, your warning level will be raised and you might be barred from owning a pet.

You may adopt a pet from the shelter if someone has carelessly left their pet homeless, or you may create a pet. You can choose your pet’s name (this cannot be changed) and its gender.

You can currently own only ONE pet at a time. Pets can be expensive, so please choose carefully. Some need more care than others. If you can't afford a pet now, save up for the one you want.

Only Gryffindors may own a pet on the CR.

SHOPPING CENTER
There is no need to visit Gryffmart to purchase items for your pet. All actions with your pet are undertaken via the MunjPets link at the top of the forum.

Manes are still our currency of choice and all item costs are listed in Manes. Items restock at various times and some items can only be used by certain pets at certain levels.

• Buying Items
Select the item you wish to purchase and then select "Buy" - you will be transferred to your inventory.

You will notice that many items include a positive increment and a level. The positive amount shows how much your munjpet would gain from the item. The level shows the minimum level your pet must be in order to use the item.
Buy purchasing and then using this item your pet will need to be at least the level shown to use this item and it will cost you a certain amount of manes.

Hint: Pets of a higher level sometimes don't like eating food or playing with toys aimed at lower level pets.

• Using Items
Go to your Inventory and then select the item you wish to use. Then select your pet.

Food is used up as soon as it is used. The pet consumes it, and its statistics are altered according to the satisfaction it provides. Toys and bedding may last for subsequent uses. Unless your pet breaks a toy you can continue to use it for as long as it brings satisfaction to your pet!

• Available Stock = None!
If there are no items in stock that you can use with your pet then please don't despair. Our store orders new stock as soon as it runs out and there is usually a day to a weeks wait before we have new stock on the shelves.

Some items are harder to acquire than others and we may have to wait up to a week before we can make them available to you.

Rest assured you don't have to fill out any forms or contact anyone. The shop will restock automatically, but you might just have to wait if you want something in particular.

MORTALITY RATES
We hope that there will be no more unfortunate deaths amongst our MunjPet friends. We don't want to call the Division for the Care of Magical Creatures of the MoM on any of our students for abuses.

If your pet is 100% hungry for 7 days then your pet will die! Please take care of them! (see "holidays")

HOLIDAYS
If you are going to be away for an extended period you can send your pet on a holiday as well. We now have a luxury hotel that caters to any pet and will ensure your pet remains comfortable, happy and healthy.

Choose how long to send your pet to the hotel and they will be treated to special 5 star luxury accommodation, including being picked up by a hotel representative via floo powder network and taken to the hotel.

Hint: While your pet is in the hotel their statistics will not change. When they return they will feel refreshed, relaxed and happy.

SOUP KITCHEN
If you run out of money and can't afford to buy all the things your pet needs you can obtain free food and beds from the Soup Kitchen. Please don't abuse this system as we need to save the food and beds for only the most needy.

The Soup Kitchen does not have the facilities to provide toys for your MunjPets as it caters to needy pets and is not a day-care centre. If you rely on this method you may find your pet will become unhappy and bored.

PET STATISTICS
Click on your pets name to see your statistics. You have a range of different stats including speed, intelligence and strength. You can increase these by using special level points that you gain each time your pet increases a level.

You can also see how tired, hungry and happy your pet is. To keep your pet satisfied you will need to feed and play with your pet using things bought from the MunjPet store. Or if you cannot visit your MunjPet, then don't forget that you can send your pet to the Hotel.

INCREASING YOUR PETS LEVELS
You can increase in level by earning experience through your posts. The more you post around the forum, the faster your pet's experience will increase. This means you will have more level points to increase their statistics and more manes to spoil them with presents. The prefects can also send you prizes through our CR contests and award you for great ideas and participation at HOL.

When your pet increases in level you will notice you have level points. Click the "use" link to spend these points increasing the levels of your pets speed, intelligence, strength, defense and attack.

These statistics can be used in the Battle Dome if you choose to wage in friendly pet dueling with other students.

Spamming to intentionally gain levels will result in a punishment by prefects. This could include a reduction in the number of your manes, banning you from the pet system, or raising your warning level. In short, DO NOT SPAM.

PET MOOD
Your pets mood reflects the ratios between happiness, tiredness and hunger and will change depending on your pet and your interactions with it.

