THIS SEASON ALL ROUNDS WILL BE POSTED AND CLOSED AT 1:00 PM CST.

Welcome to the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition! The credits for the original idea for this competition go to Ash, or Fire The Canon, and the forum has moved through several wonderful hands over the years, each bringing their own new ideas and changes to the forum.

Quidditch, of course, has rules, and so does this forum.

This is our second season on the new forum, and with it we're introducing what we hope are some exciting changes! But you can still find the old forum archived here.

Everything that is new will be highlighted, with NEW written before it. We encourage everyone, including returning players, to read through the rules to make sure you know how everything works.

Remember, we are here to make friends, we are here to write, and most importantly, we are here to have fun.

Here is a list of quick-access links to each of the sections and sub-sections so you don't have to waste time scrolling:

1. General Forum Rules

   • Sign-ups

   • Common Courtesy; Communication/Discord Server

   • Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Cursed Child, and Other Media in the HP Franchise

2. Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition Rules

   • Teams; Switching Teams; Dropping Out; Positions; Captains; Changing Rooms

   • Writing and Submitting Stories; Story Length, Rating and Content; Crossovers; Story Titles and A/Ns

   • Disqualifications

   • Deadlines; Extensions

   • Reserves; Using Reserves; Reserves for Seekers; Team members substituting

   • Rounds and Finals; Ties

3. The Scoring System

   • Judging Rubric; Judges' Picks

   • Bonus Points for Optional Prompts

   • Scores and Feedback; Things to Consider

4. Position-specific Special Points

5. Questions and Concerns

   • Feedback Concerns

   • Polls

   • Warning System

6. The Daily Prophet; Witch Weekly Awards

7. Extenuating Circumstances

8. Procrastination Threads; Other Threads

Sign-ups

Every player must sign-up in the try-outs thread (link) by filling in the provided form that asks you to state who you are, what position you would like to play, and what team you would like to join. You will also be required to mark yes or no for whether you would like to receive scores and/or feedback throughout the season or not.

Aside from the winning team from the previous season, who get to come back with the same team should they choose, it will be first come, first serve when it comes to choosing who gets what position on what team, and nobody can hold a spot for a friend or anything of that sort.

Once you have signed up for a team, the season has begun for you. This means you cannot switch teams or positions without permission from a mod.* This is because, once you have signed up, we will go ahead and ready your player doc where your scores and feedback will be recorded for the rest of the season. If players kept changing their positions, it becomes difficult to organise player docs based on team and position, so please choose carefully!

Sign-ups for captains will open two weeks earlier than the rest of the tryouts. To be a captain, you must have completed at least one full season of Quidditch League in the past. This is to ensure you are committed and can complete a season and have a basic understanding of the rules and how the game works.

Captains tryouts will close after one week, regardless of how many captains have signed up. This means that we will not be waiting for all 13 teams to fill up and will remove whatever teams do not have captains by the end of the captain tryouts and open player tryouts. Of course, if we do get all 13 captains in a week's time, that's perfect, but we will not extend the captain tryouts until all 13 positions are filled. This may mean that there will be less teams in the competition, which is perfectly alright.

*NEW: If you sign up as a captain, you are committing to the role's responsibilities for the entire season. If you no longer wish to be captain during the season, you must contact your team and the mods about it immediately so that a replacement can be chosen.

Please wait until you see the announcement on the tryouts thread saying signups are open before posting your application. Any entries before this announcement will not be counted.

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Common Courtesy

We ask that everyone shows common courtesy and respect for every member on this forum. This space is shared by a variety of personalities and fanfiction preferences, but we all want to write and have fun during this competition. So let us all be friendly with each other, and if a situation arises where your opinions or beliefs are strongly tested, then either be civil in your responses or come to us mods so that we can help peacefully resolve the situation.

Also please be considerate of the fact that there are people of all ages on this forum and not everyone may be comfortable with swearing, using profanity, or any other explicit or graphic content/language. Although the profanity filter is on and will automatically censor curse words, please be mindful of this.

Please also ensure that your messages into the mod account remain polite and respectful at all times. We cannot always give you what you want, but that does not mean you need to be rude when you aren't getting your way, as we always weigh all the pros and cons and make a decision that we consider will be the fairest. And, if you were to consistently send in such messages, we will be much less likely to go out of our way to help you in the future, should you need it.

We are removing the commitment statement this season, as we think not remembering to include it in your tryout post is such an arbitrary reason to not accept your tryout. However, this does not mean you are off the hook! This is still a massive commitment, and you are signing up to be a part of a team. We understand, of course, that unforeseen circumstances happen in real life, and that those are more important. What we would prefer not to happen, however, is people joining because they think it might be fun, but never submitting a piece, never talking to their team, or simply disappearing off the face of the earth. Should you find yourself unable to write for a round for whatever reason, or discover that you need to leave the League permanently, please let your team know.

This is still applicable, even if your team isn't necessarily doing so well in the League. Under no circumstances are we going to force someone to stay on when they don't want to, but let your team know you are intending to leave.

If you know you won't have the time to write something every 2 weeks, then there are other positions you can join that may cater to what you can do, like being a reserve or a judge.

Communication/Discord Server

In Season 8, we introduced the forum Discord. It worked incredibly well for communicating with both captains and teams, so we are going to be continuing with it for the foreseeable future.

NEW: To join, simply follow this link (ht tps : // discord . gg / XuHRvCyjw9 – don't forget to delete the spaces). If you should have problems joining, please PM us and we will do our best to help you join.

NEW: Once you are in our Discord server, please head on over to the "admittance and registration booth" channel for your roles assignment. Choose them according to your position, team and interests, and you're good to go.

We ask that all captains please try to make themselves available on Discord, as it will be our primary method of reaching you all at once.

It has been requested that team chats on the Discord be made open to everyone, regardless of their team. Instead, we are going to leave this decision up to the teams themselves. Some teams may opt to have an open chat, whilst some may opt for privacy. It is entirely up to the teams how and if they use these chats, and so the ultimate decision will be up to them individually.

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Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Cursed Child, and Other Media in the HP Franchise

Due to the release of the Fantastic Beasts series over the coming years, we understand that people would want to write FB stories and may wonder if we will accept them. The answer is yes. We have decided to allow stories submitted under the Fantastic Beasts section, as it is part of the same universe. The same goes for any Cursed Child canon, however that does not have its own section and will have to be mentioned somewhere in the story itself.

Please be aware that we will NOT be accepting content that features spoilers for any Harry Potter media that comes out part-way through a season. This includes any films, games, plays, etc. as it is unlikely we would be able to judge this fairly.

Please also be aware that the people judging your stories may not be following either of these, due to which it will be important that you explain the premise of your story in an author's note (a/n) so as to avoid any confusion.

Some HP media uses different canon to the books (the Hogwarts Mystery game, for example, changes characters ages). We would strongly suggest you use book canon in this case, but if you choose not to, this information MUST be in an A/N (see above paragraph).

