GUIDELINES & INFO: What Every Newbie MUST Know

[Mikaela]

Introduction


Hello and welcome to SnitchSeeker.com. This thread is a collection of helpful information which will hopefully help you get to know our site better.

The first thing every member should read is the Rules and FAQ You'll find most of your questions can be answered by reading through the appropriate section.

At SS we have a vast variety of forums to chat in, below is a list that highlights what each section is all about. Note: if you are in the Newbie usergroup you may not see some of these forums yet.

Each forum is looked after by a different team of staff. The forum leaders are shown in the 'Moderators:' box below the list of threads in a forum. All queries related to a specific forum should be PM'd to its Moderators.

The forums:

The first category is our own site category which is SS Notice Board. If you are looking for help or assistance this is the place. We tend to host random, miscellaneous forums in here too.

Next up is the Prefect Office (SS Announcements, Help, and Feedback). This forum is for Site related topics, feel free to ask questions and post feedback, etc., here.

Platform 9 3/4 is the forum you are currently in and it helps newbies get used to the site and the way we work around here.

Then there's Scribbulus Everchanging Inks, a forum where members can go to submit their signatures or take part in the Vote SS competition.

Following that is Gladrags Wizardwear. This is the forum where Snitchseeker sells all of its merchandise.

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The second category is the Daily Prophet. All Harry Potter news and site news goes in the forums within this category.

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The next category is The Library. This is where we store all our site info and statistics, you can learn a lot about the history of our site here. There is also a lot of Harry Potter information here, including chapter summaries and quotes from the books.

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Then there's the category called "Diagon Alley", the most expansive category on SnitchSeeker. This is where most of the members hang out:

• Flourish and Blotts (Books) For all HP discussion relating to the books. Contains many subforums.
• Ollivanders Wand Shop (Movies) Where you can discuss the Harry Potter movies, each movie has its own subforum, there's also a subforum for the cast, with clubs for most actors.
• Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor (Fan Clubs) This is where the various character and actor fan club forums/threads are located.
• Madame Malkins (Graphics & Art) This is where members can request or create graphics and show off their HP artwork.
• Knockturn Alley (RPG) Come inside for role playing and advanced role playing. They also hold regular roleplaying events.
• Gringotts Wizarding Bank (Fanworks) For all those creative fans, here you'll find fanfics & poetry.
• Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes (Games and Trivia) Play games, take personality quizzes or join in a round of trivia here!
• Magical Menagerie (General HP) For all general HP discussion, not relating specifically to one book or the movies.
• Leaky Cauldron (Non-HP) All non-HP related discussion belongs here. Movies, Music and books have their own subforum in here.

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The Hogs Head category is next, which contains forums that are more unique to Snitchseeker and which you won't normally find in other forums.

SOTS Notice Room This is where you can find the latest editions of the Snitchseeker magazine: Seeker of the Snitch.

St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries Houses our chat threads. Here are SS we have a "One Million Before ....", where we try to post one million posts before the release of the next HP movie. Come in and chat with our most active members here, it's a great way to meet new people.

Snitchseeker Book Club is where your staff read the Harry Potter books to you over our shoutcast! Real good fun and great HP discussions.

Potterwatch! This is the forum where members can tune into tons of music DJ'd by one of our staff members. It has its own club and is tons of fun!

Following that is Aragog's Web. You can advertise your website here, as well as get help on things like HTML and Photoshop.

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Dept. of International Cooperation is next, this category contains a variety of forums for different languages, each forum has a mod who can speak that language, so our international members won't feel left out.

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Apart from the forums, there are also two other sections of SS:

RPG School
Our school RPG is one of the best on the 'net, our staff members put an incredible amount of effort and time into planning them so our members get the most out of it.

You have to be sorted to participate; we hold sortings 4 times a year (one around every three months), one for each season. The next sorting date is shown on the front page, in the "school RPG" box. The sorting is usually open for 2 weeks or so.

Gallery

The Image gallery has a large variety of HP images, magazine scans as well as fan art.

You can post comments in the Gallery, however this does not raise your post count.

Rules for the Gallery

All site rules located in the Rules and FAQ apply in the Gallery as well. Additional Gallery rules can also be found at the link above.

While commenting on pictures is encouraged, please take the time to type out a proper reply, instead of "cool" or "he's really hot."

