2.5 million people need emergency food assistance in the Philippines. Please help if you can. Any amount you can give will make a difference. If you send your receipt to I will give you the equivalent amount of donator points here on Hogwarts Live.
World Food Program USA is a four star charity with 96.4% of moneys donated going directly to help those in need (source).
Donate to WFP
Up to 4 million children may be affected by the typhoon (called Yolanda locally). These children desperately need shelter, clean water, medicine and nutrition supplies -- the same area is already reeling from a 7.2 magnitude earthquake just three weeks ago. If you want your donation to go to the children please Donate to UNICEF.
Super Typhoon Haiyan, the strongest storm to ever make landfall, left an estimated 2.5 million people in need of emergency food assistance. That's more people in need of immediate assistance than WFP's food relief in the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake in 2010. WFP is racing to respond with emergency food supplies to help hungry children and families in need.
Please help those in greatest need by donating today in support of WFP's emergency response in the Philippines.
2.5 million people need emergency food assistance in the Philippines
Mutes
For those complaining how it's so unfair that players are getting muted for breaking rules, here's how we see it:
1. Most of the players getting muted KNOW they are breaking the rules and have been previously warned for such behavior. We are not the LA judicial system and you all are not Lindsay Lohan. Sorry, but you're not going to continue to get free passes when YOU know you are breaking rules and WE know that YOU know you are breaking the rules.
From the rules, #15:
"Usually you'll get 2 warnings before you're muted, but in some cases staff CAN decide to instant mute you, or only give you one warning before a mute."
2. My favorite complaint is how OTHER people are causing your mutes. Really? Are they somehow astral projecting and possessing your body to type out and post all those "go kill yourself," "you're a stupid, idiotic, whore," and "you're fat and ugly and even my dog wouldn't !@%k you," etc. comments? Are they hacking into your account and posting for you? Most of you getting in trouble are adults. Learn to take responsibility for your own actions.
3. IGNORE CHAT USER. IGNORE CHAT USER. IGNORE CHAT USER. IGNORE CHAT USER. IGNORE CHAT USER. IGNORE CHAT USER. See above about taking responsibility for your own actions. I realize that this takes all your "fun" out of it, but this way all the *other* people can't get *you* muted. *eyeroll*
4. When we mute someone, we have two options. We can Temp Mute for 1 hour or we can Perm Mute. In cases where the mute is going to last more than a couple hours, it is easier to just hit Perm Mute. Each extra hour of a Temp mute has to be done manually and it sends out a new owl each time. That saves us unnecessary clicking and that saves you all unnecessary owls. Perm mutes are rarely ever permanent. Some do last more than a day or two, but hardly any ever last forever. Staff has been instructed to now give a time frame in a Perm Mute owl or you will be told that the actual length has yet to be determined and an Admin will get back to you.
Sidenote, since this has also been a problem: A mute means that YOU are not allowed to post in chat. Not just that one character. So if you already have alts (ANY account on that same IP), you are not allowed to log into one of those other accounts and post in chat. You are not allowed to make a new account just so you can talk either. Evading a mute will result in the length of your original mute being doubled, and if you continue to evade, you can be banned.
Hogwarts Live Now Recruiting
Re-posting this as we still need help!
We're looking to put together a brand new development team. This will be separate from our administrative staff who deal directly with players. We're looking for enthusiastic, imaginative, and passionate individuals to help us create the next stage of Hogwarts Live.
Please note these positions do come with perks but are otherwise unpaid--these roles are ideal for high school or college students looking to put an Internet company on their resume. This will look very good on a college applications or when applying for your first job out of college especially considering the scale of Hogwarts Live.
Roles we are looking to fill:
Software Engineer/Developer/Programmer
Description: Responsible for programming new features for the game.
Skills: JavaScript, PHP, MySQL, HTML, CSS
Note: If you program in another language such as Java, C#, C++, Scala, Ruby, Python, etc. please apply (especially if you have experience building web services or mobile apps).
To apply email a resume to with code samples or links to applicable work.
Project Manager
Description: Responsible for gathering feature requirements, making sure features are delivered on time, and making the public aware of new features. Will help prioritize when and what features are built.
Skills: Organization, Communication, Time Management, Project Management (obviously)
Note: The ideal PM will keep tabs on everyone involved in a project and make sure stuff gets done on time.