Please also note that stories marked under Fantastic Beasts cannot be added to our community because it is only for Harry Potter and only accepts stories marked as belonging to HP.

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Teams

There are usually 13 teams involved in the QLFC. But, based on the number of captains that sign up, not all teams may play. The 13 teams, in alphabetical order, are:

1. Appleby Arrows

2. Ballycastle Bats

3. Caerphilly Catapults

4. Chudley Cannons

5. Holyhead Harpies

6. Falmouth Falcons

7. Kenmare Kestrels

8. Montrose Magpies

9. Pride of Portree

10. Puddlemere United

11. Tutshill Tornados

12. Wigtown Wanderers

13. Wimbourne Wasps

Please remember that swapping positions mid-season is not allowed. The only exception is if a captain goes AWOL, as it is understandable a team would not want a new person joining and taking over as their captain. In this instance, a teammate will be elected to be the captain by the team and a new person will take the position of the player who became the captain.

If another member of the team must withdraw, a new player will be required to take that vacant position. There has to be 8 players in a team at all times, whether this is done by having a reserve or teammate substitute for the player for a round, or a permanent replacement is found.

Should the majority of your team go AWOL and you wish to continue writing, we will reach out to you to see if there's any way we can assist. Should we fail to do so, or you wish to have the situation dealt with ASAP, please don't hesitate to message us. This will be dealt with on a case by case basis, as we see fit, and due to this, the fix we offer to one person may not be the fix we offer to another.

Switching Teams

If players wish to switch teams, they can now do so! BUT this will only be allowed under specific circumstances, and will be decided on a case-by-case basis by the mods. You must PM the mods with your reason for wanting to switch teams (this reason shall not be shared with anyone who isn't a part of the mod team), and the mods will evaluate and come to a decision.

Only once the mods reply with confirmation that you may switch teams, can you continue on to the next stage, which is to sign up as a category 2 reserve. At which point, you may join another team who puts in a request for a new permanent player.

There are, of course, some limitations to this. You will not be able to rejoin your old team under a different position. Nor will you be able to act as a reserve for your old team before you take on a permanent role on another team.

Please Note: you may only do this once per season.

Dropping Out

Please ensure you inform your captain if you are unable to continue with the League. This is so that they are able to get a replacement for your position with adequate time for the newest round. If your captain has trouble finding someone or if they are worried/don't know how to proceed, they can always let us know either via Discord or a PM.

If a player has to drop out due to personal reasons, but wishes to return, they may do so provided they rejoin the same team and position. To rejoin the same team with a different position, you must have a minimum of 5 rounds between leaving and rejoining. If a player wishes to return full-time before this time period, then they must return to the same team and position they occupied before leaving.

If a player wishes to leave but remain on the forum, they are more than welcome to sign up as a reserve or to simply use the procrastination threads and cheer on their former team mates.

Positions

NEW: In the QLFC, there are 7 positions in every team. The positions are: Keeper, Seeker, Chaser 1, Chaser 2, Chaser 3, Beater 1, and Beater 2.

Each position will be given a specific task they will need to complete each round, and each position will have special bonus points specific to the position (that is explained further under Position-specific Bonus Points).

Chasers and Beaters, please be aware of whether you are Chaser 1, 2, or 3, or Beater 1 or 2 as each of these positions will be given a separate task and all Chasers and all Beaters will not have to share the same task. However, all Chasers and Beaters will be given a common list of 15 optional prompts to choose from every round.

Captains

NEW: As a response to some issues we came across in s10, we have decided that the captain role will not be its own position, but a responsibility of one of the team members. This means that the captain of a team could be the team's Seeker, Chaser, Keeper, or Beater. By signing up as a captain, you are committing to leading your team throughout the season.

We will be checking in with captains often to see how they are coping with their role, to see if they require any assistance, etc.

A captain's role includes, but is not limited to:

• Encouraging and supporting your team

• Checking in with your team every so often

• Being reachable by both your team and the mods

• Informing your team of all forum opportunities available to them (ie where prizes can be earned, what activities are available, etc.)

• NEW: Ensuring your team understands the forum rules and deadlines, as well as grounds for any potential disqualifications.

NEW: A complete list of captain responsibilities can be found here (remember to remove all of the spaces): [docs.google . com /document/d/1SM1tybkaV512AzkqNLpx1PhS_5n-ORzKb9AbHBkK6uI/edit?usp=share_link]

Should we receive feedback from multiple teammates that their captain is struggling to perform their role adequately, said captain may be asked to step down. In which case, they can either trade positions with a member of their own team or fill a vacant position in another team.

Please note, this will only be a last resort, and we will be doing our best to help any new captains, particularly for the first few rounds.

Changing Rooms

This is the team's personal space on the forum. There is no rule that says you cannot pop into another team's changing room, however, please respect their privacy if they do not wish for you to be there. There are other places on the forum for you to converse with others, who are not on your team, like the general chat, but each changing room belongs to that specific team, and we ask that you agree to their wishes about using it.

The captain should be the one to create the changing room thread, as it is a captain's responsibility to organise their team in the way they wish it to be run. NEW: Captains are to create their changing room ASAP after signing up. This not only includes setting up the changing room on the forum, but also making sure the one on the Discord server is all ready to go and the team members feel welcome and comfortable when the roles have been assigned. They will have 48 hours after becoming captain to create and edit their threads before they are locked. These will be unlocked just before player tryouts open to give captains plenty of time to edit, whilst avoiding chatter taking place before teammates have even fully gathered and had a chance to introduce themselves.

Players from other teams should not post in another team's changing room until that team has had a chance to introduce themselves to each other. This means that teams need to be full and all members need to have posted at least once before you may post in that team's changing room.

Please note that this rule does not apply to mods. We will post in your changing room if you have not done the below formatting correctly, but we will delete the post once the issue has been resolved.

Changing Room titles should have the following format:

[CHANGING ROOM] Team Name (Season 11)

And please ensure that you post your changing room under the correct season category.

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Writing and Submitting Stories

You will be given approximately 12-14 days per round to write your story. Extensions will be granted to those who need it (please see the section on extensions for more info).

Once you have written your story, upload it like you would a normal story on Fanfiction.net, then post the link to the specific thread, using the form that is provided. (To insert a hyperlink, type the title of your story, select the title, then press cmdK or ctrlK and paste the link into the box that comes up).

We do not allow collaborations. Even if you are a player acting as a reserve, you must still write the story yourself. If two players write one story together and submit it, it will be immediately disqualified. However, you are encouraged to beta stories for your teammates. (This means proofreading a story that already exists, or helping to bounce ideas, not writing large sections of that story for the other person).

Please note that all editing should be done prior to submitting a story to the Game Day thread, no matter what the position. Once submitted, that version of a story will be considered as the final copy by the judges. Seekers will not be allowed a slot of time in which to make corrections to errors that may or may not have slipped through after posting to the Game Day thread because speed-writing and publishing a story is the whole point of that position.

