Pottermore v7

PLEASE READ


What is on-topic:

Questions and comments about Pottermore

What is off-topic:

whether you have registered for Pottermore yet or not (e.g. "Yay! I've just got my username and it's Snape'sUnderpants666!"). You can put your username in your signature if you want (although there were unconfirmed rumours going round this morning about people who'd posted their username online being hacked - I've no idea if there's any truth in that)
how you are feeling/what you are doing at the moment (e.g. "I'm so excited! But I don't know how I'm going to stay up all night. Maybe I'll drink coffee?"
questions or comments about CoS (e.g. "How is posting my username offtopic?", "Why has my post count gone down?") There is an Ask the Staff (http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?p=5796122#post5796122)thread where you can post these things, or you can owl a mod.

What will get you banned (amongst other things):

posting illegal links
posting your e-mail address or 'phone number or asking other members for theirs
repeatedly ignoring the above

I wanted to post this on the JK website thread, but it's been closed, but I suspect it has to do with Pottermore anyway. So, the date on the timeturner is 1/8/2011, and the 'do-not-disturb' sign is up. You have to turn the timeturner a few times, maybe nothing though.

I wanted to post this on the JK website thread, but it's been closed, but I suspect it has to do with Pottermore anyway. So, the date on the timeturner is 1/8/2011, and the 'do-not-disturb' sign is up. You have to turn the timeturner a few times, maybe nothing though.

Just my guess, but I think that door will open when Pottermore is finally open to all. :)

I wanted to post this on the JK website thread, but it's been closed, but I suspect it has to do with Pottermore anyway. So, the date on the timeturner is 1/8/2011, and the 'do-not-disturb' sign is up. You have to turn the timeturner a few times, maybe nothing though.

that's just todays date, since the last time the door was opened with the family tree it has been on todays date with a do not disturb sign but you can use the time turner to go back and visit old secret doors. of course that doesn't mean it wont open with pottermore related info soon :D

Just my guess, but I think that door will open when Pottermore is finally open to all. :)

Maybe you're right, I guess we'll wait and see.

Oh, I see, thanks Miss Potter.

I can't wait until they start letting us actually use the website!! :)

I've heard that they'll first sort us into our houses..... is this true??

This is going to be terribly redundant probably, but my brother and I registered this morning. He got an email (yahoo) and I didn't (gmail)... should I be worried? Did anyone have to wait 6+ hours for an email? I was the first one to register..

I don't think the sorting will happen right away as you follow along the path of the book. So the sorting will come a little ways in.

This is going to be terribly redundant probably, but my brother and I registered this morning. He got an email (yahoo) and I didn't (gmail)... should I be worried? Did anyone have to wait 6+ hours for an email? I was the first one to register..

You just have to wait. Some people had to wait 20+ hours for their email when we signed up the first day. But dont worry cause everyone said the gmail takes a while.

This is going to be terribly redundant probably, but my brother and I registered this morning. He got an email (yahoo) and I didn't (gmail)... should I be worried? Did anyone have to wait 6+ hours for an email? I was the first one to register..

i wouldn't worry some people yesterday had to wait 10 hours i think but most of those were with yahoo problems. perhaps because so many people switched from yahoo to gmail to avoid this its caused the same backlog? i don't know this for sure i'm just guessing.

It took me all day with my Yahoo account. After 7-8 hours of waiting I finally e-mailed support and received it about 30 minutes afterward. My son got his account today (gmail) and got the veri-mail in less than 30 minutes. I guess it varies. I do know Yahoo issued an overwhelming demand caution and said it could take 24 hours or more but to chill, they were on the way. *lol*

This is going to be terribly redundant probably, but my brother and I registered this morning. He got an email (yahoo) and I didn't (gmail)... should I be worried? Did anyone have to wait 6+ hours for an email? I was the first one to register..

I got my validation e-mail on the first day through my gmail...
so at least I can tell you that the email company really doesn't make a difference.

On the other hand, I received my validation e-mail fairly quick...

but I've heard some people, who registered on the first day, saying that they still haven't received they're valiation e-mail.

So I think you're fine!

PLEASE READ


What is on-topic:

Questions and comments about Pottermore

What is off-topic:

whether you have registered for Pottermore yet or not (e.g. "Yay! I've just got my username and it's Snape'sUnderpants666!")
how you are feeling/what you are doing at the moment (e.g. "I'm so excited! But I don't know how I'm going to stay up all night. Maybe I'll drink coffee?"
questions or comments about CoS (e.g. "Why has my post count gone down?")

What will get you banned (amongst other things):

posting illegal links
posting your e-mail address or 'phone number or asking other members for theirs
repeatedly ignoring the above

Has anyone given any thought to the wands? (glorius wands!) I know Olivader's at Universal will pair you with the correct wand but I'm wondering if they are just going to have a set of standard wands from the book or if your wand will be built from the core up just for you.

"Yay! I've just got my username and it's Snape'sUnderpants666!")
I wish <3

This is going to be terribly redundant probably, but my brother and I registered this morning. He got an email (yahoo) and I didn't (gmail)... should I be worried? Did anyone have to wait 6+ hours for an email? I was the first one to register..Be patient (hard to do, I know). You should get your email. When you registered the final page you came to had your email address on it as they have it. Did you look at that? Was it correct?

Has anyone given any thought to the wands? (glorius wands!) I know Olivader's at Universal will pair you with the correct wand but I'm wondering if they are just going to have a set of standard wands from the book or if your wand will be built from the core up just for you.


I wish <3

JK Rowling, if it's one thing , has been going on and on about the wands in pottermore and how because of this new information she was able to put in ,dhe said there are thousands of wand options for each user.

Has anyone given any thought to the wands? (glorius wands!) I know Olivader's at Universal will pair you with the correct wand but I'm wondering if they are just going to have a set of standard wands from the book or if your wand will be built from the core up just for you.


I wish <3

I think our experience will follow the course of the book, which means we'll go to Diagon Alley and visit Ollivander and a wand will choose us. I guess we won't know for sure until we get in!

Oh and I think there will be lots of different wands!

Hm. Need more input about what we're not supposed to talk about again? The part confusing me is the questions/answers about the e-mail? Because that is part of the experience?

But if deemed not by the powers that be, where can one discuss this without being off-topic?

Pardon me plz, I just registered yesterday...

Hm. Need more input about what we're not supposed to talk about again? The part confusing me is the questions/answers about the e-mail? Because that is part of the experience?

But if deemed not by the powers that be, where can one discuss this without being off-topic?

Pardon me plz, I just registered yesterday...

I think you can ask questions about your email and registering, but you can't state what your email is.

I think our experience will follow the course of the book, which means we'll go to Diagon Alley and visit Ollivander and a wand will choose us. I guess we won't know for sure until we get in!

Oh and I think there will be lots of different wands!

i think because it is supposed to be quite an interactive and individual experience there will be lots of wand options rather than just a generic few to choose from. i do wonder however, how the wands will chose you. i know the sorting will be done with a quiz but i don't think the wands will be as well will they? has anyone heard anything official about that or is this another wait and see aspect?

I hope the sorting quiz thing isn't mega obvious like usual quizzes you find online. Although didn't Jo write it? I'm sure she made sure it doesn't have dumb questions like WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COLOR: Red, Blue, Green, or Yellow!

I think we'll shape it just by using it and submitting feedback, i dont reckon we'll get to create things from scratch. My username is MistWillow 46 so it's interesting to see someone else with it,showing that definitely people can confirm to see others with similar usernames for Pottermore, so they aren't that much different username snow if they do have similar ones with slight number changes. That's interesting, i think people would've preferred each entirely unique but oh well! It should be interesting.

So. Do you guys think Clue 3 will have to do with a chapter number like Clue 2? Or do you think they'll ask for a number like in Clue 1? Maybe it'll be something completely new... I liked the clue that involved knowing where an event happened in the book. It's a little easier.

The clues aren't as hard as I thought they would be... Thoughts?

I heard there will be a wand selection too!

I'm wondering if there is a thread on CoS where people are posting the times that the registration/ magical quill is open. From what I'm reading the time will change daily until August 6th, and I want to maximize my chances of getting in this go-round.

I hope the sorting quiz thing isn't mega obvious like usual quizzes you find online. Although didn't Jo write it? I'm sure she made sure it doesn't have dumb questions like WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COLOR: Red, Blue, Green, or Yellow!

from all the info i have read on it J.K has written loads of different questions and each user will be given a random selection of these so not everyone gets the same combination of questions. i think J.K also said she tested it out on some friends and family and the quiz sorted them into the houses she would have put them in so it seems accurate by J.Ks standards.

I think our experience will follow the course of the book, which means we'll go to Diagon Alley and visit Ollivander and a wand will choose us. I guess we won't know for sure until we get in!

Oh and I think there will be lots of different wands!

Yep, it's like that from the sounds of it! It was announced there would be different wand combinations so I think you'll get something pretty unique and special, hopefully personal to you too, I can't wait. From this Snitchseeker article -

http://www.snitchseeker.com/harry-potter-news/new-detailed-pottermore-hogwarts-sorting-usernames-registration-wand-info-released-82702/

In Ollivander’s, you will be chosen by one of a possible 33,000 different wand combinations, after all, “the wand chooses the wizard.”