Uploading
We always welcome new additions to our gallery, especially fan art. So get those creative juices flowing and upload some artwork!

To upload, decide which category it should be in and go into it. On the top of the page on the right side, there is a button that says 'upload,' click it and follow the instructions from there.

[Mikaela]

Usergroups

We have many different usergroups, each with their own colour. Here's a list explaining what they mean:

Wizengamot (Administrator) - Admins are in charge of the site, each admin has a different role or part of the site to look after, see the list of admins below.
Auror (Moderator)- People who moderate specific areas of the site.
Hit Wizard (Super Moderator) - Moderators that have global modding powers.

Hogwarts Staff - Teachers in the School Role Play.
Other Characters - Special characters in the School Role Play who do not fit in any of the other school categories.
Gryffindor - People who have been sorted into Gryffindor
Hufflepuff - People who have been sorted into Hufflepuff
Ravenclaw - People who have been sorted into Ravenclaw
Slytherin - People who have been sorted into Slytherin
Detention - Those who are serving detention in the school RPG
Dead Student - Students who have died in the school RPG.

Newbie - Those with less than 10 posts.
Member - People who haven't been sorted - can post everywhere except in the School Section.
Order of Merlin - Former administrators.
Dark Force Defense League - Former moderators.
Special Services to the School - Former school staff.

Squibs - Same as 'member' only that they have been expelled from the school for breaking rules and are not eligible to be resorted.
Suspended - People who are suspended (banned) temporarily from the site.
Banned - People who have broken the rules repeatedly and then have had their posting abilities removed.

[Mikaela]

Ranks


Your rank is located under your username. It changes according to how many posts you have. The first 20 ranks, as well as the number of posts required to obtain them, are below:

Flobberworm 10
Bundimun 25
Horklump 45
Gnome 70
Imp 100
Jarvey 125
Puffskein 150
Glumbumble 175
Bowtruckle 210
Hippocampus 275
Nogtail 310
Ramora 350
Doxy 400
Jobberknoll 450
Mooncalf 500
Ghoul 560
Dugbog 600
Chizpurfle 675
Augurey 780
Hinkypunk 820
Grindylow 900
Kappa 950
Plimpy 1,040
Skrewt 1,205
Ashwinder 1,500

There are ranks beyond this list, but these are not listed You'll either have to post enough to see them or spot one being sported by another member.

[Mikaela]

Abbreviations, etc.


If you're new to SS, Harry Potter fansites, or fansites in general, a few definitions might prove useful. These terms are used once in a while by members, and if you're not sure what they mean, check here to find their meaning.

Flaming - To flame means to TYPE YOUR POST IN ALL CAPS (or all in capital letters). It's considered rude because it's equated with shouting.

OOC, O.O.C, ooc, or o.o.c- Stands for Out of Character. This is used in RPGs to indicate that the person is speaking for themselves and not for their character. Out of character comments should be kept to a minimum so as not to spoil the mood.

PAMS - Stands for Post Alot More Soon. Used when commenting on fanfics to encourage the writer to post again.

PM - Stands for Private Message. This function is open to members with +10 posts and allows the member to send a private message to other members of the site with +10 posts.

RP, RPer and RPG - Role Play, Role Player, and Role Playing Game. These are games that allow members to pretend to be a character in a thread or forum. There are several places for RPing on SS, including the Hogwart's School, Knockturn Alleyand the Forbidden Forest, for more advanced and mature RPers. These sections are off-limits to Newbies, and the School is off-limits to non-members.

SPAM or s.p.a.m.- Stands for Short Pointless Annoying Message. Any posting that is off-topic, repeated or very short is considered SPAM.

[Mikaela]

10-Post Rule//Post Count


All newbies must post 10 replies here in the Newbie Hut before they have access to the rest of the site.

Why?
We are giving you a chance to learn the rules and get used to the site. You won’t be looked down upon if you make a mistake (like spamming etc) and it gives you a chance to ask questions and get a nice reply.

Why 10? Why not like..5?
It was going to be 50, so be thankfull it’s 10. 5 would be too easy for people to just spam their way out without actually using the Newbie Hut to their full advantage.