Team members should not be writing a story and submitting it from another team member's account on their behalf. If you need a reserve, ask for one, this is exactly what they're there for. Not doing so is considered cheating, and not only is it unsportsmanlike, but if you find yourself doing this, you are taking what is supposed to be a fun fanfiction competition far too seriously.

The deadline is the time that the round will be closed. This is not the last possible second you can submit your story. Therefore, if you submit your story exactly on the deadline, you run the risk of posting after the closing post, in which case, your story will not be accepted, no matter what your reasons may be. We, therefore, strongly recommend that you post your story well in advance.

Story Length, Rating and Content

Story Length

The word count for entries this season is 1000-3000 words. 1 point will be deducted for every 100 words above or below this word limit. A 30-word leeway on either side will be granted to cater to varying writing programs. This is not the max/min word limit. It is there to provide a buffer.

Story Rating and Content

Please note that the maximum rating for stories in this competition is a high T rating (meaning, it can contain minor coarse language, violence, and minor suggestive adult themes, but needs to be suitable for 16-year-olds and under). This is non-negotiable and is taken very seriously. Here are FFN's official ratings, for your convenience.

Please do not mark your story as M rated even if the content can be considered a high T rating "just in case" or "just to be on the safer side" because this will cause it to be considered for disqualification. If your story is part of a collection that is rated M, then each individual story needs to have a rating mentioned in the author's note. We do have allowances for first-time writer mistakes and such, but repeated offences will not be tolerated.

If your story contains potentially triggering content, you must provide warnings in an A/N (story announcements and disclaimers) at the top of your story. No matter how glossed over you feel these triggers are, or if you feel warnings may contain spoilers, you still need to provide warnings. This is in consideration of your judge's and reader's well-being, so just posting these warnings on the Game Day thread post and not within the story itself is not enough.

NEW: Since this has been a big issue in previous seasons, we must highlight that adding warnings to your stories is highly important. We are aware that not everyone participating has experience with forum competitions, so we will grant everyone the first three rounds of getting to know what actually has to end up in your A/N. Forgetting to add trigger warnings during this "testing phase" will only have reprimands and a 1 point deduction as a consequence. From round 4 onward, a story with missing warnings will be disqualified. So, please keep an eye on your A/N.

An exemplary list of disclaimers and trigger warnings has been provided at the following link: https : //docs . google . com/ document /d/1BpYkplfSaLVVg1F jBEL7oJ9cn5dCcSuegxJI-JEwUjs /edit?usp=sharing (don't forget to delete the spaces)This is by no means complete and only acts as examples of what to look out for. If you are unsure about adding a warning, please discuss this with us for clarification, either via PM or on the Discord server.

Crossovers

Please note that since this is a Harry Potter fanfiction competition, we do not allow crossovers under any circumstances. However, whilst your story cannot include specific characters or locations from another fandom, they may be inspired by said fandom.

(E.g. your story may be inspired by the plot of Riverdale, but you cannot include Archie and the gang, or any places characteristic only to Riverdale in the story.)

Story Titles and A/Ns

We do not judge based on either of these. However, we ask that you keep all titles and A/Ns respectful towards others and even towards your own writing. If you are talking about important issues, what you may perceive to be a joke in your title, for example, may not come across as such to someone else.

Likewise, there is no reason for your A/N to contain anything offensive or rude towards the reader or the story or even yourself.

Should your A/N or title be deemed inappropriate and/or offensive, we will take action as we see fit, which may include giving point penalties, warnings, or disqualifying the story. We will decide this on a case-to-case basis.

Your A/N also should not be containing large chunks of information that is relevant to the plot of your story. As we don't mark based on information in your A/N, this needs to be present within the narrative if it's necessary for your story to make sense. The exception being if you are explaining where your inspiration or theme came from, like the emotion tied to a colour or a flower, for example.

Any relevant warnings must be provided in the A/N. However, please do not direct any comments specifically towards your judges. If you need your judge to be aware of something (that is not a content warning) please PM that into the QL account.

Even if a comment is left in the additional section of your feedback table regarding either your A/N or story title, you have not been marked down for it. However, it is something either a judge or a mod wishes to draw your attention to. (This will usually be a suggestion or advice.)

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Disqualifications

Your story can, and will, be disqualified for any of the circumstances listed. These are non-negotiable:

• If it contains M-rated content. Even if you have marked it as T or below, if it contains M-rated content, it will be disqualified. Please see FFN's official ratings to know more. We will be using this as our guideline to determine the rating.

• NEW: Stories that contain potentially triggering content but do not provide adequate warnings in the A/N.

• Stories submitted after the round has been closed and before the thread has been locked. A post will be made stating that stories posted beyond that point will not be accepted.

• Stories that are crossovers, or not marked under Harry Potter OR Fantastic Beasts will be considered for disqualification.

• Stories that are submitted by a team member as a substitute for another position when a reserve has not been requested first will be considered for disqualification. Please see the rules regarding team members substituting for teammates for more info.

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Deadlines

Every thread will operate on the same deadline. We begin to enforce this during the tryouts thread, and it will remain the same throughout the entirety of the season.

NEW: For Season 11, this time is 1pm CST. This is the time zone where the most mods are likely to be available. All countdown timers will be set to this time zone.

This is the time threads are posted and locked. You do not have until the last second to submit your entry.

Extensions

NEW: Usually, each player will be granted 5 extensions for the whole season. However, if season 11 only has 9 teams participating in the League, each player will be granted 3 extensions for the whole season. This means extensions are also included for the finals, if your team makes it. These will be monitored closely throughout the season. You are welcome to use your extensions in whatever rounds that suit you, but please be mindful that if you use all 5, you will not be granted any more for the remainder of the season and any late entries will incur 1 penalty for every 24 hours that it is later than the deadline.

Each extension lasts 48 hours, meaning your extension period ends 48 hours after your entry was originally due. You will only be allowed ONE extension per round.

Please note, as mentioned above, each position will be given 3-5 extensions (depending on the number of teams participating), meaning that if a reserve requests an extension for your position, it will count as an extension used.

If you request an extension, it will be considered used regardless of whether you actually use it or not. So think carefully before requesting one, because it will count.

Your extension MUST be requested before the deadline.

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Reserves

NEW: You can sign up as a reserve judge or a reserve player, just like last season. This season, you may choose to sign up as both a reserve judge and a reserve player. This means that you can offer to help judge any round you did not reserve for (after completing the judging trial provided by the mods). Cat 1 and Cat 2 reserves can sign up as a reserve judge, but if you join a team permanently during the season, you will not have the opportunity to judge anymore.

Using Reserves

In the reserves thread, there is a form for teams to use to apply for a reserve if they need one. A member of a team (does not have to be the captain) must request a reserve using that form.

