HEXRPGReviews 130

Normally I don't write reviews. This was something that really hit me that I feel like I have to share. I have sat back and watched the recent changes, some for the better and many for worse, silent the whole time. I can't remain silent anymore. I watched someone who has dedicated so much time on the site be turned on. There is a group who certain members have started a real mess and unfortunately good people got caught in the middle.
If you are trans, a POC or anything that that doesn't fit the mold, don't join. I didn't believe this myself until this week. Their committee staff are quitting saying it's a ploy. You have staff members being alienated and saying they were apart of harassment when they were against it. The site has turned on THE WRONG PEOPLE. I've watched someone who has COVID still fight alongside their moderator brothers and sisters to be thrown away. You have one user who gave everything to that site and another who is brainwashing people. Yet, those trying to make HEX safe are discarded like trash. Hex is disgusting for getting rid of people who are on the side of the users not the side of the JKRIOP group that is very much like a cult. There are members of that group who want the right things. Hex got the problem child out and now goes for anyone in that group? It's horrible what staff is goi to those who do care about the site.

Unfortunately, my experience with this site has deteriorated since Lilian was allowed to ignite the flame. Now, another Lily is allowed to be a mod member who is openly phobic and against so many things. Guess if you don't kiss the right $#*!, you can't actually do your job and make a difference. I've watched two people be harassed to the point of almost committing suicide, one who is the mod member that was discarded so carelessly (who is the one fighting COVID) they have death threats on other media from someone's group but that's okay. Hex is a big game of he said/she said bull$#*!. Again, it's said only one person (who is banned from the site) was the harassing party and other take the rap for him. Glad I'm watching from the sidelines of it all. Can't imagine what staff would do to me being a regular user if they toss their own away.

Sure staff aren't perfect but you know what else isn't? Meeting up on discord and facebook and planning on spamming negative reviews to create a false image of hex in a place where staff can't find you! Don't believe any of the 1-star reviews that end up spamming the same thing but paraphrased. Either they genuinely don't know what a 1 star review means or are just trying to ruin the rating to get revenge for being banned about breaking rules in the first place.

This site is probably one of the worst things i have ever seen in my life. I joined around a year ago, and i thought the site was amazing, and it was everything i wanted. But after a year, i started to see the innerworkings of the site. The staff discriminate against anyone they do not like, and send report after report just to get that person expelled. They hire people who never try to stop that discrimination, and go around flaunting that they are homophobic and such. THEY DO NOT CARE. They do not care that the people in the site are going around and shutting down what it once was. The admin are all fake. They act all nice and kind, and then shut you down when you do something they do not like. DO NOT JOIN

Hi!
So I am obsessed with this site. Its so amazing and I've made so many friends. But the staff are something terrible.
Not only do they never respond to owls (edmundus is a huge problem in this field), but if you aren't friends with them they dont care.
I have been severely bullied because I am gay on the site, and apparently the countless owls I have reported were "not enough evidence." The person bullying me is an "archives apprentice", which means I can't even block this person.
The staff are extremely biased, even if you have HEAPS of evidence they will do nothing.
Good concept,
TERRIBLE PEOPLE.

Do not join this site if you are afraid of getting bullied or severely harassed.

HEX doesn't realize they need us to run the site.

They treat us like actual dirt.

Stay away.

Hogwarts Extreme is a fantastic site which allows you to explore many amazing aspects of the Harry Potter universe! It also incorporates a vast array of fan-fic, hobbies, and other franchises. There are professionals that give their time freely to help you learn and succeed. Professional authors, graphic artists, coders, musicians, and more. It's truly amazing the things I've learned since Joining hex!

I've been an active member of this site for nearly five years now. I can't say enough good things about it! It is such a great community! I've seem some negative things that have been said and I have to say I disagree. I guess it's about what you want out of your online experience. Do you want a supportive, safe community that allows you to meet wonderful people from all over the world, explore your interests, develop skills you can use in the real world, and is a ton of fun? Then this is the site for you! Do you want to troll sites, incite conflict, and worry more about inflating your online presence than becoming part of something bigger? Then you might want to choose some place which fosters those things.

