1. You must provide a valid e-mail address during enrollment. If you do not provide us a valid e-mail address, there is no way you can ever use your account because the activation link will never reach you. A valid email is crucial to have even with an active account for password retrieval reasons. Our staff will also occasionally send emails to its members when there are major site updates or other important news.

2. Do not choose a username that will attract negative attention to you or that is offensive (i.e. curse words, rude symbols, etc.). These accounts will most likely be expelled upon creation and you will not be able to create another account.

3. It is the parent's responsibility to make sure their child's age is correct so that they may access the appropriate areas of Hogwarts Extreme. Once again, you must be the one to take action for your child. A parent can take action by contacting us through the Contact Form.

4. NEVER give your password to ANYONE for ANY reason. This includes having family members, friends, etc., use your account to collect Daily Money. This is considered cheating. (See Rule # 16c) Willingly sharing your password may result in expulsion. An Administrator/Staff Member/Global Moderator will NEVER ask you for your password. If someone posing to be a staff member does so, please report this to an Administrator or Staff Member. If you are going away for a while and need someone to care for your pets, simply choose "Ask a friend to care for it" under "Actions" by the pet.

4a. IN THE EVENT THAT PASSWORD PROBLEMS OCCUR, try contacting us through the Contact Form. We also STRONGLY urge people not to give out personal information anywhere on the site and reserve the right to delete/remove any personal information. Examples of personal information are, but not limited to: email addresses, phone numbers, street addresses, social security numbers, and driver license numbers.

5. Discussion of disabled users is NOT allowed. The reason for a user being disabled is between that user and the HEX staff. We will not give any information to anyone other than that individual in regards to their account status. If you feel your account has been disabled in error, you may contact the staff using the Contact Form.

6. Any user who clearly states in a post that they are leaving HEX will have their account disabled. There are no exceptions to this rule: your account will be removed and will not be re-enabled. You cannot make another account, as this will also be expelled. Please do not contact the staff about this, as deleting your account CANNOT be done in error.

7. Racism, discrimination, or acting in a prejudiced/biased manner WILL NOT BE TOLERATED. This includes the use of "gay" or words relating to homosexuality in a derogatory manner. This rule will be enforced very strongly as all races and sexual orientations should be respected. This also goes for the use of the term "Nazi" in a derogatory manner. Problems in this area will result in an extended Azkaban sentence.

8. We have a ZERO TOLERANCE policy for bullying/trolling. Bullying can take on many forms (such as harassment and overt flaming/attacks) and can sometimes be subtle. If we find any users blatantly flaming users in any forums, clubs, dorms or via owls, you will be expelled immediately. If we see things that resemble trolling but are not so overt, you will receive a warning, and if the behavior continues you will be expelled. "Hit lists" are also included in this rule.

Cyber-bullying is a very serious issue and something that has made it to the courts and been featured in news media outlets. The staff here at Hogwarts Extreme is committed to doing our best to maintain an amiable and respectful atmosphere. For more information on our bullying policy and stance, see the Bullying Information page.

9. Moderators are not to be argued with when enforcing rules/guidelines. Anyone arguing with a moderator/prefect etc. against disciplinary measures in a clearly disrespectful manner will result in the member being sent to Azkaban. If you feel that any Moderator or Global Mod is acting in an unfair manner, report it using the Report feature.

9a. Administrators and Staff Members are not to be argued with when enforcing ANYTHING. If you have a problem, you may most certainly owl one of them. Forum rants will be deleted and you will be sent to Azkaban. If you wish to petition the ruling of an Administrator/Staff Member, you must owl John, the site owner, directly.

HEX Administrators/Staff are listed on the About Us page.

10. This is a site for Harry Potter fans of (generally) ages thirteen and up; any message/post/material you send, or write, may not contain ANY inappropriate material. This includes, but is not limited to, abuse, adult themes, excessively graphic violence. Please keep this site PG-13; if you would not see something in a PG-13 movie or on prime-time television, it probably isn't appropriate. Any person who posts an inappropriate message will be warned, have their message/material deleted, and be sent to Azkaban.

