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| The Bewitched Mind forum was created by Icybeach and Steppenwolf for the fans of Severus Snape and the Wizarding World. Our members enjoy good quality discussions, so we have set up some rules that everyone must follow: | |||||||||
| Age and Maturity Quality Posting -Language -Content of Posts -New Topics -New Polls -Signatures and Fonts -Respect for Others Usernames |
The Restricted Section -Criteria for admittance to the Restricted Section -Rules of the Restricted Section Ratings Hotlinking Personal Security The Moderating Team Agreement of Terms | ||||||||
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Age and Maturity The Bewitched Mind owners and moderating team are targeting mature members for this site. Although everyone is welcome, most of our members are 16 and older, and if you are under that age we'd appreciate it if you make sure that your posts are mature and intelligent. This is to prevent so-called 'fangirls' from taking over the site. We’re sorry if you don’t like these rules, but they are our conditions for membership of Bewitched Mind. Quality Posting This is a Snape community, and serious Snape flaming will be edited or deleted. You’re allowed to think that he’s wrong in doing something (and of course you'll have some points to back that up) but calling him a “complete, useless idiot, who should be banished on sight” will not be tolerated by Snape, the Occlumens (admins), Legilimens (mods) or other members. Flaming of members or other characters is also forbidden. - Language The language of the site is English. We realise that some of you are non-native English speakers, and some are quite young, but we ask that you do your best to make your spelling as accurate as possible when posting in the forums (both UK and US spellings are acceptable). You can, for example, use a spell checker if your spelling is poor … or a good old-fashioned dictionary. Please start all sentences and names with capital letters. We shouldn't have to state this in the rules, but clearly we've found reason to. Mild cursing in line with the Harry Potter books themselves is tolerated, but serious cursing is strictly forbidden (except in the Restricted Section) – it is a fact that some of our members are underage, and others dislike crudity. Netspeak is not allowed in the forums, but Quill and UR SPEAX is allowed. ---> Example of Netspeak: "Some1 help me plz. See u l8r." ---> Example of Quill and UR SPEAX: “Snape ROX my SOX, and is so KEWL.” - Content of Posts Please minimise all one-liners, even if they are on topic, unless this has been specifically allowed in a thread (for instance during a game). Try to elaborate, or write something extra in the post. ---> Example of a one-liner: “I agree.” (And nothing more written in that post). ---> Another example: “Well, clearly he didn’t mix the potion correctly.” (And nothing more than that). All posts that contain only emoticons will be deleted. Keep fangirlish gushing to a minimum, because Snape would find such excesses irritating and wouldn’t hesitate to deduct points for wasting time and space. Furthermore, ridiculous levels of punctuation, eg !!!!!!!'s and xoxoxo's, will be deleted. ---> Example of fangirlish gushing: “Oh I just LOVE Snape, he’s just so dreamy-creamy…” ---> Allowed: “Snape is very handsome – he’s mine *smirk* ” Keep your posts On Topic. This means that you are to write posts that relate to the topic, and not some out of the blue comment, which is called ‘Off Topic’. ---> Example: The topic is Snape’s Wardrobe. ---> Off Topic: “I went to the market yesterday and saw these cool yellow shoes that I MUST have.” ---> On Topic: “Snape wears more colours than just black. He wears the Slytherin colours to Quidditch games, and has a grey nightshirt.” Bearing in mind the possible presence of young members, explicitly 'adult' discussions and links (see our ratings if you are unsure what we mean by this) are STRICTLY FORBIDDEN anywhere except in the Restricted Section (RS), and will be deleted. You may post links to material (fiction or art) that is MoM4 or MoM5 rated in the RS. Elsewhere you may mention that you have such links to share, in which case people may request the link through a PM. You may not publish them directly in the public forums. Posts that are strictly for advertising purposes will be deleted and the user banned at the discretion of the staff. If you set out to offend, or to glorify and excite cruelty or hatred (whether political, homophobic, religious or across species), you can expect to banned from this website. - New Topics Before you create a new topic, please check to see if a similar topic already exists. When creating new topics, try to keep them broad and open, so that the discussion doesn’t revolve around one narrow matter. ---> Example of a narrow topic: “Snape’s right arm.” ---> Example of a broad topic: “Snape’s physical features.” Please make the titles appropriate and descriptive. ---> Example of an inappropriate title: “Vote here.” ---> Description: “Vote! Vote!” ---> Example of an appropriate title: “Who will Snape end up with?” ---> Description: “The Ultimate Question.” We have had to institute a 'waiting period' for new members before they may post new topics to avoid the spambots that find our dungeons irresistable. Please post replies to existing topics until you see your group change from Muggles to Students. (You can start in the pinned Introduction thread, gathering valid post count in short order by replying the subsequent welcomes.) - New Polls When creating a poll, make sure that you have the question and possibilities articulate and constructive. We've had bad experiences with 'Do you love/hate the character' polls, and have had to delete a few of them. The discussions tend to turn into bashing of said character, and that's against our policy. ---> Example of a constructive poll: What makes you like Snape so much? (a shortened poll, created by OSumthinLikeThat) • His greasiness • His passion for potions • He's tall, dark and mysterious • He's so misunderstood! • The fact that everyone else hates