TWC Official:Terms of Service

Terms of Service

Total War Center provides the services to you, the visitor, based on its Terms of Service outlined here. When using the services provided by TWC, you are subject to these posted terms. Usage of the services on this site indicates acceptance of these terms. The TOS may be changed at any time and without direct notice to individual visitors, so it is recommended that you check back with this page at any time you have questions or concerns.

Registration Requirements

In order to view messages on the TWCenter message boards without user restrictions, no registration is required or necessary. In order to post messages on the boards, and use other advanced services, you must register with TWCenter. Provision of a valid e-mail address is recommended to permit recovery of your account should you forget your password, but it is not currently required.

TWCenter does not require you to use your real name or other identification that can be easily traced to you, and the e-mail address you provide will be kept private. In order to register on TWCenter, registrants must be 13 years of age or older. TWCenter does not knowingly collect any information from any users under 13 years, and if it is found that an underage user has fraudulently registered, their account will immediately be terminated.

Content Notice

By viewing the site content, you agree that all content on the TWCenter message boards is the responsibility of the person from which the content originated. You agree that neither TWCenter nor its sponsors or affiliates are responsible for all content that you personally post or upload. TWCenter does not directly control any content posted on the boards, and does not guarantee the truthfulness or quality of any content.

You agree that while using the TWCenter message boards, you may be exposed to content that is offensive or objectionable, and that you will in no way hold TWCenter nor its sponsors or affiliates liable in any way, shape, or form for any harm or loss that may come to you or others as a result of viewing this content. TWCenter is not responsible for screening content before it is posted, although an offensive language filter is installed on the system that will reject certain posts that may contain certain words deemed offensive or used most often in an offensive way.

Account Responsibilty

Users are solely responsible for protecting their accounts from access by others. You are strongly encouraged to select a hard-to-guess password and not re-use that password on any other sites where it may be read by the owners or administrators of that site.

While it is acceptable for users to maintain multiple accounts on TWCenter, TWC can and does track multiple shared accounts from a single or multiple computers as one account in terms of TOS violations. If the TOS is violated severely enough to warrant the banning of one account, all known accounts shared between a single or multiple users who use the same computer may also be banned for the actions of the violating account at the administrators' discretion.

Because of this rule, it is highly recommended that board users do not share their accounts with others, nor share their computers used to access the site with others, as the actions of some other person could easily directly impact all known shared message board accounts.

Privacy and Release of Information

Under normal circumstances, TWCenter will never release your provided information to any third party without a court order requiring us to do so. However, in cases of certain severe and/or repeated TOS violations or illegal activities, we reserve the right to forward any and all known information about you and your accounts to your ISP (including libraries, schools, and places of employment), e-mail service provider, your ISP account owner (if someone else is actually paying for it), and any parties whose copyright has clearly been infringed by your actions on the boards.

To view TWC's full privacy policy, see below.

Moderator Discretion

The list following below is intended to cover all ToS violations, but it is naturally impossible to include examples of every single possible variation. Therefore moderator discretion will be exercised and moderating action should be expected where and when moderators deem appropriate, that might not exactly correspond to any of the following violation categories.

Member Conduct

You agree that you will not use any aspect of this service including -but not limited to- the wiki, social groups, tags, visitor messages and private messages, to perform the following actions:

1. Signature Size Violation (1 point)

   Members may not use signatures where the total size in bytes of all signature images combined is more than 250 KB.

2. Off-topic Posting (1 or 2 points)

   Topicality is expected and will be enforced on all forums, so take the extra time to post on the proper forum. Examples of off-topic posting include, but are not limited to:

   • Threads that are not related to the topic of the forum in question, or that contain no material that can reasonably be discussed
   • Posts that are not related to the topic of the thread in question, or that contain no material that can reasonably be discussed
   • Re-posting threads that you know have already been posted elsewhere
   • In the Discussion and Debate forums, statements about other members, whether implicit or explicit, are off-topic. Statements that disrupt the discussion, regardless of intent, will be singled out in particular.
   • Any quote of another member in a signature has to be fully referenced by use of a link to the quoted post and not be edited as to blatantly misrepresent the wording of the quoted member.
   • Unsolicited advertisement for any website, product, service, or facility not first approved by TWC staff

   You can advertise websites, products, etc. in your signature, avatar, or other profile fields, as long as you post productively and don't just try to get exposure for your advertisements. Recommendation of websites, products, or other resources are also allowed if relevant to legitimate discussions.