Reserves will work on a similar basis to player tryouts when responding to team applications for reserves. The first reserve to respond to a request will be immediately granted that position (be it a one-off or permanent). This is to avoid the reserve thread becoming clogged and backed up if the team is waiting for a particular person to respond. In the past, this has caused reserves to no longer want to participate due to never getting a chance to write. With this new system, we hope to eliminate that.

If a player quits the QLFC by giving up their team and position to somebody else then decides to rejoin some time in the same season as a reserve, they will not be allowed to join any team permanently unless it's the same team and position they originally held before they quit. This is to ensure that players don't quit simply to rejoin a different team and position. Eg. Player A quits being Chaser 1 of the Falcons and leaves the competition, and Player B replaces them. Player A then rejoins as a reserve a few rounds later. They can only be a temp reserve and cannot join any team permanently unless Player B quits the competition, and then Player A can go back to their original position as Chaser 1 of the Falcons.

Reserves are not allowed to write for multiple teams or positions in one round.

If a reserve asks for an extension, it will be counted as an extension for that position.

NEW: Each team will be given FOUR reserve opportunities throughout the season, which will be monitored carefully.

Reserves can now receive bonus points, but not players acting as reserves. These will be the same bonuses as if the reserve were a regular player.

NEW: Reserve requests can be made after the original deadline.

Reserves for Seekers

There have been issues where a team member would fill in for their AWOL seeker at the start of a round without first seeking or waiting for a reserve, then consequently posting their entry first and preventing the opposition from gaining the bonus points.

This will NOT be tolerated, and any Seeker entries being posted by a team member without the team first requesting and waiting for a reserve to respond for 48 hours will NOT be accepted. The same rules will apply for requesting a reserve for the Seeker position as it does with others (refer above).

Team members substituting for their teammates

This option will still be open to team members, however, they MUST actively seek a reserve in the reserve thread first. If nobody responds to that request in 48 hours, somebody in that team will be able to fill in for another position. This applies even if the request for a reserve was super last-minute and the round closes in a few hours. So please request a reserve ahead of time if you can't get a hold on a teammate, or know you are going to need a temporary replacement.

An entry written by another team member before requesting a reserve will not be accepted.

Like reserves, each team member cannot substitute for more than one player per round.

Whilst reserves can now earn bonus points, players acting as reserves cannot.

NEW: Reserve requests can be made after the original deadline.

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Rounds and Finals

The teams that have the highest points once all results for the initial rounds are out will make their way to the finals. The number of teams making it into finals will be announced once we know how many teams are entering the League this season.

The number of regular rounds and final rounds will be determined based on the number of teams that are in the season. For e.g., if only 9 of the 13 teams play in Season 8, then there will only be 9 rounds and the top 4 will go forward to the finals.

There will be a few changes for the finals compared to the regular rounds – the rules will be a bit stricter, as these are the finals!

• Extra extensions will not be granted for the finals. For the teams who make the finals, this will be carried over from the regular rounds, so use wisely.

• After the top teams are finalised, teams must PM The Quidditch League with their finalised team.

• Teams will not be permitted to use reserves or team members writing for multiple positions during these rounds. We may make allowances based on our judgement of the situation, but once a team has been finalised and positions have been added, if an entry is missed, they will not be able to have someone else write.

Ties

In the event of a tie (in which two opposing teams score the same amount of total points in a round; for example, both teams earn 112 points), the bonus points of 150 for winning a round will be split in half. Both teams will receive 75 points.

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Judges and Judging Rubric

NEW: There will be a minimum of 7 judges total, some of which will be the mods, who take the time each round to score your stories. Each judge will be allocated a position every round (these will remain anonymous to players), and they will score every entry submitted for that position. Judges are rotated each round, so you are unlikely to receive the same judge twice in a row. This is in order to provide multiple perspectives on your writing, whilst still ensuring that all entries are scored fairly.

We have changed the rubric this season to ensure that it is less characterisation-heavy, and more well-rounded. We have reduced the number of points you receive for characterisation to 2, and added in a creativity/originality section. The forum is aimed towards helping players to improve their writing, and so you may wish to try something new with your story to receive concrit on that writing style/technique, etc. Regardless of whether or not the idea works out as you intended, we do still think players deserve recognition for thinking outside of the box.

The new rubric will be:

Score: /10

• Prompt: /2

• Characterisation: /2

• Plot: /2

• Flow: /2

• Character/Pairing Interaction /1

• Creativity/Originality /1

• Fouls: (max -2.5)

We have also provided a breakdown of each of the rubric sections in the following document:

docs.google.com/document/d/1-TcHOOX0WEXzvkgeYbx0rvK_6nV5AIhJ1bZqSwQZxjo/edit?usp=sharing

Another part of the rubric that doesn't award points, but, rather, involves negative marking is the Foul Deductions. A foul can be classed as anything from spelling, punctuation, and grammar (SPaG) errors to word counts exceeding or failing to meet the 1000-3000 limit.

A quarter point (.25) will be deducted per type of error. For e.g., a quarter point will be taken off for comma splices, and another quarter point will be taken off for a spelling error. If there are too many instances of the same error, more than a quarter point may be taken off, based on the number of repeated errors. If an error is repeated too many times, this deduction may come from flow instead. A list of errors with an example from where such an error occurred in the story will be provided in the feedback.

As for not meeting the word count, 1 point will be taken off for every 100 words that it is above or below the count. The leeway is exactly 30 words either way. We are not nit-picking by enforcing it, even if it's just one word above or below the lee-way, as the cut-off needs to be somewhere. The lee-way is not an extension of your word-count, more a buffer should your word processor calculate the total differently.

There is a cap of -2.5 from this section. Fouls do not include late penalties, but do include word count penalties and missing warnings.

Each entry will be awarded a score out of 10, regardless of reserves and other fill-ins. This is the standard scoring for all entries.

(Beaters and Chasers, please note that, like last season, optional prompts will be a separate part of the Rubric and information on this can be found under Optional Prompts.)

Judges' Picks

NEW: Due to the workload judges had to undertake last season and concerns from players, we have changed the way JPs will work this season. Instead of judges nominating stories, each team will nominate one teammate's story each round to be placed in a new section of the Prophet: The QLFC Book Club. There, players can read and review the stories nominated by each team. Each team member should have a story nominated at least once during the season. This should be monitored by the captain. The mods will step in if the same teammate has been nominated too many times.

Captains, you will have until Thursday after the round ends to PM the mod account with your team's nomination for that round. Nominations should be discussed by the whole team, unless the captain cannot get in touch with you. In that case, the captain is responsible for choosing the nomination. If the captain is unavailable to send in the nomination, another teammate can do so.

The 5 points will still be awarded, but instead of being awarded to the story who receives the most votes, it will be awarded to the team who collectively reviews the most stories in a roughly 2 week period. (Individual deadlines will be posted with the list of stories.)

