needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . july 2011 learn how and when to remove this template message the leaky cauldron main page type private company limited liability company headquarters new york usa key people melissa anelli owner leaky net llc new york 1 slogan s the most trusted name in potter website www.the leaky cauldron.org alexa rank 42 000 approx . as of august 2011 update 2 registration optional available in english u.s. launched 5 july 2000 the leaky cauldron also called leaky tlc or leaky news is a harry potter fansite and blog . the site features news image and video galleries downloadable widgets a chat room and discussion forum and an essay project called scribbulus among other offerings . since 2005 the leaky cauldron has also hosted an official podcast called pottercast . the current webmaster of the leaky cauldron is melissa anelli a former journalist for the staten island advance and author of the 2008 bestseller harry a history . 3 the site s creative director is john noe . the leaky internet business is currently incorporated as the for profit leaky net inc. 1 to be distinguished from the non profit arm leaky inc. 4 contents 1 early history 1.1 april fools day jokes 2 projects 2.1 pottercast 2.2 leakynews.com 2.3 relationship with the franchise 3 charitable initiatives 3.1 leakycon 4 awards 5 references 6 external links early history edit the leaky cauldron website was started by kevin c. murphy on 5 july 2000 as a geocities site managed through blogger . it moved to its own domain on 4 december 2000 . with b.k. delong taking control a year later in 2001 . melissa anelli joined the leaky staff later that year as an editor and became managing editor in 2002 . anelli took full editorial control of the site in 2004 . on 28 january 2005 leaky debuted the leaky lounge a forum for harry potter discussion . the forum currently has over 120 000 registered members . the leaky cauldron was also part of the floo network a collection of harry potter sites that also included the harry potter lexicon . the leaky cauldron withdrew financial support from the lexicon and disbanded the floo network in 2007 following the legal action pursued by jk rowling against its creator and webmaster steve vander ark . april fools day jokes edit the site is also known for the april fools day jokes that it pulls annually . in 2003 leaky posted a copy of 93 words allegedly emailed to the site in reference to a 93 word card auctioned off the previous december with information about the plot of the upcoming fifth potter book . in 2004 actor jim tavar who would appear later that year in the film harry potter and the prisoner of azkaban as tom the barman attempted to oust the muggles from the site . in 2005 the site closed down posting a note about how tired the webmasters were of handling the foolish questions sent to them by readers each day . as a replacement the site opened ask peeves a spoof on the ask jeeves search engine . in 2006 both the leaky cauldron and fellow potter fansite mugglenet shut down and redirected visitors to a new site the leaky mug . the leaky mug s first announcement was the marriage of leaky webmaster melissa anelli to mugglenet webmaster emerson spartz . the two claimed to have merged their sites in the same way they had merged their lives . the next day both sites were running normally ; j.k. rowling discussed the joke later on her official website . in 2007 leaky posted a news item that said it d be closing its doors following the upcoming publication of the final harry potter book harry potter and the deathly hallows . in 2008 the leaky cauldron announced that sybill trelawney a hogwarts professor of divination in the potter series would be joining the site s staff as a news editor . leaky also announced that potter actor daniel radcliffe would be eschewing his famous nude scenes in the upcoming broadway debut of his play equus and that the wizard rock band harry and the potters was disbanding . in 2009 the site automatically redirected to another website hooter a play on twitter . in 2010 the leaky cauldron became the gleeky cauldron a fansite for the popular fox tv show glee . projects edit pottercast edit main article pottercast pottercast is the official podcast of the leaky cauldron . launched on 22 august 2005 pottercast is an hour long podcast hosted by anelli noe and frankie frak franco iii . the podcast includes news updates discussion of the potter books and films interviews with people associated with the potter franchise including j. k. rowling and other features . leakynews.com edit leaky bought leakynews.com on 20 nov. 2005 to make their url shorter and make access to their site easier . in october 2011 leakynews split from the main site to form a new entertainment website disconnected from the harry potter franchise the new website allows members to write and contribute their own articles on an area of popular culture they enjoy . relationship with the franchise edit harry potter creator j. k. rowling has praised the leaky cauldron on several occasions . on her site rowling has said that she visits the leaky cauldron and sometimes reads the comments left by visitors although rowling does not leave comments there herself ; she once wished a reader happy birthday based upon their postings on the leaky cauldron . 5 rowling gave her approval and endorsement to the strong anti spoiler campaign enforced on leaky and its forum the leaky lounge prior to the release of harry potter and the deathly hallows . the leaky cauldron and mugglenet were granted an interview with rowling at her home in edinburgh scotland in mid 2005 immediately following the release of the sixth harry potter novel harry potter and the half blood prince . 