I'm wondering if there is a thread on CoS where people are posting the times that the registration/ magical quill is open. From what I'm reading the time will change daily until August 6th, and I want to maximize my chances of getting in this go-round.

Nobody knows what time it will happen. We all seemed to be speculating that it would be 6AM or 9AM Eastern Daylight Savings Time, but it happened around 5AM. The only reason anyone knew about Sunday's time was due to the emails the LeakyCon participants recieved. They only did that one day. They're not giving out the times anymore. It's anyone's best guess from now on.

So. Do you guys think Clue 3 will have to do with a chapter number like Clue 2? Or do you think they'll ask for a number like in Clue 1? Maybe it'll be something completely new... I liked the clue that involved knowing where an event happened in the book. It's a little easier.

The clues aren't as hard as I thought they would be... Thoughts?

My bet is something like "How many people went under the womping willow?"
I'm honestly throughly surprised that it all seems to be numbers... guess they avoid spelling errors that way.

My bet is something like "How many people went under the womping willow?"
I'm honestly throughly surprised that it all seems to be numbers... guess they avoid spelling errors that way.

It is open for people in different countries who speak different languages. We may say the numbers 257 differently but we write them 257 so it works.

I'm wondering if there is a thread on CoS where people are posting the times that the registration/ magical quill is open. From what I'm reading the time will change daily until August 6th, and I want to maximize my chances of getting in this go-round.

There are two twitter accounts that I know of that will let you know when the clue is up. If you can, set it so you receive texts when they tweet. It makes it a lot easier if you can't be at the computer 24/7. They are:

https://twitter.com/#!/hp_batsignal
https://twitter.com/#!/PotterWatch327

I'm honestly throughly surprised that it all seems to be numbers... guess they avoid spelling errors that way.

and language barriers, although the first clue failed at that a little as different translations of the book gave a different answer, i think they corrected for the second clue and told everyone to use the uk books if in doubt.

Was it just me or did the question last night seem harder then the first night? I could easily tell you what chapter the sign would be in, but last nights seemed a little more obscure!

i wouldn't worry some people yesterday had to wait 10 hours i think but most of those were with yahoo problems. perhaps because so many people switched from yahoo to gmail to avoid this its caused the same backlog? i don't know this for sure i'm just guessing.


Tell me about it. :sad: I registered at atround 09:10 or something around there and didn't get my e-mail from yahoo until around 23:39

Tell me about it. :sad: I registered at atround 09:10 or something around there and didn't get my e-mail from yahoo until around 23:39

I never got an email from yahoo and I registered on the first day. I just honestly don't know if it's coming, it's going to be 48 hours soon. I registered with a hotmail though and it came in 30 minutes.

and language barriers, although the first clue failed at that a little as different translations of the book gave a different answer, i think they corrected for the second clue and told everyone to use the uk books if in doubt.

They also asked all the different languages different questions from what I could recon unless McGonagle calls off the quidditch match in the 7th chapter of CoS in the German Version. I get why they're using the numbers, makes it far easier for them but it kind of makes it impossible for there to be "difficult" questions when we all know to just pay attention to all the numbers in the book

There are two twitter accounts that I know of that will let you know when the clue is up. If you can, set it so you receive texts when they tweet. It makes it a lot easier if you can't be at the computer 24/7. They are:

https://twitter.com/#!/hp_batsignal
https://twitter.com/#!/PotterWatch327

Thanks for that. I had signed up to use a twitter account some folks put together on here and forgot to turn on the text option! So I slept right through it! This time I'll be sure to actually turn on the text alert system ... tehehehe.

Any speculations about the time for the 3rd days question? Most seem to be thinking it will again be one hour later than the previous (so 6 EST? I think?). I sure hope it is, if it's much later than that I'll be stuck at work!

Best of luck to everyone else still hoping to get into the Pottermore beta!

Is there a website that has compiled the information Jo has put on her official site over the years?

Some think since Clue#1 came out at 4am EST, and clue #2 came out at 5am EST, that maybe clue #3 will come out at 6am EST? Thoughts?

I'm wondering if there is a thread on CoS where people are posting the times that the registration/ magical quill is open. From what I'm reading the time will change daily until August 6th, and I want to maximize my chances of getting in this go-round.

Using my time zone for the time being. The first clue went live around 3:55 am EST and the second clue went live around 4:55 am EST - give or take a few minutes. If that pattern holds, the third clue would go live around 5:55 am EST. However, they may not stick to a pattern and change it up for the third clue so that it goes live earlier or later - there's just no way to know for sure. You could do the phone text alerts that were posted above, but be careful with that if you have a limit on texting. My brother set up phone text alerts once and went 400 texts over his limit before he cancelled it.

I never got an email from yahoo and I registered on the first day. I just honestly don't know if it's coming, it's going to be 48 hours soon. I registered with a hotmail though and it came in 30 minutes.

Did you check the spam and/or junk folders? I registered two accounts - one for me and one for my son - and both validation e-mails were marked as spam. I had to manually move them to my inbox and approve pottermore as a sender.

does anyone have an idea how the extra bit of chapter will be written if you aren't in griffindor. because of the way we follow harry in third person do you think the narrative will switch or you will follow another character from the different house for example if you are in slytherin you will follow malfoy's experience of meeting his prefect and finding the common room?

obviously none of us will know the exact answer until we read it but i was wondering if any one had any ideas/speculation

There are two twitter accounts that I know of that will let you know when the clue is up. If you can, set it so you receive texts when they tweet. It makes it a lot easier if you can't be at the computer 24/7. They are:

https://twitter.com/#!/hp_batsignal
https://twitter.com/#!/PotterWatch327
Thank you! :huggles:

I wonder how we'll be able to 'shape' the site / give feedbackand things, and how different the beta version will be from the later one.

I registered on first day but went back today and found the feather again just for the challenge. Just can't wait for my welcome email :)

I wonder how the website will work to decide on the wand you get. Will it just be a random wand, or possibly a quiz/test to decide on your wand?

Using my time zone for the time being. The first clue went live around 3:55 am EST and the second clue went live around 4:55 am EST - give or take a few minutes. If that pattern holds, the third clue would go live around 5:55 am EST. However, they may not stick to a pattern and change it up for the third clue so that it goes live earlier or later - there's just no way to know for sure. You could do the phone text alerts that were posted above, but be careful with that if you have a limit on texting. My brother set up phone text alerts once and went 400 texts over his limit before he cancelled it. Thank you too! I guess I'm setting the alarm for 5:55 just in case! :huggles:

I think you can ask questions about your email and registering, but you can't state what your email is.

Thank you AnneAnne... I think you're right.

The part I'm sticking on is "whether you have registered for Pottermore yet or not" being off-topic - because as of right now that *is* relevant to the experience, given that the contest is still running and no one has gained entry to the site itself yet and thus... what else should we talk about? Eek. From what I've seen getting in is all we got at the moment.

Hm. But then... maybe they're trying to slow volume down on this rapidly growing thread... given that we still have five days left...

Is Potterwatch327 Tweeting again tonight?

I'm really excited about getting sorted, and getting my wand. It feels as if I'm actually going to Hogwarts. I know whatever house I'm sorted into will be my true house because I believe Jo's put so much into the quiz to sort people into their true house?!

I wonder how the website will work to decide on the wand you get. Will it just be a random wand, or possibly a quiz/test to decide on your wand?

If it is realistic we should have to put in measurements and heights, but will probably be personality test and what types of magic you would use it for. Although I don't know if they'd do this as we've also got the sorting...

Using my time zone for the time being. The first clue went live around 3:55 am EST and the second clue went live around 4:55 am EST - give or take a few minutes. If that pattern holds, the third clue would go live around 5:55 am EST. However, they may not stick to a pattern and change it up for the third clue so that it goes live earlier or later - there's just no way to know for sure. You could do the phone text alerts that were posted above, but be careful with that if you have a limit on texting. My brother set up phone text alerts once and went 400 texts over his limit before he cancelled it.



Did you check the spam and/or junk folders? I registered two accounts - one for me and one for my son - and both validation e-mails were marked as spam. I had to manually move them to my inbox and approve pottermore as a sender.

I checked the spam yes, yahoo just didn't get it. For my hotmail it went into my inbox though.

I'm really excited about getting sorted, and getting my wand. It feels as if I'm actually going to Hogwarts. I know whatever house I'm sorted into will be my true house because I believe Jo's put so much into the quiz to sort people into their true house?!
:agree: It's going to be the ultimate sorting, so it shall be epic.

I'm really excited about getting sorted, and getting my wand. It feels as if I'm actually going to Hogwarts. I know whatever house I'm sorted into will be my true house because I believe Jo's put so much into the quiz to sort people into their true house?!

Yes and she has stated that the quiz won't be obvious. You won't be able to guess which answers go with which house. Supposedly she has tested the quiz on her family members and friends and they were all sorted to the house where she predicted they would go.