3. Censor Bypassing (1 or 2 points)

   Attempting to bypass the censor by misspelling, inserting spaces or symbols, transposing letters, using look-alike symbols, or any other method is not allowed. For example, if "gris" is a banned word:

   • Not allowed: g-r-i-s, gr*s, g***, 9|-1$, girs, gryeeeas, grizznizz, **** (rhymes with "bris")
   • Allowed: ****, ****ed, ****ing, g'ed, g-word

   Prohibited words may not be used in images or videos embedded in posts. If external websites use prohibited words, you can link to them only if you post a warning alongside the link.

4. Hard-to-Read Posts (1 or 2 points)

   Posts that disrupt the message boards for other users, intentional or not, are prohibited. This includes, but is not limited, to:

   • Conducting conversations in foreign languages, outside designated forums
   • Posting excessively in capital letters, leet speak, or other hard-to-read writing styles
   • Using misleading topic titles
   • Consecutive posting. (I.e., double posts, triple posts)

5. Contempt of Court (3 Points)

   This type of infraction is given for any action deemed to be insulting towards any member or any action that derails ongoing discussion by an appellant in the course of a Tribunal case. It is given by administrators only in consultation with the Tribunes and it carries the added penalty of forfeiting the right to post in the Tribunal for a period of one month. This infraction cannot be appealed.

6. Disruptive Posting (3 or 6 Points)

   Any series of posts whose nature is designed to disrupt the flow of conversation, radically change the topic of the thread derailing discussion and/or illicit a response that violates these Terms of Service. Single posts of this nature may fall under the Off-Topic violation.

7. Defying Moderators (3 or 6 Points)

   Any action that disregards a staff moderator's specific request, whether the request is made by a post in the thread, by PM to the user, or by other means such as, but not limited to, forum Announcements. The requests can be, but are not limited to:

   • Re-posting content (text, images, video, etc) that was previously removed by a moderator
   • Re-posting a thread on a topic that was previously closed by a moderator
   • Ignoring a thread warning made by a moderator
   • Taking action that has previously been warned against by a moderator
   • Refusing to follow reasonable directives pertaining to moderation

8. Insulting Others (3 or 6 points)

   Posts clearly insulting other board members, individually or as a group, directly or indirectly, are not allowed. This includes, but is not limited to:

   • Name-calling ("You're an idiot", "You moron")
   • Direct insults ("Screw you")
   • Offensive orders ("Go kill yourself")
   • Using threatening, harassing, defamatory, hate-speech, or libelous language
   • Using race, religion, sexual orientation, culture, ethnicity, handicap, nationality, or gender as a means of insult, either directly or implied
   • Insinuations ("Are you stupid or something?") or insults towards family ("Your mom...")

   Instead, members should criticize the post, not the poster. SEGA, the Creative Assembly, and related bodies are considered board members for this purpose, since some of them are. You can still criticize their games without insulting them personally.

9. Obscene Content (3, 6 or 12 points)

   Obscene content is not allowed. This includes, but is not limited to:

   • Providing images or videos of nudity. Nudity includes:
     • Any figure whose genitals, pubic hair, buttocks, or (if female) nipples or areolas are exposed, partially or totally; or are not exposed, but it's clear that this is only because of the angle of the shot or incidental intervening objects (e.g., hands, hair, bits of cloth).
     • Visible outlines of a penis, scrotum, female nipples or female genitals through clothing (e.g., "camel toes").
     • Anything that falls narrowly outside the previous provisions, at the discretion of the moderators.
     This applies to photographs, drawings, or any other representation of humanoid figures. It may also apply to non-humanoid figures such as animals, at the discretion of the moderators. Nudity may be permitted for serious and non-titillating purposes, such as the exhibition of recognized art or historical models in modifications, at the discretion of the moderators.
   • Providing image, video, or audio files that represent or hint at sexual intercourse, foreplay, masturbation, etc.
   • Verbally describing genitals, sex acts, masturbation, or similarly inappropriate content. This does not include passing references, but includes descriptions that are graphic or include any details.
   • Providing images, videos, or verbal descriptions of an unreasonably disgusting nature. This includes, but is not limited to: excrement, real-world violence, and extreme virtual or imagined violence. Photographs depicting mutilation or grotesque images of war or genocide will be singled out in particular, at the discretion of the moderators. If it wouldn't appear on the 6 o'clock news, then it probably should not appear on Total War Center.

