Nametwins and Common Rooms

So, yeah, I had to search and see if I could find other SilverQuills on Pottermore. And I was happy to find several. However, one of the two I sent friend requests to was the one I found who was not only my nametwin, but who also belonged to the wonderful house Ravenclaw. Now, he/she bought an owl while I bought a cat, but owl was my second choice, so I immediatelly felt a strong connection to this person.
... Not really, but I found it funny.

I like you cause you have an awesome username and you're a Ravenclaw.

Something else I did this week (or this past Sunday, but whatever, it was recent) was find a fanmade Slytherin Common Room. It was so pretty! The outside that is, cause since I'm a Ravenclaw I couldn't get in. This made me curious. No, that's not the word. I am curious, it's in my nature. This made me frustrated.

followthesnake.proboards.com

And it made me jeallous.

I like to talk to other people. I was hoping there was a way for us to talk in the Ravenclaw Common Room on Pottermore. And, of course, there is the comment function. However, I like to say more then 140 characters, and I like to see messages as they are written and not days after because they had to be moderated. I understand why it has to work like this, and I don't blame them for it, it's good! But I miss more interaction (I can't even send the owl with a letter to my friends).
 So, inspired by BladeQueen82 who came up with this amazing idea for a Slytherin Common Room, I created a Ravenclaw Common Room and named it eaglessoaring.proboards.com. And I am happy to say that we have a small group of members already discussing different magic and muggle topics in there.

eaglessoaring.proboards.com

And that is not all.TheDragonWombat has just set up the Gryffindor equivalent and a Hufflepuff Common Room is in the making.

hearthemroar.proboards.com

So, when you've gotten sorted, if you feel like it's too difficult to talk in your Common Room's comment section, take a look at your fanmade Common Room above. I'm sure you won't regret it.
 And as soon as the Hufflepuff Common Room is set up, I will link to it on my sidebar along with the three Common Rooms already listed.

Pottermore Beta survey

So the official Pottermore Insider has updated their blog with some information for those who are currently inside Pottermore, testing it all out. I was happy to see that somehow my blog had caught their eye - specifically the subject I brought up about a week ago.
 (At first I thought they had seen my twitterings, but I found that I have not twittered this specific quote - it's actually from my blog. Thank you Pottermore, for getting involved in the online life of your users!)

‘I'm wondering how helpful the BETA feedback really will be… I can only click boxes to tell them if I enjoy the site and if it runs smoothly. I wish I could tell them what I find helpful, and what I think would improve the site.’ [sic]
silverquillXX 

If you suspect there’s a technical issue with one of the Pottermore pages, you can click on the ‘Beta feedback’ button (located in the bottom right-hand corner of the site). Select the page you are on, then go to the ‘The page loads and works well on my screen’ option.  

While you won’t be able to give specific details, if you choose one of the ‘disagree’ buttons, we’ll know that we should re-visit that page and carry out testing. 

In the next few weeks, we’ll also be sending out a Pottermore Beta survey. Along with opinion-related questions there will also be a space for you to add comments, so you’ll be given a chance to tell us specific details if there’s something you think we should know about.

I'm very happy to see that we will have the opportunity to add comments in the form of a BETA survey. Sometimes it feels odd, just clicking boxes when you have something specific you want to bring to their attention, and this will fix that problem.

Head on over to the Pottermore Insider to also find out about Wizarding Duels, comment moderation and Potion brewing times.

House hate and Sorting Hat errors

Come on... really!?
So you're one of the lucky few who doesn't have to sit by and watch others enter Pottermore, you're actully one of the chosen ones, you're in!

And then you start whining about what house you end up in?
I can understand small identity crises happening when you find out you aren't what you've always thought you was. But to delete your account or going all sour, refusing to help your house win the house cup, claiming the test isn't accurate - that your house is stupid?
 Just pause and breathe for a moment. Let's think about this.

J.K.Rowling created this world that we all love, she created the four houses and listed the qualities that they value in their students. If anyone knows where you belong, it's her. And if you always thought you were brave, that you should be in Gryffindor, being sorted into Slytherin doesn't make you any less brave, it makes you more then you thought you was.
Let's look at some examples.
Neville Longbottom. A lot of people (including himself) would place Neville in Hufflepuff. However, the Sorting Hat claimed he belonged in Gryffindor. It doesn't mean that Neville isn't loyal and openminded. It doesn't mean that he doesn't work hard. He is all of those things. But he is also braver than he (and probably a lot of us) thought he was.
Severus Snape. Snape got sorted into Slytherin. Does that mean that he can't be loyal like the Hufflepuffs? Or that he can't be brave like the Gryffindors? You've read the books, right? He is all of those things as well. He just had a lot of determination in him, and he was meant for greatness, so the Sorting Hat placed him in Slytherin.
Hermione Granger. Who didn't wonder why she wasn't placed in Ravenclaw? It's not cause she lacks the love of books, it's just that the brave part of her outshined her cleverness (which means she must be very brave, don't you agree?).
 Need I go on?

