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My Friends,

 

This week marks the 14th year since the founding of Hogwarts Online on July 26, 2005. Before there were Governors deliberating, professors applying, students plotting, there was a simple group friends and together they created Armoise Academy - the foundation on which this storied and beloved site would be built. It took many years to become the leading Harry Potter RPG forum and a lot of hard work from people like Chauncey Clemenceau and Malimar Snute. Then came Ann Omagan, Luna Creevey, Ginny Tonks, and Bella Lombardi who, with Chauncey, set us on the path to greatness.

 

Also there, was Prof. Patricia Darvus who was interviewed and hired by Chauncey and Ann to teach magical arts. That professor, as it turns out was a 10 year old from the Midwest with a love of Harry Potter. He had just moved away from his home, his family, all of his friends. Somehow, Hogwarts Online felt like home. That 10 year old was me and "also there" is a fitting start to my story because my role on the site, for many years, was a simple member with an extraordinary ability to piss people off. Still, I was there.

 

I was there when Revan Yakuza, the son of the Dark Lord roamed the halls of Hogwarts and Zenos Dumbledore oversaw the Ministry of Magic. I was there when Katelynn Clemenceau was murdered and when time turned back for a do-over. I was there when Peeves became human and Elizabeth Peevison reigned as the Pirate Queen of Hufflepuff. I was there for the first, the second, and the third Durmstrang and Beauxbatons; when a plague infected Hogwarts and the Heads of House united to defend the school on the shore of the Black Lake; when Rici Devlin was whipping students in the Chamber; when Sorcha Logan drunkenly stumbled off the end of a pier; when Robert Travers swaggered down the corridors; when Felicity Amello roared onto the scene as Mama Lion. It didnt always make sense, but it was beautiful. And I was there.

 

I was also there when Starlight Night's blessed sweetness was taken from our site too soon; when the forums were hacked and almost destroyed; for every schism and split and exodus, every ban, every scandal, every loss. I was never important, but I was there and I made friendships and gained important life experiences to last a lifetime. They have brought me happiness and made me successful in life.

 

These experiences, good and bad, are what helped me grow up and they prepared me to eventually take over the site that had been my home (and the home of hundreds of others) for many years. I admit, it wasn't always perfect, we saw our share of vindictive leaders, poor decisions, disharmony, and hurt. I also admit that there were times I feel I may have been responsible for some of those things. People came and went, the activity rose and fell, we moved and got hacked again, but we always survived. When I took over as the owner of this site it was my hope that I would be able to give back to the place and the people who gave so much to me.

 

With the handling of the announcement of our decision to close Durmstrang, I feel I failed you, by not doing more before hand to take your input into account and adequately explain why the decision had to be made. I worked hard to correct that once I realized my error by taking member input into account and altering the closure plans. It is my sincere wish that moving forward, this mistake will not be made again.

 

I know that many of you are saddened by the return to a Hogwarts-based site and I understand your pain. However, the one thing that has always set our site apart is our ability to endure in times of hardship. We may disagree or dislike some of the decisions that are made, no matter how much say we have in them, but we always stand together as a community and that is how we have survived. So, I ask you all to stand with me now, to have patience as I strive to be the leader you deserve.

 

In 15 years, when we all meet again in some virtual reality version of Hogwarts, I want you all to be able to say "I was there" to a lonely 10 year old from the Midwest, looking for a place to call home.

 

With Eternal Love and Dedication,

It has come to the attention of the Governors of Hogwarts Online that personal bullying is occurring in high volume in the associated social venues of the site (i.e. the chatroom, facebook, and YIM). While HO's harassment policies are limited to actions that occur on the hswcw website and direct contact between two or more members, it is still essential that all members of the forum act in a respectable manner and remember the Golden Rule. For those who do not know the Golden Rule it is as follows:

Do unto others as you wish them to do unto you.

(Basically, don't treat other people like crap because karma will hit you in the big one.)