The status of your pet can be any of the following:
Angry
Sour
Sad
Sleeping
Normal
Smiling
Happy
In Love
On Holiday (in Hotel)

CR Warning System Guidelines v 1.0:

This is a general summary of the warning system that the CR uses. The Mods and Prefects will only use the warning level system in extreme circumstances of member misconduct and will do everything they can to sort out problems with you in a private and respectful manner. We ask that you do the same in your posting and behavior here. (We know you do anyway.)

So the general HOL forum rules apply here as well. No spamming, discrediting other houses or members. No abusive or sexual language. Please try to read FAQs before asking questions also. Many of your questions can be answered by reading the HOL Handbook. There are also guidelines to spam above. If you have any questions on this system or are unsure of the rules, please ask in the Lion's Mouth area.

1st Infraction ~ Freebie aka no consequences
2nd Infraction ~ Warning PM
3rd Infraction ~ Warning level raised by one
4th Infraction ~ Warning level raises and points are taken

a) Actions by CR members that will result in automatic warning level raises (you will be notified of this happening, and if you repeat these actions you will be raised another level and points will be taken):

-Harassment
-Blatant public discrediting of another student, prof, etc.
-Spam- meaning 3 or more one word responses or posts with just smilies in a short period of time, like say a day (this may or may not include RPG sections.
-Mod will determine if you are just going with the RPG or not)

Actions by CR members that will result in automatic warning level raises AND points taken.

-Unacceptable words/phrases, that includes adult/violent/abusive contents.
-Impersonation (hacking into an account etc)

HOUSE MEETINGS

So you wish to get involved in your house? Well one of the best ways is by participating in the Gryffindor House Meetings! This opportunity gives you the chance to talk to your Prefects and other important and fabulous members of Gryffindor!

Details for each meeting is usually announced in the Announcement board of the Gryffindor Common Room

Rules of Order for Gryffindor House Meetings

All House Meetings are held live on IRC in the channel If you do not know how to access IRC, or if you are unsure precisely how to use it, please refer to the The HOL Handbook: Section 9 for information and assistance.

Please check the Gryffindor Common Room Announcement Board for House Meeting's dates and times.

Any member that is opped (the names with a @ next to them) is a moderator of #gryffhousemeeting and runs the meeting. They are generally Gryffindor's Head of House, Deputy Head of House, House Professors, Prefects and Junior Prefects.

Coordinators of these meetings are typically the Deputy Head of House, Prefect in Charge or the Prefect assigned to the position of leading the meeting. Students are reminded to respect the ops and those who run these meetings.

You are welcome to discuss anything you like at our meetings! (There will usually be an agenda posted beforehand on the HOL and Gryffindor forums with additional time reserved for anything not on the agenda.) However NO unnecessary chit chat during the meeting. You are ONLY to speak when called upon. You just need to follow the rules to make your voice heard!

Meeting Room Etiquette

If you have a QUESTION, type ? and your name will be added to the line. When your name is called then you may ask your question.

If you have a COMMENT, type ! and your name will be added to the line as well.

If your question or comment has been covered by another Gryff before your turn is called type -! or -? and you will be taken out of the line.

Once you "have the floor" you don't have to type in ? or ! to continue talking. You may discuss your question or comment with the host until you are finished. The host will usually ask you if you are finished before moving onto the next person in line.

This is all on a first-come, first-serve basis.

If you are unable to come to a meeting you can read the logs, which will be posted. You may also comment on the meetings on the Gryff boards and add your suggestions and questions.

GRYFFINDOR AWARDS

1. How do I join the awards committee?

Currently, the awards committee is not accepting any volunteers. However, if a prefect posts for volunteers, you need to email or PM a prefect and let them know you're interested in joining.

2. What are the possible awards that can be given?

The Exploding Snap Award (most humorous)
The Nimbus 2001 Award (most helpful)
The Golden Snitch Award (most enthusiastic)
The Platinum Quill Award (most studious)
The Phoenix Award (most innovative)
The Pride of the Pride (all around good Gryff)
The Fellytone Award (a Gryff who is vocal and active in the forums or on IRC)
Curious Kitten Award (best first year, awarded each semester)
The LionHeart Award (someone from another house who has shown themselves in constant friendship to Gryffindor)
Friend of the Den Award (someone from another house who's a good friend to Gryffindor with a specific deed).

