Plugging away …

This morning I was working through the emails I’ve received noting various Lexicon errors or edits. One email asked why the Minister for Magic page didn’t list Pius Thicknesse. I knew the answer to that one. The reason Thicknesse isn’t listed it that the Minister for Magic page hadn’t been updated for book seven yet. So I went in and edited it.

While I was at it, I changed the page over to the new layout. Then, as long as I was in that section of the site, I started converting the rest of the Ministry of Magic pages to the new page layout. Of course, as soon as I started doing that I realised that I also had to update ALL those pages for book seven. No problem. I had coffee. It was raining.

Seven hours later, I’m still not done with the Ministry of Magic pages. Amazing how long some of this updating and editing takes, especially when it involves editing code and struggling against rogue CSS stylesheets that crop up out of nowhere to change formatting on something when I least expect it. Now it’s evening and I’m going to set it aside. I’m tired of editing.

Still, it’s not a bad way to spend a the better part of a day … immersed in the wonderful, magical world of Harry Potter. I don’t get to do that very often.

40 Responses to “Plugging away …”

  1. Alex Says:

    Thank you SO much for taking the time to update the Lexicon!

  2. r4 dsi Says:

    Thanks a lot…

  3. Random Says:

    Yes thank you!!

  4. Katty Says:

    Oh yes, thanks a lot! I’m so happy you’re still in the air and online. The hpl is a unique website, I think. I never saw a simular website about e.g. Roald Dahl’s work or something about Tolkien’s “lord of the ring”-series (the hobbit included, of course). So, the hpl seems an unique website-project, and I love it.

  5. wisteria53 Says:

    If there’s anything a non-HTML person can do (proofreading in plain text?), the offer to help still stands. T

  6. julia Says:

    you saw JKR’s twitter page
    http://twitter.com/jk_rowling
    ‘I am told that people have been twittering on my behalf, so I thought a brief visit was in order just to prevent any more confusion! However, I should flag up now that although I could twitter endlessly, I’m afraid you won’t be hearing from me very often….
    as pen and paper is my priority at the moment

    and her comments at the stella mccartney show as reported in the telegraph

    JK Rowling bid for three tickets to see Stella McCartney’s Paris show at a Gala Auction in London, in June, to raise funds for the Raisa Gorbachev Foundation, and bought along two friends. “I’m working on something, but it’s not Harry Potter,” she said. “I need a Harry break.”

  7. Steve Says:

    I have a set of guidelines all worked out for people to help with the editing of the site. However, I asked for some advice in procedures from a good friend whose opinion I really trust and she hasn’t gotten back to me. Frankly, I sort of let it slip to the back burner when I didn’t hear back right away. So the plan in in place — almost. Thanks for the offer, and those who emailed me to vounteer will hear from me directly soon.

    Steve

  8. Steve Says:

    As for Rowling’s Twitter account, I never got around to following her. I suppose I should …

    Steve

  9. hpboy13 Says:

    THE LEXICON LIVES!!!!! Good to see this being brought up-to-date on DH at last.

  10. Jesse Says:

    Glad to see some work being done. Thank you, Steve, for all the hard work you put into this site, it’s much appreciated!

  11. Witheld upon request Says:

    Get a life brother. The books were good, but sheesh.

  12. Reader2 Says:

    Did some of the funs just get their first date and deside that they are too grownup for children’s books now?
    Just wait till you get your first heartbreak, then you will know why grownups need hobbies.

    Don’t listen to anyone Steeve, this site is well worth maintaining.

  13. Taj Says:

    Hey Steve, thanks for the edit! But I noticed a lil mistake…on the main Ministry of Magic page it says: “The Ministry of Magic is the governmental authority OF THE FOR THE wizarding world…”

    I think you meant to just write “of the wizarding world…”

  14. Steve Says:

    Thanks for the heads up, Taj! Yeah, that kind of things can happen when you’re cutting and pasting text from an older version of a page to a newer. I’ll fix it straightaway.

    Steve

  15. Stacy Says:

    Steve thank you so much for the hard work! It is so much fun to be able to surf around on the lexicon for a little while to escape during the day. My favorite part is the essays! Speaking of the essays, have people just plain stopped submitting them? Is there any hope for new ones?

  16. Steve Says:

    I would certainly consider any new essays which would come in. However, we haven’t had any essay submissions for quite some time.

    Steve

  17. hpboy13 Says:

    Well, I tried submitting essays a while back, but got no response and assumed that part of the site hadbecome like an archive or something. I’ll go dust some of mine off.

  18. dragonfr Says:

    “the books were good”. of course they were good! But although I know not everyone can love them, give us fans a break. If HP can make so many people happy, then why not?

  19. Kaz Walters Says:

    Has anyone ever noticed that Voldemort’s wand length numerologicaly breaks down to 7? 1+3+1+2=7. Coincidence?

  20. Reader2 Says:

    Probably just a coincidence, number 13, however, got to be deliberate.

  21. dragonfr Says:

    maybe it was written deliberately to show the significance of 7? That’s really cool though! How’d you spot that?

  22. Mikkel Says:

    Since it will be Christmas soon and I’ll be away on holiday…

    A very Harry Christmas to Steve and all the rest of you.

