Sitewide Announcements and Updates
May the Fourth be with you
An obvious Star Wars meme that sounds similar to "may the force be with you." (1977) However, did you know that the earliest use of the phrase "May the fourth be with you" was coined in 1979 by a London newspaper writer who congratulated Margret Thatcher, Britain's new Prime Minister on her first day in office in a full page ad that read: May the Fourth be with you, Maggie. Congratulations.
So May the Fourth be with you all also.
There is something about ambition, how it not only propels you but also defines you.
An obvious Star Wars meme that sounds similar to "may the force be with you." (1977) However, did you know that the earliest use of the phrase "May the fourth be with you" was coined in 1979 by a London newspaper writer who congratulated Margret Thatcher, Britain's new Prime Minister on her first day in office in a full page ad that read: May the Fourth be with you, Maggie. Congratulations.
So May the Fourth be with you all also.
There is something about ambition, how it not only propels you but also defines you.
Sitewide Announcements and Updates
Happy Cinco de Mayo
Cinco de Mayo, or the the literal translation fifth of May
Cinco de Mayo, or the the literal translation fifth of May, is a holiday that celebrates the date of the Mexican army’s May 5, 1862 victory over France at the Battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War. This is not to be confused with Mexico's independence day which is Sept 16 and transpired 50 years earlier, this day is rather Mexico's victory in a single battle. May 5 is also known as Battle of Puebla Day. Cinco de Mayo is a relatively minor holiday in Mexico, however in the United States, Cinco de Mayo has evolved into a commemoration of Mexican culture and heritage.
In short, it is like an additional taco Tuesday this week with the added conus of maybe an overpriced drink. It is also a reason to talk about Mexican culture and celebrate their uniqueness. So, happy Cinco de Mayo.
There is something about ambition, how it not only propels you but also defines you.
Cinco de Mayo, or the the literal translation fifth of May
Cinco de Mayo, or the the literal translation fifth of May, is a holiday that celebrates the date of the Mexican army’s May 5, 1862 victory over France at the Battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War. This is not to be confused with Mexico's independence day which is Sept 16 and transpired 50 years earlier, this day is rather Mexico's victory in a single battle. May 5 is also known as Battle of Puebla Day. Cinco de Mayo is a relatively minor holiday in Mexico, however in the United States, Cinco de Mayo has evolved into a commemoration of Mexican culture and heritage.
In short, it is like an additional taco Tuesday this week with the added conus of maybe an overpriced drink. It is also a reason to talk about Mexican culture and celebrate their uniqueness. So, happy Cinco de Mayo.
There is something about ambition, how it not only propels you but also defines you.
Sitewide Announcements and Updates
AI Generated Posts and Content
A reminder for images and art, we expect all AI generated art to be credited as such under our plagiarism rules.
There is something about ambition, how it not only propels you but also defines you.
- This is a site where players roleplay with other players, not an AI.
- The use of a chatbot to provide posts in your stead would be dishonest with the other members of the community. If they wanted to RP with a bot, there are places where they can do so.
- A major facet of RP is social content and brain storming with other members.
- An important part of roleplay is getting another persons experience, preference, and input.
- It is dishonest to do so, players are expecting other players.
A reminder for images and art, we expect all AI generated art to be credited as such under our plagiarism rules.
There is something about ambition, how it not only propels you but also defines you.
Sitewide Announcements and Updates
Here ye! Here ye! The Knight's Tourney now has a spectator thread. Come cheer on your favourite squire!
Sitewide Announcements and Updates
Solicitation and Blind Contacting of Users
It has come to my attention that there has been a rising trend in sending messages to new members with site information to 'help them get started' and also referring them to users that can 'help them get started.' This is something that can be done with good intentions but it has adverse effects on the community as it has led to confusion among community members.
That said, we know that the efforts of those that did send these messages were well-intentioned. We thank you for your efforts and consideration. We just hope that it can be done a bit differently for the sake of the members of the community.
There is something about ambition, how it not only propels you but also defines you.
It has come to my attention that there has been a rising trend in sending messages to new members with site information to 'help them get started' and also referring them to users that can 'help them get started.' This is something that can be done with good intentions but it has adverse effects on the community as it has led to confusion among community members.