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Bonus Points for Optional Prompts

Chasers and Beaters have the option to use bonus prompts where both receive up to THREE points for each prompt. Also, please remember that prompts need to be listed in the author's note of a story so judges can check to make sure all prompts have been used. If prompts are not mentioned, judges will not know what prompts have been used and they will not be considered valid.

Please see below for how optional prompts will be graded.

Prompts are marked based on how well they are used within the story. Please see below for some guidelines.

0/3 - not used but mentioned in the a/n

1/3 - used - it's featured in the story, but not overly relevant to the plot*

2/3 - used well - it features heavily in the story, influences the plot in some way, etc.

3/3 - used very well - very influential to the plot, the story wouldn't be the same had this prompt not been included, your judge cannot see how you could possibly have used it better

The judges may also award points in increments of .25 or .5 based on how well they were used.

*For something to be relevant to the plot, it does not mean that the word prompt (for e.g.) is repeated constantly throughout. If anything, this detracts from flow and points may be deducted for that. Please refer to the section below, on how to use optional prompts, for more info.

In order for players to understand how judges determine whether the prompt was used well or not, we have provided an explanation below on how to use the possible kinds of optional prompts that may appear to maximise bonus points received.

As a general rule of thumb, as long as the prompt plays a meaningful part in the story and isn't used in a throwaway manner, judges will award it a full 3/3. Please also note that any prompts that show up in rounds but are not in the list will work on this same basic principle.

Please remember that these are bonus points so there is no way for you to lose points here. 3 is simply the maximum number of points you can earn in each section, so please do not assume that not getting 3/3 means that you lost points because you didn't since anything you receive in this section is a bonus that is added to your total score, similar to how the other positions' special bonuses work.

Restriction - Your judge may deduct if they feel that (for example) phrasing was a little off due to the usage of a restriction prompt. Eg. [(restriction) No using names] can lead to the story becoming confusing if there are too many male characters and the judge can't figure out who the pronoun [he] refers to.

Word Count - Similarly to the restriction prompt, your judge may deduct if they feel that adhering to the given word count hindered the flow of the story (for example). Please note, this is an exact word count, and so we recommend using Google Docs to check this, as it is a resource available to everyone.

Quote - The exact quote does not need to be within the story; it can be paraphrased, or only included as an epigraph, or the story can be inspired by it, as long as the meaning is identifiable and plays an important role in the story.

Song/Lyrics - As with the quote prompts, this does not need to be included within your story. (In fact, we would strongly recommend against doing so, as including too much of a song — 'too much' being any more than you would use in an epigraph — is against FFNs rules, and your story may get reported.) However, it should still be obvious that your story has gained inspiration from the song or lyric. Eg. If the song is 'Perfect' by Ed Sheeran, then the story would need to be inspired by the lyrics of someone who is close to perfect or such. It should also be obvious where you have gotten your inspiration from. Using an obscure reference to the song, whilst we're sure you put a lot of effort into it, is not likely to be picked up on by the judges.

Dialogue - This needs to be exact; the only exception is that pronouns and tenses can be changed. Full points will also be awarded if the essence of the dialogue can be seen throughout the story. E.g. "This is the biggest betrayal of all time." may be the dialogue prompt, but if your story explores how the character feels this way throughout the story, and its essence goes beyond just one or two instances of the dialogue being used, the judge is likely to award it higher points.

Location - Whilst the entire story does not need to be set here, it does need to be the main setting for your story and play a prominent role.

Character/Pairing - Similarly to location, this does not need to be your main character or pairing, but they do need to play a prominent role. Your judge may deduct if they felt any of these characters were OOC.

Word - Just including the word somewhere in your story is enough to have it marked as used, however this is very unlikely to gain you full points. For higher scores, the word should be obvious, relevant in context, play a prominent role in the story, and influence the plot in some way, similar to how the usage of dialogue prompts has been explained above. E.g. If the word is [stuttering], having a character that stutters either generally or in certain situations will go beyond just the word and make it more meaningful in its usage. Unless otherwise specified, the tense can be changed and the part of speech can be interpreted however you wish.

Object - As with word prompts, just including the object will not be enough to gain full marks. For higher scores, the object should be obvious, relevant in context, play a prominent role in the story, and influence the plot in some way, similar to how the usage of dialogue prompts has been explained above. Please note that the object itself must feature. This is not a word prompt.

Emotion - To get full marks for this, the emotion should be a focus of your story and prominent in a character. It can also be a theme in the story but has to be obvious without having to actually point it out within the story (e.g. just stating that characters are upset would not be enough for full points, you would also need to show this, similar to how the usage of dialogue prompts has been explained above).

Animal/Creature - This is similar to word, object, location, character/pairing prompts. Just including the animal will not be enough to gain full marks. For higher scores, the animal should be obvious, relevant in context, play a prominent role in the story, and influence the plot in some way, similar to how the usage of dialogue prompts has been explained above. The animal/creature itself must feature. This is not a word prompt.

Colour - Just including the colour will not be enough to get you full marks; as with word prompts, you need to look a little deeper. Try to make the colour particularly relevant to your story in some way, similar to how the usage of dialogue prompts has been explained above.. Eg. A character who is colour blind seeing colour or colours reflecting emotion, etc. You can also look into the meaning of the colour, but if you do this we would recommend a brief a/n just to clarify which meaning you have used, not stating how it has been used.

Book - With this, please do not use direct quotes from the book itself (unless as an actual quote with a source) as this can be considered plagiarism and lead to serious consequences. Using themes from within the book, having the actual book itself within the story and play a prominent role, having a character reference the book, etc. are some ways of going about this. As with all the above, just mentioning the book will not be enough to gain full marks. For higher scores, the book/reference to the book should be obvious, relevant in context, play a prominent role in the story, and influence the plot in some way, similar to how the usage of dialogue prompts has been explained above. (Please don't use locations or characters or any such thing from the book that could make your story a crossover.)

Movie - Using famous character quotes from the movie is allowed, as long as it fits within the characterisation and context and doesn't seem forced. Themes from the movie, songs, interpretations of scenes, etc. can be used to fulfil the prompt. Again, it's just about how well it was used. (Please don't use locations or characters or any such thing from the movie that could make your story a crossover.)

Tv Show - Using famous character quotes from the show is allowed, as long as it fits within the characterisation and context and doesn't seem forced. Themes from the show, songs, interpretations of scenes, etc. can be used to fulfil the prompt. Again, it's just about how well it was used. (Please don't use locations or characters or any such thing from the show that could make your story a crossover.)

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Scores & Feedback

Scores and Feedback will be provided to players who signed up at the beginning and said yes to receiving that feedback. NEW: Any player who has signed up for feedback will be able to choose up to four of their submissions to receive feedback on, which will be indicated in their post when they submit to a round. This number includes final rounds. The rest of the time, scores will be inserted into their feedback doc. If you did not opt for scores or feedback, you will receive neither. This change is because the judging workload fell heavily on a small portion of judges last season, which is something we would like to avoid in interest of keeping the competition running smoothly.

