Creation of a WoX-Site

Last modified: 4 months ago

General Process

In this document, you will find the information needed for the first three stages (Before funding, Application and Proposal, Funding-process). Once you reach the fourth stage, you will gain access to the discord server and any other necessary information will be shared there.

Before funding

What can I adjust?
Brainstorming
Gathering Staff

Application and Proposal

Application for MoM and HM
Proposal for a site

Funding-process

Funding of $1500
Creation of Documents
Awareness of Rules

Half-launched

Funding of $3000
Setting up site
Finalizing ideas

Launched

Maintenance

1. Before Funding

What can I adjust?

Before even diving into the brainstorming, make yourself aware of the possibilities you have. You for sure are members of a site already and can take a look around and what they have done and what you can change. Below is a document with things you can currently adjust. You and your team will have to work on all of it in order to be able to launch in the end.

Generally, you will have to stick to the overall layout and functioning of the site. E.g. you cannot change the positioning of your menu etc, but you can adjust the names to fit your fandom. You will also have to stick to the job colours that are already existent. Here is a list of things that you can adjust to fit your WoX site.

Site Settings

Minimum age of users upon registration (min. 13)
Minimum and maximum age for user’s character upon registration
Enabling Pets (once enabled, not to be disabled)
Enabling Wizard Cards (once enabled, not to be disabled)
Enabling/Disabling Frontpage Testimonials
Enabling/Disabling Potion Brewing
Enabling/Disabling Lexicon
Adjustment of site theme (layout remains the same, colours have to be adjusted)

Staff related

Job names - There are at least 13 unique jobs on the site. While the job activities remain consistent across the sites, you are able to come up with names that best fit your given fandom
Class names and amount of years for a class (min. 10 active classes per year) - A user will start as Year 1, and will be able to move up by passing at least 6 classes an IG year, until they pass 7 years worth of classes, in which case they graduate. Make sure to bear this in mind when coming up with classes and how long they run for!
Additional jobs (grad classes, new student jobs - only after talking to MUGWUMPs) - If you add additional jobs, you may be able to set a new color for jobs on the site
Either one or two CE - These may either count as management or regular grad staff. The decision will be made once, before launch, and will not be able to change after that, unless talked through with the MUGWUMPs

Translations

Houses - Your users will be sorted into 4 houses by a sorting quiz. You are able to customize each house, a symbol to represent it, and the personality/answers to questions that will be able to correctly sort your users
Locations/Topic Areas - 33 unique topic areas, entirely customizable regarding names, for what locations suit your fandom
Shop names - 22 unique shops, entirely customizable to what names and shop types best suit your fandom
Board names - There are 9 boards in total. 4 of these are house specific boards, 2 is for a separate blog section of the site, and 2 are for the two ‘journals’. The last two are for general announcements, and for plots, but the names of any of these boards, as well as the specifics of what is to be posted, is up to you
Unique games/activities - An area specifically for a game amongst different teams, with up to 6 matches a year, and referee abilities. Also, a crafting type of station to join items to make other items, a spinning wheel to be able to try to win money or prizes, and a collectible system where people can try to buy cards, open them, and attempt to complete collections. Customizable (up to an extent) depending on fandom
Achievements - A reward system for different events or activities on the site, to help promote activity and participation on the site. Customizable images and names depending on fandom.
Basically anything on the site
Sorting (has to stick to the same pattern, you can only change translations)
Relations

Illustrations

Anagram
Riddle
Sorting
Items (with descriptions)
Emojis
Wizard Cards
Achievements
Logo
Avatars

Functions

The functions will be executed the same way, but you can adjust them and their illustrations to fit your fandom.

Easter quest
Potion room and brewing
Wizard Wheel
Wizard Cards
Quidditch
Pets

Brainstorming

Before applying for a site and writing a proposal, there are certain things you need to consider when picking a fandom. Below, we created a short list of aspects that are important to think about while doing so.

Uniqueness of fandom
Language of the site
Targeted audience
Popularity of fandom
Playability of fandom

How do I make sure my site is unique?
You can take a look at the following document in order to get an overview of the already existing sites. If you, for example, plan to create a site on witchcraft, it would be denied, because this topic has already been covered. Also, make sure your fandom has enough lore for the creation of fandom-based classes, jobs, events and functions. It will make your life easier and your community happier.

Current funded/half-funded sites

I want another language of an already existing site, what now?
By getting the site setup, it does not mean that the fandom is then blocked from others to work on. We will not set up the same fandom in the same language, but it might be set up in another language. So if your site is in dutch, another one might be set up in Danish, English or another language. Nonetheless, we appreciate any kind of innovation and creativity when it comes to how you plan the site. Show that you are dedicated and able to create and implement fun new ideas and do not depend on an already created site. This is an essential trait that will help you and your team to keep your users busy and excited for the long run.

What audience should be targeted and how do I know my fandom is popular and playable?
In order to have good chances for a popular site, you need to make sure that your target audience fits the restrictions of WoX. If the fandom’s target audience is mostly children, you will not be able to profit from that, as a site needs to have a minimum age of 13. If it is mostly older people, there may not be enough to work on your site as a hobby next to having family and jobs. Make sure your fandom is still relevant and also playable, try to find out whether or not there are many fanfictions or even already existing RP sites.