1. The staff does not blind send messages to new members about who they should start roleplays with or links to the site rules beyond the welcoming owl that is automatically sent from the site as well as another when you are sorted into a house. These owls do provide users with basic site information including a link to the mentorship system.
Some people might ask - what can I do then because I want to help.So new members please be aware that:
- There is no staff body that is asking or supporting users sending you owls because you are new.
- We understand that this can be confusing for some members that may mistake one of these senders as staff, they are not. All staff members will have a title under their account name such as Professor of, Head of House, Headmaster, or a staff role such as Nurse, Grounds Keeper, Librarian or Caretaker.
2. I have seen copies of communications where new users were referred to players to help them get started that may not have been the best example to give them. Some of the players over the past few months per the receipts I have been given were banned members who had long-standing issues with the staff. There is no issue with a new member making friends with someone that is not on good terms with the staff, but it is not a good idea to refer new members to them.
- There is no staff body that is asking or supporting users sending you owls because you are new.
- We understand that this can be confusing for some members that may mistake one of these senders as staff, they are not. All staff members will have a title under their account name such as Professor of, Head of House, Headmaster, or a staff role such as Nurse, Grounds Keeper, Librarian or Caretaker.
So new members please be aware:
- The staff does not refer new members to players in general.
- Staff might refer you to a specific thread that is open if they saw you mention a need elsewhere.
- In general we will refer you to our discord or our RP request thread so that you can answer or place an advert for a friend.
3. We ask members to refrain from sending pre-fabricated messages to users. We have a large community and while you think you are the only one (and perhaps you are, you def are not at this moment because this is being focused at a few users), other people will follow this trend if we accept and allow it. We have about 1000 active members (last 30 days) on this site, if 0.2% of the population decided to also participate in this trend, a new user would be faced with 20 billboards telling them where to go and who to make contact with. This is not only confusing but it is also overwhelming. - The staff does not refer new members to players in general.
- Staff might refer you to a specific thread that is open if they saw you mention a need elsewhere.
- In general we will refer you to our discord or our RP request thread so that you can answer or place an advert for a friend.
1. Apply to the Mentorship Program. To be a mentor you do need to be in good standing with the staff and you need to have at least 6 months tenure on site (so you know what you're talking about). This will give you the opportunity to collaborate with staff and get proper guidance.
2. Interface with these new members in public threads when they post and say hi. Say hi back, introduce yourself. Offer them your DMs for questions, to thread with them if they are lonesome, or even link them to one or two things that they might find relevant and neat. The important part here is that it is one or two things and that you are talking to them as a person and not a customer. A pre-written billboard is about as personal as a commercial for toothpaste and possibly about as relevant. We are a community, not a customer base.
3. If they ask you something, answer them. You may have made first public contact, but their follow up is what tells you they have interest in wat you have to offer. Do any of you want me in your owls instructing you personally? -- Except for the weird ones, none of you.
4. You have prime real estate on your signature. This is a great way to convey concise information if you insist on having a flashing billboard with you.
So does this mean that you can never just message someone you don't know? NO, of course not! We just want you to not act like a used carpet salesman. It is confusing, overwhelming, possibly detrimental.2. Interface with these new members in public threads when they post and say hi. Say hi back, introduce yourself. Offer them your DMs for questions, to thread with them if they are lonesome, or even link them to one or two things that they might find relevant and neat. The important part here is that it is one or two things and that you are talking to them as a person and not a customer. A pre-written billboard is about as personal as a commercial for toothpaste and possibly about as relevant. We are a community, not a customer base.
3. If they ask you something, answer them. You may have made first public contact, but their follow up is what tells you they have interest in wat you have to offer. Do any of you want me in your owls instructing you personally? -- Except for the weird ones, none of you.
4. You have prime real estate on your signature. This is a great way to convey concise information if you insist on having a flashing billboard with you.
That said, we know that the efforts of those that did send these messages were well-intentioned. We thank you for your efforts and consideration. We just hope that it can be done a bit differently for the sake of the members of the community.
There is something about ambition, how it not only propels you but also defines you.
Sitewide Announcements and Updates
Welcoming Clair Fernandez
A new prefect was not announced. For House Ravenclaw we have a new Prefect, Clair Fernandez. Clair is a tenured member of this community that has been with us since July 2021. She is a Broom Racer for her house, but she is best-known for her role as a Mentor. She is well-liked in the community and her pleasant demeanor is synonymous with her presence on our Discord where she is seen daily.