Now, I'm not making this announcement because of karma. I am making the announcement because every so often, as new waves of members become active and things on the site grow and change, it has become a pattern that OOC bullying occurs more frequently during these times. I would like to iterate that you are not required to like anyone on this forum. However, you are encouraged to give respect to all members of the forum, no matter who they may be and no matter where you encounter them. If you are having a personal issue with a member that cannot be solved in a civil manner, seek help of a Hogwarts Online administrator if this problem is interfering with your ability to either A)remain active on HO or B)complete a job on HO. We advise that you do not advertise your woes and personal problems in a public venue, for this will only generate additional controversies, complaints, misunderstandings, and quarrels.

OOC Bullying and harassment is taken seriously at Hogwarts Online as we have a zero tolerance policy and if you feel you are truly being bullied, please feel comfortable in contacting any of the Governors. If you feel it is a Governor that is bullying you, and you are worried your opinion or situation will not be heard, I would like to personally advise you to still seek the aid of a Governor. We work as a team and are looking out for the best interests of everyone.

Thank you and best regards,

The Governors of Hogwarts Online

 

Members of the Hogwarts Online Community,

 

I write to you for the final time as it is time to say goodbye. As a new calendar year begins, so too a new age on HO.

 

Since the founding of HO on July 26, 2005 I have had a strong group of supporters that have helped to make this community what it has been and what it is today. I am grateful for those many friendships I have cultivated throughout the years. HO gave me my start, HO gave me a place to be and has been part of my life for more than half of it. For quite sometime, I have been absent from HO and that has always bothered me. For a site and community to truly thrive, it must have a strong, benevolent owner that can provide support and direction. That support and direction has been missing on HO for a number of years, even though it has had many dedicated and competent governors.

 

While January 12, 2019 marks my final day of ownership for HO, today marks a new beginning for HO. After today, HO will be owned by Giselle D'Lisle. The writer behind Giselle has been a longtime member of HO and a dear friend of mine. He has been a member of HO since 2005. The writer behind Giselle will be the new individual to give HO that support and direction that it needs. He is perfectly suited for this role because not only can he lead HO in a new direction, he can do so knowing well the roots of where we came from!

 

My advice for both the new owner and the governors board is to always remember that first and foremost this is a community centered around a love of the Harry Potter series. Community, being the most important part of it. 

 

With that said, I truly wish this community all of the best!

Greetings & Salutations,

The Governors of Hogwarts Online have decided, unanimously, that the time has come to name a new face to our ranks.

As such, we have decided to appoint (and she has graciously accepted) Prof. Aqua Rye. Aqua has long been a very active and crucial member of the team at HO and we are proud to count her among our ranks. Please join us in welcoming her to the administrative team.

Yours,
The Governors

 

Greetings,

 

It is with a sad heart that I must announce the resignations of both Official Liam Kartak and Prof. Annabelle Leigh from the board of Governors. 

 

These governors joined the governors board last spring, when the forum was recovering from a serious transition in site leadership. They worked tirelessly to take on the academics commission and transform it so that it was not only more manageable for future governors, but also for students in understanding expectations and requirements. They developed an entire summer class program single handed, our Camp Avalon, which we anticipate will continue into the summer 2020 term. After transitioning out of the academics commission, they undertook the RP commission, making sure everything was working in smooth order.

 

We are extremely grateful for all of the hours these writers put into the forum. They are resigning so that they can spend more time enjoying the art of RP, which was and is difficult for members who have administrative responsibilities. We absolutely respect their decision and support their interests. 

 

Moving forward from this transition, and the transition of Prof. Alaina Balthazar's recent resignation, the governors board is pleased to welcome Prof. Guinevere Meredith to the team. She has been a member of Hogwarts Online since the earliest years in 2006. She will be shadowing me in the academics commission with the potential of taking it on in the future, though there is a possibility that we co-direct the commission.

