MuggleNet

MuggleNet is the Internet's oldest and largest ''Harry Potter'' and Wizarding World fansite. Founded in 1999, MuggleNet distinguished itself early on by its unique and comprehensive content. Barely one year after it was launched, the site was seeing hundreds of thousands of daily visitors each month at its peak. It has expanded over the years to include a handful of partner podcasts, a separate book blog, over half a dozen published works and live events. At one point, it also ran its own forums, social network and separate fan fiction website. MuggleNet currently features over 200 pages of content plus an archive of over 18,000 articles, including news, editorials, recipes, a caption contest and more. Originally owned by founder Emerson Spartz, MuggleNet became an independently-owned and operated brand in early 2020 and, according to its Twitter bio, has been women-led since 2017.

Relationship with the franchise

MuggleNet once benefitted from friendly relations with J. K. Rowling, the author of the ''Harry Potter'' books, and the producers of the films. She has praised MuggleNet on her website and awarded it her Fan Site Award. Rowling has also recounted on her website that she visited the site and sometimes read comments left by visitors, although she never commented herself. The author also stated that she visited the site's chat room and was snubbed when she anonymously joined a conversation about ''Harry Potter'' theories.

In July 2005, Rowling invited Spartz and Melissa Anelli, of the Leaky Cauldron, to Edinburgh, Scotland, for an interview at her home on the release of '' Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince''. J. K. Rowling mentioned MuggleNet through the interactive ''Harry Potter'' website Pottermore in September 2013, saying how proud she was to own the key to La Porte, Indiana, hometown of MuggleNet founder Emerson Spartz.

Warner Bros., the producers of the ''Harry Potter'' movies, regularly sent MuggleNet stills taken from the upcoming movies before they were released. The studio also provided MuggleNet staff with advance views of the new official website designs, as well as included staff in a video conference to discuss the ''Harry Potter'' theme park at Universal Orlando Resort. Universal has extended invitations to MuggleNet to attend the opening of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios Hollywood in addition to the opening of Diagon Alley and Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure at Universal Orlando Resort.

In July 2020, MuggleNet, together with the Leaky Cauldron, took several steps to distance themselves from Rowling due to comments she made the previous month that they perceived as transphobic. In a joint statement, the sites wrote that her views were "out of step with the message of acceptance and empowerment we find in her books and celebrated by the Harry Potter community". They announced that they would no longer use photos of the author, link to her website, or write about achievements unrelated to the Potterverse. As of January 2021, MuggleNet no longer provides news coverage of J. K. Rowling's works set outside of the wizarding world.

Features

MuggleNet Interactive

MuggleNet Interactive (often shortened to MNI) was a website spin-off of MuggleNet. It was an online forum where users could interact with each other in a Hogwarts-style setting. In addition to the general chat areas, the site was known for its diverse offerings, including the roleplaying area, the blog-style Chamber of Secrets, the high-speed trivia games of the Quidditch pitch, and the professor-led classes taught in a Socratic method. Semiannual House Cup competitions encouraged House unity and often allowed members to compete for honors in contests with essays, graphics, or other media. The MNI community also celebrated many holidays, as well as the shared birthday of Harry Potter and J. K. Rowling, with a "ball" in the otherwise closed Great Hall. Many site secrets were hidden throughout MNI's pages and were often sought for their Galleon rewards, but speaking of them on the site itself was forbidden. The many distinct components of the site contributed to the diverse community that it attracted.

The site was originally formed from a personality quiz made in 2000, which was later adapted for the fuller version of the site as a Sorting Hat. Over the years, sections such as a Diagon Alley shopping area, a dueling game, Flourish and Blotts fan fiction library, quizzes, Quidditch, and other subsections outside of the forum structure were incorporated into the site. The staff hierarchy was originally modeled after the faculty structure at Hogwarts with a Headmaster/Headmistress as the main site administrator overseeing moderating prefects and class-leading professors, but over time, non-canon positions, such as programmers, artists and quiz masters, were added in addition to other ''Harry Potter''-themed appointments.

Due to lack of server space and low traffic volumes, the site was shut down on August 1, 2016, after 13 years of operation.

MuggleNet Fan Fiction

On November 14, 2004, MuggleNet opened its fan fiction subsite, MuggleNet Fan Fiction (often shortened to MNFF), following in the footsteps of other ''Potter''-specific fan fiction sites.