To avoid PMs or people wondering about their scores, a Doc that is accessible only to the player and the mods (and to whoever else the player chooses to share it with at their own discretion*) will be set up where your score and feedback is kept and will work in such a way:

• If you wish to receive feedback and/or scores, you must PM us using the form provided (this can be found on the tryouts and reserve threads).

• Only YOU will have access to this (along with the mods) and whoever else you choose to share it with. Please note: the mod who shares the Doc will only share with you, so anyone else who has access to your feedback will be at your discretion.

• Judges will provide feedback in a separate folder, where it will be stored until scores are released. Once scores are released on the forum, the mods will copy over the feedback into your personal Doc. NEW: Please allow at least 48 hours for feedback to be copied over.

• It is compulsory for judges to leave feedback for those who request it but players will only be able to request feedback four times for the whole season (including finals). They will be using a set template that you will see when you gain access to the Doc.

• Reserves may opt into receiving feedback. We will set up docs for individual reserves as and when they are needed, but reserves must PM us every round they wish to receive feedback for, including which team and position they reserved for, and whether or not they have an existing feedback doc. NEW: Reserves will also be held to the limit of four feedback opportunities.

Some things to consider

• If you do not wish to receive feedback for a particular round, then simply ignore it or delete it.
• If you no longer wish to receive feedback permanently, please let a moderator know and they will remove you from the list and the Doc will no longer be updated.
• If you wish to receive feedback halfway through the season, but opted for no at the beginning you may PM the Quidditch League account to have a Doc set up for you. Please note that depending on when you request, you may not begin to receive feedback until the following round, and not the current round.
• To protect players and judges, judging will be completely anonymous. If you have any concerns regarding your feedback, please contact The Quidditch League account where a mod will be happy to discuss it with you.
• Please do not leave comments within the doc itself as we will not be responding to any of them, even if we see them, unless concerns are PMd to the mod account.

*If you have opted to connect your doc to your email address, please PM the QL account with the addresses of those you would like added, as Google has a tendency to flag these people and block their access. This message must come from you and not your captain or teammate.

**NEW: Please note that we will only be considering score changes and appeals if you believe that it will change the outcome of your match. If your judge has been inappropriate in the feedback, please bring that to our attention! We will address that and rescore where necessary.

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Special Points

Each position is able to receive special points for their team each round. Please read this section carefully to know exactly what your position involves.

Captain

The captain receives double points for their score. For example, if a captain scores an 8, then their score will move to 16. NEW: This is still true this season but will not interfere with the positions' special points. For example, if the Keeper is the captain, they will receive the captain bonus, but only their original score (before the captain bonus) will be deducted from the opposing team.

Keeper

It is the Keeper's job to try and stop the other team from getting points. Therefore, their score is taken away from the other team's overall score.

Seeker

The Seeker that is the fastest among the two teams going head-to-head that round will receive a bonus 5 points.

Seeker entries below the min word leeway (even if it's just a few words below; the leeway is there for a reason!) will not be eligible for bonus points and cannot block their opponent's seeker bonus, but their story will still be accepted.

Chasers

Each Chaser has the opportunity to use 3/15 optional prompts provided each round. No Chasers on the same team can use any of the same prompts, and therefore, a total of 9 of the 15 should be used. Each prompt is worth up to THREE bonus points, so together, the Chasers have the chance to gain a bonus 27 points for their team each round.

Beaters

The Beaters also have the opportunity to use the same optional prompts as Chasers. Beaters are able to use up to FIVE prompts between them (this does not have to be split 3-2. It can also be 4-1 or 5-0. Whatever the team feel suits them best). Like chasers, beaters are not allowed to use the same prompts as the other beater on their team. They can, however, use the same prompts as their chasers.

Chasers and Beaters will receive UP TO 3 points per prompt based on how they have used it. (See bonus points for optional prompts section.)

In the Beaters' case, what they have earned for a prompt will be deducted from the other team.

Your prompt choice will not affect the other team's bonuses, as you are now being scored on how well you use each prompt rather than on which prompts you chose. This is to ensure that all bonus points are awarded based on skill rather than luck.

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Questions and Concerns

To avoid any unnecessary arguments on the forum, you can voice your concerns about a score, another member of the forum, or other varying concerns you may have by sending in a PM to the mod account.

Basic Guidelines:

• All concerns, complaints and problems are to be PM-d to The Quidditch League.

• Anyone involved in QLFC, be it a player, a judge, a reserve, or any other member can write to The Quidditch League regarding their concerns. (List of viable concerns that are addressed are mentioned below.)

• Specific concerns are to be mentioned in the subject line of the message. Eg., Judging and Feedback, as well as your team and position.

• We request that everybody word their concerns in a manner that is open to discussion and is not abusive or attacks any specific individual in any way, regardless of whether or not you believe they will see your message. We promise that we shall dutifully reply in the same manner.

• All abusive, crude, and angry messages that insult, target or attack any specific individual will not be tolerated and will be ignored. All concerns will be addressed with due diligence and with the same level of importance, hence we request your cooperation in keeping the discussion civil from beginning to end, as we will be doing the same.

• With so many people involved in the forum, we will not always be able to respond to the situation in the way you desire. (E.g if you were to ask a yes/no question, the answer is not always going to be yes.) We do not take pleasure in denying things to you, but we are not able to grant everyone's desires, as there are many factors we need to take into account, including but not limited to impartiality and considering the best interests of the entire forum. That is no reason to cease being civil with us. If you require further clarification, we will provide it, but we will not respond to angry messages.

• Please be patient. The mods will not always be available to respond immediately to a concern because we all belong to different time zones and may be asleep/at work or school when the message is sent in. It may take a few hours to a day for us to get back to you, depending on the nature of the concern. Please do not send multiple PMs if this is the case. If we are online but unable to respond immediately, we will try to send a short message to let you know that we have received it and will get back to you as soon as we can. After 48 hours, and you still have not heard a response, please only then send a reminder PM.

• Under no circumstances should you PM a mod via their personal accounts about any QL related issues, no matter how trivial you believe it to be.

We will respond to

• • ---

    Concerns regarding scores and feedback.

  • Concerns regarding lateness in posting of scores or sharing feedback.

  • Concerns regarding particular players, reserves, or other forum members.

  • Concerns regarding content in The Daily Prophet or its posting schedule.

  • Concerns regarding lack of clarity with anything QLFC-related.

  • Concerns regarding reserves, for either judges or players.

  • Concerns regarding activities related to bonus-points like the Judges Picks, etc.

  • Concerns regarding positions, permanent replacements, MIA members, changing rooms, etc.

  • Concerns regarding anything not listed above that is related to the League.

  • NEW: Concerns regarding scores and feedback if there is reason to believe they will impact the outcome of a match.

