Student Handbook

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[PTab=Welcome]




First, and foremost, welcome to A Hogwarts Experience! We're excited to have you as a new or returning student and we are looking forward to watching you grow, make life-long friendships, and much more. We've put together this Student Handbook to help guide our students on their journey with AHE.

If, at any time, you have any questions or concerns, please direct them to the "Help Desk" forum and a staff member will assist you as quickly as possible. We hope you enjoy your time with us and sincerely look forward to getting to know each of you as we roleplay through the wonderful world of Harry Potter &trade, and Hogwarts ™ together.

AHE is a fan-based Harry Potter and Hogwarts-related roleplaying forum and website. Unlike other fan-based roleplaying communities, we do not have a set plot. Instead, we are a “create your own roleplay” site where our members are encouraged to create their own plots and stories throughout the site. Be advised that not all areas of the site allow roleplaying. You will need to read the individual board descriptions and guides to ensure you know and understand what is allowed and expected in specific areas.

AHE was created by Aria Chastain . The forum theme was originally created by Trinity Blair of Adoxography 2.0 with modifications by Aria Chastain and Felicia Tate . All content, graphics, and images are copyrighted to the users who created them. Harry Potter and Hogwarts-related content are copyrighted to J.K. Rowling, Warner Brothers, or all other respective owners.

The next tab in this handbook contains the Site-Wide Rules and the table of contents for the handbook. Please make sure you read each section to ensure that you understand the rules, what is expected of you, and to prevent yourself from being banned from our community.


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[PTab=Site-Wide Rules]

This section of the student handbook contains the AHE platform’s rules and guidelines we have put in place for all our members. Platform refers to our forum, website, discord server, Facebook page, Instagram, or any other platform where AHE is a member.

Please make sure you read this entire section to ensure that you know and understand what is allowed; what is not allowed; and what is expected from each member of our community. By reading and understanding the rules and guidelines, you will prevent yourself from being banned from our community. If you have any questions, you direct them to the "Help Desk" forum.

• ALL users must be at least (13)-years-old in real life. This rule is non-negotiable as it is a part of the ProBoards Terms of Service (PB TOS).
  
  *NOTE: If it is discovered that a user is under the age of (13)-years-old, their AHE account will be banned. Additionally, the user's email address, name, and IP address will be reported to ProBoards and a global ban will be issued until the user meets the age required by the PB TOS.
• Discrimination and racism will NOT be tolerated on any AHE platform. This includes but is not limited to discriminating against another person because of their race, religion, political beliefs, sexuality, disabilities, gender, geographical location, and the likes.
  
  *NOTE: Anyone caught demonstrating this type of behavior will receive an automatic permanent ban from all things AHE. NO EXCEPTIONS!
• Profanity/Swearing is permitted across AHE platforms. However, profanity or swearing should be kept to a minimum and should NEVER be directed towards any other user. Some words are completely forbidden. For a full ist of forbidden words, please see the Disallowed Words section of this Student Handbook.
• ALL content on AHE must remain PG-13. This means that content, including images, graphics, and other media/multimedia content CANNOT contain nudity or other pornographic materials. Content CANNOT contain anything that promotes the usage of illegal drugs, alcohol, or anything else deemed illegal in the United Staes of America. This includes but is not limited to pirating torrents, terrorist activities (or terrorism), extreme violence, or anything else that is unethical or unlawful.
• Threats of violence, death, and/or harassment will NOT be tolerated. Anyone caught doing so will receive an automatic permanent ban from all things AHE-related. Additionally, we will contact your Internet Service Provider (ISP) and the authorities to report you.
• Users are permitted to have a maximum of five (5) accounts on AHE. One account per roleplaying character with a maximum of five characters.
  
  *NOTE: This limit is subject to change at any time with or without notice.
• Spam is NOT allowed on any AHE platform. Content is considered spam if it contains less than one complete sentence, is unwarranted or off-topic, or is duplicated content that contains the same information as another piece of content. It also includes advertisements outside of advertising areas or where otherwise permitted.
• Advertising is ONLY permitted through a user's profile website link, signature, and the appropriate advertising areas. All advertisements of sites that break any of AHE's Site-Wide Rules or the PB TOS will be removed immediately without warning.
• ALL content--whether public or private--must be written in the American English or British English languages across all AHE Platforms.
• Backseat moderation or "God Modding" is NOT permitted. If a user breaks a rule on the forum, simply report them. The report post option in threads is an excellent tool, and we encourage all users to utilize it.
• Arguing with staff members will NOT be tolerated. Arguing in public, period, will NOT be tolerated.
• Ranting publicly or through Owl/Private Message regarding a moderation action taken against you will NOT be tolerated. However, should you have an issue or a question about the action, you are permitted to Owl/Private Message the person who took the action against you. Do so respectfully.
• Should you have an issue or problem with a member of our staff team, you should contact that staff group's leader or department head. All Head Staff can be found via the sidebar navigation menu by clicking the "three-bar icon" on the top left of your screen.
• Impersonating a staff member of AHE WILL result in an automatic permanent ban from all things AHE.

*NOTE: In addition to the rules and guidelines set forth above, individual forums, house areas, and other areas of the site and across our platforms may have rules and guidelines that you are expected to follow. It is your responsibility to read said rules and guidelines in each forum and on each platform before posting any content.

• ALL images and content are copyrighted to the individual user who creates them. AHE does not own your content. See the next point for the exception:
  
  
  • Any official graphics and/or images such as banners, logos, customized items, editorial layouts, etc., are the property of AHE. If submitted to the site, at any point, to be used by AHE, you forfeit ownership of the item(s) in question, and it becomes the intellectual property of AHE.
    
    This means that if you create a logo for the site as a staff member, and we use it, it's ours to continue using or modifying even after you've left the site permanently. The same thing applies to any other graphics, images, or written content such as lessons, publications, and the likes.
  • If you write content for the site that stands as an "Official Guide," rulebook, lessons in textbooks, or articles for any type of publication, AHE has the right to use it whenever and however should you decide to leave. Anything that is "official," pinned or announced belongs to AHE.
• If you do NOT agree with the above statements, do NOT post these types of things anywhere on AHE's platforms. All "official" things posted on AHE will remain the intellectual property of AHE should you decide to leave. We can't stress this enough.

• Do NOT give out your personal information to anyone on AHE. The ONLY exception to this rule is for special contests or holiday seasons in which that information may be required by a staff member. Should these events or contests arise, all members will be notified by an Administrator and given the option to participate. Details outlining the event and rules will be given at the appropriate time(s).
• Do NOT share your account(s) or account login credentials with any other user. If you do, and a rule is broken from your account, it is your account that will be in jeopardy of moderation consequences. Additionally, it's a safety concern because it gives users access to personal information they could use to potentially hack your internet accounts. AHE Staff will NEVER ask you for your password.
• Please REPORT any harassment, threats of violence or death (including suicidal references) to an Administrator the moment it happens. If it happens in an Owl/Private message, you have the option to forward a message to a staff member. If it happens on the forum, click the cog icon on the post. From the menu, select "Report Post." Include your reasoning for reporting the post.
  
  If something like this happens off AHE but involves our members, screenshot the incident or provide some other type of proof via Owl/Private Message to an Administrator so the appropriate actions can be taken.

• AHE allows each user to have a maximum of five (5) accounts on our site. One for each character up to 5 characters.
• Each account created must complete a face-claim, sorting ceremony, and character sheet.
• If a user wishes to become a staff member, only one of their accounts can be a staff member at a given time. The staff application form must be submitted by the account wishing to become staff. It is hard to manage the duties of one staff member let alone multiple accounts with different permissions and responsibilities.
• Anyone who has multiple accounts must sign the Account Registry so that staff can keep track of which accounts belong to who. You must also include links to each of your characters for each face-claim and character sheet you create.
• We are a non-cannon roleplaying site. So, original character names and face-claims are NOT permitted.

