Sorting policy

File:Guide.png

Where to go to sort:

The most important place to go when it comes to sorting is either here or here for your adult characters. This is the place where you start either your student or your adult. However, it is recommended that you look through the main sorting page, the starting up guide and the policies. However, this page should be your one stop guide for your character, but just in case anything is missed, it's a good idea to look through these pages as well!

To make a forum, you simply go to the first two links, you write your name in the character in the little box and press the 'get started' button. Like this:

After pressing this button, you will then be directed to the sorting forum. Do note that the student and adult forums are the same but the layout is different. Also some sections are optional for adults but are required for students.

## The Forum

### Signature

The first thing you will see is this:

"Please put ~~~~ or your user signature here."
Please delete this and include ~~~~ or your personalised signature. This enables the sorter to find your profile and contact you outside of your forum.

### Multiple Choice

The multiple choice questions help the sorter give your character a Hogwarts house. The choices are based to determine what your character values. It is a requirement for all the student characters to be sorted into a house, thus it is a requirement for this section to be filled out completely. For adults, this section is optional and you can skip it.

To answer a question, simply highlight your answer and press the 'i' button on the top of your page or add two apostrophes on either side of the words (after the :, not before). It should look something like this:

Please answer each of the ten questions with one answer.

### Personality and History

When it comes to personality and history, the more detail the better. Also remember that though both are seperate sections, both are connected and do affect one another. We ask that you write both of these things as it gives the sorter an idea of your character and whether they are acceptable to the wiki or not.

* Personality:
	+ Your characters personality is essentially what your character is about. Are they shy? Courageous? Nervous? Whatever makes that character (traits, hobbies, political opinions etc) is discussed in the personality.
	+ Though this is shorter than a history, detail is still recommended. Go into further depth. Why are they so hostile to the world? Is there another side to them that they don't show to people? What does it take to draw that side out?

* Your personality must be 14 lines minimum. We encourage you to split this into two paragraphs of seven lines. Do remember the sorter bases their lines on the published page. Whilst in editting mode you may have fourteen lines, it might be only twelve when published.

* History:
	+ Not everything in the character's history has to be known by the character. For example, John might not know how his parents met and why they gave him up for adoption. But how they met and their reasoning behind the adoption is still important for context and realism. Thus, we do recommend that you include your parents history, though you are able to get away with little detail about them.

* If your child was raised under parents:
	+ Discuss the child's relationship with them. Did they have a good relationship? If they didn't, why? How did the parent display their hatred/love towards the child? How did the child interpret this treatment?
	+ Did the child have siblings? If so, what was their relationship with them? Did they pick on the sibling, or did they get picked on by them. Or were they close? Distant?
	+ Are the parents and siblings still around current day? Do they still support (both emotionally and financially) your child? If not, what happened to them and how does the child support themselves? If the parents died, or deserted them, who took them in? If they weren't, were they left on the streets or were they adopted?
* If your child wasn't raised under parents:
	+ How were they raised? Were they adopted (if they were adopted, then see above), were they placed in a foster home or were they left on the streets?
	+ If they were left on the streets, how did they survive? How did the find shelter, food, clothes? The more details the better in order for it to be realistic.
	+ How do they perceive their lot in life? Did they resent their parents, do they miss them or do they resent everything in the world. Remember, something like the loss of parents, the lack of a stable childhood, would affect your child immensely and can cause permanent damage.
* The first magical incident is ***compulsory*** for all characters (except for five year old forums as they might not have experienced it yet). This usually occurs between 7-10. Remember you must include the age in the explanation as well. We ask that you include the magical incident as it does warn the sorter of potential OP. Most users try to argue that since the character had their first magical incident at the age of four then their magical would be superior as they grow older. Thus, we ask that you include their age when they had their first magical incident in order to avoid this.
	+ You can discuss how they reacted to their incident, how they reacted to the idea of magic. Were they told the truth? Did they ignore it? Did they think they were dreaming? Were they the only one that witnessed it?
	+ Though it is highly likely that they experienced other magical incidents afterwards, which you can certainly mention, there is no need to go into full depth as you did with the first one.
* Another thing that you can write about is how the character first got their education. Some magical parents are willing to send their children to primary school (the UK equivalent to elementary) whilst some magical parents would prefer their child to be tutored at Kwikspell Tutoring or homeschooled. It is up to you to decide how your magical child received their early education, though if your child is a muggle born then they would be sent to primary. Of course, some children don't receive education and if this is the case, please explain why they didn't receive it.
	+ On top of this, if the character did attend primary school or kwikspell, then you can discuss how they interacted with their peers, how they did academically and how it affected their life. Remember, everything in the character's history affects your character. For example, suffering from bullying during their primary school years would continue to affect their personality in the current day.
* How did they react to Hogwarts? If they were already a part of Hogwarts, then they would have been aware and expecting their acceptance letter. However, for those who are new to the magical world (most commonly muggle borns), then the letter would most likely come as a surprise. How did they react? How did their parents react?
* If the character is currently in Hogwarts, then how have they been finding Hogwarts? Do they like it? Do they have friends? What's their experience in it.

* Your history must be twenty one lines minimum or three paragraphs of seven sentences.

## Models

* We do allow the sharing of models. If you are wanting to use a model that is being used by another user, then feel free to ask. However, they do hold the right to say no but it's rarely personal. It is recommended you do have a back up model just in case they do say no. Generally, we only allow two users to share a model but there are circumstances that we allow three (such as triplets).

