Hello everyone! As you're hopefully aware, Hogsmeade Weekend is almost upon us! I'm trying a few things differently this time, so check this out for the details.

First off, make sure you're a member. If you can't see this post, you still need to join.

Participation Bonus
There will be a bonus of 20 points/10 knuts available for high Hogsmeade participation. However, this time we're trying something different. To earn the bonus, you must participate in FIFTEEN activities this weekend, but there will be more activities available to choose from. (Currently, 18-20.) This means if you miss a deadline, or are unable to participate in something, you can still win the award!


For the truly insane, there will be an ultra exclusive, OMG you are amazing reward banner for those who complete EVERY points-earning activity. It'll be regulation sigtag size for sorting, and available only this Hogsmeade. It's designed by the lovely maaiker, so you're winning something more exciting than my lackluster graphics skills could provide. =D

Review of the rest of the guidelines: If you're hosting an activity, it will be counted toward the bonus automatically. The Hogsmeade Ball is the only points-earning activity not included in the bonus this weekend, as it runs less than eight hours.


Scheduling & Roundups
There will be more activity posts, to keep everything together. The activity roundups will be reorganized by deadline, with voting and results separated. I'm also structuring some activities differently, in an attempt to make Sunday more lively.

Hogsmeade Chat
As many of you are already on the houseunity AIM chat, and IRC is difficult for many (including me), I'm officially discontinuing the old IRC hogsmeade chat. So, options people? Would you like to use the AIM houseunity chat? Would you like to have a separate AIM chatroom? Is there another resource you'd like to use (must be free to use/download)? Comments are open, please leave your thoughts.

Christmas Hogsmeade Date Announced
The final Hogsmeade of the term will be held on December 4-6. It will be Holiday themed, but hopefully is early enough to not interfere with your rl holiday plans.