 

Please join me in thanking Prof. Annabelle Leigh and Official Liam Kartak for their work. It does not go unnoticed. Also join me in welcoming Prof. Guinevere Meredith into her new position.

 

Yours,

The Governors 

 

Greetings & Salutations,

 

This year for our 15th Anniversary, Prof. Aqua Rye compiled what I think is one of the greatest testaments to the diversity and creativity of our community: The Hogwarts Online Cookbook.Over our long and storied history, we have kept vivid records, dedicated forums, and annually commemorated our founding, but I personally thing this cookbook is the first great "monument" to the way our site brings people together.

 

As such, I personally felt that a special recognition was warranted, for all those who made submissions, but particularly to the person we have to think for serving as the editor of the book: Aqua. However, because she has already been awarded the Special Services to the School, I had to get creative.

 

Thus, I am pleased to present to Aqua the first ever Founder's Award.

 

Since the founding of Hogwarts Online, our beloved site has touched the lives of countless members. Occasionally, those members return the favor by doing something extraordinary to commemorate the impact our community has had on them. The Founder's Award was created so that, from time to time, when a member exhibits a deep expression of love, pride, or gratitude for our community, their contributions can be recognized.

 

Anyone who joined in 2005 may recommend the sitting Owner grant this honor to a member. The Owner may also give this award at their discretion or on advice of the Governors.

 

From the bottom of my heart, thank you to all who helped make an extraordinary 15th Anniversary Celebration possible.

 

Love,

  

 

Greetings & Salutations!

 

For those of you who may have found themselves living under a rock these last 8 months (no judgement), you might have missed that the writer of our Headmistress, Prof. Sorcha Logan has been expecting a new addition to her family. To everyone's delight, her healthy baby boy made his debut on the world stage a little ahead of schedule yesterday.

 

We first want to ask everyone to join us as we send our hearty congratulations to Sorcha's writer and her husband on a smooth, healthy delivery and on their baby boy's arrival into this world!

 

The Governors and I also want to ask that for the next couple of weeks, all members be mindful of what an important time this is for a new mother and child. All concerns that you would normally send to Sorcha can be handled by one of the other Governors for the time being and please know that some of her responses may be delayed. I am sure that Sorcha's writer will let everyone know when she has settled in and able to focus some of her attentions on her site duties. Until then, let's just send her all the love and support we can muster!

 

In moments like this, it is important to remember that so many people have grown up on Hogwarts Online. Many of us joined at a young age, came into adulthood, and met many lifetime milestones while actively RPing on this site. That's why we keep it alive! And, you never know, one day we might see Sorcha's boy posting in his first class! We can dream, right?

 

Yours with Love,

Greetings,

 

As we ring in our 18th year at Hogwarts Online, it is time to announce the winners of the Governor Awards. These awards are given site-wide to individuals who the Governors collectively believe embody the characteristics defined by each and have been awarded for many years... but it has been three years since we last awarded them.

 

Please join me in congratulating this year's winners.

 

 

Description: This award goes to the member that has put forth studious effort in everything they do.

Recipient: Charlotte Montclaire

 

Description: This award goes to the member who has consistently exhibited a positive attitude, enduring optimism and distinguishable kindness.

Recipient: Sven Wormald

 

Description: This award goes to the member who has devoted the most amount of time to improving the site for future and current members.

Recipients: Prof. Aqua Rye

 

Description: This award goes to the member who has shown the greatest initiative at problem solving.

Recipients:  Prof. Cassandra Smith

 

Description: This award goes to the member who has exhibited the qualities of true leadership.

Recipient: Prof. Elizabeth Lapointebete

 

Hogwarts: Lilou Bailey

Description: This award is selected by the headmistress alone and goes to the member who has contributed to Hogwarts in whatever way the headmistress see's fit.

 

Hogwarts: Prof. Nessa McKay

Description: This award goes to the member that has stepped up to fulfill a role or complete a task when the site is in need.