Gathering Staff

Before funding a site, you need to make sure to find people who are suited and interested and standing behind the project. This will reduce the risk of having to refund donations due to the fact that you can’t find enough people and also shows us that there is an actual first interest in your project. You also need to make sure to decide who becomes MoM and who is supposed to be HM.

There are minimum age restrictions for obtaining a graduate job on any WoX site, these are based on the minimum age a user has to be to join a site. You can find a list of these ages below.

Minimum age restrictions:

Job	Minimum Site Age	Minimum Job Age
Minister of Magic	ALL	18 years old
Headmaster	ALL	18 years old
Head of House	15+	16 years old
Head of House	13+	15 years old
Management	15+	16 years old
Management	13+	15 years old
Chief Editor	15+	15 years old
Chief Editor	13+	14 years old
Chief Editor (Management)	15+	16 years old
Chief Editor (Management)	13+	15 years old
Teacher	15+	15 years old
Teacher	13+	14 years old

Who do I need before writing my proposal?
You need to have an MoM and an HM. While your staff does not need to work on things until you are approved, you should make sure to be able to name the people you will be working with. That way we can also mention to you if someone is not allowed to hold a job on a site or should even be removed from your discord server in order to protect your users from serious harm.

2. Application and Proposal

Each, the MoM and HM have to send a separate application for the job, so we know whether or not you are suited for this position. Along with that, you need to prepare the site proposal itself.

All three documents have to be sent separately in PDF format (!) to wox@eye4web.dk in one email.

Application for MoM and HM

Are you suitable for this job? You must...

Your application must include the following:

Your discord name.
Tell us about yourself. What is your name, how old are you, what is your personality like?
Why do you want to be MoM or HM?
Tell us about your love for the fandom - When did it start, how much of the fandom have you interacted with?
Would you be willing to let go of some jobs to focus on the site you’re MoM or HM on?
Name all your characters across WoP/WoX.
Do you have any experience with jobs? Please list what position(s) you held in Potter equivalent titles e.g. “Prefect Leader” or “Backstory Leader”, when you had the job(s), and which sites you held them on.
Do you have someone who could vouch for your dedication to the WoX sites? If so, please list both their discord name, as well as their relation to you, in case we want to send them a message to hear more about your work ethic.
Were you involved in any former issues or drama we would need to know about? This wouldn’t mean you wouldn’t be approved, but we should have a conversation beforehand so we know, then for something to be concealed and for us to have to discover you were being dishonest after the fact.
What are some unique and cool ideas you have for the site as well as team you will be leading?
What is your experience with social media, and what ideas do you have to keep users on your site, and bring more?
Anything else you’d like to add?

Proposal for a site

Fandom and Setting

Which fandom are you planning on using? Give a bit of information on it.
Why do you think this fandom should be created as a text-based online RP site?
Does your fandom have much lore, and if not, how are you planning to make up for it?
Which target audience does your fandom have? How are you hoping to market to this audience? Let us know your plans for social media and marketing to new people - Not just the current WoX audience.
How does your fandom differ to those of already existing sites?

First Preparations

Have all job names, house names, social statuses and classes ready and list them. (Be prepared to explain each of them - We may have questions!)
Who is in your staff so far? Please list them, their current site jobs and the site they were/are most active on. (Important - Make sure you remember that with new rules, anyone you hire as management would not be able to hold any other management jobs if hired for your site. For example, if you hired someone who was currently management on WoBA and WoHF, once they become management for your site, they will have to quit their WoBA and WoHF positions. Same goes for yourselves as MoM and HM)
Do you or any of your current staff have any former issues or drama that we would need to know about? This wouldn’t mean you wouldn’t be approved, but it’s best we have a conversation beforehand so we know, then for something to be concealed and for us to have to discover you were being dishonest after the fact.

3. Funding-process

Funding of $1500

General Information
All in all it costs $3000 USD to create a new WoX site. After $1500 USD have been collected and transferred to WoX, the server will be set up, and you can begin using the translation system, and set up your site in general. (Remember - certain crowdfunding programs take a percent of what you raise. You need to make sure that you have raised enough to be paying WoX the full amount after what the funding website takes out) After paying the rest, the site goes online. Depending on how the site is performing, WoX decides how much of that money is going to be spent for ads on facebook/instagram in the first weeks after launch. Any further ads have to be paid for additionally or are given if the site is performing extraordinarily well.

Note: Other people may be working on the same fandom, and the one who comes with the $1500 USD first will get the site set up. Costs for theme or illustrations are not included.

Funding
As mentioned in the rules below, when setting up funding, it is NOT allowed to give VIP, character changes, or anything that can be purchased with real money on the website, as a reward. You also are not allowed to offer statuses as a reward for funding either.

Popular funding pages are GoFundMe or Gogetfunding, but it is completely up to you how you want to set this up. Make sure your funding looks not only nice, but also includes enough information needed for people to understand what your site is about. Please do not use another person to take care of the funding, but do so yourself. You never know what may happen and it would be a shame if your money got lost because of someone else.