While congratulations are a bit late, this announcement is still hard-earned. So, congratulations Clair, we look forward to working with you and avoiding your detentions.
There is something about ambition, how it not only propels you but also defines you.
A new prefect was not announced. For House Ravenclaw we have a new Prefect, Clair Fernandez. Clair is a tenured member of this community that has been with us since July 2021. She is a Broom Racer for her house, but she is best-known for her role as a Mentor. She is well-liked in the community and her pleasant demeanor is synonymous with her presence on our Discord where she is seen daily.
While congratulations are a bit late, this announcement is still hard-earned. So, congratulations Clair, we look forward to working with you and avoiding your detentions.
There is something about ambition, how it not only propels you but also defines you.
Sitewide Announcements and Updates
Index Clean-up
In the next few days we will be performing an Index Clean-up. An Index Clean-up is a bi-annual activity performed by the staff where 'inactive' users are removed from Index. Activity is defined as posting anywhere on-site within the past 6 months, including Forum Games.
Users who have not posted on site in the past 6 months will be removed from Index and they would need to re-register with Index to return to the Index. being registered on Index is required for participation in events, sports and to graduate to the next year. So, this means that in July if your character is not Indexed, you will not graduate to the next year.
For those who have questions about Index, please refer to our HELP Threads and Discord for assistance.
To see if you are on Index, please search for your character name here
If you have been removed from Index and need to be placed back on Index, please refer to the Index Reapplication thread here
There is something about ambition, how it not only propels you but also defines you.
Sitewide Announcements and Updates
Pride Month
I wrote this last year because some people needed it. Posting it again for those that need it this year.
Gay pride or LGBT pride is the promotion of the self-affirmation, dignity, equality, and increased visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people as a social group. Pride, as opposed to shame and social stigma, is the predominant outlook that bolsters most LGBT rights movements. This is a month of dignity, equal rights, self-affirmation and is a way of increasing society’s awareness of the issues they face.
June is celebrated as Pride in honor of the Stonewall Riots, an event that transpired after an NYPD raid of the Stonewall Inn. The riots were prompted by a raid that took place during the early morning, at the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, Manhattan. The LGBT community held a series of spontaneous, often violent demonstrations to protest against the raid and calling for the establishment of places that gays and lesbians could go and be open about their sexual orientation. In such places there should be no fears of being arrested. The riots served as a catalyst for the rights of LGBT people, and within 6 months, 2 gay activist groups had formed in New York. This became a galvanizing force for LGBT political activism, and argued by some to be the birth of the gay rights movement, in the United States and around the world. The world's first pride parade occurred on the 1st anniversary (28 June 1970). June is also the month same sex marriage was legalized in the United States. This is not an internationally recognized celebration, other nations celebrate pride during other months. LGBT History Month in the UK takes place in the month of February since 2005. Australia and Canada celebrate LGBT History in October since 1994.
Since then there has been progress in terms of jargon, increased rights and public awareness. However there are parts of the world where the LGBTQ+ community is criminalized, resulting in imprisonment or even death (12 countries). 29 countries legally recognize marriage equality; 11 countries mention sexual orientation in constitutional nondiscrimination clauses. Advances in the LGBTQ+ community are more recent than many realize and they still face ongoing struggles relation to their sexual orientation and identity.
- France was thee first nation to decriminalize homosexuality in 1791.
- The Scientific-Humanitarian Committee founded in Berlin was the first known LGBTQ+ organization.
- Civil society organizations have lobbied the United Nations for the recognition of human rights on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity since 1945.
- The American Psychiatric Association stopped classifying homosexuality as a mental illness in 1973.
- Denmark is the first country to recognize same-sex civil unions in 1989.
- The World Health Organization stopped classifying homosexuality as a mental illness in 1990.
- Toonen v. Australia (1994) determined before the United Nations that the discrimination of individuals based on sexual orientation was a human rights violation.
- The Netherlands is the first country to legalize same sex marriage in 2000.
- In 2000 Europe extended protection under Article 21 of the European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights and Article 19 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU
- In 2007 experts met in Indonesia and produced the Yogyakarta Principles which were expanded upon in 2017.