So if the Sorting Hat has placed you in another house than you expected, remember that you are not less, you are more.

Click image for source

Patience is a virtue

First we waited for the announcement.
Then we waited for July 31st.
Then we waited for the clues.
Then we waited for the validation emails.
After that we started waiting for the welcome mail.
Finally we wait for the release of Chamber of Secrets while we wait for our potions to brew...

I feel like maybe Pottermore is trying to tell (teach) us something? ...

My Pottermorefamily

The only thing that I don't like about being a Pottermore BETA tester is the fact that I can't have all of my #pottermorefamily with me. I know how it feels to be standing outside, knowing that there are people who are finding out what house they belong in or what it was like for Professor McGonagall before Hogwarts. I just wish Pottermore could let them all in, even if I know it's not possible.

When I first logged in to Pottermore, I was surprised to see that I had several friend requests. The funny thing is, since my #pottermorefamily is huge, I have created a Prefects list at twitter, so I can keep track of those I speak to the most and those who's been in my #pottermorefamily since we started it all, during the Magical Quill Challenge. And every "Prefect" who had gotten their owl had already added me as a friend. I ♥ you ^_^

 The number of Prefects, as well as members of my #pottermorefamily, not being in Pottermore is growing smaller though. A new wave of owls has been sent out today and I saw several of my #pottermorefamily screaming in delight when their owl landed in front of them. For instance, Lauren (@ElmBlade43) who registered 5 minutes in on Day 1, and who I practically founded the (back then unnamed) #pottermorefamily on twitter with, finally got her owl. I was so excited for her! It has just been odd, her not being on Pottermore before me.
 Seeing all those owls arriving was just so exciting, it made me remember how my voice went up a few octaves in the car when I got my owl yesterday (even my mum, who was driving at that time, screamed for me). It was a very geeky moment. And I love seeing other Potterheads have their moment. I do hope to see even more of them tomorrow.

Click image for source

Before I go, if you haven't already, make sure you visit the official Pottermore Insider blog which got updated with information about Beta testing and Welcome emails today.
 Wishing you all owls! *Nox*

Done with Philosopher's Stone

So I have finished reading all the extra info on Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. It was a very interesting read, which I did try to drag out a little longer. But I just can't help reading everything I can find - immediately. I do believe it's a Ravenclaw thing.
 There is still stuff to do though, things that will award house points and help your house win the House Cup. Given that my house is the one with the most members so far, we should be able to do better then third, so I'll get to work on that ASAP. However, the Gryffindor/Slytherin rivalry seems to be strong enough to make sure one of  them will take home the house cup this year, not even 10 points separate the two.
 I do wonder how they will decide when to award the House Cup in Pottermore. At the end of year, in december? Or maybe with the release of the next book in the series?

Another thing I'm wondering about is how helpful the BETA feedback really will be. There is no room to add my own written thoughts on the site, I can only click boxes to tell them if I enjoy the site and if it runs smoothly. I wish I could tell them what I find helpful, and what I think would improve the site. For instance, the use of only DivX videos, which is something I have installed but which never works properly no matter how many times I try to fix it, means I don't get to see any of the videos. It would be nice to be able to switch to another video format. But I can't ask about that.

Anyways, I have potions to brew, and house points to gather. Wishing you all owls!

EDIT: It seems I am blind and not as good at reading as I thought I was. SeekerRose184 just told me "go to help - then other- then more help and there you find site suggestion". Thank you Nikki!

I'm a Ravenclaw!

Well, I got over my Sorting Hat Fear, that's for sure. The house which I, from first reading Philosopher's Stone, always felt would be the one for me, is the one I got. I can't believe I was right.
 And when it comes to the questions, you really can't tell which question will get you into what house, so don't even try, just be honest. I had questions where I figured "that is such a Ravenclaw answer!" but the answer just wasn't "me" and I chose the one I had to pick to stay honest, afraid it would give me another house after all. But, no, I must have been wrong, cause I still got sorted into Ravenclaw.

Here comes a warning. I will show you the wand that chose me (accompanied by some wand info), my house (with some house info), and my favorite question (although I won't tell you what I answered), so if you don't like Spoilers in the form of screenshots from inside Pottermore, do not click: