Drake Parker
Replies: 9,488

Caysi Finnigan
Replies: 2

Sebastian Rossi
Replies: 4

Professor Cyndi Weasley
Replies: 12

Professor Cyndi Weasley
Replies: 4

Professor Cyndi Weasley
Replies: 11

Link Black
Replies: 0

Eric Evans
Replies: 32

Hadan Blake
Replies: 16

Abel
Replies: 4

Abel
Replies: 10

Xavier Snow
Replies: 3

Riley Alexandra
Replies: 0

Aiden Lorka
Replies: 26

Aiden Lorka
Replies: 9

After last week's spotlight announcement, a motion was made by the staff that I would have to post all future announcements. I guess they're sticking to that, because I was unable to convince anybody that they should post this Bi-Weekly Update (not that I tried... ).
So here's another edition of the Bi-Weekly Update! (For some reason, I feel like we should start to number these. >_<; )

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Galleons System: Online
HNZ's galleon system, after considerable downtime, has been restored at long last!
A major thanks goes to Hamza for supplying HNZ with the hosting necessary to return this system to the board.
Unfortunately, despite the system itself having been entirely restored - we could not salvage the galleon amounts for individual accounts. So, we would encourage you to Request a Starting Balance via the form set up. All balance requests are processed the same day they're sent in.
You can read more about this update here.

New BBCode Tag
A new BBCode tag has been added to HNZ! Sometimes in roleplays, an out of character comment is needed, but it often appears messy in the post. With the addition of this BBCode tag, OOC notes are stylized for the post and separated from all other post content. To use this tag simply follow this format:

Code: OOC BBCode Usage

 

[ooc]Your message here[/ooc]

It will appear like so:
[ooc]Your message here[/ooc]
Read more about this code in this announcement.

Character Spotlight: August 22nd
This week's spotlight character is Aleyha Devearux, one of the many characters of our Sir Kaitlyn.

Kaitlyn exemplifies what it means to be a character-factory™. But she's not one of those factories in questionable third world nations where you're getting lead in your product or it falls apart in two days. She's like a machine-operated-entirely-automated super factory. Pretty much every character she makes has some new dimension or depth that throws me for a loop.(Read On...)

Did we get a new Global Moderator?!
Nope. Sorry to disappoint you, but we're still stuck with Kaitlyn.
She determined it would be best to switch which account was her global moderator account, so we obliged (despite it being excruciatingly strange to see Hadan's name in private forums, and seeing Aleyha's name return to green). Fortunately, nobody got tooo confused when the change first occurred, or we would have made her change back.

In Search of: House Ghosts!
That's right! Gryffindor and Ravenclaw houses are in need of people to roleplay their house ghosts! These characters are unchanging on HNZ, and their accounts are owned by the admin - however access will be given to people with interest in ensuring that these houses have active house ghosts, true to the characters of those already developed. For information on how to apply, please see this announcement.

Graphics Challenge Winner
The winner of HNZ's 23^rd Graphics Competition was Brian (Alexander Le'Creigh)! Congratulations to Brian!
The avatars which won the competition have been added to HNZ's Avatar Gallery for Hogwarts & Other Schools.

Inventory System
HNZ's inventory system has evolved dramatically over the past. From individual topics, being manually sought out (no search function being available), edited, and re-edited - then deleted whenever users disappeared from the board, to an admin-editable-only profile field, viewable only from a user's profile page.
Both systems had their advantages, and certainly their disadvantages, but now a new system has come in to effect which will remain for some time and hopefully prove to be the simplest and best method used for determining which items which characters own.
The HNZ Inventory system can be viewed on this page:
[Hidden Content: Login/Register to View]
Your own account's inventory will be loaded as soon as you load the initial page. From there, you can search for other user's inventories, view their galleons, and transfer monies between accounts as the need arises.
You can read more about this update in this announcement.

Rules Update
HNZ's Board Rules have received a slight upgrade today.
Here are the changes you should be aware of:

2. Signature rules have been codified to the official rules documentation and will be readily enforced in the coming weeks. You will be asked once to have your signature conform to these rules, should you refuse the offending content will be removed from your signature.
   These Rules are:
   2. No image in your signature may exceed 500px by 300px
      
   3. Your signature, as a whole, may not exceed a height of 350px
      
   4. Your signature may not, at any time, contain more than two (2) spoiler toggles
      
   5. No image in your signature may be larger than 400kb in file size
   The fourth, bold, rule has been added to the signature rules. This rule is being put in to place due to an increasing number of signature images which approached 1mb (and some as high as 4mb) in file size. Not all users on HNZ have high speed internet, and many experienced extreme delays in page loads because of absurdly large signature image file sizes.
3. Avatars have received a rule to match the rule for signature file sizes. This rule reads: "Your avatar may not exceed a file size of 100kb"
4. A rule has been added to make clear something announced when the OOC First Name field was announced. We have always enforced it, but it is now codified for your convenience:
   "You may not put a false first name in the OOC First Name profile field in order to convince other users that you're somebody you're not. Nicknames are acceptable, but putting "Bob" when you're really "Joanne" is not. Leave the field empty if you do not wish people to know who you are."
   We understand the appeal of secret characters. However, putting a false name in the OOC First Name field is chiefly deceitful, and secondly can interfere with the activities of the moderators and administrators of this community. For those reasons, if a false name is inserted and discovered, it will be removed.

Week 6 of Lessons
Keep your eye on the Site Calendar! Week 6 of lessons begins tomorrow. Then, after week 6, students have one week break of no classes and no worries (study time, in character) before exams/OWLs/NEWTs begin!

Brightstone Weekend: Concluding
Be sure to wrap up your sales and roleplays outside of Hogwarts, students! Tomorrow, Brightstone Village and Mākutu Mall will close once more!

Candidate's Debate (Ministry Elections)
The debate between candidates running for the position of Minister for Magic is beginning! You can follow its progress by following this link. A thread will also likely begin for spectators to post reactions, and it'll all probably be covered by the prophet so even more people can react to what will be said by each candidate during the course of the debate!

Second Years: Electives!
Second years, please be sure to contact your Head of House and inform them of at least two elective courses you wish for your character to take next year. If you're not sure about what courses are required for which occupation, or have other questions - just ask your professor!



Well, only one plot was submitted to be highlighted - so the fate of this section looks grim!
Nevertheless, your plot highlights areis:

• I had a dream that was once New Zealand
  This is the first public meeting of Electoral Candidate Felix Donovan, allowing the public a Question and Answer session with him.

Want to keep plot highlights alive? Submit your own major/fun/exciting roleplays!



~ The end of lessons!
~ More Ministry Election zaniness!
~ Graduation!
~ A few more updates that we won't tell you about.

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So that's it! Another fortnight summarized in one topic for your convenience! Check back in another two weeks for another super crazy update.

~Nick
(On behalf of the HNZ Site Staff)

Hello all!

Yesterday I got a splendid idea: Why not integrate an inventory system in to the current galleons system and code things so it can be easily updated, accessed, viewed, etc. as the need arises?

Unable to push the thought from my mind, I coded HNZ's new Inventory system in to existence. By loading the link below, you will immediately see your character's inventory as well as any galleons they have. You will then be able to search for other user's inventories, see their galleons, and transfer galleons to them as you desire.
[Hidden Content: Login/Register to View]

Not only that, but the system has been integrated in to profiles. So you can click one link and be brought immeadiatly to another person's inventory. For instance, my character's inventory is: [Hidden Content: Login/Register to View]

So why the change? Simply, the old system wasn't working very well. It was tedious for administrators, and only administrators could update. Now, all the site staff can update any members' inventory in just a few clicks. The changes take effect instantly and life moves on.

Most of the members of HNZ which had items in their Inventory profile field have had those items transferred to the new system, thanks to Kaitlyn - who spent a large amount of time last night going through account by account. If your items aren't there yet, we'll get there.

You can find links to your and other people's inventories in their mini profile below their galleons (which appears in posts, on their profile page, and in the PM system). Feel free to explore the new system, and contact me with any problems you encounter or ideas you might have.

Once all members that have items listed in their Inventory profile field have their accounts set up on the system, we will remove that profile field and the inventory system will be the sole location of these lists.

I hope you enjoy this update as much as I do. (And trust me, I really like this new system. )

~Nick
[Hidden Content: Login/Register to View]