Shout-out to my friends conducting their coordinated plan to spam entirely positive reviews, trying desperately to shut down those with valid criticisms.;-) I love HEX and its people, but I simply cannot pretend that it's a flawless place or that the 'complainers' are lying or exaggerating. I've been here for 7 years - I've seen a lot of crap, and witnessed a lot from a mod perspective as well. I'm horrified by the things that have been said and done to many users over recent years, and all of the things being brought to light recently about mistreatment, abuse of power, and discrimination. Now, staff isn't bad - they're great and they're truly making an effort to be better now, which I respect and appreciate, so I disagree with the reviews that needlessly insult staff. But that doesn't erase the pain that they've caused to many people (not including myself, I've never been at the receiving end of ignorance or harassment so I'm impartial here - I just see a lot of what goes down). Please take ALL reviews here with a grain of salt. Staff aren't bad and HEX is absolutely not the worst site ever, nor does it deserve to be shut down - but it's not the perfect, innocent safe haven a handful of unaffected people are now suddenly pretending it is in an obvious attempt to silence others and boost the site's ratings. It's a great place, but you do need to be careful if you are in a marginalized community, because there's been significant damage done over the past 14 months (see reviews from June 2019 that discuss the same issues as recent negative reviews - it's been a long time!) that staff has only recently decided to actively stand against. It's a mostly accepting place but you will run into bigots and their views will be defended if they're not deemed to be aggressive, which is BS to me.

I have been a member of Hex for six years, and I find the community, its users, and its staff to be wonderful. I joined because I loved the idea of taking Hogwarts-like classes, and I still enjoy the classes to this day. The classes are written in a format of someone giving a lecture, with fun information thrown in so you can answer some homework questions, and are very enjoyable to read the creativity others are contributing around Hex. I have made many friends at Hex and enjoy the time I spend there.

There is always something going on around Hex when it comes to activities. With so many forums and every type of logic, writing, trivia, and graphics contest running at any point in time, there is always something to do. There are plenty of places to chat with others and most of the community is very welcoming. There are many great writers creating all types of fanfiction, which isn't limited to just the magical world. There are tons of people role-playing in groups. Hex even has its own publications and a wizarding podcast.

Hex takes care of its community. From the moment that member starts, they are given a tutorial about the website, and all new members are assigned a mentor. The mentors can really help you learn how to get the most from Hex and can help you with finding your common room, changing your avatar, adding a random burst, and so much more.

So? Why so many negative reviews? I think it is because some people have broken some rules or they don't agree with the terms which they agreed to when signing up, but it appears that the same couple people are repeatedly leaving negative reviews under different names. The rules are simple: no multiple accounts, keep things PG-13, and don't bully/attack others (publically or privately). No multiple accounts is to keep things fair, so that people are not getting an unfair advantage in house points, from rare items in random events, or galleons (currency) via the stock market or other methods. PG-13 is because there are users who are different ages, it is the rule, and it should be easy enough. Don't bully/attack others, that seems like common sense when you choose to join a community, but there are people out there who like to use to anonymity of the internet to hurt and belittle others. When things like that are reported, it is dealt with, I have seen people claim to be defending themselves complain when they too get in trouble because they are now attacking someone, but two wrongs don't make a right, so report an issue, and talk to staff members if you feel you are not being heard.

My best advice, join HEXRPG, get involved, and get to know people. It is a lot of fun for all ages.

This place has given me a safe haven to meet other HP fans and feel loved and accepted for who I am. Recently the staff tightened down on their stance on the Black Lives Matter movement and the LGBTQ+ community, and clarified that Black Lives Matter and Trans Lives Matter. Some people got shirty about being told that their transphobic behavior wasn't allowed, played the sea lion argument of "Well no YOU tell ME why MY behavior was bad, I hAvE nO iDeA" and got kicked off, hence the negative reviews that have popped up since the beginning of May. HEX is a great place, and very welcoming. We are a community, and if you are offending the community, you are no longer welcome in that community. Point blank and period.

I've been on the site since I was in high school. I left for a while to finish school, and start a family. After returning, I still find HEX a wonderful place to explore the world of Harry Potter. There are classes, and spells, and a TON of "items" you can purchase or win in the many site run contests. I've read the reviews of the site, both good and bad. I must say that the bad reviews are generally written by rule breakers and disgruntled users that want HEX to be run their way, and not with the vision of the site owner.
The site staff are there to enforce the rules that everyone agrees to follow when they sign up for an account.
Real world drama should be left at the door, and not brought onto the site. The real world is what we are there to "escape" from and enjoy the magic. It should only be all about the magic and all the fun belonging to a Harry Potter community.
So, come and join. Make friends from the diverse cultures around the world. Immerse yourself to the fullest extent of the site. They even have mentors to help you learn to navigate the site and answer any questions you may have.

HEX is the best match I've found so far for what I'm looking to get from a Harry Potter fan community. Site staff works so hard to constantly bring new ideas and content to the users, and you can see their passion come through in every aspect of the site. I feel really lucky to have gotten to make the friends I have through here, people I never would have met otherwise. I do think it's important to note that the site is run entirely by volunteers and funded through donations, and I never once felt pressured to donate. I enjoyed the site off and on for about 12 years completely free of charge before I was in a position to be able to donate, and that's a rare and special thing to encounter in the current online environment.