“Oh well, I don’t care…I’ll just spam my way out” …
BIG no no. As I said before, it’s a chance for you to learn the rules and ask questions. If you don’t you’re more likely to break a rule and get a warning. Plus, the Hut is closely monitered for spam, which is deleted (see below).

“But there’s nothing to do”
There are 8 threads you can post in. You can also post in the News. It’s not that hard to get 10. Play the games and ask questions!

It may take a few minutes before your usergroup changes after you have 10 posts.

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If you find that your post count has gone down, or if you became a full member but you got put back in "newbie";

It's because you were spamming and all/some of your posts were removed.

If you spam out, and we find out, you will have ALL your posts deleted and you'll be put back in the hut until you make 10 legit posts.

[Mikaela]

The Sorting

Now that you are familiar with the site and its rules, you may want to get sorted. Getting sorted means that you will be able to participate in the School Role Play as a member of one of the four Hogwarts Houses.

The sorting takes place between RPG school terms. A school term lasts for a few months.

To be sorted, you take a quiz with various HP and non HP related questions. The results will be sent to an admin, who then places you in a house based on your answers. You will recieve a PM with the result within 1 to 5 days.

There is a box on the front page that shows school updates and the date of the next sorting. When the sorting starts, there will be notices on the front page, in here, and also in the prefects office.

The sorting is open for 10-20 days, so you won't miss it. You don't have to be there when it opens.

PM'ing staff, complaining, *insert whatever else you are thinking of doing* will not get you sorted. Between school terms is the only time we sort, because of the RP story, and also because that's what it's like at Hogwarts.

In the meantime, there's plenty for you to do in the forums and Image Gallery

_______________________________


The sorting is currently:
Closed

[Mikaela]

How-To Guide

There are a lot of cool things you can do with text and pictures, but first you'll need to learn a bit about coding and such. Below are instructions to help you learn the basics.

How to edit Avatars, Signatures and Profiles


To put in an avatar (picture under your username), you go to UserCP on the navigation bar at the top, and then go to Edit Avatar. Newbies can have an avatar up to 80x80px, members can have 100x100px avatars under 15.5kb.

To edit your profile info also go to User CP and then to Edit Profile.

You can put in signatures by going to Madam Malkin's and use the Submit Your Signature Here thread, but you need 10 posts for that. Please read the signature rules in the first post there or go to Questions and FAQbefore you do so.

To have a custom signature and/or avatar, you must have more than 10 posts.

How to use BB Codes in Posts


BB Codes are codes that you use to create a style on your text and it is written in tags ( [ ] ).
The BB Codes stand on top of where you type your post. In order for them to work they need to be closed. Also, just the text you want to have in that particular style needs to be within the tags.

There is two ways to to this.

1.
You open a tag and close it when you are finished with the part you want to have in tags.

2.
You highlight the text you want to put in tags, then you choose the tag you want on it. This doesn't work on Mac or Opera Browser and Mozilla for Windows.

When you want to change the colour it should look like this:

[*color=blue*]I want blue colour[*/color*]

(Remove stars to get the effect)

And the final product would look like this:
I want blue colour

You can do the same with the font, size, bold, italic and underlined. Remember that the tags always must be closed to work.

To get different colours and sizes you can replace the size with a number of your choice and you can use web colours codes. ie. #FFFFFF (white)

For BB Code Help click here.

How to make a link with text


You go to a website and copy the address in the address line. Highlight the text you want to make your link. Then you click on the Insert Link button (the globe with the funny-looking sideways 8 at the bottom) and it will ask you for the url. Paste it in.

When you then click ok, the final result should look like this:

[*url=www.snitchseeker.com*]Snitchseeker[*/url*]

(Remove stars to get the effect)

When you post it will appear like this:

Snitchseeker

To change the colour you need to put the colour inside the tag, thus:

[*url=http://www.snitchseeker.com*][*color=green*]Snitchseeker[*/color*][*/url*]

(Remove stars to get the effect)

And the link should look like this when posted:

Snitchseeker

To post an image:


To paste a picture here on SS it needs to be on the net somewhere. You simply find the URL of the picture (right click -> properties -> address/URL). Highlight the URL, copy it (ctrl+c) and click the IMG buttom above the space to write; you paste (ctrl+v) the URL there, and it will look like this:

[IMG*]http://img12.photobucket.com/albums/v31/Christian/Icons/danicon.jpg[*/IMG]

(Remove stars to get the effect)

When you post the thing, the image will appear:



As an option you can write the code manually.

