HEXRPGReviews 130

I made a lot of good friends on this site, but ultimately the culture is toxic. Site staff is allowed to ban anyone at will, talking about a banned user can get you banned, there's excessive rules against multiple accounts when honestly having another account doesn't even help you that much (I think the main benefit is daily money which is pretty low value anyway). I got banned for replying to an owl (a private message) with a banned word in it, which I didn't even write myself (think emails keeping logs of replies under the message written); I haven't been given any chance to contact the people I roleplayed with to see if we could continue. And although I mainly focused on the rp community, the other reviews about homophobia/transphobia are true in my experience. For what it's worth, the roleplay community here is pretty unique and the design of the website is nice, it's just not worth the trouble.

Hex has many wonderful features and presents great opportunities that I shall always treasure, but it is not a safe place. The site staff appear to stand for inclusiveness or zero bullying, but allows blatant transphobia and acts slowly when it comes to standing up for minorities. Moreover they do not care about nuance and or the mental effects the rampant toxicity of the platform has on vulnerable users and impose tone policing to the degree of invalidating experiences and emotions.

I appeal to the Staff to review and clarify their rules and enforce them equally. In my short month here, I've witnessed so much partiality and unfairness. Please, have a heart. Make HEX safe. Please.

I share a server with my sister, and I mentioned it in my account page, but I still got kicked off. They said we were one person with multiple accounts. This happened twice! I made sure to mention the server issue both times, but they still kicked us both off for no reason, and the first time I tried to explain, the staff were rude and unhelpful. I haven't gotten a response yet for the second time, but my hopes are not high.
However, the site itself is really fun and well-made, and the games and activities are fun! Most of the people are really nice too, I made some good friends on Hex. It was just the server issue that ruined the whole experience for me.

If you scroll through these reviews, you'll see a lot of negative stuff. While I'm not saying these claims are false - I'm sure people have had bad experiences - I find this site to be absolutely amazing. Whenever I have a question, there are so many members of the site willing to pop in with an answer, whether they work on the site or not. The role play section of the site is filled with a whole bunch of role plays for every level, whether you're a newbie who writes one liners or a master who writes 1,000 words. There's so many threads dedicated just for chatting and making new friends. You can join or create clubs too, based on your interests. You can also join a dorm and make new friends. There's games to play, classes to take, and a whole bunch of new friends to make. You can even try out for your house's quidditch team! You can buy a pet, a wand, a broom, and so many other different items. You can be sorted and chat in your common room. You can participate in a multitude of site-wide events. I definitely recommend this site.

I joined HEX 6 years ago. Loved the first year, but got busy and had to go MIA. I came back recently and dang this place is horrible. The staff are rude as ever. News flash don't volunteer to do the job just because it gives you power. IN the end you end up hating everyone and everything, being rude to folks. And who in their right mind lets a CHILD have a position of power. John is an idiot for allowing such a great place to be ruined by his staff. Favoritism all around and staff that will not for the life of them let users explain anything. Now I am not writing this because I did something wrong and have gotten in trouble, because in fact I never have had an issue personally. But I See it all the time. And to top it off how on earth can you have a Pride event if you allow homophobic stuff to be put on the forums? Staff don't actually care, john doesn't either. The money he gets in donations (A LOT) I guarantee he just pockets it and goes on his way. Also, the staff like to look through your OWLs if they have a problem with you so they can have a reason to ban you. At the end of the day, you could literally be good, do nothing wrong but SEE all the crap that happens and then not want to be around. Also these positive reviews are from staff, as they have mentioned they tried to boost the rating. I hope one day they get taken down because of copyright infringement. Literally SELLING the world of harry potter to underage folks. STRAIGHT TRASH.

I've been off and on this site for well over 13 years.

The RP aspect of the game is truly a fan operated and supported aspect in the game.

The community is mostly great, but you will always have the ***holes.

The site has strong political beliefs, the admins believe they are able to share theirs, but you are not allowed to disagree In the slightest.