Refunding funds
If someone wants a refund, it is up to you whether or not you want to do so. If you already paid the money for the site, there is no way for them to receive this fund back. If you have not paid it, yet, you can either hand it back to them, or keep it in. Donations are voluntary and therefore do not need to be refunded.

Discarding the project
If you choose to discard your project, you have to pay the funds back, as they would not be used for the original purpose anymore. You are not allowed to use the same funds for another project, as this is considered a scam and can cause you legal issues with the funding page you were working with.

Funding complete
If you gathered the required amount of money for the pre-launch, you can send Daniel a message or send an email. If there has been any switch in who was MoM/HM when the site was first approved to when the funding is complete, make sure we know. If approved, your project will be set up and any further information you need will be sent to you.

Creation of Documents

While funding, you already have to take care of documenting everything properly, preferably in Google sheets. It is an easy way to keep track, especially if you decide to hand the project over to someone else at some point, and also important for Garrett, Zeke, and Cessair. Aside from the normal documents you may or may not create, there are a few mandatory ones.

Donations
You are required to note down everyone who donated for your site, whether offline or online. Make sure that it mentions the future site name, discord name, donation amount, date of donation and reward they chose.

Comprehension of Rules

The following rules can be adjusted at any time without a notice. Therefore, you should make sure to check this document from time to time, in order to be up to date. If updated, the date in the header will be updated.

§ All rights reserved
All work on and regards to WoX belongs to WoX and its owner. This includes, but is not limited to lessons, articles, plotlines, codes, art, blog posts etc. The owner reserves the right to keep this content in use, even if the person who created it is no longer part of the WoX team.

§ Affiliation
Before the $1500 is collected, and the site has been created on WoX servers, WoX is not affiliated with the project or the users working on the project. If someone uses the WoX name to steal people’s money, they will be banned from the WoX sites, but they are still not affiliated and thus WoX is not able to do anything to help refund this money. If this happens, contact the funding page regarding scam. They will take care of further legal actions.

§ Official Information
Any information shared by any other than Daniel, Lessa, Garrett, Zeke, or Cessair can not be guaranteed to be correct. Discord servers or homepages revolving around WoX that are not created by any of the previously mentioned people, are not official and most likely contain incorrect information or even harmful due to safety issues. If you are unsure about something, you can always contact us.

§ Funding
When setting up funding, it is NOT allowed to give VIP, character changes, or anything that can be purchased with real money on the website, as a reward. Statuses can also not be given as a reward for funding either. However, you can offer shop items, or pets as a reward, but be mindful not to give away a lot. IG Money can be given as a reward as well, but it should not be a large amount, it should be reasonable. Such as the highest amount donation getting a thousand of currency.

§ Refunds
Refunds can be given until Daniel starts setting up the project. After this, there will be no refund, as you pay for the time it takes to set up the project and server. Even if you will get ejected as MoM of the project, there will be no refunds, as the project has already been set up.

§ Removal of position
Even if the leader of a site put their own money in the creation process, they can be let go or be replaced anytime if they are misusing their powers or don’t do the job properly. They are not the owner of the site. It is not a secured job, but only given to them as long as they work well and the site has no problems. A leader can also get banned if there are sufficient reasons for that. It is solely up to WoX to decide whether or not your job is done properly.

§ Status/VIP Competitions
You are not allowed to host any status or VIP competitions prior to the full launch of the site and without explicit permission from MUGWUMPS. You can, however, do competitions for exclusive items.

§ Rejection of site
Even though you have gotten a yes for starting funding, we reserve the right to decline the request, when you actually come with the funding. The reason for this is that the same fandom, or another very similar fandom, have been set up in the meantime. So it is your job to keep up to date with the WoX sites, and whether or not your site would still be accepted.

§ Fandom in another language
By getting the site setup, it does not mean that the fandom is then blocked from others to work on. We will not set up the same fandom in the same language, but it might be set up in another language. In addition, if you are creating an existing fandom in a new language, you shall do your best in order to implement your own version of the fandom.

§ Explicit fandoms
Disclaimer: In the following paragraph, sensitive topics will be mentioned.
You are not allowed to create sites with topics that may be triggering or degrading. You are not allowed to revolve around or include slavery, sexual kinks, pedophilia, rape, abuse, racism, real ethnicities, kidnapping, sexism or anti-LGBT+ content. When creating sites based on real life, you have to respect the boundaries we set in order to avoid discomfort of people.

§ Management on new sites
As of September 2020, new sites will have to be building their management team from people who are not currently management elsewhere. If you are interested in hiring anyone for management and above, they must not be management on any other site, or else must be willing to quit all the sites where they hold management or above. This will hold for the entire existence of the site - Any time a management position opens and must be filled, the person being hired must either not be hired as management on any other WoX site, or else must be willing to quit all their previous jobs. If you cannot find anyone to hold management positions with this rule, we will assume this means there is not enough unique interest in your fandom. You can refer to this page for more information about job limits: https://bugs.worldofpotter.eu/knowledge-bases/7/articles/454-job-limits-public