Yay nongiant signature!

I actually had no problem with my yahoo activation email. I signed my sister up using my extra ymail account and got it maybe an hour later? A bit delayded, but not bad at all.

Thank you! :huggles:

If I sign up to get updates from one of these pages, will it cost money? I don't have a data plan on my phone...:shrug:but I have text messaging!

I hear a lot of talk of how "epic" it's going to be.....but what if some of it end up to be a little dissapointing? what should we be most worried about?

If I sign up to get updates from one of these pages, will it cost money? I don't have a data plan on my phone...:shrug:but I have text messaging!

It'll just come to your phone as txts, sign up from your computer and it'll tell you to text something like "ON potterwatch327to 84483 or 70707 yadda yadda

So does anyone have any hunches on what the next clue might be? :-) too early to start guessing?

I hear a lot of talk of how "epic" it's going to be.....but what if some of it end up to be a little dissapointing? what should we be most worried about?

It's Jo. Has she ever dissapointed us? That statement is just Riddikulus! ;)

Reminder:
PLEASE READ


What is on-topic:

Questions and comments about Pottermore

What is off-topic:

whether you have registered for Pottermore yet or not (e.g. "Yay! I've just got my username and it's Snape'sUnderpants666!")
how you are feeling/what you are doing at the moment (e.g. "I'm so excited! But I don't know how I'm going to stay up all night. Maybe I'll drink coffee?"
questions or comments about CoS (e.g. "Why has my post count gone down?")

What will get you banned (amongst other things):

posting illegal links
posting your e-mail address or 'phone number or asking other members for theirs
repeatedly ignoring the above




Many of you complained already that the thread is growing too fast. Please simply take some time before posting and don't chat in here. Read the examples given and if anything still is unclear, please owl any member of staff online.
It's just not fair to those who actually want to discuss the Pottermore event, but not crawl through three or ten new thread pages every time they look left. And don't forget: you don't see the off-topic posts because we delete them. What is left, if fine. Thank you!

I hear a lot of talk of how "epic" it's going to be.....but what if some of it end up to be a little dissapointing? what should we be most worried about?

Hasn't it already been a bit epic? Nothing has gotten the fans this riled up in such a long time. Even if Pottermore did "disappoint" it has still been nice to have the excitement again!

Has anyone received the Welcome e-mail yet? I've received my Validation e-mail, but not the Welcome one... I suppose I'll just have to wait...

Has anyone received the Welcome e-mail yet? I've received my Validation e-mail, but not the Welcome one... I suppose I'll just have to wait...

This won't come until the quill quest is all over with. It could take several weeks. So yes...patience. :)

Just caught up on this thread...

Some people are speculating that clues will come out one hour later every day and that all the answers will be numbers. It is a very smart thing to do, because not only it allows people of all languages to solve the riddle, but also makes it virtually impossible to find out just by trial and error (i.e. type all words Potter related that come to your mind randomly till you get it right haha)


For those who missed the clues and are going to try again tomorrow, it might be nice to flip through the book today and remind yourself again where things, events, people could be.

It's virtually impossible to narrow down what the clue will be, but if you have a fresh rough timeline of the events in your mind, it'll give you a chance to find it faster.

Good luck to all!

I'm really excited about getting sorted, and getting my wand. It feels as if I'm actually going to Hogwarts. I know whatever house I'm sorted into will be my true house because I believe Jo's put so much into the quiz to sort people into their true house?!

Agreed, I cannot wait to be sorted and to get my wand! Really excited! :D :wow:

From what little we've seen from the previews, I am nervous about the sorting. I don't want to have to cheat, but if I figure out the pattern, I'm totally picking "air", "blue," "logic" and such to ensure I get in Ravenclaw. Jo is really smart and creative though. It will probably put us in the right house and we won't be able to manipulate it (unless we're straight out given the opportunity to decide). If we get a choice like Harry, I would want to know what house I would've gotten if I kept my mouth shut.

What was the clue for day 2? I didn't need it since I got registered on the first day.

I wonder how we'll be able to 'shape' the site / give feedbackand things, and how different the beta version will be from the later one.

I registered on first day but went back today and found the feather again just for the challenge. Just can't wait for my welcome email :)


I think by 'shaping the experience', we'll basically be trialling it for them. I think the whole 'early admissions' thing is very clever, because for one it builds up the hype. Also, it means that they can stagger people joining, so that the site does not crash. And it means that if there is a problem or error on the site in the early stages, they can fall back on the fact that it's the trial run. Because, let's face it, 1 million isn't exactly a select few, is it?

I don't know how well I worded that and if anyone will understand it at all, but it made sense in my head :)

From what little we've seen from the previews, I am nervous about the sorting. I don't want to have to cheat, but if I figure out the pattern, I'm totally picking "air", "blue," "logic" and such to ensure I get in Ravenclaw. Jo is really smart and creative though. It will probably put us in the right house and we won't be able to manipulate it (unless we're straight out given the opportunity to decide). If we get a choice like Harry, I would want to know what house I would've gotten if I kept my mouth shut.

im pretty sure i read somewhere that the questions have been planned so you can't figure them out. Apparently some of them only have 2 possible answers so you can't just chose like you said 'air, blue, logic'.

For those of you who are in, did you still get a choice of five or were you simply assigned a username? I was just curious if the beta gets the choice. Thanks!

What was the clue for day 2? I didn't need it since I got registered on the first day.

What is the number of the chapter in which Professor McGonagall cancels the Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff?
Multiply this number by 42.

Do we know if we will be able to purchase our custom wand from the 'real life' shop once it is created? I'm hoping that we will be able to purchase things specific to our own individual Pottermore Journey.

For those of you who are in, did you still get a choice of five or were you simply assigned a username? I was just curious if the beta gets the choice. Thanks!

you get to chose from 5, i don't think they will every just give you a name, that would probably encourage people to make multiple accounts to get a different one

This has probably been asked, but do you guys think that along with wands and everything else....you'll be able to choose an Owl or a Cat or something? ;)

What is the number of the chapter in which Professor McGonagall cancels the Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff?
Multiply this number by 42.

Thanks! Wow, that is just as simple as the first clue, haha.

It was "What is the number of the chapter in which professor McGonagall cancels the Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff?" I was asleep but was curious too and took a while to find the question (all i could find at first was the ultimate answer: 588)

For those of you who are in, did you still get a choice of five or were you simply assigned a username? I was just curious if the beta gets the choice. Thanks!

There were 4 choices last night. I'm assuming it will always be that way. I'd hate for them to just give me a name without any input from me.

Using my time zone for the time being. The first clue went live around 3:55 am EST and the second clue went live around 4:55 am EST - give or take a few minutes. If that pattern holds, the third clue would go live around 5:55 am EST. However, they may not stick to a pattern and change it up for the third clue so that it goes live earlier or later - there's just no way to know for sure.

I think they will space it out a bit more evenly throughout the day than that. If they only spaced it out an hour per day, the whole thing would span six hours. That's shorter than the time that most kids sleep, so many would be sure to get shafted by that. The last thing Pottermore folks need is controversy over how they did the beta selection, so even though they kind of favored Europeans and Asians with the first two days, I still think they will space it out more than an hour per day.

Do we know if we will be able to purchase our custom wand from the 'real life' shop once it is created? I'm hoping that we will be able to purchase things specific to our own individual Pottermore Journey.

That would be totally awesome, but I think it is kind of unlikely. I believe it said somewhere that there are thousand of wands (I don't remember what it exactly said). That being said, I think it would be unlikely to make all the different wands. If they would do it, it would probably be expensive seeing as they would have to individually make each wand.

This has probably been asked, but do you guys think that along with wands and everything else....you'll be able to choose an Owl or a Cat or something? ;)

The preview showed the avatar/icons being animals so it seems likely. Although I think I recall seeing non-pet animals. I hope we get to choose. I'd love to go to the Eeylops Owl Emporium and pick out my little grey owl and buy it with my in-game galleons. ^__^

There were 4 choices last night. I'm assuming it will always be that way. I'd hate for them to just give me a name without any input from me.

I thought I had 5 choices. I was half-asleep, though...so it could've been 4! lol!

As for getting a pet - I'll be we'll have to buy those, but I'm sure the option will be there! At least I hope so!

I thought I had 5 choices. I was half-asleep, though...so it could've been 4! lol!

As for getting a pet - I'll be we'll have to buy those, but I'm sure the option will be there! At least I hope so!

Wait, maybe it was 5! It was 2 in the morning, so I might be wrong! I just found that picture someone posted yesterday of their page and it definetly has 5!

Well, we had a few options ;)

That would be totally awesome, but I think it is kind of unlikely. I believe it said somewhere that there are thousand of wands (I don't remember what it exactly said). That being said, I think it would be unlikely to make all the different wands. If they would do it, it would probably be expensive seeing as they would have to individually make each wand.

They could have a few and you could buy one similar to yours. For example, the real wands won't have any magical core, so that lessens the differences. And they could have short, medium, and long and specify which measurements fall into which categories.