*NOTE: AHE has the right to change or modify these rules and guidelines at any time with or without notifying its members. However, should this section be updated, we will try to Owl/Private Message all members notifying them that changes have been made.

It is your responsibility as a member of our community to check the Handbook often to ensure you don't miss any updates or changes to our policies, procedures, and regulations.

This concludes our Rules and Guidelines section of the Student Handbook.


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[PTab=Moderation Policies]

The following moderation policy has been added to this Student Handbook to offer insight into how we moderate our various platforms. Please take a moment to review this policy so that you understand what can happen to you if you break our Rules or the PB TOS.

• 1st Offense
  The user will receive a written warning from a member of the staff team via Owl/Private Message. The warning will include a link to the Student Handbook as well as the specific rule/guideline broken by the user.
• 2nd Offense
  A second offense occurs when a user breaks any of the rules a second time. The rule broken doesn't have to be the same rule the user was already warned about.
  
  If a user breaks the rules a second time, they will receive a written warning like they did for their first offense. Additionally, they will receive a 25% warning level increase which can be seen by the member who broke the rules and AHE staff.
• 3rd Offense
  A third offense occurs when a user breaks any of the rules a third time. The rule broken doesn't have to be the same rule(s) the user was already warned about.
  
  If a user breaks the rules a third time, they will receive a written warning like they did for their first offense. Additionally, their warning level will be increased to 75% which can be seen by the member who broke the rule(s) and AHE staff.
• 4th Offense
  A fourth offense occurs when a user breaks any of the rules a fourth time. The rule broken doesn't have to be the same rule(s) the user was already warned about.
  
  If a user breaks the rules a fourth time, they will receive a 100% warning level increase AND will receive a temporary 14-day ban from our forum. During their 14-day ban, they will be unable to access AHE

There are two types of warnings that a user can receive on AHE. The written warning is typically sent through Owl/Private Message to a user who broke the rule(s). The warning level is a special feature that the staff use to display a warning level in users' profiles and mini-profiles so we know to keep a close eye on those members.

If you receive a warning level, it will be decreased by 10% every 7 days until you are down to 0%. However, should you continue to break the rules, your percentage will continue to go up until you reach 100%.

So, say you have a 75% warning and you behave for three weeks. Your 75% warning is decreased to 45%. Then, you go and break one of the rules. Your warning level will go back up to 75%.

WARNINGS & COMING BACK FROM TEMPORARY BAN
When you return from a temporary ban, you will come back with a 50% warning level. If you break the rules again before you reach 0%, you will be permanently banned from AHE. As with warning levels in general, your warning will be decreased by 10% every 7 days.

If you reach a 0% warning level after returning from a ban, you are entitled to a "fresh start." This means that if you break the rules again, you'll start off with a first offense and the punishment will increase with each broken rule.

If you reach 100% a second time, regardless of the "Fresh Start," you will be permanently banned from AHE.


From time to time, AHE staff will execute automatic permanent bans. Breaking any of the following rules will result in an automatic permanent ban, no exceptions.

• Being under the age of (13)-years-old. - This ban will be lifted upon your 13th birthday with clarification from a parent or guardian.
• Exhibiting discriminatory, racist, or other unethical behavior.
• Sharing unlawful or illegal content.
• Sharing login credentials to your forum account(s).
• Harassment and/or threats of any kind.
• Breaches of the PB TOS.

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[PTab=Contents]

• Disallowed Words
• Navigating AHE
• First Steps After Registration
• Face Claims & Character Sheets
• The Sorting Ceremony
  • House Teams
• Classes
• Updating Your Profile
• Discord
• Vaults
• AHE Official Lottery
• Staff Positons & Applications
• Clubs
• Contests & Events
• Publications

More items will be added to the handbook as needed. Please make sure you check back often for any updates or changes to content.
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