him, and he doesn't care - Signatures and Font Please keep your signatures moderate and normal sized; they will be modified by the Legilimens or Occlumens if they are bigger than normal. We don’t want to see too much flickering and flashing in this dungeon, as it will make the forums look messy. We ask that only ONE image be placed in a signature, of less than or equal to 100 x 100 pixels in size. Please stick to a reasonable font size – the default size for instance. Larger fonts are acceptable in the Birthday thread, but keep this minimal elsewhere. Snape prefers simplicity and efficiency in his dungeons. - Respect for Others We are all individuals, and our passion for the Harry Potter world has brought us together. As individuals, we have the right to our own opinions. Please remember that when posting. Try to keep exchanges civil and constructive, and back it up your views with some points. ---> Example of an unconstructive reply: “You’re a git, you don’t know what you’re saying. And you’re wrong.” (Please try to avoid using ‘you’re wrong’, without tangible evidence that isn’t just your opinion). ---> Example of a constructive reply: “That may be so, but I believe that Snape was there when The Dark Lord returned, because he wasn’t even mentioned at the Third Task.” Usernames We believe our members are a creative bunch, and should not need to resort to using canon names in their usernames. We have therefore decided to ban usernames such as 'Tonks' and 'Miss Snape'. We've also decided to ban fangirlish names ('ILuvFilch'), simply because Snape finds them annoying. If you have such a name, you'll receive a friendly PM, requesting that you choose a different name. If you've run out of ideas for a username, you could try the Behind the Name site, or our moderating team can help you find one. If you do not choose a different name and ignore the PM, a name will be chosen for you. ---> Example of a canon name: “Arabella”, “BellaFigg” and “Lavender Brown” ---> Example of a fangirlish name: “I Adore Hermione”, “Percy Rules!”, or “Snape’s wife” Be creative and come up with your own names. If you’re creative enough to subtly “merge” a canon name into a word, or a un-canon like name, then you may or may not be bothered - it depends on the name. ---> Example: “Evangeline” (which is already taken) You will see some canon usernames appearing, such as Severus Snape, Madam Pince, Rita Skeeter etc. These are not member names but are used by the site for various specific purposes. The Occlumens and Legilimens have the right to make exceptions to the username rule, but please do not ask for this. We rarely do so, and never hand them out on request. Finally, there are only a select few ‘Mistresses’ in this dungeon (the Occlumens and Legilimens team being currently all female), and only ONE ‘Master’ (Severus Snape himself); therefore no usernames containing these words are permitted. The Restricted Section As previously stated, Bewitched Mind targets members with a reasonably mature and intelligent outlook. However, we do not have a lower age limit, and some members prefer not to witness certain types of discussion. Accordingly, one area is password protected: the Restricted Section. Strictly adult matters must be confined to this area. To enter, Madam Pince must be satisfied that you meet her criteria for establishing that you are of age. Those with browsing and contributing rights must also agree to abide by RS rules. - Criteria for admittance to the Restricted Section To obtain the password you must be at least 18 years old, and of age in the part of the world where you live. By requesting the password you are asserting that this is so. The Legilimens, Occlumens and owner of the site will not be held accountable if you lie about your age. You MUST get the password from Madam Pince; any unauthorised member who reveals the password will be in breech of Snape’s rules and liable to be expelled; as, needless to add, will you. You can request the password by sending Madam Pince a personal message with: • Your age, and a declaration that you are of age where you reside. • A declaration that you have read, understood and accepted the rules for participation in the Restricted Section, and intend to follow them. When you request the password, Madam Pince will look at your posts and profile, and determine as only she can whether you are old enough to have it. She takes her responsibilities very seriously, and only grants the password to members who have introduced themselves and are established well enough for her to make this judgement. Frequent contributors who have made 50 posts or more will be considered, as will less frequent posters who have been members for at least a month, at Madam Pince’s discretion. Snape wishes you to be clear that he has utter faith in Madam Pince, and her decision is final. However, on the rare occasions that Madam Pince is unavailable, you may copy your request to a Legilimens involved with the RS to ensure that your request is received and dealt with quickly. - Rules of the Restricted Section Discussions, games and creative work in these forums are of an adult nature. If you are not an adult, or do not like this type of discussion, this area of Bewitched Mind is not for you. • If you are of age and want to participate, you must apply for the password from Madam Pince and meet her criteria. You must not reveal the password to other members; they will have to go through the same process. No one is above the rules. • Stronger language is tolerated in this section, if you feel you must use it. Be aware that the rude word filter is universal, and if you decide to circumvent it - eg by substituting symbols or misspelling - this is acceptable in the RS. Do not forget that this type of vulgarity is not permitted elsewhere in the dungeons. • For the purposes of sharing creative output, you need to issue a disclaimer recognising Joanne Rowling as the author and owner of all Harry Potter-related characters and situations and stating that, when borrowing them, you do not seek nor will receive financial gain. In fact, acknowledge all borrowings to