3. When will awards be given?

If their is a candidate for one of the awards, (as every award will not be given every month - only when there are suitable candidates) they will be discussed on the beginning of each month and announced soon afterwards in the Gryffindor Common Room under Agrippa's Announcements (Scarlet and Gold) or in The Cozy Corner.

4. Can I nominate someone for an award?

The Award committee nominates and votes for the winners of the awards, but Gryff students or staff can suggest someone for nomination. If you have someone you think should be considered for an award, contact a prefect with a 'nomination package'. A nomination package is simply a one paragraph explanation of why you believe that person should get an award.

Include:

Name,
Which award you think they should get
A short description of why you are nominating them (one or two paragraphs)

5. Can I suggest an idea for an award?

Ideas for new awards are always welcome. If you want to suggest an award idea, send a PM to a prefect with the title 'Award Suggestion'. You must include the following information:

Award Name
What it is awarded for (ex. for being helpful, for being studious, etc.)
Description (characteristics of winners for this award)

6. How does the committee vote for the winners?

Voting on awards will take place in the specified topic in the Lion Pride Area of the forum by committee members. One of the committee chairpersons, or their designated minions, will announce the results in the common room and in the Great Hall of the HOL Forum soon after, usually at the end of every month if there are recipients.

Gryffindor Role Playing Rules for the CR

The following rules are posted on the RPG area of the CR, but are listed here for your viewing pleasure.

The moderators and prefects have worked hard to put together a new guide for RPGs in the CR. The aim is so that you can create a character description that matches your HOL persona. We want the RPG area to be a place where you can show everyone who you are and develop your HOL namesake.

We require everyone who wishes to post in the RPG areas, which include the Fireside and Butterbeer and Biscuits, to create a character description. When you are done, put your name on the bottom and then PM BOTH Terra and Fern the word "CHEERIOS" both in the subject and the body of the PM. NOTE: If you CORNFLAKED us, as we do have a list, you do not need to send CHEERIOS. Thanks. Guests from other houses can send this info via email to RPG_modofdoom@yahoo.ca Remember to include your full HOL name, house and HOL id number.

The character descriptions and the RPG areas are for you to develop your HOL character more fully. HOL is a place to make friends and create your online magical persona. Everyone will be able to read your character description, and you may edit it as your RPGs progress. In the future, you'll be able to use this description in a new area on the web. For now, please let your HOL personality flourish.

Once you do this, you will be free to RPG to your heart's delight according to our new spiffy guidelines. You may edit these character descriptions as you go! That way, everyone will be able to read about you and your HOL history. If you have an idea about another section to add to the descriptions, PM a prefect or Terra and Fern.

For those of you who like more relaxed rules to RPG, fear not! A dueling tower will soon be open for you to practice your skills and have more "relaxed" RPGs that don't have such strict guidelines as in the CR.

Fern and Terra's Guide to Safe RPing
(The rules you should and need to follow to prevent horrible mishaps from happening to your characters.)

Since book 6 is now out I will just point out that nothing, I Mean NOTHING that in any remote way that is considered new in book 6 will be allowed into the RPG. Remember HOL circles the globe and many readers anxiously await a copy in their native language which for the most part come out in October at the earliest. Have some consideration and don't spoil it for everyone.
No RPing here without first read ALL the below rules. We can tell if you didn't read them first before posting and we will correct your posts or delete them if they don't follow these guidelines.
You Are Not Harry Potter. You did not defeat some evil Dark Wizard at the age of one nor do you possess all Harry's talents. Harry is special as he is the HERO of the books. You are not. You are ordinary
-->Nor are you any other Canon character.
No Mary Sues (ie: Perfect characters are not fun to RP against. Give a character flaws. Real flaws, not just minor ones.)

