This page is considered an official policy on the Harry Potter Wiki.
It has wide acceptance among editors and is considered a standard that everyone should follow. Please make use of the Talk Page to propose changes to this policy or its wording.
All the accounts a user controls will be treated as the same person. In short, registering another username does not allow someone to create a new identity for him/herself: it won't allow a user to circumvent a block or vote more than once.
Sock puppets
An undisclosed alternate account used for disruptive or deceptive purposes is known as a sock puppet. If any of a user's accounts are to be blocked, then all accounts associated with that user will also be blocked. Please mark all known sock puppets with the {{Sock puppet}} template.
Alternate personas
There are legitimate reasons to use more than one account, such as a user wanting to have a special username for a role-playing persona. A sock puppet must be openly disclosed as an alternate account belonging to a user's main account (please use the {{Alt persona}} template). Remember: a user may still cast only one vote in any given poll. See Category:Alt personas for a list.
It is suggested that an alternate persona's talk page be redirected to the main user account's talk page (so all communication with a unique user is in a single place).
Certain established users may also create a doppelganger account, which is to prevent impersonation by vandals. Please mark these accounts with the {{Doppelganger}} template. See Category:Doppelganger accounts for a list of doppelgangers.
Account limits and regulations
Maximum accounts allowed
- Users may control up to three accounts: a main account and two alternate persona accounts.
- Approved bot accounts do not count toward this limit.
Criteria for alternate accounts
- Alternate persona accounts are permitted only for specific purposes, such as organising events or participating in role-playing games.
- Alternate accounts must not be used to edit articles or circumvent restrictions applied to the main account.
- Requests for more than two alternate accounts require a valid justification and approval by wiki administrators or the community.
- Users must perform edits and participate in discussions under their main account, unless the alternate account has a specific and approved purpose.
If an account receives an administrative action, all associated alternate personas will also be affected. Violations of any policy that result in a block for the user who committed the violation will extend to all alternate persona accounts for the same duration.
Approved alternate personas
- Hellabore (Main account)
- Madam Hooch (Used for organising edits to Quidditch-related articles)
- HelgaHufflepuff (Used to support Hufflepuff in the House Points Game)
- Lord Valensus (1st account, 2nd account redirects to this one)
- Lord Valentinijan (User page redirects to 1st account, currently in use)
- Famini71 (Original account, disabled on request)
- Tu-Sais-Qui (Current account)
- Jmini (Her husband's account)
- Arceus The God of Pokemon (Main account)
- Quick Fire (Brother's account)
- Captain38 (Main account)
- TheSlientPrincess07 (Used for roleplaying)
Bots
A Bot is an automated user controlled by another user to perform mundane tasks on the Harry Potter Wiki, such as moving categories to a new name, or changing all references to the Sorcerer's Stone to Philosopher's Stone, or other maintenance tasks across the wiki. Bots MUST be approved by a bureaucrat or administrator before being used on the Harry Potter Wiki. A bot may only receive a bot flag once it is proved that it will not run amok. All bots should be marked as such with the {{user bot}} template.
All voting, etc. rules from the alternate accounts above also apply to bots.
There are currently only 4 approved bots to run on the Harry Potter Wiki. See Cat:bots for a list of bots.
Approved Bots
Active
- MrSiriusBlack (Main account)
Semi-active
- Ironyak1 (Main account)
Inactive
- DarkJedi613 (Main account)
- Grunny (Main account)