We will NOT respond to PMs concerning

• • ---

    Anything and everything personal, if it does not affect your participation in the QLFC.

  • Bullying will not be tolerated.

  • Any disagreements with how judging is undertaken. Over the past 7 seasons, we have altered and changed judging as necessary based on player feedback and have thus established a new format for this season. Although we understand it may not suit everyone, the same format will be used throughout season 8 and changes will be made for future seasons. If you have specific concerns with the content of your feedback, we will gladly address those as necessary.

  • Anything that is not QLFC-related.

  • Anything that is not related to Harry Potter.

  • Anything that is not worded in a calm, collected and civil manner. Flames will be treated as they should be.

  • NEW: Anything asking for personal details about other players.

All PMs must be sent in the following format

• Subject line: Specific concern, (E.g. Judging and Feedback)
• Body:
  • Concern raised by: [username] [team] [position]
  • Concern (e.g. There are some areas in the feedback that I would like to discuss.)
  • Additional information (elaborate on above)
  • It is mandatory to mention your team and position in your PM. Without this, we will not be addressing your queries as it becomes difficult for us to keep track of who is who.
  • We also ask that you start a new PM chain for subsequent concerns you may have in future rounds. This is to ensure that the PM title remains relevant, and it is easy for us to find in the inbox.
  • If you feel your concern does not match any of the above criteria, please send your concern in a civil manner and we will respond as soon as we can.
  • We ask that you wait a minimum of 24 hours before sending in a complaint about feedback. This is because, due to the new feedback method we introduced some time ago, we have found that messages come in whilst we are still sending feedback out. This only serves to increase the amount of time the rest of the players have to wait to receive theirs.
  • Players have up to 48 hours after feedback is out to send in their concerns, after which we won't be making any score changes. Judges judge up to 12 stories every round and are very unlikely to remember exactly what a certain player is referring to when the next round's judging has already commenced.
  • We will also not be responding to complaints or clarification requests on feedback for a round once the following round's feedback has been sent out. No changes will be made to scores if the complaint is sent once the next round's judging has commenced.
  • We also ask that you do not open your doc immediately after scores are posted and wait for feedback, as this causes a lag. We will post an announcement when all feedback is out, so please subscribe to the Announcements and Important Updates thread.

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Feedback Concerns

Should you have any concerns about your feedback, please send in a polite message briefly describing what the issue is. In most cases, this will just require a simple clarification from us. However, we do look into all concerns very carefully, and just because you disagree with the concrit does not mean we are required to return points. We look at both the feedback provided and your story, and return points where we see fit.

NEW: We will only consider concerns that may affect the outcome of a match.

However, if you find that you need to send in multiple paragraphs to explain why a decision was made in your story, and this information was not provided anywhere in the narrative of the story itself, this is not a good sign. Judges can only mark based on what is provided within the narrative, and whilst something might make more sense to us once you have explained it in more detail in your PM, that does not change the fact that this information needed to be included within the story itself. (A/Ns are also not the place for this kind of information.)

In the event that you find yourself messaging in about similar concerns each round, we would like to remind you that your feedback will have come from multiple judges. We do not check past feedback when scoring your current story, so it is most likely that multiple judges are just picking up on the same issue in your writing. You are, however, welcome to choose which points of concrit you do and do not want to consider and can simply ignore what you disagree with.

As teams scores are rounded, we do not return anything below 1 point, as it doesn't affect overall scores.

You will have 48 hours after feedback has been sent out to message in and request a score change. No score changes will be made if requests are sent after these 48 hours are up, but as long as you send the score change request within 48 hours, even if we do not respond immediately, your request will still be considered as valid.

You can still send in any other queries you have regarding feedback or any other clarifications you may need before the next round has ended. This is so that, although judges and mods will move onto the next round once feedback is out, we still want to provide players with an opportunity to send in queries. This includes, but is not limited to:

• Missing feedback
• Unclear concrit, or concrit you do not fully understand
• Irrelevant, unnecessary, or incorrect concrit

Any changes to the Draw and Ladder will all be made after these 48 hours are up.

We also ask that you remain respectful towards your anonymous judge. They are taking the time and effort to score your stories every round, and this is no easy feat. Yes, they may make mistakes, we all do. That is absolutely no reason to be rude to or about them, regardless of whether or not you believe they will see your message. If you find that a technical error has wrongly been corrected by the judge, please send in the correction, in a polite manner, and we will pass it on to the judge because it will be a worthwhile learning for them as well.

And, on a similar note, there is no need for your messages to the mods to turn rude and/or disrespectful if we do not agree with you as we have extended debates and discussions regarding the story and the concrit between the four of us before we reach a decision, even if it is not one you want to hear.

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Polls

All important polls will now take place off the forum. If the poll is available to the entire forum, you will need to PM us for a link. If the poll is aimed at a specific group of players (i.e. captains), then we will PM you the link.

We will be keeping track of how many votes we receive, and comparing this with how many links were sent out. If there are more votes than there were links distributed, the results of the poll will be void and the mods will choose the poll option they feel will work best.

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Warning System

Although we will try our best to accommodate everyone, there will be times where a decision will not always suit the interests of everyone involved. Please be mindful that with a large number of participants each season, with differing opinions and personalities, it is impossible for everyone to agree unanimously on everything we do. In times like this, we will accommodate the majority, or a particular target of participants a decision will affect more than others.

We also would like you to understand that we, as moderators, are like everybody else. We go to school/uni, have jobs, families, need sleep, and have activities outside of Quidditch League, which means we will not always be available to respond to issues or questions immediately. We hope that with the varying time zones between all 4 of us, there will be someone around the majority of the time, but if we are not, we are more than happy for another member to respond to a question that can be answered by anybody, if asked on the Game Day or Q&A threads. Please remember that we will not be tolerating any bullying directed at anybody, and any public abuse or shaming will not be tolerated.

NEW: Unfortunately, because we had issues on the Discord server last season, we will be more strictly enforcing the warning system. Please, please treat everyone with the kindness and respect that you would expect from them in return. Disagreements happen, but insults and bullying will NOT be tolerated.

If there is a comment/post/conversation that makes you uncomfortable, inform a mod. We will review the situation. It will only result in a warning if we determine that it is a misconduct.

Although we hope to never have to use it, due to past experiences, we have introduced a warning system for any misconduct on the forum. It is as follows:

Level 1 Misconduct: You will receive a warning via The QL account.

Level 2 Misconduct: You will be banned from participating in the next round. You will receive this after 2 warnings from Level 1.

Level 3 Misconduct: You will be banned from the Quidditch League for the rest of the current season and the next, at the very least based on a serious offence (effective immediately) or another offence on level 2.

Please note that misconduct considered serious enough may result in an immediate ban without prior warnings.

NEW: If a captain engages in misconduct, they will receive ONE warning. A second offense will result in them being asked to step down as captain. Captains should make their team a safe space for all members, no exceptions.

What is considered a misconduct?

