Thank You Letter Group Project

Dear Zachary,

I wish my English and writing were better so I can come up with at least 5 paragraphs, explaining my gratitude towards the hard work, sweat and I'm assuming tears as well, you put into this site. I haven't been here for long but I will say that Hogwarts.Io was the first rp-ing site I was introduced to (by accident. but every accident is a happy accident, as my idol Bob Ross always says )the rp-ing world the best way possible. I made friends, I made tons of nice memories, and you have no idea how I felt a whoosh of magic when my account got validated.

So I love this letter idea. I love how you can just whoosh back here and get reminded how many smiles you put on other people from all over the world.

Like seriously, you're amazing. I can't imagine a life without Hogwart Io.



From,
That kid that really loves to sleep in class,
a.k.a Hanako

Dear Zachary,

I haven't been in this site for long (I've only just joined this March!) and honestly I had low expectations. I didn't expect not only a beautifully designed, well coded, and very immersive (the shopping list was a great touch!) website, what really blew me away was how active the community is, even if it just got its English version 2 years ago! Very few communities would survive a year, let alone two, and I can see how much love and dedication you've put into each line of coding. (Seriously, the coding on the report card blew me away. It really gets me into panicking student mode and I love it!!)

The website honestly brought back my love for writing in paragraphs again, and I can't thank you enough for it. It's thanks to your website that I met so many lovely people here, so many people that I see brought so much into this site as well. Really, thank you so much for making the decision of putting up this English version. This truly put a drive into my writing that I never thought I needed!

From a new little blue bird,
Breana

Dear Zachary,

Keeping this short, was never one for long letters. When I first joined this site, I never really expected to stay, if I'm being honest. I wasn't much of a writer, and I wasn't really a Harry Potter fan. I went on a hiatus for a little bit, but then for whatever reason I came back, and I am honestly so glad I did. This site has enabled me to meet so many wonderful people, and improve my writing. And I have you to thank for it! You have developed one of the nicest communities, I have seen. It is evident that you have put a lot of love, and dedication into the site, and the results are actually amazing. Kudos to you, and may the road lead you to warm sands.

With gratitude,
Xailah Alptraum

Dear Zachary,

Even though I've been a part of Hogwarts.io for a much shorter time than others--about 9 months now--and still have yet to experience the full extent of its complexity, everything I've seen has already blown me away. The different systems we now have are nothing short of impressive, especially since I've been privileged enough to experience some first-hand, being a Quidditch player in-character and former duellist. And I can only imagine the work that must've gone into the design, which is what really brings everything together.

Thank you for the love and thought you've obviously poured into the creation of this site, as well as the effort it clearly takes to maintain it. I've never seen anything like this roleplay, much less the community of so many wonderful, welcoming people. This truly is a special place, and life wouldn't be the same without it. I am proud to be a part of Hio, and I can't wait to see it develop and thrive throughout the coming years.

Sincerely,
Thora Larkston

Dear Zachary,

Thank you so much for this beautiful site you created! Beyond just how impressive it is you coded this, Hogwarts.io has become a place I visit every day. I may have found the site by accident, but since then I have repeatedly made the choice to come back; this is something I always look forward to spending time on after a busy day. For the past ten months, I have made friends and improved my writing here, and I hope to for many more years. Thank you for all the work you put into this.

-Bridget

OI ZACK- ya, you know me. I'm your good pal, friendly neighborhood random H.IO user you've never interacted with #89! You may not know much about my.... Insignificant exploits, but boy do I know what you get up to. I mean on h.io. Not in real life. I swear, im not stalking you.

Point is- everyone on the site knows who you are, and for good reason: you're incredible. Despite what I assume is a very busy life IRL, you've managed to code two versions of H.io and accommodate for the constantly changing needs of each ones community. Unfortunately, I rarely have the pleasure of seeing you on discord, but the fact that you sometimes show up at all is just amazing. I can't thank you enough for making this website, for keeping this website running (along with the staff, who are also great), and for what you do in general. You've brought me hours on end of fun, you've brought me new friends, and you've brought me important experiences- things ill never ever forget.