I don't think the site is perfect, but I do think it deserves a little of the love and passion it puts out in the world to come back in return.

I joined this site 4 years ago and can honestly say it was one of the best choices of my life. Everyone is so so welcoming and kind and I've learnt so much and made so many friends. I love it!

I've been on this site for well over a decade, so my experience is pretty much covered in seeing everything and anything on the site. There is so much do, you can get lost there for hours.
I've read a lot of the other reviews on here and they all appear to be from disgruntled users who broke the rules are were not happy about being told off.
From all of my experiences the site in itself is NOT anti LGBTQ+. To say so is just baffling. There may be specific users on the site who have opinions that are harmful to the community and site staff appear to be making efforts to remove these types of opinions from the site. But you can't blame site staff for everything and for what individual users post up. There's a true vendetta out against the staff as a whole. Users wishing to complain use the title 'staff' to make negative comments towards a group of users without having to specifically call anyone out.

I saw this website linked in a thread in Dumbledore's Office and felt the need to leave a review after seeing some of the stuff written here. I've been on the site for probably 5 years now. If a site wasn't fun, I wouldn't even have stuck around this long. I've jumped around a lot of RP forums prior. I like the site and all is has to offer. I suck at contests but they're still fun to enter and I dread homework. The economy is a little wonky, but kinda cool. Mods put a lot of work into stuff around the site so I give them mad credit for that. I've made a lot of friends over the years and I'm thankful for them as I'm not really good at making friends. I've had my ups and downs with this site, and experienced a few times where I felt like leaving. I will admit that I've felt this recently. There's a group of users, who are probably behind all the recent 1 stars, who have made myself and other members of the LGBTQ+ community feel unsafe on this website as they've been bullying members of the community and it's gross. Bullying is something you may encounter, but staff take bullying seriously if you report it. I recognize staff have been doing their best to make members of the LGBTQ+ community feel safe again and they accept us for who we are and our views. So I would say to take the recent crappy reviews with a grain of salt. Staff have been taking steps to try and make the site a better place and I'm happy about that. I love the diversity committee and new LGBTQ+ publication. I can't wait for all the drama to go away. The site is a Harry Potter site and it's really good for that. The recent drama is ruining it, but the users that you can befriend make it worth staying. That's why I'm still on the site.

I found hex three years ago when someone told me about a place to take "real" Hogwarts classes online. I was interested, so checked it out. I found much more than that, though! Hex is a great place to make friends, chat, roleplay, read or write fanfiction, and yes, there's also Hogwarts classes. It's not completely immersive, as you chat and such as yourself, but you can create your own characters (or use canon characters, either way) to roleplay as. It's a PG-13 site, so you can curse or have violence in your roleplay or fanfiction, but they do crackdown on certain words and behaviors. You can only have one account on the website. There's a lot of places to roleplay if that's your thing, but there's also a lot of places to just chat with other users.
What I love most about hex is the people I talk to. I'm on hex at least several hours daily and can nearly always find someone fun to chat with. There are users from all around the world on hex, so even if I log on in the middle of the night, there's usually people to talk to and things to do. Yes, as with any website, you do run into "unpleasant" people sometimes, but if people cross lines into bullying or harassing you or other people, you can report them to staff. I've always been informed when staff receive reports, but the staff won't tell what happens to other users... everyone's given privacy if they're punished or whatever and we aren't supposed to ask users if or how they were punished. There's a lot of comments I saw on here about bad staff members on hex and I definitely don't want to discredit anyone's experiences, but I've never had any issues with staff personally.
There's been a lot of changes recently in an attempt to be more sensitive to diversity (regarding LGBT+ issues especially, from what I've seen around the site anyway), but it's a work in progress as all changes are. There's recently been a diversity committee formed, and from my understanding (though I'm NOT part of the committee), they're working on changing terms and weighing in on solutions relating to reports of discriminatory behavior. I'd call that a step in the right direction.

If you're a Harry Potter fan this place is definitely a good one to immerse yourself in the Wizarding World. I absolutely love that I can take classes and earn House Points for my house. As of late, HEX has really stepped up. I feel super safe on this website since they don't tolerate any bullying of any kind. I'm never afraid to reach out to the Staff, they are so lovely and always dedicated to serving the community. All the Staff are volunteers so I really appreciate the fact that other people, just like me, take out of their time to make sure everyone is having fun in a safe environment.

I've met so many amazing people on this site. This site is a great place to geek out with fellow Harry Potter lovers. There are classes to take, items to collect, and tons of events and things to do. I absolutely adore spending my time here. If I have any questions there are always plenty of staff and moderators around to answer my questions. I really enjoy spending my time here.