Example:
She tossed her lush wavy blond hair over her shoulder so it shown like gold coins in the sunlight. Her wide glowing cerulean eyes sparkled with mischief as she lazily twirled her wand before performing every spell in the book to glowing perfection. She winked at the boys around her and watched them all fall to her feet in adoration.
No wizard/elf, wizard/veela, wizard/giant, wizard/vampire, Vampires, Werewolves, Frankensteins, Zombie, wizard/"cool humanoid thing" crosses please. They are ultra rare in the books and in fact with the two mentioned in the books it is very much a shock to the rest of the characters.
Every RP must be more than 1 paragraph, ideally 2-4 though 1 will suffice if well written
-->one paragraph means at least 4 to 8 lines.
-->No one liners
No using really rare occurrences, especially as 1st years but this goes for everyone.
-->No Animagi(only 10 registered exist, maybe 20 total), No Metamorphmagi, No Invisibility Cloaks, No Marauders Map, No magic beyond what you would know as a 1st, 2nd, 3rd year(ie: You would not know a patronus or a summoning charm if you are a first year. In fact, the books say Patronus is way past Ordinary Wizarding Levels meaning probably 7th year or beyond.)
On the topic of Brooms. First years are allowed them but it cannot be "the best on the market". Stick to the common brands from the books. IE: Cleansweeps, Comets etc.
-->No Firebolts, No Nimbus 200X, No Imaginary Great Brands
-->You are not a star Quidditch player, you may be good but most likely you will not be.
-->No making up Broomstick brands.
No Playing in the Restricted Section of the Library
No weird and wild pets. You can have an Owl, Cat or Toad. Rats are also allowed. Nothing else. No Nifflers, Phoenixes, dragons, snakes, parrots etc. You are not Hagrid.
-->No multiple pets. You can have one and only one.
-->No mention of owning illegal animals even if they are not at Hogwarts proper.
No heavy duty rule breaking.
No sneaking into the kitchens all the time, not everyone would know the way in! And in fact, in most boarding schools, sneaking into the kitchens at night would warrant some serious penalties. If you plan to be hungry, simply have snacky stuff in your rooms that parents send from home.
All hidden passages must be WITHIN the castle, meaning no underground passage ways to the Forbidden Forest, the Quidditch Pitch or Hogsmeade as the chance of you finding one is close to impossible. Keep in mind that hidden passages are a rare and valuable find in Hogwarts and therefore should be treated that way. Only use secret passages if you have to, or have little other choice but to use it. Else you'd risk having Pringle find out about it, and it won't be so 'secret' any longer.
-->Finding secret passages in Hogwarts are permitted as long as they do not lead to these locations:
-Restricted Section of the Library
-Headmaster's Office
-Kitchens
-Inside other House's Common Rooms
-Staff Room
-Teachers Offices
No non-HP RP's
None of this "visiting the set of HP3/HP4" stuff. You are students in a world where the books do not exist because you live in the books themselves. The HP canon characters do not exist in HOL now. They are long gone so you cannot interact with them. Going on and on about a date with "Draco Malfoy" or "supper at the Weasleys" or that your "Best Friend in the whole wide world is 'insert any canon HP name"" is not fun. You cannot even use professors or older people that might be still at Hogwarts.
-->when in doubt, find a similar HOL prof (ie: Prof Portsea Black or Apollyon Pringle) to fill in.
No purple prose(ie: no getting out the thesaurus to find nifty new words when plain english is all that's needed)
Proper punctuation and grammar please.(Not everyone speaks english natively but that's no excuse for everything in lowercases or in netspeak (ie:leet) or for lack of punctuation. Periods are your friend, multiple exclamation marks are not.)
Don't use canon characters unless referring to a commonly known past event. IE: The War with Voldemort
Use proper descriptions, colours, and use detail to describe what's going on. We cannot read your mind and your post will generally be ignored if we have no way of telling where you are or what you are doing.
Do not assume the following posters understand or know what story you have in your head. If they deviate from what you had planned, flow with it and don't complain.
DO NOT USE OTHER PEOPLES CHARACTERS WITHOUT THEIR PERMISSION!
If you have something to say that has nothing to do with the RP itself remember to include an 'OOC' mark.
-->OOC: Out Of Character. Lets your fellow RPer's know when you are posting something that does not have anything to do with the RP itself.
-->Use them sparingly, if you have a question, PM the person in question especially if it's something that only has to do with them. Like asking for character usage permission.
-->If you go back into the RP in the same post, remember to include a 'IC' before resuming RPing. (IC: In Character)
Always use quotes and 3rd person when RPing. 1st person just confuses people and some will even outright ignore your post.
You do not have to reply to every single post. Let someone else post to keep the story flowing. There is nothing more boring than reading an RP with only 2 people posting back and forth or that everyone posts at but is replied to by the same person all the time.
This is not a chatroom environment. Don't treat it like one.
Proof read your posts, don't use a word if you cannot spell it. If all else fails, copy paste the post into MS Word or a similar program and run the spell check. We understand not everyone is a native english speaker but we ask for you to at least try.
More than 20 posts a day equals spam. Do not use the RP board as an excuse to get your post counts up or to get extra manes.
Remember all HOL rules are in effect here and don't break them in the RP with the excuse "but I am RPing and that's what my character would do."
No modern electronic or things like stereos, tv's, laptops, disco balls etc. Either use the magic counterpart or nothing. Radios are allowed since there is the World Wizarding Network but that's it. And they will not be modern radios but much like old fashioned ones from the 40's. Note: not everyone will have a radio, there might be one in the common room, that's it. The Radio will not pick up muggle stations either.
-->Unless you are muggleborn or half and were raised with some knowledge of the muggle world, keep mention of real bands out of it, use Wizarding ones.
Don't use smiley faces in your In Character text. You can describe a smile on there face, but please don't just put a smiley. (I.E: Bad: Fern went . Good: A broad smile spread across Fern's face.)
No death eater attacks, seriously. Harry Potter is set in the past by a couple of years, and Harry's final battle with Voldemort would have been in 1997. This is 2005, so either we're all ruled by death eater's or Voldemort's dead. I think you can make the right decision, but if you can't we'll make it for you .
Please use common sense. If something only happens once or never in the book, don't do it. Try to be as faithful to the Harry Potter universe as possible. (IE: no field trips to egypt or transylvania, and no staying at the school for the summer)
If you're muggleborn act like a muggleborn, and refer to muggle things. If you're a wizard, don't start talking about tv shows or muggle music. When in doubt, make it up, make up a hit wizarding song, or a cool wizarding item. But, not to the point of a special unrealistic item, see above.
Remember, this isn't HOL's version of the dating game, it's ok if your character has a boyfriend or girlfriend but stay within a reasonable boundary.
-->Also remember you are all 11-15 year olds. And for the most part, 11 years tend to still be hanging onto the "YUCK BOYS/GIRLS HAVE COOTIES!" phase. Act your age please.