It's most likely that they will sell plastic wands, so I'd suggest sticking to Allivan's or other sources. (I got mine on Etsy and love it).

I thought I had 5 choices. I was half-asleep, though...so it could've been 4! lol!

As for getting a pet - I'll be we'll have to buy those, but I'm sure the option will be there! At least I hope so!

Does anyone know how we will be able to earn money in the game? Will it be one of those things where you can enter in your credit card and buy more money? Or is completely determined by how you do in the game?

Does anyone know how we will be able to earn money in the game? Will it be one of those things where you can enter in your credit card and buy more money? Or is completely determined by how you do in the game?

No- JKR is adamant that Pottermore is completely free. :D So, galleons are probably earned by playing games etc.

I think by 'shaping the experience', we'll basically be trialling it for them. I think the whole 'early admissions' thing is very clever, because for one it builds up the hype. Also, it means that they can stagger people joining, so that the site does not crash. And it means that if there is a problem or error on the site in the early stages, they can fall back on the fact that it's the trial run. Because, let's face it, 1 million isn't exactly a select few, is it?

I don't know how well I worded that and if anyone will understand it at all, but it made sense in my head :)

Makes sense to me!

This has probably been asked, but do you guys think that along with wands and everything else....you'll be able to choose an Owl or a Cat or something?
Well from what I've read we go to Diagon Alley can buy things with our in-game galleons. Since there is both Magical Menagerie and Eyelops Owl Emporium in Diagon Alley and the latter was used in a clue I'm sure we'll be able to. It would make sense since we're meant to go through Hogwarts normally.

Re: Posting your own Pottermore username
How is the following off topic?



It is totally on topic! I'm not trying to derail or cause problems but I think that is one to far, even for cos.

Your members are excited and are sharing pottermore information on the pottermore thread, is there a specific thread for the cos members to post their pottermore usernames?

Maybe some folks who haven't made it in yet might get upset that others are, in some way, rubbing their nose in it. Or maybe it's that it's too peripherally related to Pottermore (it is, after all, two words each drawn randomly from a short list plus a number) and doesn't advance the discussion in any way. Hard to say. I'd owl an admin if you're really curious.

[staff edit].
I wonder what kind of questions Jk is making. Does anybody know of an example of one somewhere? I'm trying to keep an open mind about which house I'm going to be put in because this is as close as we get to an actual Sorting Hat!
I'm also very curious at the type of wand I'm going to get. Since there are so many wands to get, I wonder what some of the new cores are going to be. Any ideas?

I am confused as i got into Pottermore but have not kept up to date on anything to do with it.

So for some items do you use real money?

For those of you who are in, did you still get a choice of five or were you simply assigned a username? I was just curious if the beta gets the choice. Thanks!

it was a choice of five in a book and you selected one, you will see!!

I am confused as i got into Pottermore but have not kept up to date on anything to do with it.

So for some items do you use real money?

No- everything is free. :D (Except, obviously, buying the e-books.)

I think by 'shaping the experience', we'll basically be trialling it for them. I think the whole 'early admissions' thing is very clever, because for one it builds up the hype. Also, it means that they can stagger people joining, so that the site does not crash. And it means that if there is a problem or error on the site in the early stages, they can fall back on the fact that it's the trial run. Because, let's face it, 1 million isn't exactly a select few, is it?

I don't know how well I worded that and if anyone will understand it at all, but it made sense in my head :)

Those are common reasons for any beta. :) And yes, my guess is that they all apply to Pottermore. One more thing is that the beta population will be, to some extent, self-selecting; they'll be the sort of people most likely to be familiar with the books and therefore more able than average to point out potential inaccuracies (with respect to canon). And of course, they tend to be more passionate about HP, and so will be more likely to test how well Pottermore can handle peak load situations.

To answer a lot of those shopping questions:

I attended LeakyCon and got to see the sneak-peaks of Pottermore and they showed us Diagon Alley. You get to purchase your animal, wand, school supplies (make sure you do or you won't be able to get house points from school lessons), and etc. You get to do everything Harry Potter did in the book.

For those of you who are in, did you still get a choice of five or were you simply assigned a username? I was just curious if the beta gets the choice. Thanks!

I got a choice of 5.

So I was looking at screencaps from the registration process and I saw the final banner seems to ask what books you've read and what films you've seen. Please confirm if this is correct, those of you who have registered. If that is some sort of filter to protect people from spoilers, that's awesome!

Somehow I doubt it, though it could indeed be, or maybe they'll give you a warning "You told us you hadn't read this book yet" type thing.

I think it's more likely that they're just collecting info about us, to see how much of us are 'diehard' fans, how much of us have only seen the movies etc so that they can develop Pottermore in a certain way. E.g 70% of users have read all the books so we can develop it more this way. I haven't explained it well, but that's what I reckon.

Question: are the numbers behind our usernames random or in order? I mean, are there already 26 other people with my name?

No- everything is free. :D (Except, obviously, buying the e-books.)

Thank you as i was starting to get concerned . Just reading the last few pages i am now getting a little excited. It seems like a lot of work has gone into this and it will hopefully pay off.

I just hope i get into gryffindor and not hufflepuff :rotfl:

Question: are the numbers behind our usernames random or in order? I mean, are there already 26 other people with my name?

From what i've seen i'm guessing they're randomised. I haven't seen anyone else with a name similar to mine and i'm 112!!

Question: are the numbers behind our usernames random or in order? I mean, are there already 26 other people with my name?

I don't think so. I think it's a completely random formula that puts 2 words from a designated list together and then 2 or 3 random numbers after it.

To answer a lot of those shopping questions:

I attended LeakyCon and got to see the sneak-peaks of Pottermore and they showed us Diagon Alley. You get to purchase your animal, wand, school supplies (make sure you do or you won't be able to get house points from school lessons), and etc. You get to do everything Harry Potter did in the book.

I think the question about wands was about real physical wands. Not wands in Pottermore. Lots of folks would like to purchase a real version of the wand that chooses them in Pottermore. I don't see why it couldn't happen. I understand that Pottermore is intended to be free, but this is not an in-world item; it's a souvenir. So I think it could be offered as a licensed item, just like the e-book.

There is, of course, a technical issue in that the wands are fairly specific. It's rather likely that you won't be able to purchase your exact wand. I heard something to the effect that there are about 33,000 distinct wands. To a math guy, that is a somewhat suggestive number: It's fairly close to 32,768, and maybe they'll have something like four different cores, eight different woods, four different lengths, and various other options, all multiplying out to 32,768. (That's 2 to the 15th power, in case you're wondering.)

I didn't know sharing my username was not allowed in my post at all :whistle:

I've been lurking these threads for a while and earlier I saw a thread someone made to share usernames, but a mod locked it stating they should post here. Now they are saying we can't? Very confused on this.
I would like to share usernames, because I like looking at all the possible combinations. :sad:

Also - do you get to choose your username, or is it assigned to you? I recall hearing that usernames are assigned, not chosen.

You get five choices and you get to pick one.

Maybe some folks who haven't made it in yet might get upset that others are, in some way, rubbing their nose in it. Or maybe it's that it's too peripherally related to Pottermore (it is, after all, two words each drawn randomly from a short list plus a number) and doesn't advance the discussion in any way. Hard to say. I'd owl an admin if you're really curious.Yes, the latter. It's really just that we get 100 posts of this squueeeeing in here in just a few minutes. Staff does currently nothing else than to delete those to keep the thread open for an actual discussion.

Additionally, the server can't take it. If we want to keep CoS open, we need to reduce the traffic.

If people want to chat, please use the Pitchside thread in Quidditch Area - but not this thread. Thank you!

I think the question about wands was about real physical wands. Not wands in Pottermore. Lots of folks would like to purchase a real version of the wand that chooses them in Pottermore. I don't see why it couldn't happen. I understand that Pottermore is intended to be free, but this is not an in-world item; it's a souvenir. So I think it could be offered as a licensed item, just like the e-book.

There is, of course, a technical issue in that the wands are fairly specific. It's rather likely that you won't be able to purchase your exact wand. I heard something to the effect that there are about 33,000 distinct wands. To a math guy, that is a somewhat suggestive number: It's fairly close to 32,768, and maybe they'll have something like four different cores, eight different woods, four different lengths, and various other options, all multiplying out to 32,768. (That's 2 to the 15th power, in case you're wondering.)


Aw, well I doubt that about the REAL wands. My friend and I made our own and wands for our friends. If you are interested in wanting one, we would love to make you a wand. Message me and I will show you pics of our wands. :)

I don't think so. I think it's a completely random formula that puts 2 words from a designated list together and then 2 or 3 random numbers after it.

I think the question was whether the number was sequential or random. I rather think it is sequential. Remember that they must absolutely avoid name collisions. Since the two words are not in any obvious order, they really just form buckets, from which a sequential series of usernames is formed.

Another indicator to me is that of the five choices I had, the one I picked (ChaserQuaffle211), which was the only one that had two related words and was therefore, in my opinion, more likely to be chosen than the others, had the highest number after it. That would tend to support the notion that the number is sequential. Also, people who selected earlier seemed to have lower numbers. But it's an interesting question. Any real early adopters have any high numbers?