So, in all seriousness, thank you.

Dear Zach,

I'm only a recent addition to the site and I already love it. The hard work that has gone into the site really pays off in every way - the details in every area and the lack of advertising make for a uniquely immersive RP experience. I remember being so excited to have my character validated because it reminded me of when I was younger, desperately wishing that I could go to Hogwarts. Now I'm here, thanks to you!

Thank you for all the friends and the fun, hopefully for years to come! I hope you feel proud of how much joy you've brought in the creation of this fantastic community.

Regards,
George M. Henry

Dearest Zachary,

I know you are working hard, especially now, and while this plan did not originally account for such timing, I am glad it is coming at a time where you probably need it most. I hope you find times to relax in spite of all the pressures coming down on you.

While words are not enough to express the deep appreciation I have for you and your work, I hope that this letter can express a portion of my gratitude. I joined this site nearly a year ago, largely because I realized that I needed an outlet for my creative energy that I was not getting. I also knew that I would be entering an emotionally challenging career and am just generally an emotional person. I had plans to keep my participation very minimal, just enough to get the aforementioned desires satisified. I did not want to join the discord, I did not want to join staff. 

Clearly...that did not happen, or I am a part of a pretty long-running prank. What I found here was far beyond what I could have imagined. Here, I found a group of people who all joined for different reasons, from all over the world, people that I never imagined to become friends. Here, I found people that I felt so worthwhile that I desired to meet them, to gain just a little bit of visual understanding to their perspective, and I was not disappointed. These people have seen my highs, my lows, moments I am proud of, and moments I am deeply ashamed of. Through it all, though, these people have become more than just faceless beings from the internet. The community of HiO have become friends, a chosen family.

Because of what the people are and became for me here, I desired to give HiO all that I could. This has been hard at times, something that I'm sure you recognize. I hold myself to high standards and am frequently disappointed in my physical and emotional limitations. But I, and I think I can speak for the rest of the community here, do our best, because we want to make this place better. We want to make you proud for all that you have given us.

None of the previous descriptions of what this community has become to me would have been possible without you. I cannot even begin to express to you how thankful I am for all the effort you put into this site to make it what it was. I have had the pleasure of seeing some of the very old planning threads, and I know that all of the decisions were made carefully and with love, which shows to this day. Thank you for putting all your time into this, for holding us to high standards (of things like word count, though...as you can see, I'm a bit verbose), and for showing us love even though we could just be this little English side site that you could have ignored.

I often think about how strange it is that a bunch of little decisions lead us to the places and people where we end up. So many factors brought us to today; if just one of those had not occurred, we would not be here. In moments where life gets hard, like perhaps now in this time of great stress, it gives me immense peace to remember how magical fate can be. So, once more, thank you for all those little decisions you made that brought us to this moment today. I cannot imagine my life, now, without HiO.

You are so appreciated. Thank you for everything.

With love,

Olphie

P.S. Don't forget, if life ever slows down and you want to rp, I am always ready to have Olphie hit on Zach. No pressure, but you know where to find me.

Dear Zachary,

It is amazing how fast time flies. It has been almost 2 years since I enrolled into this spectacular site and community of Hogwarts.io April 2018. Two years. Some may say is a long time, while others, not so. At my age, to me, 2 years is a decently long time. I remember having created my account around 12am (why midnight? Im not sure), a baby name generator website on one of the tabs, the beautifully constructed page of h.io on another and me struggling with the 200-word count as I worked on my character application. I would say that my writing has improved significantly since I started.

Since primary school, I always loved to write and create short stories. At that period in which I joined the site, I happened to know about the fantastic universe of Forum Roleplaying Games in which I had also explored and created other accounts on about half a dozen other roleplaying sites. I had too much time on my hands then (not so much currently haha). Despite never having garnered much interest in the world of Harry Potter, Hogwarts.io is the only site that stuck with me throughout and there are a whole lot of reasons to why.