EXAMPLES:

Good RPing:

Fern woke up unusually early and begin to stretch and yawn. It was a beautiful spring day as the sun trickled through her window in the Gryffindor Dorms. Having so much additional time on her hands, Fern decided that she would take her Cleansweep 5 and go down to the quidditch pitch to fly around a bit. Fern wasn't very good at quidditch, but she did enjoy flying her broomstick, and it was a perfect thing to do on a sunny Saturday morning, a day so beautiful could not be wasted on her many homework assignments.

After eating a quick breakfast in the almost deserted great hall, she hoisted her broomstick over her shoulders and made her way down the large steps of Hogwarts towards the quidditch pitch. She could see a few figures already up in the air and imagined she would find a companion to maybe play a quick game of quidditch with. She waved to a few people by the lake and finally made it to the pitch, sitting in the stands and retying a her left shoe which had come undone. She waved into the air at the people on broomsticks, smiling and laughing.

"Hey! Would you guys like to join me in a little game of friendly quidditch? I'm not to good, but I love to play!" Fern propositioned, clumsily jumping a few steps and kicking off into the air on her broomstick.

Bad RPing #1:

i walked into the room and giggled at the site of teh 2 people sitting togetrhr on the floor both had apiar of rabbit ears in place of their reel ones i called to my friend to come over quickly and see and watched as she bounded in from under her invisibility cloak in her animagus phoenix shape she took her human shape and blinked cerulean eyes in the pairs directions before toppling over to the floor with absolute hilarity

<---- see the look on their faces" she breathed lushly as she removed herself from the terrace and threw fiery red hair over her shoulder

we watched as draco malfoy and harry potter pulled themselves to their feet and shoved each other back before turning to us they both sucked in their breath before their jaws dropped at the site of my friend with her fiery red locks and glowing eyes the colour of the summer sky

they both immediately moved towards her as if in a trance long enough for me to cast a complecated version of a binding spell 15 words long and a tongue twister to boot

we both laughed so hard we cried as the pair fell to the floor both claiming their undying love for us

as this was happening, fern justt happened to be walking by and jumped into the room with indignation and fury 'hey wahtare you doing with my best friend harry you evil person!!!!!one111111111eleven>
we both looked at her like she had grown three feet and i quickly whipped out my wand again and cast a complex memory charm that only myself and 3 other wizards who are all charms masters and 80 years old can perform

