Community Updates

We have made a few minor changes to the site and to Discord.
1. We have removed the color to the mute function.
2. We have added a role that can limit reaction use. There is no active plan to remove reactions from the general server population.
3. We have enhanced security on HiO. It has come to our attention that certain banned members have been accessing the forums (view only) using the address bar to view the site and look at certain members' posts. We have made that no longer possible in roleplay forums. This however does effect non-validated users and bots so there are certain forums that can be accessed by bots and users without a validated account (or logged out). These areas include:

• The announcement forum (here).
• The Encyclopedia and all subforums for the Encyclopedia Forum.
• The splash page.

As always players are encouraged to not share personal details about themselves online. You have a right to privacy and freedom from harassment. We do need to keep some areas visible for bots and for unregistered players because this helps us in google searches. Us doing this is at the expense of being able to be found by potential new members but player security is more important to us than popularity. If members have any thoughts on additional (safe) places we can or should make visible to unregistered users feel free to post your suggestion in the suggestions forum. Why there rather than my DM's? Well, simply because if you think something is a good idea and I do not know much about the area, I may not know the risks inherent with sharing that area with potentially banned users but someone else might and I hope that they speak up also.

New Items

We have added dozens of new items to the site shops for everyone to enjoy. You will now notice new items for your pets, new outfits that your character can wear and recreational items that are sure to be popular.

New items include:
- Several new books in Flourish and Blotts
- A bus pass that can be bought in Flourish and Blotts that gives you access to Grimmauld Place and Godric's Hollow.
- Items for your pets in Magical Menagerie.
- New fashion items in Madam Malkin's Shop
- New Prank Items in Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. There is also the fake permission slip that can be bought here that is used to enter Hogsmeade before the second year.
- Three new brooms (all tree brooms) in Quality Quidditch Supplies which will eventually be statted.
- Players will be able to gain access to Knockturn Alley by buying an item in Hogsmeade which opens up several stores.
- Andrew Walk - a creepy toy store with toys you will surely forget. They are a real scream.
- Borgin and Burkes - a dark magic/item store...
- Sisyphe's Materials - a potion component store where items not super legal can be found for a price.
- St. Mungos sells a magic eye (like Mad Eye wears)
- Wizengmot now has a admonitor.
- Some small items in "at the counter" at the Leaky Cauldron
- Main Square Hogsmeade has numerous items for sale but the popular ones to mention are the wizard camera, enchanted radio
- Dervish and Banges sells even more magical items, including children's items such as rock friend and rock friend dream house as well as sock friend (rock friend's eternal rival.
- The Post Office has Howlers
- Gladrags has a massive selection of suits, cloaks and gowns as well as shoes.
- We have several quills in Scrivenshafts Quill Shop, sorry no Black Quill. However we have the quick quotes quill among others.
- Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop offers a number of romance items popular among sweet hearts.
- Muggle Artifacts has a couple of new items but the favored is rock of detection.
- Zonko's Joke Shop has a large array of magical items and has expanded their inventory. There are joke items and fun items. The most important items offered in this shop would be the Map of the Undergrounds of Hogwarts, Trench Coat of Sneak and Camo Coat. The Underground Map gives players access to the basement before the second year. The Trench Coat of Sneak gives players access to Knockturn Alley before their seventh year. The Camo Coat gives players access to the Forbidden Forest before their fourth year.

iNPCs

A quick reminder that iNPC applications are presently closed. Players that have submitted applications or updates before the deadline have a few days (April 3) to make edits if edits have been requested of them. The next time iNPCs will open will be this summer for the summer games. An activity check will be taking place in early June (week of June 1) for those that are occupying spaces on teams and then we will be opening up applications again for players to update their iNPCs and apply for new abilities as well as create iNPCs.

Please remember that the summer is a great opportunity to get to know one another and we are working on some interesting activities for the community.

New c0-Captain Found

Not sure what it is with pretty people and positions of leadership, with the loss of @Rafael D'Spacito thirsty spectators will not mourn for long. A new Quidditch co-Captain was found in @Pax Zhang who will be joining us for the duration of the season. Pax will be working with Evelynn to bring forth another victorious season for Gryffindor!

Quidditch Game

Our next quidditch game will be starting out of character May 7. Due to the desire to include others schools in Spectator Threads (interaction opportunities), the in- character thread will be taking place April 9 (backdated). Backdating a thread is the process of rolling back the time an event happened to an earlier time so that certain interactions would be possible. We allow backdating without hard limits but it cannot be used as a means of powergaming a scenario, which is basically where you decide to backdate a thread to conveniently give your character the ic means to do something you only now discovered you should have prepped for. Backdated threads also cannot contradict canonized information. For example, backdating a thread and during this thread you break up with your boyfriend in the backdated thread but in a future thread you are dating them and never broke up. This would be an inconsistency.

The games will be between

Ravenclaw & Hufflepuff
Gryffindor & Slytherin

The matches will be moderated by @Sylvain Wyllt and @Dan Palmer

The present scores are as follows for the year:

• Ravenclaw 430 from 2 wins
• Gryffindor 210 from 1 win and 1 loss
• Slytherin 260 from 1 win and 1 loss
• Hufflepuff 130 from 2 losses

If Ravenclaw wins this next match then they are likely to go to the summer games. If they lose, it can be anybody's game. Headliner (hint) this is a great article for you!

Happy April Fools Day

April first, better known as April Fools Day is a day of chaos and as such you will notice some chaotic changes in your common rooms and dorm rooms as the House Elves have done terrible things. Our colors in discord have also changed once again but unlike Pride Week where we resembled other house colors, we have taken on some new hues entirely.

We can blame Winnie for the pastels probably:
-Gryffindor
-Ravenclaw
-Hufflepuff
-Slytherin

Dragons Have Been Sent Home

Everything should be back to normal, dark and drab discord colors. The dragons are back in Romania. Shame on you Hufflepuff for hiding that one Hungarian Horntail under Jack Warren's bed.

Respecting Boundaries

This is a reminder to users, if a user has blocked you on Discord and you choose to ignore this (as in you notice you are blocked and decide to use our owl system to continue to communicate with them) you are harassing someone using our site as a tool to do so. This will result in your ban from the community, there is no warning, there is no second chances.

As for getting someone else to contact someone and have them play "middle-man" to communicate for the blocked person. That person is blocked, respect this. If they want to talk, they can make contact.

The 2nd Broom Race Has Started!

Match 2 for the 2021-22 School Year has started. In Ravenclaw v Gryffindor, we might see some racers face their worst fears when met with the boggart. In Hufflepuff v Slytherin we will see how many students survive the first near impossible obstacle of the season.

• Hufflepuff v Slytherin: [Link]
• Ravenclaw v Gryffindor: [Link]

Remember you have 5 days to post if you are a broom racer before the first moderation. You only need to meet 50 words.

Spectator Threads:

For those that wish to watch the races, and cheer their housemates with the cheering materials they made, we have spectator threads for watching the matches also.

• Hufflepuff v Slytherin: [Link]
• Ravenclaw v Gryffindor: [Link]

Remember for spectator threads -- you cannot effect the players in the game in any way. As a spectator you are a witness to what happens here (so you can see what happens in the other thread, you just cannot intervene but you can cheer them on). There is no active moderation of this thread, this is simply a roleplay prompt that some of you might partake in. You do need to meet the 200 word count requirement for your posts!

Hufflepuff gained two new prefects!
Join us in congratulating both Logan Baird and Simon Kincaid into their new roles.
Good luck to you both!