Question: are the numbers behind our usernames random or in order? I mean, are there already 26 other people with my name?

i wondered about that but i had a 3 after my name but other names i was offered had higher numbers. i think they may be random to increase the security

I didn't know sharing my username was not allowed in my post at allIf you make a discussion post and add your user name, that's just fine. What is annoying for everyone who browses the thread is 100 posts in a row shouting out usernames, and nothing more. Currently we delete such posts because the thread grows twenty pages a minute otherwise. :)

i wondered about that but i had a 3 after my name but other names i was offered had higher numbers. i think they may be random to increase the security

I doubt it. The number is not large enough to offer any meaningful security (you'd probably need at least three or more extra digits to deliver anything approaching significance there), and what's more, they didn't tell anyone not to divulge their username. They simply said the choices were offered randomly for child safety.

If you make a discussion post and add your user name, that's just fine. What is annoying for everyone who browses the thread is 100 posts in a row shouting out usernames, and nothing more. Currently we delete such posts because the thread grows twenty pages a minute otherwise. :)

See, that I understand! Although I stated my username (and my brothers) along with a reasonable post (I believe), and a staff edited it out :huh:

I think the usernames are random. I hope there aren't 112 of the same username already and hundreds not taken yet.

So it just popped into my head that the gameplay will probably be like Pixie Hollow and other kid games. It will extremely annoying to try to talk to your friends but that game is well done and from everything we've seen, Pottermore is as well and will be too beautiful and wonderful to be considered kiddish. I know my friends will laugh at me but oh well I've accepted being the biggest fan in my IRL circle and i pity the living and those who live without Harry Potter.

I'm still a little weary of the fan submissions. I don't want bad fanart and fanfiction tainting my experience.

Aw, well I doubt that about the REAL wands. My friend and I made our own and wands for our friends. If you are interested in wanting one, we would love to make you a wand. Message me and I will show you pics of our wands. :)

Heh heh, not for me, thanks. I suspect I'll be perfectly happy to let my in-world items remain in-world. (Although, like many other HGTTG aficionados, I couldn't resist making my own version of the PGGB.)

See, that I understand! Although I stated my username (and my brothers) along with a reasonable post (I believe), and a staff edited it out :huh:

That was probably me - sorry, I was being a bit overzealous.

We have a Pottermore social group if you want to join that to discuss usernames and whatnot.

I think the question was whether the number was sequential or random. I rather think it is sequential. Remember that they must absolutely avoid name collisions. Since the two words are not in any obvious order, they really just form buckets, from which a sequential series of usernames is formed.

Another indicator to me is that of the five choices I had, the one I picked (ChaserQuaffle211), which was the only one that had two related words and was therefore, in my opinion, more likely to be chosen than the others, had the highest number after it. That would tend to support the notion that the number is sequential. Also, people who selected earlier seemed to have lower numbers. But it's an interesting question. Any real early adopters have any high numbers?

I wondered whether the numbers were completely random, because both me and my dad were given the last 2 digits of our year of birth as one of the username options - it seems to be too much of a coincidence, as we had just submitted our date of birth, but I dunno.

I can't imagine how many possible words they have "in the bucket" (as someone mentioned before) to come up with the many (millions) of different name combinations. Add 2 or 3 random numbers after that, and you've got a whole heck of a lot of username possibilities. I'm still not convinced that the numbers are sequential.

EDIT:
Ok, I replied to a post, then added an on topic part and this post got edited! How is this different than stating my username to an on topic post? I'm so confused.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFbOmE2Xi88 This is an example of some questions for the sorting if anyone is intrested. And the usernames do seem to be random. the questions seem as if it will be hard to guess questions relatinge to specific houses.

We have a Pottermore social group if you want to join that to discuss usernames and whatnot.

how do you join?

Wouldn't it be great if we got our own budget for buying our school stuff in Diagon Alley. Went to Gringott, got money out of our vaults, went to buy all our school robes, books, wand, pet etc.

Re sorting I really hope the questions are not shallow and superficial. I am determined to answer the questions completly honestly rather than answer what I think I should answer. I have a feeling if I do this I will probably end up in Hufflepuff, but hey...

I think the usernames are random. I hope there aren't 112 of the same username already and hundreds not taken yet.

So it just popped into my head that the gameplay will probably be like Pixie Hollow and other kid games. It will extremely annoying to try to talk to your friends but that game is well done and from everything we've seen, Pottermore is as well and will be too beautiful and wonderful to be considered kiddish. I know my friends will laugh at me but oh well I've accepted being the biggest fan in my IRL circle and i pity the living and those who live without Harry Potter.

I'm still a little weary of the fan submissions. I don't want bad fanart and fanfiction tainting my experience.

I believe the Pottermore Insider blog (or some such) said there will be no fan-fic on the site. My guess is that that would extend to fan-art, too.

As far as your name is concerned, remember that the two words are drawn from fairly short lists. We've seen lots of repetitions already. So suppose they're both drawn from lists of fifty words each. That's 50x50 or 2,500 unique names, without numbers. Since each day has an average of about 140 thousand new users to register, you're going to need some high numbers to attach to those names. And if the lists are shorter than fifty words, the numbers will have to be higher.

My off-the-cuff guess is that there are at least a thousand word combinations, so that a million beta users can be accommodated without anyone having a four-digit number attached to the end of their name. Four digits can be a bit taxing to remember. I would have preferred a smaller number, of course, but a sports fan just finds ChaserQuaffle a bit too compelling to resist. :)

We have a Pottermore social group if you want to join that to discuss usernames and whatnot.

What is a social group? Is it a part of this site?

how do you join?

I think you might have to request an invitation. Message eddie330 for that.

ETA: ah, it's been changed to a public group.

What is a social group? Is it a part of this site?

Yes. http://www.cosforums.com/group.php?groupid=522

I wondered whether the numbers were completely random, because both me and my dad were given the last 2 digits of our year of birth as one of the username options - it seems to be too much of a coincidence, as we had just submitted our date of birth, but I dunno.

Coincidence, I think. It's bound to happen from time to time, and I think for security reasons they would not do that. At any rate, none of my choices had any such significance for me, if I recall correctly.

Wouldn't it be great if we got our own budget for buying our school stuff in Diagon Alley. Went to Gringott, got money out of our vaults, went to buy all our school robes, books, wand, pet etc.

Re sorting I really hope the questions are not shallow and superficial. I am determined to answer the questions completly honestly rather than answer what I think I should answer. I have a feeling if I do this I will probably end up in Hufflepuff, but hey...

have a look at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFbOmE2Xi88

(after J.K speaks approx. 1.18)

What is a social group? Is it a part of this site?Yes, Social Groups are part of this site. Look at the very top of the forum, and you'll see four drop-down menus. Click on Wizarding World and you'll see Social Groups in the drop down menu. Click on Social Groups and you'll be taken there.
how do you join?Once you get to the Social Groups, just click on the Pottermore group and in the upper right hand corner there is a button to click that says Join Group (this is very difficult to see if you're using the UK DH forum skin, so look very closely if you're using that skin). Anyway, after you click Join Group, you're in and can post in there.

See you there! :)

I can't imagine how many possible words they have "in the bucket" (as someone mentioned before) to come up with the many (millions) of different name combinations. Add 2 or 3 random numbers after that, and you've got a whole heck of a lot of username possibilities. I'm still not convinced that the numbers are sequential.

I think the numbers are likely to be sequential because it is much simpler to manage from an implementation perspective. The usernames have to be unique. So if they're not sequential, and I generate ChaserQuaffle from the words, I have to keep track of which numbers I've handed out and which ones I haven't. Whereas if they are sequential, then I only have to keep track of the last one I handed out for ChaserQuaffle. It's much faster to make the numbers sequential.

have a look at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFbOmE2Xi88

(after J.K speaks)

Thanks but don't want to ruin suprise. Part if the fun is in the speculation, plus I don't think people should be out there broadcasting it when Jo always tries so hard to keep things secret!

I know some of you are disappointed at not being able to discuss usernames here. However, discussion about not being able to discuss usernames here/how this thread is modded are dragging this thread off-topic, too.

If you have any questions about CoS/modding issues etc, please either owl a mod or post them on Ask The Staff (http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?p=5795950#post5795950) - please don't post them here.

Also, apologies for any inconsistencies and glitches on our part - we're dealing with a massive volume of traffic here and having to formulate our response to Pottermore as the situation develops. Thank you for your patience.

I think the numbers are likely to be sequential because it is much simpler to manage from an implementation perspective. The usernames have to be unique. So if they're not sequential, and I generate ChaserQuaffle from the words, I have to keep track of which numbers I've handed out and which ones I haven't. Whereas if they are sequential, then I only have to keep track of the last one I handed out for ChaserQuaffle. It's much faster to make the numbers sequential.

Sure, but that's something relatively easy for a computer to do. I mean, my username ends with 153. It seems unlikely that of all the combinations (and not just for this first million people, but eventually all users) 153 of mine have already been assigned.