  23. Nicola Vojvodic (16) Says:

    Thnx for edit Steve.I almost got a feeling that all HP books fans got bored and left, I felt odd like asking myself how is everybody forgot Wizarding World? Is it possible that Im only person which still tries to get there?I don’t have anyone to speak about it. Everything around me remind me at HP, I do live in magical world but Im alone.I read and read and write, think about it. I really appreciate what Reader2 said.I need HP friend at least via internet.:-(

  24. Lucette Says:

    Happy New Year! Remember, there is still the Scottish book to theorize about. What side plots were taken out - what was changed, what information never made it into the books! It is not over until the Scottish book.

    Maybe then we will find out whether Florence was male or female (book never says) - who Dudley married (I’m hoping Millicent) - and whether or not Scorpius breaks with the family tradition.

  25. Reader2 Says:

    Happy New Year, everyone!

    Lucette, you are right that there is plenty for us to find out if and when the Scottish book comes out, but we already have something for the particular questions you’ve asked.

    When Rowling was asked if Dudley might have magical children, she said that no magic could servive contact with Vernon’s genes, so Dudley’s family is still very muggle, that in itself destroys any theories of Dudley marring Millicent or any other witch.

    The epilogue practiaclly forces Rose/Scorpious ship at us, which in turn suggests that Scorpius is not like the prevoius Malfoys (although I am rather annoyed by all those fics that make him a Gryffindor, and the reason is his name, Scorpio is a watery sign, which points him toward Slytherin, and in Rowlings world names are destiny).

    As for mystery Florence, that character is way too minor to come with any special surpirses.
    The way Rowling responded to some questions about sexuality of various characters, suggests that Dumbledore was her gift to anyone who wanted variety in that department, and she doesn’t have any more of those planned.
    After a gift that big, there should be no reason to ask for more.

  26. aep2398 Says:

    Oh my gosh, thank you so much! You don’t know how much I needed that, for FanFiction and DeviantArt! Thank you. :D

  27. Thestral995 Says:

    Hey, thanks Steve! glad to see you’re still working on the Lexicon….most unique book site I’ve ever seen. Keep at it!;)

  28. Taj Says:

    Can anyone tell me why the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy has two different dates: 1689 and 1692? It’s confusing because both dates are used in canon materials (the series, the companion books like “Quidditch Through the Ages” and “Tales of Beedle the Bard,” and the W.O.M.B.A.T. tests).

  29. Taj Says:

    Also, Steve…for the “Titles, Names, and Honorifics” page, you admittedly don’t have a set definition for the term “warlock”.

    But if you look on Page 56 of “Tales of Beedle the Bard,” Jo gives us a definition.

  30. Nicola Vojvodic (16) Says:

    Can anyone help and give me WOMBAT code. I want to see wombat pages and tests but I have no ID for WOMBAT. Anyone, please.
    Thnx…

  31. Nicola Vojvodic (16) Says:

    I guess we need new St Mungo’s because one that Steve found Middlesex Hospital is demolished…so that wasn’t St Mungo because MOM wouldn’t let that happen, they would negotiate with Muggles so that building stay…

  32. nancy Says:

    i love this website

  33. Nicola Vojvodic (17) Says:

    That’s it. Harry Potter dies out like all good things on this world… :(
    I’m not talkin about movies and theme park, I’m talking about books…

  34. Mimi98 Says:

    Y R LUNA AND NEVILLE NOT MARRIED?!?!?!!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!? ITS STUPID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  35. Becky Says:

    Why has nothing been updated in so long?
    Where are youuuu?

  36. Brandon Says:

    Then we make new things sparked form the Harry Potter.. Of it..
    We make our own light :)

  37. Muhammad Yassar Says:

    An imaginary world of shear entertainment and wisdom alike

  38. Pook Says:

    Taj, sorry to reply so late, but I always assumed there were two dates for the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy because there was more than one statute, and they were differentiated by date. That happens a lot with acts of Parliament in the UK.

    And, like they say in Dr Who fandom, if you’re fan enough to spot an error, you’re fan enough to fix it :)

  39. Christopher Hobe Morrison Says:

    I’m glad the HPL is being kept up, and Happy Birthday to JKL. I think writing code is something the dementors thought up. All tedium and hardly any creativity, at least compared to writing.

    Speaking of which: I always thought what constituted a muggle is that muggles aren’t just incapable of doing magic, it’s that they hate magic or anything else that isn’t immediately explainable in ordinary terms, or comes out of nowhere, or can’t be touched and felt in the usual physical sense. This is why the Department of Mysteries is so important. It gets down into the idea that magic equals love, and is the ultimate reality behind reality.

    The HP series has achieved the level of myth, more so even than Sherlock Holmes and the books about him because it touches on so many more levels of reality. JKR won’t be able to get away from the characters in this series, because they are real and she is just channeling them. Of course she is entitled to a vacation, and I am sure they would agree although the Death Eaters would probably deny this, being the killjoys they are. If any of the characters bother her, she should just write down what they say and forget about it. Sooner or later it may suddenly hit her that there is another story, or book, or film there but she is right not to rush it. She has done so much for so many, and we have to be grateful to her and give her whatever space she needs.
    Christopher
    Christopher Hobe Morrison
    cmorrison5_at_hvc.rr.com

  40. sherly Says:

    this page is nice.. i hope even harry potter ends, still this page will remain, so that we could still visit harry’s world… yeah i consider this as harry potter’s world…

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