 

and finally, occasionally the governors board comes together to recognize an individual who has given extraordinary service to the site and the community. The Order of Merlin to Hogwarts Online is a special distinction and this honor has only been bestowed a handful of times since then in the First, Second, and Third Degrees. This member has been with us for, what feels like to me personally, more years than I can name. Her entire tenure with the site has been consistently active, contributing in any and every way she can, and has gone above and beyond to help improve our site. Additionally, she has been approached and invited to join the Governor's board multiple times, but has always declined for her own personal, respectable reasons.

 

The Governor's discussed this award in private and came to the conclusion that Prof. Aqua Rye has earned the honor of receiving The Order of Merlin, Third Class, for her continuous efforts and contributions for Hogwarts Online.

 

 

 

I am pleased to share with you all the results of February's selections for Featured of the Months!

 

Member of the Month: Prof. Jared Wayland

 

Character of the Month: Waverly Grey

 

Couple of the Month: Donovan Selwyn & Lorcan Delevingne

 

Role Play of the Month: Forest Party

Trystan Slughorn, Donovan Selwyn, Catie Nott, Ezra Hawthorne, Raquel Fudge, Fae Vanderbilt

 

Governor's Pick, Sunshiniest Member: Niko Kobayashi

The Governors chose to bestow this award on Niko for her perpetually positive

attitude and her willingness to help her fellow members, especially new members,

whenever she can.

 

Winners should feel free displaying the award in their signatures. Everyone, please join me in congratulating them all! 

Greetings,

 

As we ring in our 15th year at Hogwarts Online, it is time to announce the winners of the Governor Awards. These awards are given site-wide to individuals who the Governors collectively believe embody the characteristics defined by each and have been awarded for at least ten years at Hogwarts Online.

 

Please join me in congratulating this year's winners.

 

 

Description: This award goes to the member that has put forth studious effort in everything they do.

Recipient: Pippa Miller

 

Description: This award goes to the member who has consistently exhibited a positive attitude, enduring optimism and distinguishable kindness.

Recipient: Sherlock Thorns

 

Description: This award goes to the member who has devoted the most amount of time to improving the site for future and current members.

Recipients: Prof. Canry Hennings

 

Description: This award goes to the member who has shown the greatest initiative at problem solving.

Recipients:  Prof. Kenny Minho Jeong

 

Description: This award goes to the member who has exhibited the qualities of true leadership.

Recipient: Head Healer Jin Marrow

 

Hogwarts: Prof. Raquel Fudge

 

Hogwarts: Prof. Cleve Lawrence

 

and finally, occasionally the governors board comes together to recognize an individual who has given extraordinary service to the site and the community. The Order of Merlin to Hogwarts Online is a special distinction and this honor has only been bestowed a handful of times since then in the First, Second, and Third Degrees. Although it feels this recipient has been a member of the governor's board for much longer, Prof. Caleb Rothwell has contributed so much to the site in his time on our team. When the site was in dire need of help and leadership, Caleb was quick to accept that responsibility and reliable in his response to the various needs of our site as we fought to maintain stability in the change of site ownership and governor leadership. Since that day, Caleb has contributed to the site across multiple commissions, most recently of which was in the reformation and revitalization of our towns and public works.

 

The owner of the site, Giselle D'lisle, and I discussed this award in private and came to the conclusion that Prof. Caleb Rothwell has earned the honor of receiving The Order of Merlin, Third Class, for his dedication and leadership on Hogwarts Online.

 

 

 

Congratulations to everyone!

 

Yours,

 

Greetings & Salutations,

 

You may have noticed that there have been a few small changes to the site's member groups. This is part of a larger effort to optimize and clean up HO over the next few weeks.