The format and aesthetic of the site is always been pleasing to the eye and is one of the first few factors that captivated my interests when I first joined. I am, like many others in this community, in awe of the immense amount of coding and work you have put into the site. The site is laid out beautifully and is extremely easy to navigate through the dozens of forums, moreover, there are not many sites which have a mobile-friendly version or a structured yet beautiful BBCode especially not ones as carefully laid out as Hio's. For all this, you have my undying respect and gratefulness, Winslow.

Having been on the site for almost two years, I had the privilege witnessing the site grow and develop, systems, the community and all. And I would admit, I have grown and likely even matured with it (I'm getting kinda emotional right now). I have met and roleplayed with talented and wonderful people so much so that Hogwarts.io has been with me through my endeavours, especially times of stress and self-doubt. There is just something about opening my phone into the very familiar page of Hio and seeing the red glow of the remembrall notifying about an RP reply that, most often than not, lightens my mood. Not only that, but it is also this lovely, friendly and supportive community that has allowed me to continue on the site till this day.

During the period of July-October 2019 was when I made the decision to go on a hiatus in preparation of upcoming 'major' exams (as I'd like to think all tests and exams are lol) and boy did the stress accumulated due to these reasons. I got so stress to the point that I started losing a noticeable amount of weight and hair and self-esteem -- not kidding, I am terrible at handling stress. However, I never could really abstain from Hio for a period more than a few days, still always lurking around the discord and site, being around the community and reading all the wonderful roleplay threads just gave me something to loosen up and unwind to.

Another period of stress happened relatively recently. Slightly more then a month back I have relocated to a place across the seas and far away from my family (for the first time ever), my comfort zone and friends in order to continue my education and at a safe distance from Covid19 (it recently just found its way here lol). Trust me, the transition from practically having no choice but to transition from dependant to semi-independent in a matter of less than a week and into a foreign environment is honestly scary. But then again, I had this supportive community with me only a tap of a screen away which provided a sort of temporary refuge from all the stress and anxiety. You might be wondering where you had any part in this, well Zach, if it weren't for you founding and building a majority of details and this very platform in which the beautiful community of hio has blossomed, I would not have any of these wonderful experiences.

Having faced some of them myself, I also understand that troubles can impend in life itself and therefore, even though I don't know you well, would like to give you some encouragement and support. The work and commitment which you put into developing this site despite having a busy life yourself is truly admirable and I would like to say: Thank you Zach! I do and will continue to hope that the site and community will keep growing and that you will also get the support you need for your own life's endeavours. We are always on discord to send you some moral support and hugs!

Many thanks and take care,
Aurelia.

Dear Zachary,

Before coming to this site, I had no clue what roleplaying through text involved. It seemed boring and strange to me. I wasn't sure if I could immerse myself in my character that I kind of made on the spot. I had no idea I would feel so connected with her and still feel so passionate about playing her. The lay out of the site plays a big part in how I started to 'pretend' better. Pretend as in, seeing what my character would see. A beautiful, mysterious castle filled with magic.

Since I have no experience with sites for roleplaying, I'm glad that this is my first site I rolled into. You can feel how much dedication and love there's been put in every detail. You can feel like you're actually there, in the castle. It's designed in such a way that players can truly live in Hogwarts. And that's all thanks to you, Zach. Of course, the community here is so kind, so warm, so understanding, so forgiving,... They too play a big part in how I stayed and didn't leave as soon as I got in. Caradoc/Hugh nudged me enough to give the people and the site a chance. And I don't regret it one bit. I have so many new friends that I can rely on and talk to. They're so much fun and just... such kind, wholesome people. It's ridiculous.

Zachary, you made this all happen. You build this base where friendships could flourish, even love. I'm so grateful for that. Your dedication and hard work on this site seriously paid off. Don't ever think otherwise. It's amazing how you fix and tinker with our site, just for a hobby.

We love you, Zach!

A humble, maybe too enthusiastic hug from a dhampir,