Re: Pottermore v.10
 

In a way I think they are keeping cool about it because the site isn't a paid one. They are not making any money, so they are not in a rush to please us. It's understandable. I don't think Rowling will go out of her way to invest too much time and money on this site.

Re: Pottermore v.10
 

JKR has the time. Hopefully she uses that time to make Pottermore the best site it can be.

Re: Pottermore v.10
 

That Insider report was just as I expected. I knew the beta period would be extended and public access would not start right away. Half the beta tester haven't even explored the site yet. Plus, it's still unstable and buggy. Had a feeling they would have to improve the site before it opened to the public. Glad they're taking the time to make the adjustments before it's opened to the public.

Re: Pottermore v.10
 

I don't know, I think its interesting that the one thing on the site that will make money (eBooks) is the one that will open last, by the sound of things.

This is good news for everyone on the site atm, but I feel so bad for the people who are going to have to wait even longer for access. I know how crappy I felt during the wait between the registration and welcome emails, and I got in during the second week!

I can't wait for the survey though. :D

But wow, 550 million views!? :wow:
That's insane.

Re: Pottermore v.10
 

One thing that did kind of bother me about the Insider was how they said they did not expect the reaction and that the level of enthusiasm was overwhelming (I think that was in a previous blog post). This I find hard to believe. How did they not expect the level of interest in Pottermore? If anything, the Quill challenge (how the site could not handle the traffic) should have indicated to them that fans would have wanted to gain entry immediately and stay on a lot.

Re: Pottermore v.10
 

I agree, they definitely underestimated the passion and dedication of most Potterfans. I think they probably expected people to log in, read the whole story over a couple of days but then get bored and move on. A lot of people have said there's not a lot to keep their interest after that, so I think they were right and people will get bored, but just not as quickly as they might have thought (or even hoped).

I think keeping duelling down this long was a bad idea too. Most people never got a chance to try it so by the time they bring it up again, people are going to want to have a go. With the full million in now, that might cause a lot of problems for them. :shrug:

Re: Pottermore v.10
 

My new favorite saying!

I'm stunned reading that. Looks like people can register at the end of October (probably Halloween) but they have to wait for Welcome emails as well?? Dang....

I suppose it makes sense. They need to know how many servers to add, and people get frustrated when they can't access the site. I know I do.

Re: Pottermore v.10
 

I must agree. Especially at the rate things were going by mid September, it should not come as a surprise to anyone that the period was extended. I do think this is a good idea though, just because I think opening a site that has this many bugs is a bad idea. I just hope dueling goes up soon, and the site's server's will improve so that I am able to go on to Pottermore without having to wait because the servers are busy.

Re: Pottermore v.10
 

I think they probably didn't quite know the demand for it before they announced it and allowed people to put in their email address followed by the quill challenge.

To be honest the site works OK for me. Yeah, sometimes I have to refresh or a page doesn't load properly, but it isn't bad. I really think some of it has to do with the speed of one's connection and the speed of their computer, in addition to the current amount of users on the site.

Thanks for the info! :)

Re: Pottermore v.10
 

That page views thing is actually too low in my opinion, as everyone has to refresh the page at least once per minute due to the constant crashes it suffers. The down time of the page outweights any up time it may have so of course the page would be constantly opened and reopened.

Re: Pottermore v.10
 

Exactly

In my opinion it`s a elechtrical meter. Such things would be installed in cellars and the like. Since the Dursleys seem to have no cellar, it`s a common place.

Re: Pottermore v.10
 

Was just reading the latest Insider update.
I feel really bad for the non-Beta folks.
I also feel really lucky being a Beta.

Re: Pottermore v.10
 

Re: Pottermore v.10
 

I don't think the question is what the meter is (electrical meter seems as good a guess as any), but what significance the numbers have. The common feeling is that it must have some significance, since they went through the trouble of animating it; if it were just a throwaway item, it would be a simple static image, wouldn't it?

Re: Pottermore v.10
 

I'd say current number of users has more to do with it than anything - I've got a fast computer and a good Internet connection, and have still been unable to get on except very early in the morning or very late at night.

It seems stupid to think that they wouldn't realize the amount of demand for something like Pottermore: even if you were to assume that a giant portion of the book users were casual fans who wouldn't be interested (and given that it's a book that millions of kids grew up with and would definitely want to be Sorted, get more information, etc.), there are other sites that indicate a HUGE interest in Harry Potter - look at how many people "like" Harry Potter books or movies on the Internet. (I looked this up before the Quill challenge, and something like 17 million Facebook users liked the books and >30 million people liked the movies. Now think of all the people who are too young or not interested in having a Facebook account. Even if you assumed that only a small fraction of those people would have interest in Pottermore, they had to know that they were going to need a server that could accommodate well over the million beta testers they got - and their servers honestly didn't handle half that number well.

Granted, I can see them underestimating how popular Potions would be and how many people would continue visiting the site after they finished going through the book, but I think they underestimated how important the House Cup would be to a lot of people, and how many people would log in simply to organize their friends list or go back and explore things they missed in the rush to get to the wand-choosing and Sorting. (Also, what happens when duelling goes back up? I'd never bother with Potions now because of the time involved, but dueling would be fast and fun.)

I did predict that they'd reserve the opening of the site until Halloween some time ago, but it seems to me that they were very, very foolish to underestimate the demand for the site so badly.

Re: Pottermore v.10
 

Yeah, my thoughts too! I would hate to have been all excited thinking I could finally get on come October, but having to wait. And possibly for months! How sucky!

I really hope they sort this out soon and that it doesn't take months to get the public online. My friends are really looking forward to it lol.

Just as an aside, and I don't know if this has been discussed elsewhere, but what happens with the House Points? Is there going to be a House Cup?Are the points wiped after a certain amount of time and we all start again? If so, is this going to happen before the end of Beta or just continue until the public are on? (I keep saying "public" as if we Beta folks are some sort of elite haha...I don't mean it like that!)

Re: Pottermore v.10
 

You're right - thanks, Leah :)

So there's a total of 60 goodies to be found.....

Re: Pottermore v.10
 

All right, so the beta's been extended. I wonder how long they've been planning this. My friend who didn't get into the beta told me she was going to stay up tonight to get on the site tomorrow. :shrug: They could have told us a little earlier. Now there's going to be a lot of bitter disappointment for the non-beta people. I understand why it was necessary, but I'd feel awful if it was me...

Anyway, it's ridiculous for them to assume they wouldn't get the hype they did, because didn't they advertise it as being "as good as a new book"? They should have prepared more. But okay, they didn't, and they're taking the time now to work everything out, so fine.

I can't even get onto the site right now, so I'm not incredibly different from a non-beta person. :|

Re: Pottermore v.10
 

I doubt it isn`t signicant what that object is. Because if it is, what I thought it would be, the numbers would be a hint of the magic that lives in the owner of the cupboard. Televisions and computers wouldn`t work around Hogwarts, JKR told us once. Though that means magic has an influence on electricity.

Now for the numbers, JKR has a thing for them. Therefore I`m with you on that they have some significance.

Re: Pottermore v.10
 

I'm sorry about your friend!

If I remember correctly, we were promised 2 things:

All Beta testers would be in before October 1st

and

The site would be open to everyone sometime in October.

Many thought that date would be Halloween, since that's the day Harry's parents were killed.

To be honest, the only real new information is that not everyone gets immediate access to the site once they register - they have to wait for Welcome Emails, too.