The Platform 9 3/4 Sorting Community FAQ

1. How do I get sorted?

It's easy -- just copy and paste the application from the userinfo page, and answer all of the questions with as much detail as possible. Do not remove the bold tag or the LJ cut -- however, you may change the LJ cut text. You also must be a member of platform_934 to submit your application. At the top of the community info page along the righthand side, there will be a blue bar with a list of commands- the top most command will say "Join." Click there to join the community.

2. Okay, I've finished my application. So how do I post it?

At the top of the page, under the "Journal" menu, click Update as if you were posting in your own journal. Post your application where you would normally type an entry. There is a menu at the bottom that says "Post To"; go there and select platform_934 from the menu, then click Update Journal. That's it! Your entry has been submitted. Occasionally, you will receive a message telling you that the queue is full; if this occurs, you'll have to wait until the time more applications are approved and posted to try again.

The mods strongly encourage you to keep a copy of your application on your hard drive, as a private entry in your journal, somewhere.  It will save us both a lot of trouble if something happens to go wrong with the application process.

3. When will my application be posted?

Applications will be posted in the order in which they are received. There will be no more than 15 applications dropped per week, in batches of no more than 5 per day starting on Sunday. Even if there are less than 15 applications in the queue, applications must be received no later than Monday at 4:00 AM UTC to be included in the current weeks sorts. If they are received after the Monday deadline, they will be dropped the following week.

4. Oh no! I've made a mistake in my application and need to edit it, but it hasn't been posted yet. What do I do?

You have two options here. One is to e-mail me (votingmod@gmail.com) and have me delete your application that's currently in the queue. When you've made all your corrections, you can resubmit. Your second option is to wait for your application to be posted and edit it then. Please note that once your application is posted publicly, it can no longer be deleted. It is also advised that if you go with the second option, try not to delete large chunks of your application as people who read and sort you might become confused during the process of your edit.

5. When do I get stamped?

You will be stamped the Sunday after your application was posted (probably around 10:00 - 11:00 PM CDT (3:00 - 4:00 AM UTC). You will know when you see a message stating which house you've been sorted into, a house graphic, and a link to your common room and HiH subcommunities. Once you see that message, you can begin sorting others, and participating in hogwartsishome and all of its subcommunities. Please note you'll be sent an invitation to hogwartsishome (accept it here), and it is mandatory that you join to participate in the rest of our communities.

6. How do I avoid getting Muggled/No Voted?


To avoid no votes: Elaborate, elaborate, elaborate! We cannot stress enough how much we appreciate longer answers. While we don't expect you to write novels, you SHOULD know that platform_934 is not like a typical stamping community- you are being sorted into house based on your personality, and it is in that house where you will reside and interact for the remainder of your days at hogwartsishome. We obviously want to know more about you than you would normally provide in a simple stamping application. To get a good idea of the length that your application should be, look over previously stamped applications. If a member has been stamped, their application was found to provide sufficient information for sorting. Gauge your own length based on this!

To avoid muggle votes: Be genuine. Fill the application out to the best of your ability without lying about who you are or tailoring your answers to fit into a certain house. If you are pretending from day one, how can you expect to really feel at home with the rest of your house? It is your own best interests to be honest, and to let us sort you. Don't push for a certain house; if we see it, we'll call you on it.


7. What can I do if I get a lot of muggle/no votes? (meaning, the majority of your votes consist of either of these):

Again, there are two options:

1) You can edit your application and provide the necessary details. I will post an elaboration notification to the community on Thursdays,providing you somehow let me know you've edited your application, after which most members will come back to reevaluate you, so as long as you edit before Thursday, you'll most likely be fine. When you edit, make sure to leave a message saying you've edited somewhere in your application (preferably in the subject line, the beginning, or the end of it, OUTSIDE of the livejournal cut).

2) Submit a new and improved application. It will be dropped the following week, after receiving a majority of no votes on your current application.

8. Why can't I reply to comments?

In the past, replies to comments have caused some drama, not to mention it's easier for us to tally votes when I don't have to sift through so many extraneous comments. If you think you're being flamed, do not reply -- contact the voting mod and she will take care of it (if she hasn't caught it already). See #11 for contact information :)

9. I don't feel like I belong in the house I was sorted into. Is it possible for me to switch houses?

You can always submit an appeal; simply go to the community hih_appeals and follow the instructions listed in the userinfo.

10. I keep getting a message saying the queue is full when I try to submit.

If you see this message, this can mean one of two things:

1) The queue is currently at its limit. Please save your application and email me (see #11) for more information on when the queue will be open for more again.

2) You have already sent an application into the queue which has not yet been approved or rejected.

New applications are posted every Sunday - Wednesday at a limit of five a day, so please be patient.

11. I have an additional question/problem that isn't covered here.

Contact me through the Voting Mod account or email (votingmod@gmail.com)

For those sorting

What are the top sorter levels?

The top sorter levels are as follows:
1 to 5 applications - 30 points/15 knuts
6 to 10 applications - 45 points/22 knuts
11 and over applications - 60 points/30 knuts

How should I vote on applications?

First of all, there are different ways to vote.

Generally, you simply vote for whichever house you feel the applicant fits into. Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Slytherin. Simple.

The other variations of voting are "Muggle" or "No Vote". When should you use these?

A No Vote is cast when either the applicant doesn't give enough information to base your vote on, or when you simply can't get a good grip on where they belong.

A Muggle Vote is only used when an applicant is blatantly pushing for one particular house. Using keywords does not equal pushing!! Pushing for Slytherin might entail details such as, "I'd take over the world and kill all the muggles." or, "I'd marry Draco and have tons of Draco babies!!!" These are our infamous muggles. Do not Muggle someone just because they say they have great Ambition.

Otherwise, vote accordingly.

More often than not, people vote on the feel they get from an applicant. One can answer the application with all the buzzwords in the book, yet explain their answers in a very Gryffindor/Slytherin/Ravenclaw/Hufflepuff sort of way. An example:

An old question that we had was "Which would you rather have? Friends/Family or Money/Success?" Someone might expect a Slytherin answer to be "money/success" and a Hufflepuff answer to be "friends/family". But look at the reasoning behind each one of these answers!

"Money/Success, because my friends and family could really use it.. I'd try my best to be as successful as I possibly could so that I could help everyone else out. After all, if I don't choose friends/family, it's not like they'll disappear. Money doesn't disappear when you put the latter forward!" -- That is a very Hufflepuff answer! It centers around the loyalty of the applicant to its core people.

"Friends/Family, they're already rich enough to live off of for the rest of my life if I wanted it! Of course I'd go far on my own, but honestly, why choose when they have both?" -- That's a Slytherin answer. It's very deviant and cunning, and it takes into account that one doesn't have to always choose! ;)

Voting will close at 10:00 PM CDT (3:00 AM UTC) on Sunday for the weeks sorting.  All votes received after that time will not be counted.

A good general rule to remember is that the applicants cannot respond to your votes. It says so up in the applicant section. Therefore, you need to be courteous to them. Remember, you were sorted once too.