* We don't allow models from the JKR universe. This includes models in the Harry Potter movies as well as any spin offs. For example, both Emma Watson and Zoe Kravitz are banned models. If you use a model who is then casted into the films, you will be asked to change the model.

* Representation is highly important within this community and is highly regarded as we are a highly diverse community. We encourage users to make sure DARP isn't of one sexuality or race and that they create a diverse range of characters. We understand that some users are afraid that they'll misinterpret a minority and play on stereotypes. However, one of the main ideas of roleplaying is to place yourself in another person's shoes. Even if you do play on stereotypes, you might still come out more aware of this community than you were previously. If you are afraid, then you can always try researching into that sexuality, ethnicity or disability to increase your own awareness and increase your ability to rp that character correctly. Of course, we don't force people to create characters outside of their comfort zone but we do encourage it. Even if your representation of that character might be considered problematic, we will appreciate your effort and respectfully inform you why it might be problematic. The purpose of DARP is to simply be more inclusive and build an understanding community regardless of their walks in life.
	+ If you are struggling to find a model (or a faceclaim) for a certain ethncity, then you could try one of our user's blog that gives you a masterlist for different faceclaims. If you are still struggling, then you can always ask for help.
	+ If you are struggling with anything for representation, including misinterpretation, then ask! We are all generally approachable, especially about sexuality, and are quite open to any questions you may have.

(might rewrite)

* Age realism.
	+ A sorter does hold the right to decline a model under the belief that they look either too old or too young for the age that you wish to portray them as. For example, if you try to use Angelina Jolie for a thirteen year old, you will be asked to change the model as she is far too old to portray such a young age. The sorter will discuss the model with the other admins in the C&L department. They will then 'vote' on the model. If the majority believes the model to be too old, then you will be asked to change this. This does not just apply to students either and can extend to adults and children characters. However, we do acknowledge some models do look younger than they really are and can be a case to case situation.

* Do include your model's name, and even a picture, in the appropriate section.

## Blood type

* One question in the forum asks whether your character is a muggle born, half blood or a pureblood. Words that have been sprinkled throughout this guide as well. Essentially, these are terms created by JK Rowling in her books that goes as follows:
	+ Purebloods: Wizards who do not have a drop of muggle born blood inside them. It is the families who claim to have no muggles or muggle borns in their family tree.
	+ Halfbloods: Halfbloods are those with one magical parent and one muggle born parent or grandparent.
	+ Muggle born: Wizards with two non magical parents are considered muggle borns. Basically, those who came from 'our' world and are new to the world of Harry Potter are considered muggle borns.
	+ Muggles: Muggles are those people who lack the capability of performing magic. Not to be confused with squibs who lack magical powers but are born to magical parents.

## Exotics

* Some characters are able to have special abilities. You are only allowed five of these types of characters out of your character count of twenty.

* For example, one would consider a vampire or a clairvoyant as an exotic character.

* You are not allowed to have an exotic for your first two characters.

* For more information about exotics, please look here

## Sorting

* It is a requirement for all student characters to be sorted into a house. This is done through the multiple choice questions and the character's personality. Up to the discretion of the sorter, they will analyse your character in order to place them into one of the four Hogwarts houses listed below. There is a question that allows you to suggest a house which would be taken into consideration as the character's values are important.
	+ Hufflepuff
	+ Gryffindor
	+ Slytherin
	+ Ravenclaw
* Remember there are stereotypes for these different houses but these can be undermined. For example, Hufflepuff is known for being the nice, loyal and hardworking house. However, a character who values hard work but for the wrong objective might still be considered a Hufflepuff. The houses don't have to be something that completely defines your character. However, it is perfectly okay to base your character on a house as well.

## What we don't allow:

* We don't allow over powered characters. For example, we don't allow a character whose magical capacity allows them to kill a room full of people with a flick of their wand. Another example is your character learning the patronus charm in first year. The character Harry Potter could be considered OP due to his advancement compared to his peers. If a sorter believes your character is too OP then you will be asked to change it. A reason that we don't allow this (amongst other reasons) is that other character's aren't marginalised in comparison.

* We don't allow characters with two special abilities. For example, we don't allow a werewolf who is also a clairvoyant.

## Misc.

* If you do not want to finish your claim in one sitting, then you have two weeks to finish it. Simply add 'work in progress' or WIP to the top of your forum.

### The waiting process

* Usually, your forum is looked at (and hopefully sorted) within two days. If it is longer than two days, then please do contact one of the sorters who will help you as soon as they can.
* If this forum was once a WIP, please add 'finished' either above or in the edit summary to let the sorters know that your forum is ready to be checked. Or just simply contact one. A lot of the times, if a sorter sees 'wip' then they disregard it until they are told it's finished.
* If a sorter comments asking you to change a certain detail, then you have ***one*** week to change it to match DARP's lore, the canon or simply realism before the forum is denied. You are free to comment and ask questions on why this must be changed, though.

### Post sorting

After you sort your character, you need to do a few things:

* Make your characters page and word bubble. Both are required in order for you to roleplay. For the page, you need your character's age, personality and history as well as an image.
	+ To find a list of pages, look here
	+ To find a list for wordbubbles, look here
* You need to update the UMR and the Exotic Tracker with the necessary information. For the latter, though your character might not be an exotic, it is important to update your character count to help OOC.
* If you need any help for your character post sorting, then I'd advise you to contact someone in the Out of Character department. Anyone in the community would be happy to help but they are the department that handles your character after they have been sorted.

*page credit*