Bad RPing #2:

rne walked in2 gryffindre towre and seh tunred into a ccat. fren was bpefect at evthing, esp animagus. she had flowing gorgeous blonde hir zat twinkld w/ the glacne of a thousand suns, and she was soooooooooo popular
OMG GUESS WHAT! IM HAVING A PARTY ISNT THAT kOOliez? fern saked?
everyone nodded and wanted 2 [Naughty, naughty! You are caughty! -5 when I tell Prof. Black! -=HumfreyB=-]. fern was still a cat, bt a talking cat. she was so amazing. ev1 loved her. she <3ed them 2.

i luve myself, i do, im so great, yeah, hahaha
hey, does ne1 know where i can find pictures of tom fleton? i luv him so muchful!!!!!!!!!!!!! omg LOLZ!

fern liked to be a cat, she enjoyed it muchly, and so she talked a mouse, and 8 it not realizing it was ronald weasley, ron was very upset and he yelled at her, so she decided to mrry him!

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Good RPing is loved and will get you nice happy fluffy bunny responses. Bad RPing makes people go "irk" and want to reach through the computer screen and take away your keyboard(in extreme examples) though mostly your post will get ignored and then deleted by the mods.

Hopefully this little guideline has been helpful and we wish you much happy RPing in the future. Now go out and RP, but remember you are responsible for knowing and obeying all these rules so be willing to accept the consequences if you break them. Most importantly, try to have fun !

IRC: Internet Relay Chat

IRC is one way to get to know your fellow students. You are not required to use IRC to be a member of HOL. As some of you may know we have a house chat room on IRC, it is #gryffindor and can be found on the Blitzed network. I will explain how to get there and stuff in a second. This is a great place to come and talk with fellow gryffindors and also to meet people from other houses. If you have never used IRC or don’t know how to get to #gryffindor I will explain two different ways, the easiest way is using cgi off the blitzed website, but while that is easier overall it is much better to go and download a program like mIRC which required a little more effort but is much better in the long run.

1) CGI- Getting on to #gryffindor using CGI is the easiest. The best/easiest way is to do this is by going to the HOL homepage here. Once you have done that you will notice in the upper right hand of the page under the house cup standings and HOL search text which says "HOL Chatrooms", below that there is a place for a nick and a box for the channel. First you enter the nickname you which to use, and then you replace the channel which is #hpgalleries by default with #gryffindor. Once you have done that you click on the log in button and wait for it to connect to the server, once you are connected you can chat using by typing into the text box at the bottom of the screen.

2) mIRC (for PCs)- Accessing IRC in this way makes it easier to chat, but requires a little more effort. Download the program at www.mirc.com, then click on download mIRC on the right of the screen. Choose a download location (it doesn't have to be your/state or country) and click on it. You then save the file and allow it to download. Once the download is complete you open the file and install the program.

Once mIRC has been installed open the program. If you get a message at the beginning about having to pay for mIRC you just click on the x on the upper right of the small box. mIRC has a 30 day trial period, but you do not have to pay for it after the period is over. You can just keep pressing continue on the message and use mIRC. Once you are registered you will come to an option screen (if you don’t hit alt+o and it will open, or find it at the top menu by going to File >Connect >Server). There will be text saying "IRC network" and next to it a small box with an arrow on the right side. Click on that box and scroll down until you find Blizted.

Press "Connect" on the small menu to the left again, and fill in your HOL name and choose a nick. Make sure you have a full name and email address entered below as well as a nickname. You should NOT put your real full name as people outside of HOL can see this. Once you have done that click on the connect to IRC button and wait for a connection once you have one type /join #gryffindor in the main window that opens up and you will have a secondary window open with our chat room in it.

If you have any questions you can direct them towards one of your friendly prefects. Hope to see you all in #gryffindor and don’t just come once keep coming back.

3.) SNAK (Mac) - For Mac users you can go to www.snak.com and download a chat client there. It has a 30 trial period, and after using it for 30 days, the program will disconnect every 30 minutes. The program costs $20 USD.

HOL Channels:

#Hpgalleries- This is the main IRC channel for HOL. The easiest way to get on is by using the CGI script on the main HOL page, but if you plan to go on IRC a fair amount it is worth it to download mIRC (for PC’s) or Snak (For Macs)

#Gryffindor- This is the Gryffindor house chat, once you are on IRC all you have to do is type /join #Gryffindor and you will join the channel. Students from all houses are welcome in all house chats.