• Harassing other members of the forum, including mods.

• Entering another team's changing room after being asked to leave.

• Showing poor sportsmanship toward other members and teams (eg. teasing about poor scores/a loss, claiming another team/player didn't deserve their win/JP, etc).

• Spamming changing rooms, especially to increase the post count.

• NEW: Continuing an argument/conversation/debate after a mod has asked the participants to stop. Posting after a mod has stepped in to review the situation will be considered harassment.
• NEW: Writing hateful/disrespectful comments about someone's religion/political views/etc.

*Please note* an issue that arises that is not listed here may also be treated as a misconduct if serious enough and will vary on a case-to-case basis.

What is considered a serious misconduct? (this may result in an immediate ban)

• Any form of cheating.

• Purposely leaving hateful and abusive PMs or reviews for other members on the forum.

• Public abuse directed at another member of the forum, including mods and judges.

• Bullying of any kind.

Please remember, if you have any concerns, to address them to The Quidditch League and not on this forum, and under no circumstances should you be messaging the other player/s involved privately, as this can lead to unnecessary arguments despite your intentions.

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The Daily Prophet

The Daily Prophet is the Quidditch League's official 'newspaper'. It is a fun addition to the regular rounds and is where you can learn about your fellow teams, earn points in mini competitions (usually 5 points), send in messages of support for your fellow forum members, advertise other Harry Potter FanFiction forums, communities, and work, and gain some valuable writing tips. It is entirely up to you whether or not you choose to view this (but we can promise you won't regret it if you do!).

We keep the Prophet entirely on the forum (so no links to other sites), and all articles (with the exception of forum member interviews) are kept at 500 words and below. This is to ensure everyone who wishes to has access to the Prophet, and that it's fairly easy to read.

NEW: A list of definitions and explanations for each section can also be found on the Discord server for convenience.

Content will be different each round, so just because one week we have an interview (for e.g), doesn't mean there will be one every issue!

Apart from competitions and interviews, there are also other fun activities or reports you can spend time participating in or just scrolling through. The things included in the Prophet may change from season to season according to what everyone enjoyed. Short explanations will be given if said activities require them.

With the exception of interviews, any forum member is more than welcome to submit their own articles for prophet. In doing so, you are not signing up to write for prophet every issue, or even ever again, but you can do so if you wish.

Rules For Articles

• ---

  Please keep your article under 500 words.

• Please be respectful (no claiming one team is better than another, for e.g).

• No interviews (I know they can be fun, but we'd like to keep those run by the mods, to avoid any potential team bias).

• Please get someone to read over your article before you submit it (we will offer beta'ing, but if we can't understand your article, it's very unlikely to be featured).

• PM your articles to the QL account.

• If you choose to submit a competition, please note that you will be unable to enter it yourself.

Please title your PM Prophet Article [Article Topic: Article Name] and use the following form:

Username: (If you wish to remain anonymous, let us know, and we'll also remove your nickname and team, but we do need your team name with your entry)

Nickname: (opt.)

Team:

Position:

Link: (GDocs only, to keep formatting, and please remember to include spaces)

Is your article time sensitive?: (If yes, please let us know when it needs to be featured by; this will most likely come into effect for birthday/congratulatory shoutouts)

(The same form may also be used for shoutouts, and to submit your own ads!)

Types of Articles

This is merely a guideline, should you want some ideas. You are more than welcome to come up with your own type of article, and, should we love the idea, it might even be added to this list!

• Shoutouts (these are just brief messages for anyone on the forum)

• Story Recs (we ask that you provide a brief explanation of why you've chosen this story; these must be stories published to FFN)

• Top-Five (these can be your top-five anything, so feel free to think outside the box! though we ask that you keep these HP related)

• Tips & Tricks (these are writing advice articles; we ask that you fact check these before submitting, and we will double check before posting)

• Competitions (these must be on FFN, and preferably writing or review-based — no winners will be chosen based solely on random selection; please note you and your team will be unable to enter competitions you have submitted)

• Any random article about anything in the wizarding world/Potterverse (see previous issues of the Daily Prophet for ideas).

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Extenuating Circumstances

In some compelling situations, we, the moderators, are willing to bend the rules in order to accommodate players' needs. In the end, the purpose of this forum is to provide a platform for people around the world to engage in positive interactions with others who have shared interests and find a safe haven to turn to, away from real life. We, therefore, will do our utmost to be understanding of the players and make decisions based on what we think would be the best for everyone involved. However, in order to do this, we request that you come to us with your concerns so that we know to help you, as we cannot help you if we do not know you need help. You will need to message in before the relevant deadline or the round has closed, and should attempt to avoid doing so last minute.

Some examples of extenuating circumstances where we will be willing to bend the rules include:

• If a player has met with an accident,

• If a player is undergoing surgery or is hospitalised with a serious injury or illness,

• If a player is abandoned by their team and is the only active member,

• If the team captain disappears,

• NEW: If FFN is acting up, etc.

If you have an ongoing issue that requires action on our part but does not affect your writing times (e.g. being unable to read your feedback doc) please let us know about this ASAP so that we can discuss how we can help you.

At times, we do give slight extensions to the round. Please remember that this is only ever done in extreme circumstances, and should not be your fallback when asking for an allowance. Rather, we suggest you look for a reserve should you find yourself unable to meet the deadline.

Please remember that the ultimate decision on whether or not an allowance will be made is down to us. Just messaging in does not guarantee you an exception, as there are multiple factors we must consider.

And, should we feel a team is abusing this policy, we are entitled to deny further requests, even should they be in regards to an entirely different issue.

If you find you need to request an allowance be made either for yourself or another team member multiple times, please consider requesting a permanent reserve, as real life should always come before a fanfiction competition.

The mods are aware that FFN has technical issues from time to time that make posting difficult. In severe cases like this, we will allow submissions from Archive Of Our Own. The mods will make a post in the Announcements thread when it is acceptable to do so. This has come up in the past already and has worked well in onerous circumstances. However, if there is another reason why you are unable to post to FFN, please PM the mod account and we will determine if an AO3 submission is permissible. If the PM system is acting up, contact us via Discord. Without such a message beforehand, the story will not be accepted. All of the normal forum and story rules apply to the AO3-uploaded stories, without exceptions.

NEW: Please keep in mind that the mods do not share the personal information or extenuating circumstances of other players. You may bring concerns to us, but we will not respond to PMs asking for details about allowances made for certain players. If an allowance has been made for a player, it is because they went through the proper channels and spoke to us.

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Procrastination Threads

Each procrastination thread will have its own rules listed. These will differ for each thread. Please make sure you read them before entering.

If there is something you would like to see done on a procrastination thread (either existing or otherwise) please PM us and we'll see what we can do :)

Please Remember: The procrastination threads are not compulsory; they exist for additional inspiration when needed, and so that reserves, judges, mods, and BYE teams can take an active role on the forum :)

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