the best of your ability. Remember that Snape will punish brazen plagiarism severely ... and no, not even the masochists among you will like it. • Rate your work appropriately. More about this below. • You are asked to supply warnings with regard to spoilers or potentially disturbing content. • This site does not tolerate the glorification of räpe or sexual exploitation of minors, nor does it permit depictions of bestiality. (Oh - very well - if an Animagus or werewolf is concerned, the waters are muddier. Use some judgement!) • Obviously, you may not post anything unquestionably illegal, such as child pornography, libel or breach of copyright. Anyone violating our rules will find themselves in a very hot cauldron indeed, if not lining the walls of Snape’s domain with the other pickled slimy things. Ratings We employ a variant of the Ministry of Magic’s rating system, first introduced elsewhere (unfortunately references to it seem to have vanished. Please contact a Legilimens or Occlumens if you can help us give credit where it is due). They apply to the site generally; the last two refer to material permitted in the Restricted Section. • MoM1 - Mrs Weasley would be happy to read this to her little ones; it is suitable for everyone. • MoM2 - Madam Pomfrey would let her younger patients while away the time with this; content is mild, but may deal briefly with adult concerns in an indirect fashion. • MoM3 - Professor McGonagall would allow this material to sensible third and fourth years: any adult themes are treated with age-appropriate sensitivity. • MoM4 - Professor Snape would unceremoniously eject immature students attempting to sneak a peek at frank treatment of themes clearly aimed at an adult audience. • MoM5 - Bellatrix Lestrange will perform the Cruciatus Curse on any unwary unauthorised soul who blunders into her exceptionally explicit and decidedly strange realm. Hotlinking Hotlinking, or direct linking, is bandwidth theft. For example, if you find the URL of a picture and use it in another domain (B), you're stealing bandwidth from the former domain (A). Every time someone loads up the page containing the stolen-bandwidth-picture, bandwidth is used from the former site. Snape will not tolerate anyone stealing from Bewitched Mind, or any of the BewitchedMind members stealing from others. Please save your avatars on your computers and upload them to Bewitched Mind, and please do not use the bewitchedmind.net URL pictures in other websites. To avoid hotlinking, please do not link anything which link ends with .gif, .jpeg, .jpg, .mov, .tif or .png to Bewitched Mind. Links that end with .htm and .html are allowed. Instead of linking directly to the picture, you can post the link of the site that contains the picture. That way it isn't hotlinking. You can also save the picture to your personal web space, for example Photobucket.com, where you can sign up for free, and hotlink from there (because it's your own webspace, it's not stealing). It is common courtesy to ask the creator of the images if you may use them. Personal Security Your personal security is your own responsibility. Bewitched Mind staff will never give out, or ask for, your password. • Never give anyone your password to this site. If you lose your password, you may contact an Occlumens, who will send a new one to the e-mail address you signed up with – a password you should change as soon as you log in. • Never give out your exact location (home address, school, workplace, or any other place where someone could locate you). There are many strange and dangerous people out there who could take advantage of such information. • You are not required to reveal your MSN/AIM/Yahoo name etc. It’s entirely up to you if you want people to contact you through other means than PM and email. The Moderating team Bewitched Mind has two kinds of supervisors: Occlumens and Legilimens. The Occlumens are the administrators of the site, and are responsible for the overall running of the site.
The Legilimens are the moderators, and are responsible for the forums they are assigned to.
If you have a problem with something about the forums, please contact the appropriate Legilimens. If you have a problem with the overall site, please either use the forums in Borgin and Burkes, or contact the Occlumens if you are not sure your question or suggestion belongs there. Agreement of Terms You have now been informed about what this site contains and how things work here. By joining Bewitched Mind, you are signing up to the above Terms and Conditions. If you do not accept them, this is probably not the right site for you and you are free to move on. The owner and staff of this site request that everyone read the ToS before becoming a member, and will not be held accountable if you fail to do so and find something on this site offensive as a result. Furthermore, the owner and staff of this site will not be held accountable for the immediate posts of members. Posts will be read by the staff, and modified if necessary, but we are not online 24/7. If a member continually breaks the rules, that member will be given warnings – and if there is no improvement, they will be banned. Finally, the owner and staff members of this site have the right to change any of the rules without notice, and have a right to make exceptions to all of the rules. Rule changes will be announced in the Borgin and Burkes forum, and members are responsible for keeping themselves up to date with the rules. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to send a PM the members of the Bewitched Mind’s Moderating Team or email the Webmaster Credits These Guidelines and ToS were based on the Unredeemed.net guidelines, written by The Morning Starr, and also other similar sites out there, like Sugar Quill, The Ink Pen and Time Turner. The Bewitched Mind staff would like to thank The Morning Starr for allowing us the use of her hard work, and for the other sites out there for showing us the sort of quality Harry Potter-based forums should aspire to. Disclaimer Back to Forums | |||||||||
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