Other house channels, do the same as above - #Hufflepuff, #Ravenclaw, #Slytherin

We have young members at HOL, so remember to keep chats clean and g-rated - if the conversation is going in a questionable direction, take it someplace other than the official chat channel, which is #gryffindor for our House. We need to make sure we are keeping HOL a safe place for the youngest members - do not jeopardize their membership at HOL by upsetting their parents who might (and should) be watching over their child's shoulder.

Guidelines for the Gryffindor IRC Channel:

The following should be read by all Gryffindors - especially those chosen to be Ops in our official channel, which is #gryffindor on the Blitzed servers.

Being an Operator (or "Op") in our House channels is a special privilege given to those Gryffs who are responsible and willing to follow and enforce the rules of HOL. Ops exist to help keep peace and order in our House channels, and all students are asked to follow their instructions.

Some Ops will be strict; others more lenient. It all depends on the person and how each person interprets the Rules of HOL. All students using an Official House/HOL channel should respect the chosen Ops, and try to remember that Ops are not trying to be mean, but just trying to do their job. We hope with this document, that we can set a few "consistencies" in the way our Ops work so we can have a fun and safe channel for the students of HOL to enjoy.

1. Gryffindor Prefects & Professors who visit IRC will have AOPS privileges. Please send your registered IRC nick to Missa, Hat, or Rae to be added to the list of AOPS (P2P, PM, or Owl). Make sure and visit the channel every now and again so your AOP will not drop from disuse. Registering a nick on IRC lasts for a month if you do not log in during that time.

1a. Choosing a Nick on IRC. If you are new to HOL we'd appreciate it if you joined our channel using your HOL name so we can get to know who you are. Also, if you choose a nick that is the same as another HOL regular, chances are that the nick is registered and IRC will automatically change your nick to "Guest". You cannot go by a nick that someone else already has. Please try to pick something different, as it is confusing for our members to figure out if it's "Mary" or Mary v2".

2. Gryffindor Students may also have the opportunity to be AOPS. This is all based on the discretion of the Channel Team. Students who have shown responsibility, dedication, helpfulness, fairness, and discretion will be considered. Students who constantly ask for an AOP will NOT be considered, and may be reprimanded for annoyance.

3. People of other Houses: Professors, Prefects, and Students of other houses are *HONORED GUESTS* in our Channels. They do not receive Ops. We are happy to have them visit, and welcome them with open arms, but the channel is *OUR* home and we shall have control over it at all times. If the Guests are being bothersome and break the rules, they may be kicked and/or banned from visiting our channel, depending on the severity of the infraction. The title of "Honorary" in Gryff terms means "We don't necessarily like you; we just want to keep a closer eye on you." *G* There are a few exceptions.

4. If an Op is the only Op in the channel and must leave for a time, that Op may choose another Gryffindor who is present, who they feel is responsible, to become a temporary Op. Please do not leave the channel without making someone else an Op if there will be none left. Hopefully, we will have enough Ops to have regular ones at all times.

5. Please be on the "lookout" for inappropriate links being shared in channels. Try to encourage that all links be shared via P2P so that young ones don't inadvertently click on something they shouldn't.

6. An Op shall remember that HOL is a very diverse community with many different people of all ages and walks of life. People will have differing opinions and viewpoints on what is right/wrong. In no way will we tolerate any "hate" type talk (I'm sure you all know what I mean - saying "I hate homework" is very different than talking about people or a group of people in that way.) or racial comments. Please remember that HOL channels official language *is* English, and try to be helpful of those who have a problem understanding English. Remember that Patience and Tolerance is the key here. We don't want to be too strict, but we don't want people to be able to swear, curse, or make others feel uncomfortable. This can be a fine line to tread, so please use your best judgment. Remember, we can have very young people in the channels, with protective parents - please do not jeopardize their membership at HOL by allowing inappropriate conversation to continue. Let's have fun, but make sure it's good fun for all
present.

Abuse of Chan Op powers will result in suspension of Op powers; 1st infraction will be a warning and/or 1 week suspension (depending on severity of abuse); 2nd infraction will be one month; 3rd infraction -until further notice.