Hi, thought I'd post this.


Can you give me a hint as to when the next Pottermore clue will be released?
We know that many of you waited through the night for the first two clues to be posted on Pottermore.com. Although we can't tell you exactly when the clues will be released - they will all be posted at different times - we can tell you that tomorrow's clue (Clue 3) will be posted some time between 9.00am and 1.00pm BST.

I wondered whether the numbers were completely random, because both me and my dad were given the last 2 digits of our year of birth as one of the username options - it seems to be too much of a coincidence, as we had just submitted our date of birth, but I dunno.

I think that might just be a coincidence. The number at the end of mine (176) seems completely random and has nothing to do with any details I entered.

guys, updated post on pottermore insider:

http://insider.pottermore.com/2011/07/magical-quill-some-questions-answered.html


Can you give me a hint as to when the next Pottermore clue will be released?
We know that many of you waited through the night for the first two clues to be posted on Pottermore.com. Although we can't tell you exactly when the clues will be released - they will all be posted at different times - we can tell you that tomorrow's clue (Clue 3) will be posted some time between 9.00am and 1.00pm BST.

Might help some of you get some decent sleep, really not healthy what some ppl have been doing imo...

Hi, thought I'd post this.


Can you give me a hint as to when the next Pottermore clue will be released?
We know that many of you waited through the night for the first two clues to be posted on Pottermore.com. Although we can't tell you exactly when the clues will be released - they will all be posted at different times - we can tell you that tomorrow's clue (Clue 3) will be posted some time between 9.00am and 1.00pm BST.

So that would be 4AM and 8AM EDT, right?

"Can you give me a hint as to when the next Pottermore clue will be released?
We know that many of you waited through the night for the first two clues to be posted on Pottermore.com. Although we can't tell you exactly when the clues will be released - they will all be posted at different times - we can tell you that tomorrow's clue (Clue 3) will be posted some time between 9.00am and 1.00pm BST."

Source: http://insider.pottermore.com/2011/07/magical-quill-some-questions-answered.html

They finally grew a conscience! YES!

Sure, but that's something relatively easy for a computer to do. I mean, my username ends with 153. It seems unlikely that of all the combinations (and not just for this first million people, but eventually all users) 153 of mine have already been assigned.

It's easy, but time-consuming. There is no percentage in making the process take more time than it needs to. A millisecond here, a millisecond there--pretty soon you're talking about real time. :) Pottermore is going to be a high-volume site in October. It will be taking new users all the time. There is no security offered in making the number random. If I were writing the site, I'd make them sequential.

As I said, even if there are a thousand word combinations (and nothing revealed so far suggests to me that the list is much longer than that), the first day will end up with an average of 140 of each word combination chosen! And certain names are simply more likely to be chosen because those combinations are more popular. In other words, the very fact that you chose your username suggests to me that more other folks also chose it.

Obviously, I'm speculating. There's nothing I could point out to show compellingly that it must be sequential. But I'm speculating from the perspective of one who's had to implement a system to be efficient. So, conversely, there's nothing in what anyone's said so far that demonstrates, compellingly, that it cannot be sequential. These numbers are simply not high enough. What would be interesting is to find two or more people with the same name (except for the number), and compare their registration times with their numbers, and see if they follow the same sequence.

Hi, thought I'd post this.


Can you give me a hint as to when the next Pottermore clue will be released?
We know that many of you waited through the night for the first two clues to be posted on Pottermore.com. Although we can't tell you exactly when the clues will be released - they will all be posted at different times - we can tell you that tomorrow's clue (Clue 3) will be posted some time between 9.00am and 1.00pm BST.

I was just coming here to post this. This should makes things easier. No need for an all nighter if you can just set an alarm. I wonder why they decided to give a window of time now? Maybe they were worried they would have a small band of dedicated people who would go without sleep for a week? :whistle:

We have a Pottermore social group if you want to join that to discuss usernames and whatnot.

Ooh were?

So that would be 4AM and 8AM EDT, right?

Yes it would.

Ooh were?

I already posted it in this thread and you may see that post before you see this one, but here goes:
http://www.cosforums.com/group.php?groupid=522

Yes it would.Thanks. Just making sure I did my conversions correctly. Daylight savings time and all.

We know that many of you waited through the night for the first two clues to be posted on Pottermore.com.

Knew Jo was lurking on here ;) :P

I wonder if in October the beta testers will have to start over or anthing; I kind of suspect that we will. There would be some kind of advantage with galleons and such, not to mention the housepoints; it would have to reset to zero for when the masses enter.

Hm...

maybe we can keep our acounts and galleons as a bonus for being betas? though the other things probably would be reset

I wonder if in October the beta testers will have to start over or anthing; I kind of suspect that we will. There would be some kind of advantage with galleons and such, not to mention the housepoints; it would have to reset to zero for when the masses enter.

Hm...

i'm not sure because if beta members have close to, if not, full access to the site they might be upset if house points and rewards they have earned all get wiped out.

I would like to be able to stay on through October with my original beta account; I bet they would put a little symbol next to beta testers' names or something, signifying the originals.

I would like to be able to stay on through October with my original beta account; I bet they would put a little symbol next to beta testers' names or something, signifying the originals.

that would be cool, that you can be recognised as an early user and someone who 'helped shape' Pottermore.

that would be cool, that you can be recognised as an early user and someone who 'helped shape' Pottermore.

Yeah, especially a few years down the line after several of the books have been "released" onto Pottermore.

I wonder if in October the beta testers will have to start over or anthing; I kind of suspect that we will. There would be some kind of advantage with galleons and such, not to mention the housepoints; it would have to reset to zero for when the masses enter.

Hm...

Well, it's possible, but I don't think it has to happen. The game doesn't have to be competitive. We don't know that there will be duelling between members, but even if there is, how would having more galleons help? The same problem will always exist between new members and anyone who's been there already for some time. As for house points, they'll try to sort evenly, and then it won't matter. They're not personal points, after all.

My guess is that they'll reset the system only if they have to for technical reasons. For instance, if there is a game imbalance that can only be solved by having everyone start over at zero, then they'll do that. But otherwise, if they take a functional system and say to everyone, all right, let's pretend you never got in...well, that's a lot of ill will they would be reluctant to incur.

OK, TOTAL SPECULATION: The sorting questions are supposed to vary from member to member. That is, they don't ask each person the same set of questions.

One thing they could do with that is tune the sorting criteria a bit. Why would they do that? Well, I suspect, based on reading these forums, that some houses are favored over others. It might be better if the houses were sorted evenly. So imagine that someone answers the questions in a way that places them somewhere between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor. If Hufflepuff is more filled up than Gryffindor, maybe the boundary line would be shifted over so that borderline entrants would be more likely to be sorted into Gryffindor. Or vice versa.

It would mean messing with Jo's questions, which she says she has playtested on friends and family. But the mess would be minor at best. Well, as I said, it's total speculation, and there's no way at any rate that I could see to verify it one way or the other.

I would like to be able to stay on through October with my original beta account; I bet they would put a little symbol next to beta testers' names or something, signifying the originals.

Yeah I think that's what everyone's hoping for.
Not only does everyone want a glimpse of the new site but I think its also the feeling of being part of something BIG!

I know this is thinking ahead a little bit, but will DH be released in 1 or 2 parts?

The questions are supposed to vary and some of the questions are very unpredictable there was one asking if you

prefered a river or a forest

I know this is thinking ahead a little bit, but will DH be released in 1 or 2 parts?

I really can't see it being in two parts, the sites mainly about the books surely?
Maybe to 'expand the fandom' but I doubt it.

DH will probably be released all at once as pottermore is supposed to follow the books

I know this is thinking ahead a little bit, but will DH be released in 1 or 2 parts?

i would guess one the same as the original book, for the purpose of pottermore i don't think it would make sense to release it in two parts, and by the time all but the 7th book are online adding one more probably wouldn't be an issue as in it being too big or anything

The questions are supposed to vary and some of the questions are very unpredictable there was one asking if you

prefered a river or a forest

did you get to see the questions at leakycon?

did you get to see the questions at leakycon?

From http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFbOmE2Xi88 an interview with reporters around 1.18 mins in.

I'm really worried about the sorting, but at the same time we get to truly know what house we're in..

I'm wondering that when the magical quill thing is all over and people start to get the emails welcoming them to Pottermore that if the people who registered on the first day will get them first, or will it be just be completely random?

I know this is thinking ahead a little bit, but will DH be released in 1 or 2 parts?

The film was released in two parts for monetary concerns, which are not supposed to be an issue at all in Pottermore, so one installment. Besides, this follows the books, not films.

The main things I am looking forward to is the sorting, getting a wand and pet, reading all the extra info, As I have iPad won't be able to make potions and duel but I am hoping to sort that situation soon. So the 6th of august is this Saturday so hopefully not long till we get are welcome letters :-)

hopefully people who registered first will get in first as many stayed up waiting aall night

From http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFbOmE2Xi88 an interview with reporters around 1.18 mins in.

the questions look so good and not the kinds where you know which answer leads to which house. thanks for posting

I believe the Pottermore Insider blog (or some such) said there will be no fan-fic on the site. My guess is that that would extend to fan-art, too.

