ADMIN: Halloween Fun, Part 1

[Wendy St John]

Hello Everyone!

Halloween is just around the corner, and as we all know, this is usually an
exciting time in the Potterverse. Giant pumpkins . . . trolls in the
dungeon . . . <g> Well, we think it's an exciting time in the real world
too, and judging by the recent discussions about creepy crawlies, and
things that scare us, people on this list are ready for some Halloween
festivities! Always eager to please, your List Elves are preparing some fun
and games for your enjoyment.

Our first holiday diversion: A Halloween Costume Contest!

To enter, simply upload a photo of yourself, a family member, or a friend
into one of the folders inside "HALLOWEEN 2003" located in the Photos
section here at OTChatter. You may enter in the following categories: 

Best Harry Potter themed costume
Scariest costume
Cutest/Prettiest costume
Funniest costume
Most original costume
Sexiest costume (that can be worn in public without getting arrested)

We'll be accepting your entries until 8pm PT/11pm ET Tuesday, November 4th
(aka 4am GMT Wednesday, November 5th), after which time polls will be set
up so we can all vote for our favourites. The winner in each category will
receive an e-plaque, to be displayed in the Photos section of this group.
Though we're especially interested in seeing what sort of Harry Potter
costumes you've devised, submissions of all types are welcome.

A few rules and guidelines:

Photos must be of people you actually know (yourself, a friend or family
member), and remember to get permission from the person in the photo before
uploading to the group. When entering a photo, please provide the following
information: a description of the costume, the name of the person in the
photo (first names only or pseudonyms are fine), and also the name of the
person submitting the photo. This information can be included in the photo
description, which you can edit once you've uploaded your photo into the
appropriate folder.

Please be sure to upload the photos into the *category* folders (not into
the overall HALLOWEEN 2003 folder itself) or we won't know which category
you wish to enter. You may enter each photo in two categories if you wish
(for example, a Dementor costume might be entered into "Harry Potter" and
"Scariest"), but no more than two categories per photo.

In order to save file space and to make sure there will be room for all the
entries people wish to submit, please make sure you've formatted your photo
properly before uploading, so that the file size is approximately 50k. To
get a file of this size, we suggest resizing your photo so that the longest
side is no more than 500 pixels long, and then saving as a compressed .jpg
file. This should produce a file of the appropriate size that will still be
fine for viewing on the Internet. Make certain to resize a copy - not your
original.

If you have any questions about this, feel free to contact Hebby Elf at
hebrideanblack@ earthlink.net. If you do not have the means to reformat
your photos, you may send them to Hebby at that address, with "Costume
Contest Photo" as the subject line and she'll be happy to reformat and
upload them for you. When sending photos to Hebby, make sure to include the
information requested above, and also the category (or categories) in which
you would like the photo to be entered.

We can't wait to see your costumes! And stay tuned for more Halloween fun!

Sincerely,

Our Wizarding Leaders - the Rather Eerie Admin Team (OWLTREAT)