Rules [UPDATED!]

**Shae Lefay** · Subject: Rules [UPDATED!] Tue Nov 25, 2008 12:42 am

Site content;
When you do the common things in life in an uncommon way, you will command the attention of the world.

[Sexual Content] Any sexually explicit content is not allowed. "Innocent" foreplay, however, is.. should anyone desire to go further ahead with the sexually explicit content, you have a fancy gadget called a 'personal message' box.. use it!

[Abuse] Any self-harming will *NOT* be tolerated, simply because it's lame. Any abuse of other character's aside from your own, must be consentual, and in keeping with your character and/or plotlines.

[Advertising] Advertising is not allowed on this forum. However, should an admin and/or user of another website want to affiliate with us, please PM me and I'm sure we'll come to an agreement!

[Privacy] All messages made in the OOC boards, should be willingly distributed. Should anyone not desire to share their personal information with us here at the board, they have the right not to. Do not infringe on anyone's privacy... but that's just common sense, really.

Character Rules;
To be, or not to be..

[Names] Well Ice Cream.. here I go again with the common sense! All [usernames] must be a *first* and a *last* name. No middle name is required, though would be appreciated. It's obvious that we don't want names like "Harryluvr1234" and "chang_228"

[Multitude] How many characters are you allowed to have? As many as you'd like.. do I need to explain why? didn't think so, 'cause I'm the boss. So ha.

[Relations] No.. you are not Harry's long-lost sister. Please, do not affiliate yourself with any of the canon characters. The character's in the books have no unheard of relatives. Bellatrix didn't have a child, Petunia didn't have an affair and created a sister for Dudley. Lucius did not get Bellatrix pregnant (thought they might have had sex.. I wouldn't be surprised!). Voldemort never had sex. Period. There is, however, a loophole in this rule: was your character to be far-out related to a person, it might be unheard of. It's not like we know whether or not Rodolphus has a newphew, or if Cho Chang had a counsin. Those types are allowed.

[Death] If a canon character has died in the books (remember, this is Harry's 6th year - not that many people are dead!) you can NOT revive them, and pretend they never died. Sirius is dead, for example - he's not still alive, he did not miraculously survive, and he did die. So keep him dead. However.. this also has a loophole: if, in the books, your character dies in or after Harry's 6th year, you can make them stay alive - see the trick of this is that the site is not compeltely canon. We create our own storyline, but follow the books as much as we can. Say, if Tonks does not die, once we reach the end of the 7th year, it does not matter.. we created the plotline ourselves Wink

[Pregnancy] Teenage pregnancy is NOT allowed, unless you have special permission from an admin (and this is even if they plan to lose the baby in a horrible accident, or get an abortion!). It's compeltely irresposible, and does not comply with the Harry Potter universe. Should you want to get your teenage character pragnant, PM me. Adult pregnancy is allowed.

[Marriage] Again, teenagers are not allowed to get married, without special permission (is it even legal for a 17 year old be get married?! seriously guys.. not all kids meet at 15 and get married in school. It's just wrong, this is not an urban fantasy fairytale!) from an admin. Should your character(s) want to get married, PM me.. and, of course, to make it more fun RP'ing, please go to the ministry of magic and pretend you're getting a magical marriage license Razz

Adult marriage is allowed, but the whole ministry-thing makes it more realistic.

[Avatars] The person portraying your character MUST be a real person. No animations. You can use a model, actor/actress, singer, etc.. but NO animations... and please.. try not to use any MySpace scene kids. A lot of your are already doing it, and it's already driving me NUTS!

[Activity] Please remember that RP ALWAYS comes first. Don't post excessively in the OOC threads - which most of you are doing currently, and you need to start RPing! - We require a *MINUMUM* of 5 RP!! posts each month, and that's not asking a lot. If you're a canon character your character might need to be a little more active.

[Special abilities/breeds] Any new members wishing to be Vampires or Werewolves are currently not allowed. We have way too many of those, and it's getting to be too much. If it's important for the plotline, etc.. that your character should be a vampire or werewolf, you can ask permission from an admin. As for special abilities (i.e. metamorphmagus, animagus, etc..) they are also banned. Too many of those as well. This is only temporary, however. Animagi has a loophole, though. As it is a skill that can be learned, you're allowed to learn it over a period of time.

[Loyalty] While it is allowed to be a supporter of either the Order or Voldemort, I have to add another rule to this - No student is allowed to be a Death Eater. It's stated in the books that it's crazy he'd even let Draco in to the ranks of the DE's - so the fact that regular students should be DE's is complete insanity. Same goes for the OOTP. You're gonna have to have at least graduated before you become a DE. Also, they don't just choose anyone to be in the OOTP nor the DE's, so don't just assume you are one. Seriously. It's annoying. Anyway.. I am also aware of the fact that some of you already are DE's, and I'll live with that fact, despite the fact that I disagree with it.

[Registry] This is not a rule, but more of a guideline, really. We'd really appreciate it if you took the time to fill out a character directory form (located in the office!) to make it easier to keep track of everyone, and so we can get more details on your character.

Posting Rules;
When ideas fail, words come in very handy.

[Length] Posts must be at least a good paragraph (5 sentences, *at least!*) each. This rule does not apply to the OOC boards.

[Grammar] Proper grammar is highly appreciated here on HM, and we expect everyone to do their best when it comes to grammar. We do, however, realize that some people are simply not as good at grammar as others, as a result of their nationality, or education, so it can be excused when someone is bad at grammar - this doesn't mean YOU have to be one of those people! Also.. *ALL* posts must be made in the 3rd person. You are NOT your character, so we are strictly against using "I", and we're all about the "she/he" Wink

[God Modding] We all know what God Modding is, but for good measure, I'll explain: when your character has no limits it's called god modding. When they can do pretty much whatever they please. They can kill or injure another character without their consent, and they control other characters by typing out their actions in their own posts. This is NOT allowed. You control your own character, no one elses. During duels and such, make sure to take a few blows every now and then.. it's cheating if you dodge all of them.. you're really NOT that talented. We are, however, working on a program that randomly sets the spells to fire to hit or miss your target. this is only to be used in character duels, once it's running, however.

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