Database Clean-up

[Prof. Amy Lupin]

Hi everyone,

Please read this post carefully and please don't be concerned: we simply want to make you aware of a decision that shouldn't impact you but which you might notice. You don't need to worry or take any action.

In the years HOL has been open, there have been over 20,000 people who signed up for an account but have neither logged in nor earned any points since. This has taken up valuable storage space and has also slowed down the website. The Head Office has made the decision to prune those accounts which this applies to. We'll be removing entirely inactive accounts that were created prior to January 2017, but this doesn't mean that somebody can't then re-sign up to HOL should they become interested again. Please don't panic: the only accounts affected will be ones that have made no moves whatsoever to interact with the website. Old accounts that have seen some use will be totally unaffected (so if you know older members of the community who still want to retain their accounts, you don't need to alarm them. Providing they've actively taken part in HOL in some respect, their account will be absolutely fine.)

This move enables us to free up storage space that can be utilised for exciting features further down the line. This will also help make the website faster. Additionally, more names will be freed up for new members.

The only practical differences you, as a member, might see are in old class records or your friends list. For any classes you taught prior to February 2017, you may find that the number of total students in your classes gets reduced (students who earned points, and by extension quills, will not be affected). You may also find your Friends list affected (ie. the accounts that get removed will no longer display there).

[Prof. Kath Snape]

Fantastic!

I, for one, think this is a great idea. As you listed, thousands have signed up, but never ever return to interact on the HOL site. Those accounts being deleted is best for allowing the website to respond quicker and open the necessary space for future development.

Hope all goes well with this project and thank you for seeing something that should have been considered years ago.

Prof. Kath Snape
Hufflepuff