Contests! Most groups have 'em, they're fun to enter, and there's nothing quite like having a story with some snazzy credentials sitting on your user page to show everypony you're good at writing. I wouldn't know this feeling, as I've never won, but I imagine it'd be pretty awesome. Anyhoob, I imagine that we'll be holding our fair share of contests as well. We're the first HP fan group out there, guys; we have to be blazing trails. (If you saw my post in The Shameless Self-Promotion Bureau, you'll know that up until I founded HPB, there was only an HP crossovers group) So, I have some ideas on how we could set this up. Leave ideas, suggestions, and otherwise below.

1. We have contests available to certain houses, and there would be four different featured folders, one for each house. And on the front page, I'd put a section for each house listing the ponies of each house who have won so everypony has something to brag about.

2. Standard run-of-the-mill monthly/weekly/whatever contests available for everypony. Winning stories go in one unified Featured folder.

2426602

Sounds good! I'd say we also need an RP.

2426647 Feel free to go ahead and set that up, but which of my ideas do you think we should do? (You get contributor status, by the way.)

2426772

Okay, thanks!

I like the House-wise contest idea. I think weekly "story-of-the-week" contests, and monthly contests with a Harry Potter theme. One month we'd submit, the next month the next contest starts, and the first contest is judged. Then, during the third month, the first contest is judged by the Headmaster or Headmistress, to decide the overall winner, the 2nd contest goes into the 1st stage of judging, and a third contest starts. A judge is selected from each House to judge their house. They are admins, the Heads of their Houses. Each of the weekly contests is anything, while the monthly contests are Harry Potter themed, meaning there would be more Harry Potter stories! We should actually do lessons (RPs) and act like it's the actual Hogwarts school. Our "classes" should heave mini contests, our "homework", based on whatever this week's lesson in that class was. (The lesson will be a prompt, as well as a roleplay.)

Give me time to think of more!

2426818 That...sounds really complicated. But yeah, I think having four "Heads of House" would be a good idea, and I'll get to making new folders. Starlight, AWAY!

2426906

I'll try taking it apart to make it less complicated.

Admins:
4 Admins will be "Heads of Houses", judges in the contests. Others will be regular teachers. Except the Headmaster or Headmistress.

Contests:
Monthly- The monthly contests would start with the submission phase of a month. In the second month, a new contest starts, along with the judging for the first one. During the third month, The first contest's final four stories (one for each House), would be judged by the Headmistress or Headmaster, to decide the overall winner. The second contest would be in the first judging stage, and a third contest would start.
Weekly- A weekly, non-Harry Potter themed "Story of the Week" contest would take place each week.

Class:
Class would be an RP thread, with one teacher, and a bunch of students. (We should have a thread to submit our characters to RP with. In that thread, we would say what year our character is in.) In the thread title it would say what two Houses are in the class, and what year. The class would have a couple phases-
Classwork and Lecture- The RP.
Homework- The thread will be locked when class is dismissed, and at the start of the next class, homework will be turned in (stories based on the prompts from the previous class), and your homework will be graded (reviewed).

RP:
There will be a Great Hall RP, and a Common Room RP (for each house), just like on Pottermore.

How's that?

2426986 That...sounds so awesome! Is it okay with you if I copy/paste that into a sticky thread?

2427002

Sure, that sounds fine. I think it would be good system, and I may toss around a few other ideas.

2427015 The only problem I have with it is several contests taking place over three months. I think it would be less confusing for everypony if we just had a submission period of a month, then a period of a week for judging, then winners are announced.

2427023

Right. I thought it would be interesting that way, but we can shorten the second and third stages into a week each.

2427036 Or just one monthly contest with the submission deadline at the end of the month, then there's a week judging period, then winners are announced and hats are thrown in the air.

2427042

Right, I kind of liked the idea of an overall winner, that's all.

New idea!

You get House Points, and at the end of a two-month period, the House cup is rewarded. Each member will be listed, so if you earn a whole bunch of House points, or are extra good, you become a Prefect (contributor). Quidditch will also be an RP. You can sign up to play the different positions, and if you are here for a certain amount of time, (if you graduate) you create a new character- a first year, or else you can ask for your character to become a teacher (admin).

2427063 Ehhhh, or the RPs could just be fun little flings. I don't know how we would keep track of House Points, that's all. Also, Quidditch would be kinda hard to RP, with the fast paced nature of it.

2427087

Right. I mean if you get an A on your homework, you'll get five points. I can be in charge of keeping track, if you'd like. Admins and prefects issue points, and I'll keep track. Quidditch, it may work, but it may not. We'll have to try it to see. We should have a House Cup, and we should have different years. That way, we can continue, move on, use different characters. Maybe some will get a chance to be teachers, if the weren't before.

2427117 Ehhhhhh......I dunno.....I just created this group so pony fans united by their love of Harry Potter could talk and write and stuff together. RPs, IMO, should just be a side thing. I don't want it to be too terribly realistic or RP-centric. Also, I'll make stories to store the products of our mini-contests, I do agree that should be a thing.

2427132

Right, maybe I should make a Hogwarts group...

You wouldn't mind if I used some of the same ideas as here, classes, RPs, contests, etc., would you?

2427145 Nopey-dopey! We blaze trails, after all, and you came up with most of them.

2427169

Okay, thanks! I'll put the link up when I do it, and maybe the two groups can work together?

2427179 Yus. I shall stick that link on the front page for all to see.

2427182

Okay, thanks!

So mine will be a spin-off of this group, only more RP-based. It will be a school, instead of a discussion group.

2427193 Right-ho.

2427199

I'll do it after I make some cookies.