- The American Psychological Association no longer defines transgender as a mental illness.
- In 2015 same sex marriage was legalized in the United States.
- In 2018 India’s Supreme Court decriminalized homosexuality.
- The Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled that same-sex marriage and transgender rights constitute human rights in 2018, effectively mandating protections in twenty Latin American countries.
- Taiwan is the first East Asian country to legalize marriage equality.
There is something about ambition, how it not only propels you but also defines you.
Sitewide Announcements and Updates
After much anticipation, our final international school has now been posted. Learn about Uagadou, the largest of the great schools. Taking students from all over Africa, this school situated deep in the mountains is an eclectic mix of tongues and cultures!
The soul becomes dyed with the colour of its thoughts
Sitewide Announcements and Updates
Analysis of Index
It is a new year, in an attempt at transparency we are documenting the number of active users on this forum. Below is he number of *sorted* members who have done something on the site, such as lurk or look around in the past 30 days. We have 608 (562 on last review) 'active' users. This does not count unsorted members or deactivated members. We have 4585 sorted (not deactivated) users. Users that never post on this site are pruned automatically after a few months.
I have also completed a full audit of Indexed members. This is members who have registered themselves with Index and have remained active on site in the last 6 months. To remain active they need to post somewhere, anywhere on site. Why does this not go off of log-ins and lurking? Well, two reasons - first being they are not contributing to the community so they are not 'active' so they should not derive the benefit of graduation. Second, we allow for 'hidden' users in privacy settings (so you do not necessarily know when someone has logged in or not). While I know who has been lurking, no other user can and there is no way to be transparent with the userbase and demonstrate that we are being fair to the rest of the community without a papertrail that can be cited.
We have a total of 397 "active" Indexed usersw, activity here being defined as posting on site (anywhere) in the past 6 months.
The numbers are as follows:
For those who have been lurking and have been removed from Index -- to re-register with Index [here]. This will remove the soft-deletion on the Trunk for those that have been removed from Index. Re-registration would involve explaining where you have been and what happened while you were gone and have it make sense. Please note, time does move on for everyone, including users no longer registered. All character will age but those that are not registered with index will not passively graduate to the next school year so for those who remain off of Index for multiple years, there may be a large explanation in order. For those that feel that too much time has passed to salvage their character, most are also able to use the deactivation system found here as long as their account is over 6 months of age.
If anyone notices an account that should be taken off the index registry that has not (been overlooked), feel free to owl me and I will look into it.
There is something about ambition, how it not only propels you but also defines you.
It is a new year, in an attempt at transparency we are documenting the number of active users on this forum. Below is he number of *sorted* members who have done something on the site, such as lurk or look around in the past 30 days. We have 608 (562 on last review) 'active' users. This does not count unsorted members or deactivated members. We have 4585 sorted (not deactivated) users. Users that never post on this site are pruned automatically after a few months.
I have also completed a full audit of Indexed members. This is members who have registered themselves with Index and have remained active on site in the last 6 months. To remain active they need to post somewhere, anywhere on site. Why does this not go off of log-ins and lurking? Well, two reasons - first being they are not contributing to the community so they are not 'active' so they should not derive the benefit of graduation. Second, we allow for 'hidden' users in privacy settings (so you do not necessarily know when someone has logged in or not). While I know who has been lurking, no other user can and there is no way to be transparent with the userbase and demonstrate that we are being fair to the rest of the community without a papertrail that can be cited.
We have a total of 397 "active" Indexed usersw, activity here being defined as posting on site (anywhere) in the past 6 months.
The numbers are as follows:
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Reducio
The numbers are as follows Sept 2022:
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For those who have been lurking and have been removed from Index -- to re-register with Index [here]. This will remove the soft-deletion on the Trunk for those that have been removed from Index. Re-registration would involve explaining where you have been and what happened while you were gone and have it make sense. Please note, time does move on for everyone, including users no longer registered. All character will age but those that are not registered with index will not passively graduate to the next school year so for those who remain off of Index for multiple years, there may be a large explanation in order. For those that feel that too much time has passed to salvage their character, most are also able to use the deactivation system found here as long as their account is over 6 months of age.
If anyone notices an account that should be taken off the index registry that has not (been overlooked), feel free to owl me and I will look into it.
There is something about ambition, how it not only propels you but also defines you.