Most of the admins I've had direct dealings with have been decent, but it's far more common to come across the power driven admins. I've seen multiple accounts get sent to Azkaban for petty, nonsense things.

The site has its aspects of "fun" but it's mostly community driven and admin micro managed.

Don't get to comfortable, you'll get banned for helping even in the slightest.

I could not be more disappointed and yes all of the negative reviews about this site are correct. The site is awesome but the staff and moderators are completely horrible! I get that it's a RP site but they do not operate like Hogwarts staff. They believe themselves to be the end all be all of everything site related. The majority of the time it is their way or the highway and they ban you or bully you. The site owner John is perhaps the only exception as he was always friendly in his work and responses. Very helpful. However; the checks and balances are not in place. Such a shame to see this site become worthless after 20 years. The blame is placed squarely with the moderators and admins. Terrible and about 90% need to be removed. Not worth your time anymore.

I have been on this site for several years and have had nothing but positive experiences. I've made friends who've carried me through tough times, including both physical and mental health problems. I've had a wonderful time competing in numerous contests and to gather items that I adore. There are so many wonderful and talented people that make this site truly a special place.

I read so many of the reviews below, though, and can't help but realize that the common denominator is fairly simple: if you abide by site terms then you can easily avoid the problems that these folks are describing. And it's not as if site terms are hard to follow. Don't want to get an owl about having multiple accounts? Don't make more than one. And if you think you may have had an account before or have someone else in the household who uses the site, be upfront about that.

The fact is that this site is a game. All games have rules. Those rules need enforced for the game to remain fair. I'm not going to say that everybody is going to like the way the rules are enforced - I'm sure there have been times where a message could have been more kindly worded or a rule more clearly communicated - but so many people are complaining because they got in trouble for breaking site rules that they agreed to when they joined. It seems wrong to blame the site for bad choices these users made.

HEX is a diverse community. There are plenty of people you won't get along with or like. I can think of many that have rubbed me the wrong way or with whom my personality or ideology clashes. But there are also people who I cherish. The site is big enough that I can enjoy the latter without having to be around and conflicting with the former. If you don't want drama, or can't stomach people with different opinions from you, then it's once again very simple to get along here: don't engage with people who stir you up. Walk away and enjoy a different part of the site for a while. The basic kindergarten rule that if you can't say anything nice then don't say anything at all will help you avoid any negative interactions with staff or admins on this site. It'll probably help you in most any aspect of life.

In short, the site isn't perfect. No site is. But if you can follow a few simple rules like limiting yourself to one account and speaking kindly to other people (or else saying nothing to them at all), then there's no reason HEX can't be a wonderful place to spend a lot of time with some truly fantastic people who share a passion for the wonderful world of Harry Potter.

This is a site that has a lot to offer. The people who work to make it a great place to be are volunteering their time to do so, making it an extremely amazing thing to behold, considering all the opportunities for fun: contests, chatting, economy, etc. The coding and the infrastructure on which the site is built is surprisingly sophisticated for a place that runs on donations alone.

Regarding some of the negative reviews on this site - beware. Many of them are written by rule-breakers and/or people who consistently toe the line. The site has rules for a reason in order to make it safe and fair for as many users as possible. Some reviews here are even written by people who continue to spend a lot of time (and presumably money) on the site. Best to form your own opinion and try it out for yourself!

Hello. I have written a review before and this is just me writing a second one AND telling you guys who to avoid.

My first review told you not to join. But what if you did? Fear not!

Based on my experience, I have some suggested moderators you should go to should you need help and the ones you must NEVER go to, less you want to get your $#*! kicked for no reason.

The moderators who are not bias right now:
Zoe
Brandon
Jojo
Ry240

The moderators who are bias:
Everyone else!

Also a tip for those who are already in:
Don't try to help newbies. Like, no-no. You wanna know why? Because half the people on that site has gotten expelled from "acting like moderators or admins" AND THEY WERE BANNED FOR NO FRIGGIN REASON EXCEPT TO BE HELPFUL.