11. Posting of ANY type of pornographic material on HEX will result in IMMEDIATE expulsion. This includes, but is not limited to, pornographic photos, cartoon images, links to pornographic sites, cybering and role-plays. Anyone found posting pornographic material or participating in role-plays that are not PG-13 will be expelled immediately no questions asked. This rule also applies to Owlpost.

12. Cursing, in general, is permitted. However, cursing to flame/troll another user is unacceptable and the users in question will be sent to Azkaban. Internet abbreviations are allowed. (i.e. wtf, lmao, lmfao, wth, etc.)

Words that are allowed and NOT allowed: Click here to view the list

**If your word is not on this list, chances are you cannot use it. However, you may of course owl a Moderator to ask.

13. Illegal content and negative symbols of any kind are not allowed.
Illegal content/negative symbols include (but are NOT limited to):
a) Linking to illegal download sites (torrents, etc.)
b) Discussing the use or procurement of illegal substances (drugs, etc.)
c) Nazi/racist/prejudiced content, images, or paraphernalia
d) Promoting anything that is clearly against the law

Please note that the server is housed in the United States of America. Therefore, these federal and state laws are the ones that govern this site. Oklahoma state law applies.

13. Hogwarts Extreme cannot guarantee that content from users and other sites are free from infection, viruses, worms, Trojan horses or any other code that manifests contaminating or destructive properties. YOU OPEN THESE AT YOUR OWN RISK; Hogwarts Extreme cannot be held responsible.

14. You agree not to steal/take/borrow any pictures/text/content/work that is not yours on this site without written consent from our staff or the author. By submitting materials* to Hogwarts Extreme, you automatically give us consent to use those materials however we see fit, forever. Never submit someone else's work, and if you are under 18 always ask your parents' permission before submitting material(s) due to copyright laws applied to all countries.

*Things like user-created characters, RPs, etc. DO NOT fall under this category. Items, graphics, or anything submitted for official use on the site do fall under this category. Hogwarts Extreme credits ALL user posted content to its individuals NOT the website itself.

15. Hacking - If you hack, attempt to hack, or threaten to hack this site or someone's account, you will be expelled. We will then report you to your ISP.

16. Cheating in all forms is forbidden. You will be sent to Azkaban or expelled immediately. Cheating includes:

a) Bug Abuse - Anyone found exploiting a bug to their advantage or to another user's disadvantage will be expelled immediately. If you have knowledge of a bug, it is your responsibility to report it to the administration. Failing to do so in a timely manner (meaning the moment you realize there is a bug), or passing around knowledge of an exploit to anyone other than a moderator or administrator, will also be considered cheating. In addition, accepting money or items that are acquired through bug exploitation is also considered cheating, and will be dealt with accordingly. To report a bug, use the Report feature and/or owl a Global Moderator immediately.

b) Contests - You cannot share answers with anyone (even if you live with them). You cannot ask anyone for help, on or off HEX (this includes sites like Yahoo Answers). That is not to say that you cannot use sources to answer trivia, but asking people and finding an answer from a website are two completely different things. All work must be your own; plagiarism is strictly prohibited.

c) Multiple Accounts - You may only have one username/account on this site. Creating multiple accounts is NOT allowed. Any one found with multiple accounts will have their main account sent to Azkaban, reset to newbie status, ie inventory deleted and galleons reset to 5K, and the multiple accounts disabled. If your family members or friends wish to join, they must create their OWN account. If this is the case, please list ALL usernames which MAY be connected to your account when you sign up or they risk expulsion from the site as a possible multiple account. All accounts will be sorted into the same house as the first by our sorting system. It is VERY important that you notify us if you will/have legitimate multiple accounts on one internet connection. You may provide this information during enrollment, by owling an admin/staff member/gmod, or submitting a form on the Multiples Page.

d) Alerting other users of when Daily Money is at a high amount is prohibited. This is something they need to check on their own.

e) Utilizing an automatic refreshing program/browser in order to exploit a random event will result in your account being automatically sent to Azkaban by the server. Repeat offenses may result in your expulsion.

