End of an Era... of sorts.

Due to the steady decline of raffles, Fortune's Alley will be closing down soon. All users will be given one week to move their raffle threads to Diagon Alley. All raffles will be moving back into Diagon Alley, but that does not mean that the rules are necessarily changing completely.

The following guidelines are now in play:

- All side contests will occur within the actual raffle thread, and advertisement threads for raffles in Diagon Alley will also no longer be allowed as you could just bump the actual raffle thread.

- If you hold a raffle/contest and disappear for an extended period of time without notice, we will delete all funds that were gained by selling tickets.

- If you hold a raffle/contest and either refuse to give out prizes or something else determined to be cheating your account will be brought back down to zero, as in no money or items, even ones gained prior to the raffle.

- If you take more than 2 months to end a raffle/contest you will receive one warning by owl. Once it is determined that the owl was read/seen and nothing has been done you will be punished accordingly. It is up to the users partaking in the raffle/contest to report any problems.

- We will not be fixing any raffles or contests that go wrong, every contest you participate in is done at your own risk.

- Raffles/contests can be held in user store forums if you so wish, but you are subject to the same guidelines.

One last note is that there will be no more stickying or coloring of raffles. All users will be responsible for keeping their own thread afloat in DA. We hope that this will help keep everything more stream-lined and more fun.

Any questions/problems can be directed to Kitten050606, HPfanextrm, or Caleneledh.

April 17, 2012

New Site-Wide Layout

A new site-wide layout has been added to bring the site from winter to spring. It is titled, "Spring with Padfoot" and was made by JamesLondon. I particularly like this layout because of the very scenic background. Great job!

April 15, 2012

The Daily Prophet: April 2012

User Store Expansions

Shopkeepers and resident wizarding tycoons will be happy to learn that you can now make your stores bigger and better than ever...for a small fee.

Until now, only 52 items fit in a store at a time, and the maximum sale price of items in user stores was 25,000 Galleons. Those limits are a thing of the past. Stores can now be upgraded up to five times. With each upgrade, you are able to stock more items and price them higher than before.

So, how do you know if it's worth it for you? Take a look:

• To upgrade an existing store (or to open a new store), click on Store in the Your Items section of the left-side navigation OR click HERE. It'll look something like this:
  
• Upgrade "0" represents the initial item and price caps in a store; if you already have a store, this is what you already own, so you don't have to pay anything more. If you don't own a store, you can open one for 2,000 Galleons.
• Upgrades can only be purchased in order. You will only be able to see the next upgrade available; when you purchase an upgrade, the next will become available.
• Upgrades 4 and 5 must be UNLOCKED before they can be purchased. You can unlock them by meeting certain special requirements in your store.

April 3, 2012

Yeah, you guessed it.

April Fools. Thanks for putting up with our twisted sense of humor. ;)

April 2, 2012

Hogwarts Easter Carnival

At Hogwarts, Easter is celebrated with a week long holiday while Molly Weasley ensures there's no lack of Easter eggs. This time, Easter will be celebrated with even more fan-fare as the Hufflepuff Staff brings to you the Easter Carnival.

Join us at the carnival booths and indulge in various games being hosted by our very own professors. Win fabulous prizes along with a chance to get Molly's Easter Egg! Ride the ferris wheel, pop in a Bertie Bott bean and enjoy the extravaganza.
Head over to the carnival now!

April 1, 2012

Important Site Changes

Please read this post carefully as it contains vital information about HEX's future on the web. Starting today, major changes will go into effect to assure that HEX fully complies with copyright law. While we have operated under the "Fair Use" policy for years, recent events, like SOPA, have prompted us to err on the side of caution. We love the Harry Potter © series, and intend no infringement upon its creator. It is important, especially so close to the public release of Pottermore, that we respect boundaries.

Therefore, we are removing all specific Harry Potter © and Hogwarts © references from HEX. This includes character, place, item, house etc. names. For example, instead of Diagon Alley ©, we will have Shopping Alley; instead of Knockturn Alley ©, Evil Alley; and so on. We appreciate your cooperation in this endeavor and hope everyone will not only understand, but actively support HEX's new measures.

Thank you,
The HEX Staff