And to the rest, don't join because everyone is going to treat you like $#*! and the "oldies" there are really proud and they don't give a $#*! about anybody who stands in their way.

ALSO BEING A MODERATOR IN THAT SITE IS THE MOST THANKLESS JOB EVER.

The website is great! I've been on it for two years now.
But I didn't understand the rules. And soon after I joined they changed the rules. So I didn't know half of them. Half the rules don't make any sense, the other half are actually useful. When you break a rule, any rule, you get one warning and then after that it's stints in Azkaban(banned from the site for a day or more!)
I have broke a lot of rules but it's onlt because I didn't understand the rules! And even if you broke the tiniest rule it was Azkaban because that's how they rule. And they don't give you a chance to explain before doing it! I have accidentally typed cuss words because of one wrong letter-and gotten banned from the site for days!
On June 02 of this year I got banned for a year for guilty by association'. Someone I role played with said a bad word and I got kicked off the site for a year because of it. No notice, no nothing. Just an email saying you are banned until June 02 2020. No chance to explain. No chance to tell friends/role play partners what happened to me. Nothing. It is unfair. I have broken rules and I understand that you have to punish for that but
1) I have broken a majority of them on accident! Pure accident because I didn't understand something!
2) you don't have a chance to explain what happened!
3) the staff is biased and rude about it!
The worst two on my
List are mods by the name of Cait and Pyper.
All of the mods know me I'm sure because of my record of breaking rules... but those two punished me the most and the worst. It is unfair and rude! And they are rude about it! Once my sister typed a cuss and I got banned for two or three days. When I got back I wasn't allowed in the role play central for six months. I tried to explain my sister did it, but they don't care. You broke a rule on your account it's your problem. And one time my sister tried making an account and she got expelled and I got banned. We mentioned that our accounts were connected and the mods excuse was no multiple accounts.'
The actual people on there are AMAZING. Lots of great friends and I even met my penpal on there. But the staff sucks.

So, I've been on HEX (on and off; real life, you know?) for almost 4 years. I have been on site staff for a portion of that, but not any more. Site staff mods and admins are all humans, and none of them are perfect. Some are better, some are worse. Decisions about banning multiple accounts are made carefully and based on evidence. Some of these reviews may be legitimate complaints about mistaken bans, but I'm confident the VAST majority are done correctly.

The part that really grinds my gears is reviewers alleging bias or intolerance on the part of staff and moderators. In 4 (on and off, again) years of HEX, I have NEVER ONCE seen site staff discrimination against a POC, a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, or other protected classes. Is there some institutional disadvantage? Sure. But staff is actually remarkably diverse. I am a gay man and I have ALWAYS felt completely comfortable on HEX, especially during pride.

Some of the other complaints about cliquishness are valid, and there are certainly some staffers who are not very approachable. However, these people are all volunteers - some of whom give 40+ hours per week to this site. It's incredibly fun, and for people who READ THE RULES and abide by them should be totally fine. As in literally every aspect of life, being polite will get you farther than being rude when you believe staff have made a mistake, but you don't have to be a "brown noser" as one reviewer said to have fun and participate and make friends.

Check it out for yourself.

Like all online platforms there are people from all walks of life on HEX. It is impossible to tell other people how they have to behave, think, who to like, etc. Everyone, regardless of gender, sexual preference, race, nationality, or abilities has a voice. HEX doesn't try to stifle that. While it may be hard to stomach sometimes, censoring one group in favor of another would not go over well, so I appreciate the management of HEX doing what it can to make sure all voices are heard, so long as it is not done in an attacking manner. Outside of the recent crop-up of these discussions, which became more prominent during Pride month as those who may not feel they re being included in this month that celebrates those of a specific group, the site is wonderful with many contests to participate in, a large number of forums dedicated to roleplaying, and many forums for chatting. There is always something to do on HEX.