Harry Potter Wiki:House points

House points are given out on Harry Potter Wiki as part of an opt-in House Points Game.

Joining
Only people who have signed up for the game may be given points. This is so that people may casually edit Harry Potter Wiki without feeling that they have to become involved in a competition.

To sign up, choose which Hogwarts House you would like to join, then add your name to the Participant list. You may only be a member of one House for the purposes of this game — if you have more than one account, those which participate in the game must all be in the same House, and any points earned by your alternate accounts will be given to your main one. Please add a userbox for your in-game House to your userpage(s) to make it easier for Prefects to identify where your points should go.

Who gives out points?
Points can be awarded or deducted by users who have been selected to be Prefects. See the Prefects section for more information on Prefects and the role that they play in this game.

How are points determined?
Prefects monitor work done by players in the game. They are free to award points whenever they feel an editor has done something that deserves recognition, but must do so in an unbiased, transparent manner (see the Prefects' Code of Conduct). Points should generally be given for recent actions, but may also be awarded retroactively, if the past work warrants special consideration. Prefects are allowed to award or deduct points from other Prefects unlike in the books.

Points can be awarded to individual editors for independent work and to groups of editors for working on a single task. As to how points should be distributed between multiple editors, if two Ravenclaws and a Gryffindor are given 35 points each for working on a task together, then Ravenclaw House should be given 70 points and Gryffindor House 35.

On the other hand, points can only be deducted from individuals, and only for conduct relating to the game (e.g., cheating). Policy violations like vandalism and personal attacks are usually dealt with through blocking.

Points guidelines for new articles
Article creation is currently the most common reason points are given. Prefects may monitor recently-created articles using Special:NewPages, and while there is no strict standard to follow as to how to give points, this is a general guideline:


 * 5 points for stubs that are only one or two sentences long (e.g., Dufftown, Frog brain, Leaping toadstool)
 * 10-20 points for articles approximately one to five paragraphs long (e.g., Brazilian pen-friend, Hair-thickening Charm, Ron Weasley's sweetheart necklace, Two-way mirror)
 * 20-50 points for articles with several lengthy sections (e.g., Death or Wedding of Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour)

Where do I record points?
Every time you give or take House points, you should record it on the Log, and then adjust the totals on the Hourglass. Don't forget to owl the person you've awarded or deducted points from to let them know the news.

House Cup
The House which earns the most points every term will win the House Cup. A term typically lasts three months, but may be extended, in the event of a tie or if there has been been a lack of point accumulation due to inactivity.

The game is currently on hiatus for the summer, with a new term beginning on September 15, 2009.

Past winners

 * April-July 2009 term: Gryffindor

For everyone

 * No cheating: Do not attempt to earn points through underhanded means.
 * No put downs: Name-calling and malicious criticism are unacceptable. Also consider whether attempts to show House pride may unintentionally come across as disparaging toward the other Houses.
 * No badgering: You may ask users to join the game and encourage members of your House to work toward a goal. But do not pressure them if they decline or ignore your initial request.
 * No copying: You should not take text directly from a copyrighted source and claim it as your own work. This does not apply to public domain or freely-licensed text like that found on Wikipedia. However, more points will be awarded for originality, so use your own words instead of cutting-and-pasting things from another site.
 * No flooding: Do not create a bunch of hastily-written articles in the hope that Prefects will value quantity over quality.

For Prefects
There are a number of rules which Prefects must follow when giving or taking House points. Any violation of these rules will result in removal from one's position as a Prefect.


 * No self-awarding: Do not award points to yourself under any account you use.
 * No collusion: Do not agree to award points to another Prefect in exchange for them awarding points to you.
 * No pettiness: Do not dock points simply because someone has upset you personally. If you feel you are unable to judge a situation objectively, then ask a second, uninvolved Prefect to look into it for you.
 * No favoritism: Do not discriminate against other Houses by preferentially awarding points to your own. This does not mean that you are never allowed to award points to members of your own House.
 * No personal whims: Points should be awarded based on good work. Do not give points for arbitrary reasons like "I love your username!" or "Luna is my favorite character too!"

Role
Prefects are expected to set a positive example. When giving or taking points, they must follow the Prefects' Code of Conduct, and must remember to go through the necessary point-logging procedures. They should also be helpful and courteous, not just to members of their own House, but to the Harry Potter Wiki community as a whole.

Prefects should check their Common Room on a regular basis. They should answer questions posted there to the best of their ability and should use the page as a place to organize work on collaborative tasks.

Eligibility
Users who have made over 500 edits and are regularly active on the Wiki are eligible to become Prefects. However, preference will be given to those who have received a Prefect award, meaning that if two candidates with roughly the same number of edits step forward, one has has received a Prefect award and one who has not, the one who has receive the award will be made a Prefect. Gender does not play a role in the selection of Prefects as it does in the books.

There can be up to two Prefects for each of the four Houses. However, it is acceptable for a House to have only one Prefect at a time, if there is no editor eligible or willing to fill the second opening.

Gryffindor

 * 1) Hellabore
 * 2) Cubs Fan2007

Hufflepuff

 * 1) Jayden Matthews
 * 2) Profiteor

Ravenclaw

 * 1) Seth Cooper
 * 2) Oread

Slytherin

 * 1) Starstuff
 * 2) Jayce Carver

Common Rooms
Common rooms are special talk pages which members of each House can use to communicate with each other. Users from other Houses may read these pages, but may not post on them, with the exception of Prefects, who may leave notices.


 * Gryffindor Tower
 * Hufflepuff Cellar
 * Ravenclaw Tower
 * Slytherin Dungeon

General players

 * user Gryffindor Player


 * user Hufflepuff Player


 * user Ravenclaw Player - Book colors


 * user Ravenclaw Player 2 - Film colors


 * user Slytherin Player

Prefects
These userboxes should only be added to the pages of Prefects.


 * user Gryffindor Prefect


 * user Hufflepuff Prefect


 * user Ravenclaw Prefect - Book colors


 * user Ravenclaw Prefect 2 - Film colors


 * user Slytherin Prefect