The Pottermore Insider also said

Can you please explain what you mean by 'online reading experience'? How much will I, as a Pottermore user, be able to affect the story? After all, hasn't Harry's story already been told?
The best way to think of Pottermore is as an interactive, illustrated companion to the books. J.K. Rowling wanted to create a site where her stories could live on and where readers could explore them in a new way. In addition to discovering new material from J.K. Rowling about Harry’s world, you’ll be able to interact with key story Moments (the Sorting Hat sequence, for example) and upload your own comments, thoughts and artwork for all the characters, objects and places that you come across.

Emphasis mine.

PS I like they told us a window and am sad it's 1a-5a for me. I set MuggleNet tweets to text to my phone. Hopefully it wakes me, else it wasn't meant to be.

The main things I am looking forward to is the sorting, getting a wand and pet, reading all the extra info, As I have iPad won't be able to make potions and duel but I am hoping to sort that situation soon. So the 6th of august is this Saturday so hopefully not long till we get are welcome letters :-)

how do you know there will be things you can't access on your ipad?

how do you know there will be things you can't access on your ipad?

As of right now, it definitely appears that you won't be able to access Pottermore on iPad or iPod Touch. This is simply because of the Flash Player.

how do you know there will be things you can't access on your ipad?

The entire site runs on Flash, and the mobile Apple products do not allow Flash...for now; though there may be some type of app released by Pottermore if there's enough demand.

how do you know there will be things you can't access on your ipad?

Flash, Safari doesn't have it, and Pottermore probably will. But there are some special apps that open up a flash-enhanced browser, but that's another thread...

Hi, I picked the idea of this up from a tweet, but can't find it again to credit the author (sorry) but thought I'd pass it long.

There seems to be a factor of 7 going in the clue answers. The first multiplier was 49 (7x7) and the second was 42 (7x6).
So following this progression we may find:
Clue #3 multiplier of 35 (7x5)
Clue #4 multiplier of 28 (7x4)
Clue #5 multiplier of 21 (7x3)
Clue #6 multiplier of 14 (7x2)
Clue #7 multiplier of 7 *(7x1)
And this progression is also a countdown: 7,6,5,4,3,2,1

Just thought it was interesting. Kinda useless, but interesting.

Hi, I picked the idea of this up from a tweet, but can't find it again to credit the author (sorry) but thought I'd pass it long.

There seems to be a factor of 7 going in the clue answers. The first multiplier was 49 (7x7) and the second was 42 (7x6).
So following this progression we may find:
Clue #3 multiplier of 35 (7x5)
Clue #4 multiplier of 28 (7x4)
Clue #5 multiplier of 21 (7x3)
Clue #6 multiplier of 14 (7x2)
Clue #7 multiplier of 7 *(7x1)
And this progression is also a countdown: 7,6,5,4,3,2,1

Just thought it was interesting. Kinda useless, but interesting.

i was thinking the same thing, but disregarded it as just mere coincidence, i am glad that some else saw the same pattern as well - you never know, this could come in handy!!

I read in the help bit I will get to access and do everything apart from potions and duels so I will get to do everything else

However, if your device does not support Flash (if it is an Apple device, for example) you can still enjoy all aspects of Pottermore with the exception of the Potions and Wizard’s Duel activities.

However, if your device does not support Flash (if it is an Apple device, for example) you can still enjoy all aspects of Pottermore with the exception of the Potions and Wizard’s Duel activities.

Question.
Everyone seems to have gotten a number next to their username when they registered...do you think the number has anything to do with the order in which we registered/solved the puzzle?

Did anyone else watch that youtube video where the reporters took the quiz on Pottermore to be sorted into a house?

I thought that the questions were really cool, obviously they only showed three questions and they will be different for each person, but still. It doesn't seem like people will be able to guess which question goes with which answer. I also like how the questions are set up. With pictures and all.

Question.
Everyone seems to have gotten a number next to their username when they registered...do you think the number has anything to do with the order in which we registered/solved the puzzle?

it might have something to do with how many of each username there are or may be random but it isn't the order in which the puzzle was solved as the five usernames i was offered all had very different numbers and the one i chose has a 3 at the end and i definitely wasn't the 3rd person to get in

it might have something to do with how many of each username there are or may be random but it isn't the order in which the puzzle was solved as the five usernames i was offered all had very different numbers and the one i chose has a 3 at the end and i definitely wasn't the 3rd person to get in

Yeah I think that it is random because I was able to pick out of 4/5 names I don't remember and each name had a different number. So if the numbers went with the order of how you solved the puzzle then every username that you could have picked from should have the same number.

Did anyone else watch that youtube video where the reporters took the quiz on Pottermore to be sorted into a house?

I thought that the questions were really cool, obviously they only showed three questions and they will be different for each person, but still. It doesn't seem like people will be able to guess which question goes with which answer. I also like how the questions are set up. With pictures and all.

Yes all the questions seemed unpredictable

Did anyone else watch that youtube video where the reporters took the quiz on Pottermore to be sorted into a house?

I thought that the questions were really cool, obviously they only showed three questions and they will be different for each person, but still. It doesn't seem like people will be able to guess which question goes with which answer. I also like how the questions are set up. With pictures and all.


Can we have a link, perhaps?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFbOmE2Xi88

the sorting questions are at about 1.18

I thought that the questions were really coolI thought the two questions that gave four possible answers were cool--you really couldn't tell which answer corresponded to which house, so you couldn't sway the results. However, I thought the last question was lame. Heads or tails? What does that have to do with determining the correct house? The quiz had her placed between two houses so now her house placement is down to random chance? I didn't like that.

Since I have a Droid, I have flash but I still hope they have an app or at least a mobile-optimized site since many (including Mugglenet and COS) are difficult to browse on a phone. Even if the app is just a dumbed down version of the website to tide me over until I get to a computer again.

They'd be crazy to release something like this in 2011 without thinking of all the mobile users though.

I think the numbers are really just randomized.
Because, on the first day, I got the username 'NightBlade38'.
The next day, when my sister signed up, among the options appeared 'NightBlade29'.
So clearly they're not in upwards order.
Does anyone have evidence to kill a downwards order theory?

I thought the two questions that gave four possible answers were cool--you really couldn't tell which answer corresponded to which house, so you couldn't sway the results. However, I thought the last question was lame. Heads or tails? What does that have to do with determining the correct house? The quiz had her placed between two houses so now her house placement is down to random chance? I didn't like that.

it might mean something to J.K just because it doesn't to us just yet, it might link to the way in which you answered a different question. this is just speculation of course

Hi, I picked the idea of this up from a tweet, but can't find it again to credit the author (sorry) but thought I'd pass it long.

There seems to be a factor of 7 going in the clue answers. The first multiplier was 49 (7x7) and the second was 42 (7x6).
So following this progression we may find:
Clue #3 multiplier of 35 (7x5)
Clue #4 multiplier of 28 (7x4)
Clue #5 multiplier of 21 (7x3)
Clue #6 multiplier of 14 (7x2)
Clue #7 multiplier of 7 *(7x1)
And this progression is also a countdown: 7,6,5,4,3,2,1

Just thought it was interesting. Kinda useless, but interesting.

It's an idea that's been floating around. I posted about it in Pottermore v6. When 49 came out, I thought there were two possibilities: 49, 42, 35, etc., and the other was the squares 49, 36, 25, etc. I know, it's a bit geeky. Well, who am I kidding, it's a lot geeky.

Yeah I think that it is random because I was able to pick out of 4/5 names I don't remember and each name had a different number. So if the numbers went with the order of how you solved the puzzle then every username that you could have picked from should have the same number.

As the chief proponent (apparently) of the notion that the numbers are likely sequential, let me emphasize that I think the numbers are sequential for each word pair. That is, if you see BloodSnitch237, there have been 236 BloodSnitches before you. Not 236 total entrants. So it is quite possible that you would be offered both BloodSnitch237 and, I don't know, OakBludger15, if it so happened that OakBludger was an unpopular name and very few people chose it--14, in fact.

I thought the two questions that gave four possible answers were cool--you really couldn't tell which answer corresponded to which house, so you couldn't sway the results. However, I thought the last question was lame. Heads or tails? What does that have to do with determining the correct house? The quiz had her placed between two houses so now her house placement is down to random chance? I didn't like that.

I didn't like that either. What I would do is flip a coin. Hey hopefully with Jo as the author, it will narrow it down to the 2 best houses for you. Or maybe, they had already determined her house, and she just needed one more question. Just an idea.

I think the numbers are really just randomized.
Because, on the first day, I got the username 'NightBlade38'.
The next day, when my sister signed up, among the options appeared 'NightBlade29'.
So clearly they're not in upwards order.
Does anyone have evidence to kill a downwards order theory?

Interesting! That's the first evidence that I've seen to contravene the sequential order idea. I must say that's fairly curious. I wonder why they do that. Maybe it's to avoid people doing something unsavory to get a low number?