[Mikaela]

^o^ SnitchSeeker Staff List ^o^

Wizengamot (Administration)
allucha Language Support Administrator
Cassirin Headmistress of Hogwarts
Dainsie Library Manager
Dumbledore The Site Owner & Designer
EmmaRiddle Assistant News Administrator
evlpez Fanfiction & Potterwatch Administrator
katiebell News Administrator
KevinG Technical Systems Manager
LadyNerd Fanclub Administrator
lemondrop13 Ministry of Magic Administrator
Lissydove Assistant Ministry of Magic Administrator
Mad Eye Touz Site Manager
Mamushkaleontti Gallery, Fan Art & SoTS Administrator
Servaas Technical Systems Manager

Hit Wizards (Super Moderators)
Blackened Head of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes
demented_death_eater Head of Leaky Cauldron
Mistress Vondella Head of Magical Menagerie & Platform 9 3/4
Taking Back Kirstie Head of St Mungo's
Wayfarer Head of Madame Malkins & Scribbulus

Aurors (Moderators)
argentinaz_angel Knockturn Alley
Boys Like Ama TP & Madame Malkins
BrightestWitch WWW
Cristygen Platform 9 3/4 & WWW
dracocutie89 LC, Madame Malkins & TP
Eerised Floreans
Grangerfn1 LC & Potterwatch
Hermione Loves Ron Ollivanders
i m a potter fool ^ _ ^ Floreans & Book Club
lightstar1154 Aragog’s & LC
Loki Floreans
mathi Floreans
Monkey Princess Gringotts
Nabiya News & Madame Malkins
Nienna Library
Ozzy Gringotts & Platform 9 3/4
r+h4ever1 News
reddiej News
Sir_Spots Gringotts
the.time.is.now Library & News

School Staff
angelwing School Nurse
Biochemkris Potions
Granger1814 Librarian
Raider Transfiguration
shortfry Charms
Slytherin Fox Muggle Studies
SlytherinSistah Divination
SweetAussie CoMC
Tailzinator Groundskeeper
Zellanna Herbology

^o^ Forum List & Moderators ^o^
- names with an * and italics are forum heads -

SS Notice Board
Prefects Office: All Administrators & Moderators
Platform 9 3/4: Mistress Vondella*, katiebell, Cristygen, Ozzy, Raider
Scribbulus Everchanging Inks: Wayfarer*
Gladrags Wizardwear: Biochemkris*

Daily Prophet
Harry Potter News: katiebell*, EmmaRiddle*, allucha, Lissydove, Nabiya, r+h4ever1, reddiej, the.time.is.now,
Potter Polls: katiebell*, Dumbledore, EmmaRiddle
Snitchseeker Site News: katiebell*, Biochemkris*, EmmaRiddle
Snitchseeker Weekly: evlpez*, EmmaRiddle, katiebell

The Library
HP Book Facts : Dainsie*, Nienna, the.time.is.now
HP Movie Facts: Dainsie*, Nienna, the.time.is.now
Behind The World of SS: Dainsie*, Nienna, the.time.is.now
Witch Weekly: Dainsie*, Nienna, the.time.is.now

Diagon Alley
Flourish and Blotts: Dainsie*
Ollivander's Wand Shop: Mistress Vondella*, Hermione_Loves_Ron
Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor: LadyNerd*, Eerised, i m a potter fool ^ _ ^, Loki, mathi
Madame Malkins: Wayfarer*, Boys Like Ama, dracocutie89, Nabiya
----- Changing Rooms: Mamushkaleontti*
Knockturn Alley: Mamushkaleontti*, lemondrop13, Blackened, argentinaz_angel, Granger1814,
----- Salazars Lair: Biochemkris*
Gringotts Wizarding Bank:
----- Poetry: Sir_Spots*
----- Fanfictions: evlpez*, Blackened, demented_death_eater, Taking Back Kirstie, Monkey Princess, Ozzy
Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes: Blackened*, katiebell, Wayfarer, BrightestWitch, Cristygen
Magical Menagerie: Mistress Vondella*, Taking Back Kirstie
Leaky Cauldron: demented_death_eater*, dracocutie89, Grangerfn1, lightstar1154, angelwing
Second Hand Robe Shop: Biochemkris*

