News

Forum Spoiler Policy

Hullo folks! (Brace yourselves for another long post!) As promised, I come bearing the DH Release/Spoiler Policy for our Forums. It's very similar to the one for our main site (here), except in the fact that it's completely different. Let me break it down:

1. The Forums will remain open throughout the entirety of the DH Release, including the dates in which the queue is closed.

2. However! Only "Sparkly-Poo" and the Hogwarts forums will remain open, and all others will be closed and invisible. This will take effect the night of FRIDAY JULY 20. Sparkly-Poo will contain DH spoilers, because we wanted to leave something open for authors who wished to discuss the book immediately with fellow MNFFers. As such, DO NOT look in Sparkly-Poo until you have completely finished reading the book. The Hogwarts forums, however, will be strictly devoid of all spoileryness. (Yes, I invented a word, thankyouverymuch.)

3. Even during this time, when DH spoilers are allowed to be discussed in Sparkly-Poo's threads, spoilers of any kind will remain strictly prohibited in "Hogwarts," forum profiles, avatars, signatures, and the like. To be perfectly clear: Sparkly-Poo (and PMs-- see below) = Yay for Spoilers! & Everything Else = Mod Wrath of Doom If You Even Consider It.

4. Speaking of PMs: Yes, you will be allowed to receive and send PMs throughout this time, as usual. However, your PMs may NOT contain DH spoilers in the subject line. Furthermore, if the content of the PM contains a spoiler, the subject line must clearly and boldly read "DH SPOILER INSIDE," even if you 'know' the person to whom you are sending it has already read the book. This will be strictly enforced, and no warnings will be issued prior to a ban.

5. Sparkly-Poo will close and the rest of the forums will return to normal on August 1. Therefore, beginning on August 1, DH Spoilers will be allowed to be discussed only in pre-determined threads that are first approved by a moderator. Additionally, any threads that contain a DH spoiler must NOT state the spoiler in the thread's title, but MUST state that a spoiler is inside. Please be sensible about this. A thread title like, "Shippiness in DH," is fine, whereas, "ZOMG CAN YOU BELIEVE THE REMUS/DRACO IN DH?" is painfully not.

Do NOT post any thread that pertains to DH in any way without first consulting a moderator. Failure to do so will be punished harshly.

6. Spoilers may NOT exist in profiles, signatures, banners, avvies, or anything else except noted threads and PMs until we alert you (via news post/the Announcement thread) that it is okay to do so. Again, do NOT take it upon yourself to decide when enough time has passed, or you will be subject to a permanent ban.

Spoilers on our forums will be treated in the same way as spoilers on the archives: with permanent bans and harsh measures. Therefore, please be very certain that you are clear on these rules, and PM or e-mail a moderator if you even think you might be somewhat confused.

We pray that, for those who finish the book within a day or so, the Sparkly-Poo forum will serve as a familiar, friendly place for you to go rant, discuss, and remember the final book of the series. With emotions sure to be high on this last ride, our hope was that we could provide a comfortable place for you to laugh, cry, and fall together. Though, as we said earlier: while we will be on high guard and doing everything we can to prevent spoilers from leaking, we cannot guarantee that you won't see one before we catch it. Therefore, we strongly advise that no one visit the forums (or any HP site, for that matter) until you have finished the book.

As always, thank you for not falling asleep whilst reading.