   Links may not be posted for the purpose of providing obscene content. If a website incidentally includes some reasonably obscene content, it's acceptable to link to it for some other purpose as long as a clear warning is given. Similarly, if content incidentally includes some reasonably obscene content, it's acceptable to include it in a post for some other purpose, as long as a clear warning is given and the reader must actively click a button to view it (e.g., spoiler boxes or YouTube videos).

   Excessively obscene content is still not allowed to be posted or linked to in any fashion. The distinction between moderate and excessive obscenity is at the discretion of the moderators. As always, if you aren't sure, ask a moderator.

10. Using Modders' Work Without Permission (3 or 6 points)

    Using or distributing part or all of any Total War modification without permission is prohibited.

11. Evading a Suspension (3 or 6 points)

    Suspended or banned users must not create or use additional accounts. Users banned from a particular activity (such as posting visitor messages, posting in a particular forum, etc.) must not use any other account to perform that activity. In addition to the normal penalties for warnings, the user's ban may be extended, and the additional account they made will be banned indefinitely.

12. Impersonation (4 points)

    Falsely claiming to be another specific message board member or other known individual is not allowed. Neither is falsely claiming to be a moderator, administrator, Creative Assembly employee, or other authority figure. Moderators may use discretion in enforcing this against impersonations that are clearly not serious and so unlikely to fool anyone.

13. Promoting Illegal Activities (4 or 8 points)

    Posts that promote violation of the law are not allowed. Violation of the law includes, but is not limited to:

    • Substantial use of copyrighted material without permission. Examples of acceptable uses would be brief quotes, fan art, signature/avatar images, brief video clips (e.g., YouTube), screenshots, or reasonably limited decorative images in a mod. Unacceptable uses would include entire songs, long videos, large collections of images, altered game executables, pirated operating systems, unmodified game files (except those released by the developers themselves, for example converted .bin files released by CA for M2TW) that are not essential parts of modifications or anything that competes with the work you're copying (i.e., people might just download your copy instead of buying the original). The exact threshold of substantial use will be decided on a case-by-case basis ― if in doubt, ask a Senior Moderator or Administrator.
    • Obtaining or providing ways to circumvent copy protection. This includes no-CD hacks, key generators, hacked ROMs, etc.
    • Cheating in online games, or otherwise violating license agreements.
    • Possessing, distributing, or using drugs in a way that would be illegal in most jurisdictions (e.g., owning marijuana).

    "Promoting" illegal activity includes, but is not limited to:

    • Asking for someone else to commit an illegal activity (e.g., asking for a cracked game).
    • Assisting someone else in an illegal activity (e.g., linking to a site that distributes cracked games).
    • Encouraging or advocating an illegal activity, or portraying it as normal or acceptable (e.g., casually mentioning that you have pirated games/smoked pot/etc. as though this were normal and acceptable). Exceptions will be made for threads that are devoted to serious discussion of illegal activities in an abstract sense (e.g., about whether copyright law should be relaxed or marijuana should be legalized), on a case-by-case basis.

    What exactly qualifies as illegal depends on jurisdiction. When jurisdictions differ on whether something is legal, moderators will decide on a case-by-case basis which jurisdiction to follow.

14. Harassment or Invasion of Privacy (4 or 8 points)

    Continual harassing behavior directed towards a certain individual or group with the intent of creating an intimidating, offensive, or hostile environment on the boards, with or without use of explicit or implicit threats is prohibited. Posting private information without permission is also prohibited.

15. Other

    Any other activity that is clearly detrimental to the flow of conversation and normal activities of the boards and its users may also be deleted, and responsible users may be penalized at the discretion of the Senior Moderators.

Terms Violations

Infractions of the terms of service are tracked using the infraction system, which allows moderators to record incidents in a reliable and centralized fashion. All such records of infractions are viewable in the user's profile to moderating staff and the user in question, but no one else.

Note

Notes are given when the actions of a member require staff to officially contact them. They are simply a record of that contact and do not contribute toward a member's warning level. They are recorded both to let other moderators know that the user has been informed of the particular rule, and to give the user a record of all contacts with moderators they have had.