The Hogs Head
Wizardring World RPGs: Cassirin*, lemondrop13*
St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries: Taking Back Kirstie*, Boys Like Ama, dracocutie89
Potterwatch!: evlpez*, Grangerfn1
Snitchseeker Book Club: evlpez*, i m a potter fool ^ _ ^
SOTS Notice Room: Mamushkaleontti*, the.time.is.now
Aragog's Web: lightstar1154

Department of International Cooperation - allucha*
Arabic: allucha, Nienna, J.K. Rowling
Indonesian: dian_auror, HaefaLasweN
Patois: alyssaradcliffe-felton, Freds_caribbeangirl
Chinese: Antartica!, Japanese Wizard, ravenclawrox* *
German: siriusly_loving_gary, squibby
Spanish: Cristygen, Willow Kovac
French: Evy, Pottermaniac,
Greek: Hermione Rocks!, fleur 21
Hindi: cutestar, BlackFiresong, devils_work
Irish: Harry_Potter_Fanatic
Italian: FLEUR, netspider86
Japanese: Zellanna, Undead_Sadako_Sasaki
Dutch: Aya Yuy, Mrs. Ginny potter
Polish: Ewelina
Portuguese: Crayola, Padie
Romanian: Blackened, relly1611
Russian: accio.brain, All That Jazz
Scandinavian: KatieTessa
Finnish: Aniara Aethelred
Filipino: eliza andrea, griffin_girl
Urdu: SenoritaMaxie

^o^ Wizardring World RPG ^o^

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry
Headmistress: Cassirin*
Deputy Headmistress: Biochemkris
Detention Coordinator: Mad Eye Touz

Ancient Runes: Mamushkaleonetti
Arthimancy: lemondrop13
Astronomy: Mistress Vondella
Care of Magical Creatures: SweetAussie
Charms: shortfry
Defence Against the Dark Arts: Cassirin, LadyNerd
Divination: SlytherinSistah
Herbology: Zellanna
History of Magic: Mad Eye Touz
Muggle Studies: Slytherin Fox
Potions: Biochemkris
Transfiguration: Raider

Flying/Quidditch: demented_death_eater
Nurse: angelwing
Groundskeeper: Tailzinator
Librarian: Granger1814
Caretaker: Flynn

Head of House: Dainisie
House Moderator: Mamushkaleontti
House Prefect: Mugglebornwitch3, Lissy Longbottom
Quidditch Captain: hg_fan

Head of House: lemondrop13
House Moderator: Ladynerd
House Prefect: D.A Forever, Con Man
Quidditch Captain: PhoenixRising

Head of House: demented_death_eater
House Moderator: Mad Eye Touz
House Prefect: Silver Tiger, Hawken Terrell
Quidditch Captain: cake.ninjak

Head of House: Mistress Vondella
House Moderator: Raider
House Prefect: SeerCassandraTrelawney, XanaSnape
Quidditch Captain: DeathEater24601

Ministry of Magic
Ministry of Magic Administrator: lemondrop13*
Assistant Administrator: Lissydove

Minister of Magic: Cassirin
Head of Daily Prophet: Mad Eye Touz

Head of Magical Education: Slytherin Fox
Head of Magical Law Enforcement: PharaohMan18
Head of Magical Accidents & Catastrophes: Lissy Longbottom
Head of Regulation & Control of Magical Creatures: Pigwidgeon Took
Head of International Magical Cooperation: pgspickles
Head of Magical Transportation: PhoenixRising
Head of Magical Games and Sports: Jenster
Head of Magial Security: ErinElizabeth
Head of Mysteries: the.time.is.now
Head of Special Ops: SeerCassandraTrelawney

[Ozzy]

Newbies do not have the ability to edit their posts.

When you become a full member of Snitchseeker, you may at that time edit your posts within the Newbie Hut if you want to add anything else to them. So, I would suggest that before you post something that you really consider what it is you want to say within any of the topics within this forum.

Also note that it is not okay to post again with additions to your first post, especially if this second post is right after your other post as this is considered spamming and will more than likely result in the deletion of any additional posts of the like.