At Pottermore, we are continuing to work hard to create a safe environment for Harry Potter fans of all ages to share their thoughts and experiences of reading or listening to the Harry Potter stories, and exploring Pottermore.com.
In addition to our experienced moderation team, we are also lucky to have such a passionate community (that’s you) who we rely on to help us, by reporting inappropriate behaviour or inappropriate content on the site.
Today we wanted to provide some guidance for members of the Pottermore community, and explain a little more about how you can help us by reporting certain content, and also explain what should not be reported. This is so that our moderators can really focus on the right areas and give all our Pottermore.com members a better overall experience.
What should you report?
If you see content that is offensive, alarming, or insulting – in itself or to other users - or that otherwise violates Pottermore.com’s Terms and Conditions, we would like you to use the ‘Report this’ function.
What should you avoid reporting?
If there is content that you only disagree with, but that is not actually offensive or inappropriate, we ask that you do not report this. Pottermore is a global community with users of all ages and it is characterised by a diversity of opinion. For example, you may disagree with another user’s assertion that their house is the best Hogwarts house but this is not something that should be reported.
On the whole, we are lucky to have so many members of the Pottermore community who help us keep Pottermore.com safe by using the reporting function responsibly. However, occasionally we find that some of our members use the reporting function incorrectly by repeatedly and falsely reporting content as inappropriate in order to disadvantage other users.
When our moderators suspect a member of the community of misusing the reporting function in this way, they will be contacted by Owl Notification and email first. If the behaviour doesn’t cease then this may result in the user’s account being suspended.
When inappropriate behaviour, content or imagery is reported by a Pottermore.com member, it will be removed from the site straight away and then referred to our moderation team for evaluation.
If the moderation team believes that the content is actually okay, it will usually reappear on the site relatively soon (though at busy times this process may take a few days so please do bear with us).
If the moderation team agree that the reported content was indeed inappropriate, then – depending on the severity of the offence – a message will be sent to the user via Owl Notification and email to advise what the inappropriate content was. For example, if a user simply repeats a message a few times in the Great Hall, even if they do it involuntarily, the messages would be viewed as ‘spam’ and would be removed. The user responsible would be informed, though this would not necessarily result in suspension.
Make sure the email address you provided when you signed up to Pottermore.com is correct, otherwise we won’t be able to email you in such instances. You can check your email in Account Settings.
Some reasons why Pottermore.com members might have their accounts temporarily suspended
In addition to misuse of the reporting function, there are other actions that can potentially lead to account suspensions, of which some users may be unaware. We’d like to share some of the main reasons with you so that this doesn’t accidentally happen to you.
- Directing users to external sites
- Sharing links or giving instructions on how to get to external sites is not permitted on Pottermore.com - without exception. We do this to protect the safety of our users.
- Creating multiple accounts
- As you can read in the Terms and Conditions, Pottermore.com users should only hold one account per person. Users that discuss holding multiple accounts will have their secondary account(s) suspended. There are several reasons for this; for example, if a user has multiple accounts they could potentially duel with themselves to earn house points for their preferred house, or send themselves potions ingredients as gifts, which would not be in the fair play spirit of Pottermore.
- The creation of a new account whilst your account is temporarily or permanently suspended due to inappropriate behaviour is also not permitted.
- Spamming
- Repeatedly flooding the community areas with the same or similar messages has the potential to lead to account suspension.
Suspensions are always issued by a human moderator, and are never issued automatically. The moderation team will first warn the user via Owl Notification as well as via email. Ensure that you check your Owl Notifications and emails regularly so that you don’t miss any communication from the moderation team.
If you did something wrong unintentionally, don’t worry! Please contact the customer service team and they’ll be able to review your case.
We hope this article is helpful to members of the Pottermore community. We have also created a Pottermore ‘Code of Conduct’ with more information to help you understand how we would like our members who are enjoying this unique gift from J.K. Rowling to behave whilst on site.