 

These changes primarily affect adult groups. There will no longer be separate member groups for UK, Swedish, and French professions. Instead, there will be one group for each profession and a general group for citizens of each country. So, from now on adult members will be sorted like this:

 

Primary Group: Profession (Ex. Magizoologist)

Secondary Group: Country & Secondary Profession (Ex. Swedish Citizen, Dark Wizard)

 

We will also be phasing out the now-defunct Beauxbatons groups. All former Beauxbatons students will be placed in one group. If you wish to have a former Beauxbatons student transferred their account will still be easy to find.

 

Finally, I am doing a test run on badges next to names for positions as opposed to (P) and (G) etc. If people seem to like it and it doesn't cause issues with the code, we will adopt this system of denotation more widely.

 

Thank you!

 

 

 

 

Greetings & Salutations,

 

As Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, it is both my sacred duty and my honor to ensure the continuity of government within the wizarding community. Following a contentious election in the United Kingdom, the ICW affirms and acclaims that Minister Xander Ryuu formerly the Head of the Department of Mysteries, has secured a majority of the vote and will succeed Minister Fallon Steelgrave as the leader of the Ministry of Magic.

 

On behalf of the wizarding community, we thank Minister Steelgrave for her tireless efforts to safeguard our world and uphold our laws by enforcing the Statute of Secrecy with zeal and vigor. In that same spirit, we wish Minister Ryuu the same successes as his term begins.

 

Yours Sincerely,

Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards

Order of Merlin, First Class

Grand Sorceress

Hello everyone!

 

First off, the Junior Wizengamot would like to thank everyone who participated in the Hogwarts Online Anniversary event. This year's event was a huge success. Anyone who might have taken a peek at the Culture Exchange topic within the event might recall a mention of a cookbook. Well, I'm now very happy to present you all with:

 

 

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE PDF

(the table of contents is clickable)

 

This project is a compilation of recipes submitted by our members from all over the world, as a means of celebrating the diversity of our writers. Feel free to download the PDF for personal keeping, and we hope you enjoy flipping through the recipes—and maybe even trying some out!

Greetings & Salutations,

 

After a lengthy discussion today amongst the Governors, we have come a to decision about a very unfortunate issue that has often been faced on our site. From this day forward, the following rules will apply to all of HO and its associated platforms:

• Catfishing members of Hogwarts Online is an act that is contrary to our values as a community. Catfishing is the act of luring someone into an emotional connection by means of a fictional online persona. This includes lying about your appearance, status, orientation, gender identity, etc with the intent of misleading another person for the purpose of forming a relationship.
• Impersonating someone's real life persona on Hogwarts Online is an act that is contrary to our values as a community. Impersonation by this definition means using the name, photos, or other identifying information of a real person to assume a false identity when communicating with members of our site.
• It is also contrary to our values as a community to feign serious illness, critical injury or death of a real life persona, real or imagined.
• Aiding in any of the aforementioned acts is contrary to the our values as a community.

We are, first and foremost, a community of friends. Friendship requires trust. Trust requires honesty. Hogwarts Online does not require any person to disclose their personal details and anyone who wishes to keep their identity safe is welcome to assume an OOC pen name. However, the acts describes above will no longer be tolerated on this site. Far too much hurt and betrayal has come from thoughtless violations of trust.

 

From this moment forward, any member found to be in violation of these values will be asked to leave our community. If you have any questions about this, please contact me directly.

 

The Governors

Ahoy Me Harties!

 

This be yer Pirate Queen speakin'! Following today's very extended downtime it gave the Governors and I some time to think about the future of our site. As it turns out, a Harry Potter RPG just isn't sustainable. We believe what YOU the members want is something filled with a bit more adventure. That is why we are transforming HO into Yo-HO, the world's first pirate-based online RPG.

 

You will be able to clash with the best pirates on the seven seas. The schools will shortly disappear from our site and be replaced with two warring pirate ships. Owls will be replaced with parrots or monkeys. You will all become thralls in our pirate armies, but you will all stand the chance to rise in the ranks to captain your own crew.

 

Please remember to have fun, and April Fools, everyone!