In 2006, the site began its annual Quick Silver Quill Awards, in which authors and readers could nominate their favorite fictions from various categories to receive recognition.

Its forums house discussion groups aimed at improving reading and writing skills, as well as community building within the membership of the site. Popular areas include the Susan Bones Book Club (SBBC), where members are encouraged to share and discuss their favorite fictions from the site; Society for the Promotion of Evaluations for Writers (SPEW), where members can improve their critical review writing skills; the Three Broomsticks (TTB), where members can partake in writing challenges; and the Bannermakers Association and Dean's Corner, where members can stretch their artistic muscles and create banners and fan art that complement the site's fictions.

MuggleNet Fan Fiction also hosts its own version of Hogwarts within its forums, offering classes to new authors who wish to learn more about writing. These are run by members of the site who volunteer to teach a subject that interests them. The classes are very popular, with more authors taking part each term (run in trimesters). The classes are run in levels: first years, OWLs, and NEWTs, getting progressively more in-depth and allowing authors to choose at which level they wish to participate.

MuggleSpace

Launched during the Christmas holidays of 2008, MuggleSpace was a fan-based social network designed to provide a live online community for ''Harry Potter'' fans all over the world. The site contained a number of features, including a live group and private chat (monitored and participated in frequently by site moderators); blogs where users could share their personal creations and comment on the works of others such as novels, poems, fan fiction, or their own thoughts on the ''Potter'' world; and groups where users actively role-played or showed support for their favorite fandoms, causes, or fellow members. Other features included photos, videos, and discussion forums. For many, the site was a sanctuary for discussing problems and connecting with like-minded people. Unfortunately, the site was forced to close its doors in November 2013 due to lack of participation.

MuggleNet Book Trolley

The MuggleNet Book Trolley, one of MuggleNet's oldest-running features, was originally started by resident reviewer Robbie Fish, who published more than 1,000 reviews over 13 years. In 2013, the MuggleNet Book Trolley was revamped as a subdomain of MuggleNet.com. Fish teamed up with bloggers Charlie Morris and Lauren Rice to bring book lovers a new format. As its own separate site, the MuggleNet Book Trolley features book reviews written by MuggleNet staff members, exclusive interviews with authors, book giveaways, and more.

The blog posts multiple reviews each month, giving staff members the chance to share their thoughts and love of books from different genres and backgrounds. Books reviewed on the MuggleNet Book Trolley range from science-fiction and fantasy books similar to the ''Harry Potter'' series to more nonfiction selections, including biographies and recipe books.

Special projects

25 Days of Giveaways

Formerly known as the MuggleNet Advent Calendar giveaway, 25 Days of Giveaways is hosted annually between December 1 and December 25. Fans from around the world have the opportunity to win 25 different giveaways and special prizes, as well as a grand prize, all supplied by MuggleNet partners.

From 2011 to 2016, the Advent Calendar giveaway sent participants on a scavenger hunt around MuggleNet.com to locate the page for each day's trivia question, which they needed to answer correctly in order to be entered into the draw. In 2017, the event was renamed to 25 Days of Giveaways and moved primarily to MuggleNet’s social media channels, with bonus entries awarded for "MuggleNet Favorites" in addition to correctly answering a trivia question.

Trivia questions range from the specifics of wands and magical creatures to information from the books and the movies and about the wizarding world in general. Prizes include merchandise such as T-shirts, wands, tumblers, autographed memorabilia, books, and collectible items from the franchise.

April Fools' Day

Every April Fools' Day, MuggleNet creates prank posts for readers. The tradition began in 2008 with a series of articles highlighting "the most interesting tidbits" of the long-rumored ''Harry Potter'' encyclopedia, covering everything from Veela sex scandals to steroid use in Quidditch, with visitors being led to believe that they were reading about exclusive content from J. K. Rowling herself. Over the years, MuggleNet has teased closing its doors, faked casting announcements, book titles, release dates, and film updates, and even rickrolled its visitors under the guise of new ''Harry Potter'' content.

Wizolympics

The Wizolympics are a series of fictional athletic games and events that take place alongside the actual Olympic Games. Beginning with the 2014 Winter Olympics