Feedback
and contributions are always welcome.
What
is a "lexicon" anyway?
A lexicon is technically a list
of words. In this case, it's a lot of lists of words, all describing various
aspects of the Harry Potter universe. You might think of this Lexicon as
an index of that world, rather like an encyclopedia. Unlike an encyclopedia,
however, this is not arranged alphbetically. It's arranged by topic, which
makes it best suited for browsing. I realize that there are times, however,
when you need to find a specific detail--the names of the Gryffindor Quidditch
team, for example--so for that purpose there is a search
page and I'm also compiling a master
site index that will allow you to just to exactly what you need very
quickly.
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How
do I use it?
A great place to start each time
you log in is the
What's
New page, especially if you've already explored quite a bit of the
Lexicon and you just want to visit pages you haven't seen yet. There are
other suggested starting places on the Topic Lists, linked on the home
page when you enter the site. From there, you're off to explore the Lexicon.
How? You browse it. It's designed to be easy to navigate. On the left is
a navigation menu system which will lead you through the outline-style
indexes. Click away and enjoy what you find. I add new pages almost every
day, so you never know what you'll discover. I'm trying to hyperlink within
the pages too, which makes exploring more fun. If you want to find a specific
topic, such as wands or Quidditch, you can either search
for them or look them up in the master
index.
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What
if I find errors and omissions?
Oh, you probably will. I make no
claim to being complete. I do my best, but hey, I'm just doing this for
fun. This is very much as work in progress. I add stuff as I think of it
or as I happen upon it as I read. When I put a page on the site that isn't
finished, I put "IN PROCESS" on it so that visitors will know there's more
information to come.
If you find errors or omissions and
are interested in fixing them, email me. I'll update the pages as I get
time. Oh, and be sure to list the book and chapter you got your information
from. Don't bother with page numbers since those are going to be different
in different editions of the books. Email me by clicking on webmaster
on the bottom of each page.
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What
is included
(and
what is NOT included)?
Basically, what's in the Lexicon
is what's in the books. That means that all the information in the Lexicon's
pages comes directly from one of the novels or from Quidditch Through
The Ages or Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. However,
also included are some facts gleaned from interviews JKR did. I have worked
very hard to keep speculation and assumption from sneaking in, but every
so often I discover that I've stated something as fact that is NOT clearly
given that way in an official source. When I find things like that, I edit
them immediately.
The upshot of this for you, the researcher,
is that you can trust the Lexicon to be a definitive source of Harry Potter
information. If you write fanfic and you need to know who the BOOKS say
are Death Eaters, you can trust the list here. If you wonder what spells
there are for creating fire, you can trust that the ones in the Lexicon
are direct from the books, not invented by fans or guessed at by me.
The Site
Sources page has more information about the sources for the Lexicon.
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Why
are there are no pictures?
There are some, but not many. Why
is that? Because 1) I don't have time to draw any, and 2) this site is
designed to be browsed easily, meaning that it's ALL text for fast loading.
I am beginning to include some fan artwork and appropriate clip art here
and there, but there will never be a lot It just slows the site down. Remember
that first and foremost, these are books. JKR has the gift of making you
be able to visualize the world she has created using her words. It seems
appropriate that a website like this, which strives to be true to the books
above all, doesn't clutter up its pages with a lot of pictures that are
really someone's interpretation, not fact.
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The
Fine Print
The original contents of this web
site are copyrighted 2000 and 2001 to Steve Vander Ark and other contributors.
That means that you cannot copy anything for any purpose or use any method
such as framing to make this content a part of your web site, an email
message, or any other publication of any kind. Again, you are not allowed
to copy material from this site; it's copyrighted. You are not allowed
to print off pages and distribute them either. These pages are to be enjoyed
in their original form and in their original location, which is as part
of this website. This applies to whole pages and any parts of pages, including
graphics. It is also not permitted under international copyright law for
you to translate these pages into other languages.
If you are a student, you do have
some additional rights to use this material for school assignments, but
that doesn't include making copies just for your own use. If you wonder
about any of this, ask your local librarian, library media specialist,
or email me (I'm a librarian
too).
Please feel free to put a link on
your web site to this one, as long as you properly credit the link. In
other words, make it clear that you are linking to a page on a different
web site, not to part of your own site.
Obviously, this copyright cannot
and is not intended to intrude upon the copyrights of J.K.Rowling, Scholastic,
Warner Brothers, or any other copyright holders whose material is reviewed
on these web pages. The Harry Potter Lexicon web site is not associated
in any way with those entities.
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