First of all, WELCOME. Please read the following tips and that will help us all keep the board running smoothly. These tips are compiled from the suggestions of the whole board.


TIPS FOR NEWCOMERS:

Please check through the posts to see if there is already a thread discussing your idea. If so, reply to that post rather than starting a new thread.

While this is a Harry Potter fan board, we do not stick to HP, exclusively. The forum is divided into area to help avoid confusion. Please post topics in the appropriate areas. We request that you read back over at least a page or two of posts so you will know what topics are current and to get a taste of the way this board communicates.

Please remember that this is a message board. Don't expect automatic replies to your posts. Chat room style posts will be deleted by the moderators.

Feel free to post off-topic messages, but do avoid pointless posts (such as, "Iz ne1 here? I totally luv Dan Radcliffe."). It is irritating and will be deleted.


Above all, please be respectful of the other board members. We have a nice little community here and we are happy to welcome in anyone who cares to be a part of it. However, we will defend, fiercely, any member (or the board, in general) on the receiving end of unwarranted or pointless abuse from a newbie. There is a warning system on this board and accumulating warnings will result in banning.

You may discuss anything you want, which does include religion. We have a wide diverse group of people on our board, from all sorts of races, religion, ages, and countries. We all get along respectfully as friends. If you want to discuss topics of religion, keep in mind since we do have a wide group of religions on this board, not everyone will share your opinions and accept them as truth. But, we do all respect each other and would not go and bash someone else’s religion, so please do the same, regardless of your personal opinion. This doesn’t mean you cannot discuss it, but it means do it respectfully. The same thing goes for any opinion you may have of other races, or even countries were people live.

Also, when you go and scroll threw the previous page(s) of posts, take note of people’s names and logins. Try to make your name something different then everyone else’s. Say for example “Jessica” is your name, and it is taken, try “Jess” or just make a new one completely.

Also, you don’t have to be an English major to make posts, but it helps if you can read it. There have been plenty of people in the past, some maybe here still; who write so badly that it is incomprehensible. We generally don’t mind how you type, but please make sure it is readable. Remember, do avoid chatspeak. It is very difficult to read. Since this is a message board, there is ample time to create a legible post.

Select one username and stick to it. Please do not create multiple personalities. Inevitably, something goes wrong and you are found out. When that happens, it tends to irritate other members. It is rude. Just don't do it.

If you have any problems about people, the board or something about the board, use the private message system available on this board to contact the mods. Every mod's posts say "moderator" on them, so they are easy to spot.

Also, when you respond to a post:

PLEASE respond to ONLY the FIRST post (the original one that starts the thread, NOT the first response) or the LAST post. The reason for this is that this way it will end up at the bottom. If you hit reply to a post in the middle, it will show up in the middle. When you make a post it will bump the thread to the very top since it was just posted on. If someone goes to the thread and sees no new posts on the bottom, but know there is a new post, they will have to go and look for the post threw the whole thread. Your reply can easily be missed altogether.

Newbie status is more a state of mind than a temporal thing. If you come on to the board showing a desire to participate in a rational, respectful, amusing, decent way, you are a newbie for only a very short time. You become a regular through your actions, not the number of days you've been around. In fact, I don't think anyone could even really answer your question. You are new until you're not. Sorry that's not helpful.
Now, some people are newbies forever. They never really learn the way the board communicates and never seem to get the hang of participating in discussions. Some are downright irritating. These folks earn the title, annoybie.

Just be a part of what goes on and no one will think of you in terms of any particular label.

(NEW!) For the fun of it, we made different levels for the number of posts. It doesn't mean anything, status and board time is irrelevent. Personally I'd rather be a Muggle than a Ghost.

(NEW!) The censors are not up yet, but please try and keep the cursing to a minimum or you'll soon find your words being magically editted.