 

Yarrrrrrrs in Faith,

Captain Giselle 'You Betta Werk' DLisle

Site Celebrities & Pro-Athletes

This list indicates all characters on Hogwarts Online who will be internationally recognized as a famous character. Accordingly, all other characters are expected to regard them as famous characters.

Perks:

• A signature image or award denoting that they are famous.
• An incredibly high salary.
• Right to be recognized by all characters as a celebrity with all the perks therein.

 

Types of Celebrity:

• A List 

An A list celebrity is internationally known and exceptionally successful. Hearing the name of an A-list celebrity will likely be immediately recognizable. These celebrities have a large fan base and probably have merchandise reflecting their career/reason for fame. Spotting an A list celebrity in public would potentially draw a lot of attention. These celebrities may even travel with bodyguards. Articles about these celebrities will be headlines in the news.

 

Harry Potter - International hero

Izzy Beckett - International musician

Preston Thayer - Aristocrat, Heir to the Thayer fortune

Roisin Doyle - International, beater for Ireland & best selling author

Viktor Krum - International, retired seeker for Bulgaria

• B List 

A B list celebrity is well known, but less famous or successful as A list celebrities. They make decent money and their name is recognizable, though maybe not by all. They likely have a fan gathering and some merchandise reflecting their career/reason for fame, but not as much. Spotting a B list celebrity in public might draw attention and they may be asked for autographs, but likely do not travel with bodyguards. Articles about these celebrities may be featured in the news, but rarely make headlines unless it is something controversial.

 

Blaine Totterdale - International, beater for England

Loretta Jackson - International musician - formerly A list but dropped down to B list

Hunter Bennett - International, keeper for Republic of Ireland

Aina Keller - International, Supermodel, Fashion Icon, Actress

• C List 

A C list celebrity is known by face and not by name, or vice versa. They are still successful but are far less popular or famous as A and B list celebrities. While they may have fans, those are likely to be part of a niche group, like when a band has a cult following and is not widely known. They rarely make the news.

 

Sebastian Cabral - National - best-selling author

• D List 

A D list celebrity may be known by face, and rarely by name. If they are known, they may not have the most positive or popular connotation to their name (think Rita Skeeter). They may also be people who experienced "15 minutes of fame" for something that went "viral" in the wizarding community. They probably aren't recognized in public by many people and live normal lives. They do not earn a sufficient income to be classified as rich, unless they are an heir to a fortune.

 

Draco Malfoy - Heir to the Malfoy fortune

 

 

Pending/under review

 

 

Is your character a songstress, entertainer, professional athlete, or any other well known figure in the wizarding world? If so; You may now apply for CELEBRITY STATUS on Hogwarts Online! Please consider the following.

 

Requirements:

• Minimum of 500 posts
• Minimum of 2-5 related RPs a month
• Must be an official school alumnus (exceptions made for certain cases)
• Must be a member of HO for at least 2 years
• Must submit a proposal for fame
• Must be approved through a majority vote by the Governors.
• Must be willing to post intermittent blog posts updating the forum of any important news regarding your celebrity
  (depending on the status level)

Note: All pro-Quidditch players in the minor leagues (i.e. the Appleby Arrows) are only locally known and may have a fan gathering in their given country/district. In order to be a celebrity on this list, that athlete needs to have evidenced an advance in their career or have had a controversial publication to gain public attention.

 

 

 

If you meet the above requirements, we would love to read your application! You may apply by sending your proposal for fame to Prof. Sorcha Logan. Your proposal will be reviewed by the Governors board and your request will be approved or denied considering the requirements.

 

 

Greetings & Salutations,

 

Another successful, albeit bumpy, term has come to a close at Hogwarts Online and it is once again time to announce the winners of the Governor Awards. These awards are given site-wide to individuals who the Governors collectively believe embody the characteristics defined by each and have been awarded for at least ten years at Hogwarts Online.

 

So, without further adieu, please join me in congratulating this year's winners.