17. Spamming is not allowed. By spamming/floating we mean:

a) Do not make some useless answer to every thread on a page just to be able to see your own name all over that page or putting your thread at the top.
b) Do not post the same thread multiple times in multiple forums or even multiple times in the same forum.
c) Responding with simply "lol", "ok", or "[ like ]" to a post is considered spamming. If you are using the [like] forum function, you must have at least one sentence below the tag expressing why you "liked" the particular thread.
d) Do not owl several people that you do not know asking them to RP, visit your profile/store/website, etc.
e) Abuse of the Share feature is considered spam. Do not share threads with people you do not know in order to advertise them.
f) "Post Count Parties" are prohibited. Users are not allowed to make a thread for the sole purpose of getting to a desired post number. This is posting with no other purpose than to raise your post count and is considered spam.
g) Do not "bump" a thread unless it has fallen off of the first page of a forum.

All of the instances listed above are considered spam. Spamming will be punished with a temporary suspension from the site in Azkaban. Excessive spamming will not be tolerated. If spamming continues after being warned, you may be expelled.

18. Do not use ALL CAPS in any thread title. Do not use punctuation such as: hEy wHaTs Up. This kind of punctuation can only create annoyance amongst all users. Our administrators and moderators reserve the right to edit/delete/move any message/post/material on this site without given notice.

19. You are NOT expected to have perfect grammar, nor are you expected to speak perfect English. Posting in languages other than English IS allowed, however all content bans (swearing, illegal content, flaming, etc.) still apply.

20. HEX is not a dating site. Threads looking for a girlfriend/boyfriend/both will be locked. Repeat offenders will be sent to Azkaban. This also applies to Owlpost.

21. Advertising other websites:

a) Discussion of Harry Potter websites that we are affiliated with is allowed. For a list of affiliated sites, click here.
b) Discussion/Advertisement of Non-Affiliated Harry Potter websites is not allowed.
c) Advertising for other Role-Play websites is not allowed.
d) Personal websites, links to blogs, live journals, news articles, movie reviews, song lyrics, Facebook and Myspace profiles, etc. are allowed; however, we reserve the right to remove any and all content without given notice.

22. While we appreciate the sentiment behind raising funds for individuals with various illnesses and situations, it is difficult to determine when people are being truthful. Therefore, to protect people from being scammed, fundraising campaigns are not allowed at all. This is to ensure that no one has hurt feelings if a fraudulent situation is discovered. Please feel free to show support in other ways. Some suggestions include: a message of support in your avatar or store, or just a thread here and there to let them know you are thinking about them.

23. Each forum/house may have a set of specific rules in ADDITION to the ones listed on this page. Just because they are not listed specifically on this does NOT mean that you do not still have to abide by them. Failure to do so is subject to any punishment deemed suitable/necessary in direct relation to the rules broken, including possible time in Azkaban or even expulsion from the site.

If you violate any of these rules, your message/post/material may be deleted, you may be sent to Azkaban, or your account expelled and, in the case of hacking etc., possible reporting to your ISP and/or local law enforcement agencies. We reserve the rights to execute any of the listed punishments WITHOUT NOTICE and to terminate any account for any reason at any time.

Closing

THESE TERMS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT GIVEN NOTICE. WE (ADMINISTRATORS, STAFF MEMBERS, AND GLOBAL MODS) RESERVE ALL RIGHTS TO ACT AND PUNISH BY THESE RULES WITHOUT CONSULTING THE USERS FIRST. BY BEING ACTIVE AND A PART OF HOGWARTS EXTREME, YOU ARE REQUIRED TO FOLLOW THIS DOCUMENT AT ALL TIMES AS STATED RIGHT HERE. LET IT BE KNOWN THAT EVERYONE MUST FOLLOW THIS DOCUMENT. IF YOU HAVE ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS CONCERNING THIS DOCUMENT, PLEASE CONTACT AN ADMINISTRATOR.