Warning

Warnings are given when a member commits an offense (other than a very mild one). Warnings expire after three months and contribute toward a member's warning level. How many levels an offense is worth can be found in the Member Conduct section in (parentheses). Whether to give the first or second number, if applicable, is up to moderator discretion.

Warning Levels

Warning levels are penalized as follows:

3	Ability to view social groups and leave visitor messages removed
4	Can neither give nor display reputation
8	Suspension for 1 day and no custom title or invisible mode
12	Suspension for 3 days and cannot use avatar/signature/profile picture
16	Suspension for 7 days and placement in probation in addition to a permanent resetting of the user's reputation points to 0

Penalties (other than suspensions and bans) last until the warning level is reduced below the specified penalty. Time during which a user is banned may not counted toward the expiration of warning levels.

Privacy Policy Statement

Definitions

"Visitor" refers to any person who is not a registered member of this site who is viewing it using a web browser.

"Member" refers any person who is a registered member of this site.

Policy

This is the web site of Total War Center.

You may contact us at http://www.twcenter.net/forums/sendmessage.php.

Other than in logs and other generally temporary media, which are kept private, TWC does not record any information on its servers regarding visitors that has not been deliberately submitted to it. IP and e-mail addresses used by members may be stored indefinitely for record-keeping purposes. Cookies are used to track the activities of members on the forum only, to permit features such as "last activity" in the member profile. Members may hide this information from those who are not TWC staff by setting this option in their user control panel. In this case, staff will treat the information as confidential. TWC does not use any device to track activities on other sites.

For purposes of validation, registered members of our forum are required to provide a valid email address. This email may be accessed by moderators of the forum, and if a user enables e-mail from other users, his or her e-mail address may become viewable by members of the public. TWC will never disclose your email address to third parties, and use by moderating staff is for the enforcement of the Terms of Service only.

TWC does not send unsolicited bulk e-mail. Bulk e-mails are only sent to users who have explicitly requested them in their settings. To disable e-mail from TWC, edit your forum settings and/or your wiki preferences. Even if you do this, moderators or administrators may send personalized, non-bulk e-mails to you for purposes related to the running of the site.

If you supply us with your postal address online, you will only receive the information for which you provided us your address. Your address details will not be stored for future reference, and will be deleted once requested information has been supplied.

To try and bring you offers that are of interest to you, we have relationships with other companies that we allow to place ads on our Web pages. As a result of your visit to our site, ad server companies may collect information such as your domain type, your IP address and clickstream information. For further information, consult the privacy policies of Google Ads.

We have appropriate security measures in place in our physical facilities to protect against the loss, misuse or alteration of information that we have collected from you at our site.

If you feel that this site is not following its stated information policy, you may contact or us using the following URL: http://www.twcenter.net/forums/sendmessage.php.

This site is in full compliance with the terms of COPPA. In furtherance of this, those visitors under the age of 13, wishing to become registered members of the site must get permission from an appropriate parent or guardian, and provide proof of this by completing this form. Failure to comply will result in the removal of your account, and the deletion of any details held by us about you.

Notwithstanding all of the above, TWC is a non-commercial site staffed fully by volunteers. It is not possible for us to rigorously brief all staff members on the full details of our privacy policy, and we do not have the means to seriously penalize staff members for breach of this policy. Furthermore, many staff members may be under the minimum age necessary to make legally binding agreements in their jurisdictions. TWC does not employ lawyers and cannot guarantee that the policy presented here is realistically enforceable in all cases. While we will not intentionally violate this policy as a matter of course and will take steps to discourage its violation, it should be viewed as advisory and non-binding. We cannot be held responsible for violation of this policy.

TWC's Probation System

If a user is a repeat offender he may be entered into the probation system, following discussion amongst the Senior Moderators.

How it works

• If a user is on probation every warning results in a suspension, the length of which is decided by Senior Moderators and is no shorter than one month.
• Subsequent suspensions during a probation period may increase in length.
• The length of probation period is decided by the Senior Moderators and usually is no shorter than three months; the period restarts at the end of each suspension.
• The user in question is made fully aware of the rules and function of the system.
• A user on probation will receive a "Probation" note, which will be reversed when the users probation expires.

And what about the "permaban"?

The permaban is reserved for cases of spambots and posting porn.