 

 

Description: This award goes to the member that has put forth studious effort in everything they do.

Recipient: Sabine Frost

 

Description: This award goes to the member who has consistently exhibited a positive attitude, enduring optimism and distinguishable kindness.

Recipient: Prof. Heidi Haven

 

Description: This award goes to the member who has devoted the most amount of time to improving the site for future and current members.

Recipients: Prof. Annabelle Nylund & Official Liam Kartak

 

Description: This award goes to the member who has shown the greatest initiative at problem solving.

Recipients:  Ailsa MacPherson & Alden Song

 

Description: This award goes to the member who has exhibited the qualities of true leadership.

Recipient: Prof. Jared Wayland

 

...and finally, the following awards are chosen by the Heads of each respective school.

 

Hogwarts: Sean Bergmeister

Durmstrang: Magdalene Chervenkova

 

Hogwarts: Prof. Guinevere Meredith

Durmstrang: Prof. Leander Markowitz

 

Congratulations to everyone!

 

Yours,

Greetings & Salutations,

 

As many of you likely know, a few years ago there was an incident on the site that involved the fabricated death of a member. This was a very unfortunate situation, but the Governors decided to take no disciplinary action against the person responsible. The other day this member decided to return and has offered her heartfelt apology to the Governors and the site.

 

We do not expect everyone to accept this apology, but the Governors have accepted it and have invited her to return to our community with no repercussions. We want to stress that bullying of any kind will not be tolerated toward this person. Part of being a community is understanding each others shortcomings and not holding grudges for past mistakes. We are all going to move past this together and our site will be stronger for it.

 

She has also asked us to share the following apology with the members.

 

Hi.

First off I’d like to say that I’m extremely sorry for all the stress and pain I’ve caused the community. I can’t understate just how guilty I feel, and have felt for so long. All I’ve been thinking is about how much I wish that I could turn back time and change everything, but obviously that’s not possible—so I’m just hoping that my words will show that, at the least, I haven’t taken any of this lightly either. 

I’m so sorry for the deception, in the creation of multiple fake people and especially in the faking of breast cancer and of death. I should never have used either of those issues as a tool to gain popularity or love of any kind and I feel sick to my stomach thinking about my actions. I’ve spent a long time trying to figure out why I did that, and I’m still not totally sure. The best explanation I can offer is that at that time, I was very young and very insecure—and very uneducated too (which doesn’t justify any of it; I would like to make explicit that this explanation is only that—not in any way an attempt to excuse my actions). Some of my insecurities were of the typical pre-teen/teen girl variety. Some were magnified because I’m an Indian immigrant in the United States and at that time, during very formative years, I felt intensely like I did not belong anywhere. I was neither Indian or American, which brought me to search for any kind of community that would accept me—and then to cling to that community and use it to get the affection and love and attention that I, at the time, believed I wasn’t getting elsewhere. 

It was extremely immature and manipulative of me, and I regret that so much. I used others’ pictures because I didn’t feel beautiful or worthy (and my lack of self esteem was propagated by the colorism in American society, which made it really hard for me, as a darker-skinned person, to believe that I was beautiful or worthy in any way). During that time, I extended the fantasy of roleplay as a way for me to invent a better version of myself—the version that I always secretly wished I could be.

I never intended for it all to spiral so much and there were many moments where I wanted to say the truth so badly. But I was too terrified—which is also why I ran away the moment that everything came to light. I regret my cowardice and my long silence. This is also why I returned to the site and created new characters secretly, as another cowardly attempt to enter the community again. I said very few things about my personal identity as a writer, but a lie by omission is still a lie and for that I’m really sorry. I realize that those actions only further deepen distrust of me, which I understand completely.

All of this still does not justify or excuse my actions in the slightest. I don’t expect forgiveness or understanding of any kind, and if the community determines that I should be banned I will fully respect that. In your place I would absolutely do the same. I want to say that I really did consider everyone in this community to be my friends (although I understand if you don’t feel that way yourself anymore) and I’m so so sorry about hurting all of you.

