Hogwarts Handbook

"I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death.” - Professor Dumbledore

Article II: Administration and Governance

Section A: Member Levels
Subsection (1) All members are classified based on their administration level throughout HOS. The member levels are as follows:
  1. Global Administrator, exclusive to site Governors
  2. Regional Administrator, appointed by the Governors to oversee each region
  3. Division Administrator, appointed through each region to oversee Hospitals, Ministries, Towns and other key regional divisions.
  4. Non-Administrator, which includes all member groups not mentioned above.

Subsection (2) No member may hold more than one Regional Administrator position.

Subsection (3) Each Division will also contain a number of moderators who will assist the Regional and Division Administrators in maintaining order on the site. These include, but are not limited to all school staff, student leaders, government department heads, and other appointed members.
Section B: The HOS of Governors
Subsection (1) The ultimate legislative, executive, and judicial authority of HOS shall reside with the Board of Governors. They shall have the power to create and enforce any rules they see fit to maintain order on the site.
  1. The legislative power of the governors allows them to establish and abolish rules. In order for a ruling to be valid, a quorum of 50% of the governors must have weighed in on the issue and a majority vote will determine the direction of the decision.
  2. The executive power of the governors allows them to carry out any of the rules established or abolished by the governors board.
  3. The judicial power of the governors board allows them to weigh in on any issue they see necessary. Once they have weighed in on an issue, there is no higher power to appeal to. Similar to establishing/abolishing a rule, a quorum of 50% of the governors must have weighed in and a majority vote determines the direction of the decision.

Subsection (2) The Governors shall be composed of a volunteer group of individuals selected from the membership of HOS. These members are nominated and voted upon by the current board. A unanimous vote among the current governors is required to elect a new governor. If the vote is not unanimous, and the result of the ballot is in favor except one vote, then the person voting against the governor candidate must provide substantial evidence to support their stance. After the evidence has been provided and discussed, a two week waiting period will be enacted for everyone to think it over. At the conclusion of the waiting period, another new vote shall be held. If the second vote results in the same as the first vote, the evidence against the candidate will need to be deemed as being either substantial or unsubstantial. Substantial meaning there is enough concern to warrant not having the candidate take the position, unsubstantial, meaning that the evidence is more personal in nature and the candidate should then take office for a one month probation period. At the close of the month, there will be a meeting with all of the governors except the one on probation to discuss the status of the new governor.

Subsection (3) The Board of Governors shall be permanently chaired by the HOS Owner, Chauncey Clemenceau. The Chairman of the Board reserves the right to veto any decision made by the Governors that he believes is not in the best interest of the site.

Subsection (4) The Chairman may select a Vice Chairman from among the current Governors. This person shall act in the capacity of Chairman in his absence.

Subsection (5) Governors serve indefinite terms. In the event it is deemed necessary to call into question a Governor’s performance, a live meeting shall be called with the Governor in question to discuss the issue. If the issue is not resolved, the Governors, excluding the offender, may vote to remove them with a super majority (majority +1) of the remaining board. The Chairman must be present for all proceedings to remove a governor. The chairman may excerise his veto right if he believes it is in the best interest of the site.

Subsection (6) The Governors may divide administrative duties amongst themselves to help in the efficient management of HOS.

Subsection (7) All conversations of the Governors are confidential and may not be divulged to any non-governor without the express permission of a unanimous governors vote or the Chairman.
Section C: HOS Regions
Subsection (1) HOS maintains three distinct regions. Each region maintains a school, ministry, hospital, and several cities/towns. The Board of Governors shall elect one member from each region to serve as Headmaster of the school and leader of the region. The three regions are:
  1. the United Kingdom
  2. France
  3. Sweden

Subsection (2) Each Headmaster may appoint one Deputy to help them govern the region and are answerable to the Board of Governors. However, they are empowered to make decisions in their region and are expected to notify the Govenors of those decisions.

Subsection (3) The United Kingdom is divided into the following administrative units: Hogwarts, the British Ministry of Magic, St. Mungos, & UK Towns. Each region is required to have one leader who in turn delegates responsibility to lower leaders within the administrative unit. An additional administrative unit which has no land or ‘physical’ location is the Director of Role Play. These leaders may be appointed by the Headmasters with the approval of the Governors.

Subsection (4) The governing body of France is divided into the following administrative units: Beauxbâtons School, the French Ministry of Magic, Broussais University Hospital, The Magical Creatures Park and French Towns. An additional administrative unit which has no land or ‘physical’ location is the location is the Director of Role Play. These leaders may be appointed by the Headmasters with the approval of the Governors.

Subsection (5) Sweden is divided into the following administrative units: Durmstrang Institute, Swedish Ministry of Magic, Algelhölm Hospital, Swedish Towns, & Nurmengard Prison. Each region is required to have one leader who in turn delegates responsibility to lower leaders within the administrative unit. An additional administrative unit which has no land or ‘physical’ location is the location is the Director of Role Play. These leaders may be appointed by the Headmasters with the approval of the Governors.
Section D: Discipline
Subsection (1) Disciplinary actions are divided into three categories: Minor Offenses, which receive minor punishments, such as detention or point deduction; Major Offences, which require more severe punishments, such as suspension, expulsion, or a court hearing from the ministry; the final category is Repeat Offenses, which are taken as serious as major offenses. All types of offenses can be broken down into two categories: role play & real life. Generally role play offenses are preplanned or approved and are still punished in a different sense.

Subsection (2) Minor offenses in role play would be punishable by detention or docking of points. Minor offenses in real life are also punishable by detention, or docking of points. Minor offenses include but are not limited to not turning in assignments, causing drama, spamming, inappropriate signature, or posting in another houses chat box. Generally minor offenses are punishable by any professor, head student, or prefect.

Subsection (3) Major offenses in role play include but are not limited to the use of dark magic, murdering, or talking back to a person in power. Any offense that deals with dark magic or murder is punishable by the Ministry of Magic. Usually a court proceeding is required. Other major offenses are handed down by the person\'s Head of House. Major offenses in real life are punishable by both the Governors and the students\' Head of House.

Subsection (4) SuspensionThe Governors and Headmasters can choose to suspend a writer\'s character (a character refers to any one account of a writer) without approval for up to 7 days for any major, or chronic (occuring more than twice in a month) repeat offenses. In order to suspend a writer (to suspend a writer means to suspend all characters and the writer\'s IP) from the site, the Headmaster or Head of House must petition the governors. Any governor can suspend a writer for up to 7 days without permission. Any consequetive suspending or suspending extended greater than 7 days must be approved through a governors majority vote. Failure of an admin to comply with this policy will result in a removal from current position.

Subsection (5) Banning is the most severe action that can be taken by HOS in order to subdue an unwanted behavior. Banning refers to the blocking a writer and all characters from HOS, HOS facebook groups/pages, and any other area under the jurisdiction of the HOS Governors. The power to ban rests solely with the governors board. In order to permanently ban a writer, the entire governors board must weigh in on the decision and a majority vote will be accepted. A permanent banning can be reversed through a unanimous decision of the governors board.

Subsection (6) Repeat Offenses The repeat of a minor offense would make the offence into a major offense. Therefore, an offense that was once minor and has been repeated, could receive a major-offense punishment.