6 in january 2008 rowling appeared and was interviewed on pottercast ; during the interview she called leaky her favorite fan site . 7 rowling has written the introduction to melissa anelli s nonfiction book harry a history the true story of a boy wizard his fans and life inside the harry potter phenomenon which was released 4 november 2008 . the site also has a good relationship with warner bros. the studio producing the film adaptations of the potter books . the studio regularly sent leaky images from upcoming films before their official release and gave leaky a special preview of redesigns of the official harry potter website before the releases of the third and fourth films . leaky was the sole fansite invited to the press junket for the second potter film harry potter and the chamber of secrets ; the junkets for later films were opened to additional sites . the website has also received information from other sources in the harry potter world including arthur a. levine books and bloomsbury publishing . charitable initiatives edit the leaky cauldron regularly raises funds to aid world literacy an initiative begun in 2002 with the auction of a card handwritten by rowling with 93 words regarding the plot of the upcoming fifth harry potter book . leaky gathered funds from its readers to place a collective bid but when their bid was unsuccessful the money raised was donated to the charity benefiting from the auction . leaky now holds a charity drive every holiday season and has raised more than 30 000 in donations to date . the leaky cauldron also participated in the fundraiser helping haiti heal which was organized by the harry potter alliance . this fundraiser had the goal of raising money for haiti after the earthquake that struck in january 2010 . in the end helping haiti heal raised 123 000 . this money was used to charter five planes to haiti nicknamed harry hermione ron dftba and dumbledore and carried up to 100 000 pounds of critical life saving supplies for thousands of haitians . leakycon edit further information leakycon in may 2009 leaky hosted leakycon 2009 a harry potter fan convention held in boston massachusetts the proceeds of which went to book aid international and the hp alliance . 8 leaky hosted a second leakycon in july 2011 in orlando florida in close proximity to the wizarding world of harry potter theme park . proceeds benefited book aid international and the hp alliance . in 2012 leakycon was held again taking place in chicago illinois from 9 august to the 12th . 9 in 2013 leakycon will hold its first international conference in london england from 8 to 12 august as well as the now traditional american conference to be held in portland oregon in june . 10 awards edit awards received by the site include the 2005 yahoo search find of the year people s choice award 11 a 2002 bloggie award 12 a movies.com fan favorite awards in 2004 and 2005 a fan site award from j. k. rowling 13 and a 2006 webby people s voice award . 14 references edit a b leaky net llc registration with the state of new york . 22 february 2005 . retrieved 11 july 2010 the leaky cauldron.org site info . alexa internet inc. retrieved 15 august 2011 . new york times best sellers paperback nonfiction . 2008 november 23 . retrieved 11 july 2010 leaky inc. non profit registration with the state of new york . 26 november 2002 . retrieved 11 july 2010 j. k. rowling 22 december 2004 . harry potter and the half blood prince to be published 16th july 2005 . jkrowling.com . j. k. rowling . meeting melissa and emerson . jkrowling.com . j. k. rowling . pottercast interview with j. k. rowling mp3 audio . pottercast . i love everyone who s on the leaky cauldron site which is my favorite fansite . melissa anelli 12 february 2008 . presenting ... leakycon 2009 . the leaky cauldron . melissa anelli 11 november 2011 . leakycon 2012 august 9 12 in chicago illinois . the leaky cauldron . melissa anelli 12 august 2012 . leakycon to be held in portland and london 2013 . the leaky cauldron . netimperitive staff 2 february 2006 . harry potter fan portal voted top site of 2005 . netimperative . archived from the original on 4 february 2006 . retrieved 11 july 2010 . second annual weblog awards the 2002 bloggies . the weblog awards . j.k. rowling . section fan sites the leaky cauldron . jkrowling.com . 10th annual webby awards nominees & winners . webby awards . external links edit the leaky cauldron pottercast v t e the harry potter series by j. k. rowling books philosopher s stone film soundtrack game chamber of secrets film soundtrack game prisoner of azkaban film soundtrack game goblet of fire film soundtrack game order of the phoenix film soundtrack game half blood prince film soundtrack game deathly hallows film 1 2 soundtrack 1 2 game 1 2 characters main harry potter ron weasley hermione granger lord voldemort albus dumbledore severus snape rubeus hagrid draco malfoy supporting hogwarts staff order of the phoenix dumbledore s army death eaters fictional universe hogwarts magic magical creatures magical objects ministry of magic muggle places potions quidditch spells related works fantastic beasts and where to find them film soundtrack quidditch through the ages the tales of beedle the bard prequel pottermore cursed child hogwarts an incomplete and unreliable guide short stories from hogwarts of power politics and pesky poltergeists short stories from hogwarts of heroism hardship and dangerous hobbies film series cast members music production of deathly hallows games and toys quidditch world cup lego creator