To apply email a resume to with examples of how you've helped teams of people deliver projects on time.
Digital Illustrator
Description: Responsible for the design game art like characters, objects, backgrounds, icons, and other graphics.
Skills: Image Manipulation (e.g. Photoshop, Illustrator, Fireworks, etc.), Illustration, etc.
To apply email a resume to with either images, PDFs, or links to custom graphics or artwork you've created.
Game Scenario Writer
Description: Responsible for creating game scenarios/storylines.
Skills: Imagination, Good Ideas, English, Grammar, Detail-oriented, Descriptive
To apply email a resume to with writing samples or links to applicable work.
Content Editor
Description: Responsible for editing content for grammar and style.
Skills: English, Grammar, Detail-oriented, Sense of Style
To apply email a resume to with writing samples or a copyedited version of this post.
Web Designer
Description: Responsible for the design and layout of HTML and CSS pages.
Skills: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Image Manipulation (e.g. Photoshop, Illustrator, Fireworks, etc.), Layout Design, Information Design, Usability, User Experience Design
To apply email a resume to with screenshots or links to websites designed.
It would help if any of you who apply include a cover letter describing why you would like to work for Hogwarts Live and why you think you're qualified to do so.
Double Donation Day: Harry Potter's First Day at Hogwarts
To commemorate Harry Potter's first day at Hogwarts I declare this day, September 1st, 2013 a Double Donation Day! :)
What does that mean? It means while it's September 1st in your part of the world you'll get double the points you'd normally get for donating.
What are you waiting for? Head on over the Prefect's Lounge and get yourself some points! ^^
Some exciting raffles to honor Harry Potter's Birthday
All raffles end on July 31st, 2013 (Harry's 33rd Birthday). No purchase necessary to participate. Just exchange the beans you find in the forest at the Candy Raffle located on the bottom left hand side of the site under Global. Also, as a special treat all entries cost 10 beans or less.
$50 Amazon Gift Card - Get a $50 (USD) Amazon Gift card to spend on anything you want. Try the Special Edition Harry Potter Paperback Box Set (1-7), or The Complete 8-film Harry Potter Blu-ray Collection, or some Bertie Bott's Every Flavored Beans.
Minister of Magic - That's right, just like many other elections around the world we're fixing this one for whoever wins this raffle!
My Hand in Marriage - Bet this got you really excited. I've already bought some tickets myself! One lucky bean could mean you get to look at my name on your stats bar for a week (sorry, longer is scary).
Raffle Winners and Updates
The winners are as follows:
1 Title Change: Chuan and Nirm
1 Display Name Change: Avelyn and SolanPrince
Castle: LogWarts
15,000 Donator Points: Fundun
The winners of the titles and name changes need to petition what you would like your title/name to be. There is a 25 character limit for titles, including color codes and bold/italic. There is a 15 character name limit for the name change, NOT including color codes and bold/italic. The castle winner needs to petition telling us where they would like their Dwelling built. The donator points have already been added to the winner's account.
Donator Rewards have been added back. Once the monthly goal is reached, you will get a discount on healing and extra turns.
You are now able to own 3 dwellings. It is limited to one per city.
Reminder
I'd like to remind everyone that all inappropriate adult content is NOT ALLOWED in chats. You will be muted if caught.
Valentine's Gift Shop!!!
The Valentine's Gift Shop is now open, it appears on the left side menu under Shops and Services. You can send gifts to your sweethearts and valentines up until February 14th!
House Christmas Tree Contest!
Congratulations to Slytherin for winning this year! For the entire month of January, the House Cup will be in our possession. Way to go everyone!
The Philippines passed a law that's anti-privacy and Internet freedom
The Philippines passed the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, a draconian law that makes SOPA and PIPA look reasonable.
It goes so far as to ban online-libel and is so vague as to what constitutes libel that a Like or Share of a Facebook comment critical of the government or police could be used to put you in jail.
I'm a dual citizen of the United States and the Philippines as well as a webmaster. Laws created to censor the Internet and curtail freedom of speech really upset me.
Please sign the petition against the Cybercrime Prevention Act, which threatens Internet freedom, the right to privacy and other essential civil liberties including freedom of speech, expression, and the press.
http://www.change.org/petitions/junk-the-cybercrime-prevention-law