From http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFbOmE2Xi88 an interview with reporters around 1.18 mins in.

That's a lot better than I was expecting. Can't wait to see what these random questions end up being...thanks for sharing this link!

As the chief proponent (apparently) of the notion that the numbers are likely sequential, let me emphasize that I think the numbers are sequential for each word pair. That is, if you see BloodSnitch237, there have been 236 BloodSnitches before you. Not 236 total entrants. So it is quite possible that you would be offered both BloodSnitch237 and, I don't know, OakBludger15, if it so happened that OakBludger was an unpopular name and very few people chose it--14, in fact.

i think that could be possible, so when more people have joined it will be more obvious who the betas are because they will supposedly have lower numbers unless of course more word combos are released in oct.

I thought the two questions that gave four possible answers were cool--you really couldn't tell which answer corresponded to which house, so you couldn't sway the results. However, I thought the last question was lame. Heads or tails? What does that have to do with determining the correct house? The quiz had her placed between two houses so now her house placement is down to random chance? I didn't like that.

I read somewhere (ugh, can't find it!) that if you are between two houses you get to pick which one you want, just like Harry did. It's called a Hat Stall. So it wouldn't be up to chance.

I read somewhere (ugh, can't find it!) that if you are between two houses you get to pick which one you want, just like Harry did. It's called a Hat Stall. So it wouldn't be up to chance.

if thats true its really cool and very cannon with the books :D

I didn't like that either. What I would do is flip a coin. Hey hopefully with Jo as the author, it will narrow it down to the 2 best houses for you. Or maybe, they had already determined her house, and she just needed one more question. Just an idea.

You know, people will read quite a bit into a question. It sounds like a content-free question but I know a lot of people who wouldn't treat it that way. Specifically...

I think many folks--possibly including myself!--will associate "heads" with coolness, intellectualism, getting down to business, etc., and "tails" with loyalty (think puppy dog), fun, adventure. Hermione would call "heads." The Weasley twins would call "tails."

Well, you never know.

I read somewhere (ugh, can't find it!) that if you are between two houses you get to pick which one you want, just like Harry did. It's called a Hat Stall. So it wouldn't be up to chance.
That would be very cool.
You know, people will read quite a bit into a question. It sounds like a content-free question but I know a lot of people who wouldn't treat it that way. Specifically...
I can see that. I'm going to try not to do that myself, although knowing how I am, I think it will be difficult! :lol:

You know, people will read quite a bit into a question. It sounds like a content-free question but I know a lot of people who wouldn't treat it that way. Specifically...

I think many folks--possibly including myself!--will associate "heads" with coolness, intellectualism, getting down to business, etc., and "tails" with loyalty (think puppy dog), fun, adventure. Hermione would call "heads." The Weasley twins would call "tails."

Well, you never know.

Yeah I'm guessing that heads and tails isn't just a question that decides where you go between two houses. I'm sure that it has something to do with personality. Another question also had two answers, something like forest or river, and I don't think that it decided between two houses. I think it decides between two personality traits.

i think that could be possible, so when more people have joined it will be more obvious who the betas are because they will supposedly have lower numbers unless of course more word combos are released in oct.

Except that someone else has just posted that NightBlade38 and NightBlade29 showed up in that order, so they aren't sequential. Still, surprising to me.

That would be very cool.

I can see that. I'm going to try not to do that myself, although knowing how I am, I think it will be difficult! :lol:

Why ever not? Reading into the question reveals something about you. What would be inappropriate--if anything is inappropriate here--would be to answer the questions insincerely, in order to get into a house that you have decided for other reasons you would prefer. Those are two different things.

I hope if you're stuck between two houses, you can choose.

But that heads/tails question makes me confused. Does it mean something if you choose heads rather than tails? I usually just choose whatever comes to mind.

I think that if you want to find out what you would honestly be sorted into, you have to answer the question with the first answer you like. If you read into it, it's not really you that is being placed into the house. My opinion :-)

I hope if you're stuck between two houses, you can choose.

But that heads/tails question makes me confused. Does it mean something if you choose heads rather than tails? I usually just choose whatever comes to mind.

I feel like it has to mean something. I don't think that Jo would just make it a question that decides between two houses, that would kind of defeat the purpose. It must have something to do with personality.

I think that if you want to find out what you would honestly be sorted into, you have to answer the question with the first answer you like. If you read into it, it's not really you that is being placed into the house. My opinion :-)

In my opinion :) , that's only true if you're reading something into the question insincerely. If, for instance, you answer an intentionally vague question by putting your own context into it--and I think with a vague question you'd have a hard time avoiding that--then to me, you are answering the question sincerely.

What would be inappropriate--if anything is inappropriate here--would be to answer the questions insincerely, in order to get into a house that you have decided for other reasons you would prefer. Those are two different things.
I said nothing about being insincere. I just think my first instinct would probably be more accurate than if I tried to interpret the symbolism of every answer and tried to suss out which answer corresponds to which house.

Guys where did the previous Pottermore threads go? I wanted to look at V.6 to see what I missed this morning! What was the clue? What time was it posted?

I said nothing about being insincere. I just think my first instinct would probably be more accurate than if I tried to interpret the symbolism of every answer and tried to suss out which answer corresponds to which house.

i think both ways are valid but i think i will mostly go on first instinct

Guys where did the previous Pottermore threads go? I wanted to look at V.6 to see what I missed this morning! What was the clue? What time was it posted?

i think the threads are being deleted after they are full by mods because think they are too chatty etc.

the clue was posted at around 10am UK time and the question was what chapter in CoS did Prof McGonagall cancel the griffindor/hufflepuff quidditch game multiplied by a number

Guys where did the previous Pottermore threads go? I wanted to look at V.6 to see what I missed this morning! What was the clue? What time was it posted?

The previous threads were deleted as lots of rules were broken in them.

The clue was posted around 10am UK time, and asked 'in what chapter does Professor McGonagall cancel the Gryffindor/Hufflepuff quidditch match in CoS?' and then times the chapter number by 42. :)

I said nothing about being insincere. I just think my first instinct would probably be more accurate than if I tried to interpret the symbolism of every answer and tried to suss out which answer corresponds to which house.

I know you said nothing about being insincere. My point was that only by being insincere would the sorting be made inaccurate. If you are the sort of person that sincerely tries to interpret symbolism, as you put it, then the sorting cannot be made more inaccurate by you doing so. If, on the other hand, you are the sort of person who answers with their first instinct, then again, the sorting cannot be made more inaccurate by you doing so. Who knows--even perhaps you do not!--what makes you pick the answer you do? What makes us human is that we have all sorts of conceptual baggage that gets associated with things as simple as heads or tails, most of which we carry around without being aware of it in the least.

For instance, how many times have any of us said, "I don't know what made me think of this, but..."? It might be anything but random!

You yourself said it would be difficult not to read into the question. My advice is not to let that worry you. If you naturally read into the question, then read into the question. It will not make your sorting less accurate.

Along the same lines as deciding between two houses, I wonder if we will have any other control over what house we are positioned (or not positioned) into. Much like, 'Not Slytherin, eh?'

The previous threads were deleted as lots of rules were broken in them.

The clue was posted around 10am UK time, and asked 'in what chapter does Professor McGonagall cancel the Gryffindor/Hufflepuff quidditch match in CoS?' and then times the chapter number by 42. :)

Thanks!

Ah, that's a shame :( It would have been neat to look back on those threads and the posts we made in them :(

If you are the sort of person that sincerely tries to interpret symbolism, as you put it, then the sorting cannot be made more inaccurate by you doing so. If, on the other hand, you are the sort of person who answers with their first instinct, then again, the sorting cannot be made more inaccurate by you doing so. Who knows--even perhaps you do not!--what makes you pick the answer you do? What makes us human is that we have all sorts of conceptual baggage that gets associated with things as simple as heads or tails, most of which we carry around without being aware of it in the least.

For instance, how many times have any of us said, "I don't know what made me think of this, but..."? It might be anything but random!

:agree: That makes sense. I just didn't understand what you meant my insincere at first. :)

Thanks!

Ah, that's a shame :( It would have been neat to look back on those threads and the posts we made in them :(

having been online while they were active honestly i don't think much of it would be worth looking back on, there was a lot of talk of late emails usernames and being sleep deprived from staying up waiting for clues which i think is why the mods didn't bother keeping them, there wasn't loads of really good info so it would probably take a while to sort through.

I'm one of the doubting Thomases that the numbers are in any way sequential. Myself, my partner and my sister registered on 3 seperate devices, at the same time, same room...and within seconds of the first clue being posted (all we were doing is hitting refresh...refresh...refresh constantly).
We all got names with relatively high numbers given the quik timeframe, we were all using ipads and did not have to 'catch' the quill. The numbers were 141, 96 and 144. We also got some name combinations I haven't seen on the forums nor on Twitter: MagicRain, WingProphecy and HeartCharm.
I just think the names are randomly generated, and when one is picked by the registrant, it's removed by the computer algorithm from the 'available' list.
Just my half-cents worth.