Thank you for allowing me to explain, and again, I’m really sorry that this apology comes so long overdue.

 

 

Thank you all for reading.

Giselle

Greetings & Salutations,

 

The Governors have heard many suggestions about how the site can be improved over the last couple of weeks. This included updates to the Mirror rules. As our Mirrors become ever more full with face claims, it follows logically that this also imposes some restrictions on new characters being made in the image their writer has seen them in. To alleviate this issue, the following changes are being made to the alumni reserve rules:

 

1. Following graduation, HOS Alumni who wish to reserve their face in all 3 countries must contact the Mirror.

2. If the Official HOS Alum character remains active, their face is reserved in all 3 countries.

3. Alumni faces can never be claimed in the country where the character graduated, provided they remain active.

-In order to be considered active, an alumnus must have logged in at last once in the last 6 months.

4. If an Alumni goes inactive, anyone may request the inactive character's face.

5. If an inactive Alumni returns, they have the right to reclaim their face by PMing the Mirror, but they must share the face if it has already been claimed by an active member before their return.

6. Alumni must be re-sorted as an adult BEFORE you send in your face.  Graduating 7th years who send it in early will not be added, and will have to send it in or bump the PM once they are in an adult masking.

 

We want to continue to honor the great achievement of graduating from Hogwarts while being mindful of new members to the site. Alumni members must now log in at least once in 6 months to continue reserving their face. However, if they fall inactive and someone else claims their face they may return and reclaim it with the caveat that the face is then shared with the active member.

 

In addition, we understand that sometimes the face you initially chose no longer suits your character. Previously, you could only change your face once at graduation or when the account changes hands. However, the rules will now be changed to allow everyone to change their face ONCE outside of these requirements for very good reason and at the discretion of the Mirror.

 

We hope you will enjoy these new freedoms and continue to make our site the gold standard in Harry Potter RPG.

 

Yours always,

 

Greetings!

 

As we ring in our 15th year at Hogwarts Online, it is important to give credit where credit is due. This summer we initiated the second annual Camp Avalon in place of our formerly traditional summer term spent at Hogwarts. While the class content has remained similar (more relaxed and elective courses than typical academic courses), so much else about the camp experience is new and a welcomed, refreshing addition to our site.

 

If you are new to Hogwarts Online, or were not present during the 2019 summer term, you may not know that we have former governors Prof. Annabelle Nylund and Official Liam Kartak to thank for the creation of Camp Avalon. These two brilliant writers envisioned a reform for the way summer term was held on our site. They spent months upon months planning, organizing, and creating this camp and it excites me to see that it has continued to be successful well into the second year.

 

I would like to formally apologize to both Annabelle and Liam because in the frenzy of all that is going on in our world right now, Guinevere and I struggled to reopen the camp efficiently in our allotted timeline. We initially searched the forum for the original Camp Avalon topics and subforums, but were unable to find them. As a result, new forums and topics were created to the best of our memory. In some cases, topics may have been recreated with a lack of credit given and for that, we are apologizing and fixing that mistake. We would like to make it clear to everyone that the development of Camp Avalon is due exclusively to Annabelle and Liam. Of course we also thank our camp counselors (professors) and cabin leaders (prefects/JW) for their contributions as well.

 

I was able to recover the original topics and subforums today through another thorough search, this time in our admin control panel archives, where I discovered the entire log of our archives had been disabled from viewing. Guinevere and I are working now to recover those topics and subforums, so you should soon be able to access all of the fabulous content that was available last summer! Camp images are also being repaired, so thank you for your patience there.

 

Thank you all for taking the time to enjoy Camp Avalon and if you have any praise and feedback to supply, make sure to give a nod of recognition to the creators, Prof. Annabelle Nylund and Official Liam Kartak.

 

Let's continue celebrating our 15th year and the rest of our summer term!