TWC Wiki:FAQ project/draft

Copied Commodus's draft in here for group play... and an attempt at pasting the other info

This is a guide to your membership, abilities, options and access on the Total War Center. If you are a new user, please review the first sections (particularly the New User FAQ); more experienced users may find this helpful as a reference or review (particularly sections 3 and 4).

For the site's rules please see the Terms of Service, you are expected to follow them at all times on the platform!

For information about where to post, what to enter, and where to find interesting articles please see the The Community Portal.

About Total War Center

For a general overview of the site, please see Total War Center.

Total War Center is one of the largest and oldest communities for the Total War Series on the internet centered around modding, discussion, and cultivating a multi-decade community with users across the game generations. While our strongest base is in Medieval 2, the forum is open to all Total War fans and even those who just want political discussion, technical advice, a place to write and so on. The site is represented in the following formats:

• The main vBulletin site containing:
  • The Forums, where most of the community activity and modding resources are located.
  • The Home Page, with announcements and news for the site, the TW series and mods. Users cannot post here but may request an announcement.
  • The Articles section, where Content Staff publish articles, reviews and features.
  • The Blogs, where TWC members can publish their own blogs (subject to some constraints).
  • The Download section, where members can upload and access small mods and resources.
• The TWC Wiki, hosting information about the site (including this page), the TW series, mods and modding.
• The TWC discord server, a chat service open to all users, registered or not.
• The TWC Twitter account, which posts news items and accepts messages.

New User FAQ

Welcome to TWC! Check out what interests you and make yourself at home! There are various communities and sub-communities available. Some work differently from others and some are more active than others. Check out what you're interested in, and if you don't see what you want, don't be afraid to ask questions, make suggestions or strike up something new.

If you haven't done so already, the first step is to register! You will need an activated account before you are able to post on TWC. For some functions to work, you will need to wait till you've made 25 posts and been registered for one week, after that point, you will be a full member and will be able to do everything the general membership can do.

How can I register on TWC?
Click the "Register" button on the forums or follow this link. You will need to provide your date of birth, choose a user-name and password, provide a valid email address and agree to abide by the Terms of Service. You will receive an account activation email in your inbox. You MUST follow the link in that email before you can post, until you do that you will be able to log-in but not post!

What can I do if I haven't received my activation email?

If it is not instantly in your inbox, please give it some time, as it can take a little while to arrive. If you still don't see it, check your spam folder. If it's not there you can request the automated email to be re-sent. If that still doesn't help you can send a message to staff on TWC's Twitter, please be patient when waiting for a reply. If you use Discord you can also seek advice on the TWC Discord server.

I've activated my account, why can't I do "xyz" yet?

New users will find that they cannot immediately access all the forum features, you must make 25 posts and be registered for one week, before you can use features such as; creating or voting in polls, editing posts and making a signature. Access to many of these features has been restricted to stop new accounts being set-up solely to spam the forums with advertising. If you urgently need to access one of the features, for example, needing to edit a post to present information about a mod, you can contact a site moderator for assistance. Spamming the forum with posts just to get past the 25 post limit is obviously discouraged, but you should find areas such as the Coliseum or Thema Devia where it is easy to join in games and casual conversations.

Forum Sections

The main index page for the forums is here. All viewable forum sections are shown on the left. If you arrive at the site and see the white and blue vBulletin default view for mobiles scroll to the bottom of the page and select "Full Site".

The Community Portal on the wiki explains which forum sections might be most useful for your particular interests or problems. A large part of the forum index is devoted to sections for each of the Total War Series games. Non-Total War Games also have their own sections. The Common Community sections of TWC are almost as big as the Total War areas and include spaces for debate, advice and chat, creative writing and graphic arts, forum games and competitions, and much more!

Forum sections you are not interested in may be closed with the small ^ in the upper right corner of the category, shrinking your scrolling space. Double-clicking on a forum's left-hand icon will mark it as read.

Who's Who: Staff, Titles & Access

When you view a forum thread you will see that some members have badges under their avatar, such as these;

Users with badges will often also have their user-name displayed in a different colour to the standard dark grey. Badges can either represent an award or position granted by the Curia, indicate that the user is a member of TWC Staff, or indicate that they are a games company representative. The User Badges page shows the currently available badges and which branch they represent.

Staff

For a list of current staff and a breakdown of each department, see Staff.
Additionally, a list of all those people with admin, moderator or director status can be found on the Forum Leaders page.

Note that users can have multiple titles and feature in different departments. When contacting someone, check where their jurisdictions are for the best results. Technical support for games and mods are not site staff problems you should send DMs for unless they solicit those messages; sections like the Basement, the tech boards for each game and the various mod forums for mod problems should be places to check first.

Additionally, while the above Staff link is the most accurate source you can use to tell who's who, you can get an idea of who has authority in each section by scrolling to the bottom of the page and finding the local mods of the given forum.

The Hexagon Council, distinctively colored in red is in charge of overall management of the site. If you wish to join staff, discuss things about a department that has no staff, or take a site issue to the highest levels, they are the ones to approach. It is best to check activity first as some are more frequent than others, and thus more likely to give a quick reply. The best results come from approaching the right department, but if you make a mistake, they will likely at least point you in the right direction. For most, non-critical matters, other departments should be checked first. Official comments are sometimes made in bolded red.

Moderators are the first line of defense and thus contact whenever there are disputes on the forum. They are distinct from local moderators, who may be present depending on which section you're in; if you're unsure, check the local pins. A global mod will not interfere in a matter that is a local mod's business, but if they break Terms of Use, you are completely in your right to go above to the blue-tinted powers above. More often than not on TWC these global moderators have jurisdiction and should be contacted first, especially if you have serious issues with members being rude or harassing on the site. They often make their comments in dark bolded blue when officially regulating a thread.

Content Staff wear light blue names. While their word is from a position of staff, they are ultimately regular users who volunteer their time and drive to produce content for TWC, and are not to be confused with site moderation. If you're a new user looking to do something, consider looking through the options and contacting a Hex if something stands out to you, as they are often very open to new users in almost every section. Their work ranges between making graphics, articles, managing various events and competitions, maintaining sections and more.

Gaming Staff manage some of the specific activities that take place on the site, posting officially in orange color. Currently, they manage [Hotseating] and the [RPG section]. Note that the two groups have almost nothing to do with each other.

Technical Staff manage the backend of the website. At this time, it would be ideal for you to make inquiries public in the Questions and Suggestions board. Note they are for site problems, not necessarily troubleshooting computer issues.

Local Moderators

Local moderators are not part of TWC Staff and do not display a badge for the role; though they may display their names in light grey and use a custom user-title. They are usually modders who have been granted edit powers for their mod teams' hosted forum. The local moderators' role is for 'housekeeping' purposes in their sub-forum, they do not enforce the Terms of Service and should not attempt to discipline users. *********Mak's just realised she might not actually know the right answer on this bit

Rules and Conduct Advice

Every member when they sign up has to agree to keep to the rules in the Terms of Service. They're enforced by the moderators, and failure to comply can result in warnings, infraction points, suspensions and ultimately a permanent ban. We recommend you read and familiarise yourself with them!

The Terms of Service apply as a minimum standard throughout the site, some forum sections such as The Mudpit and the Personal Help and Advice Fora have additional rules and/or recommended codes of conduct. Check the "Sticky:" threads pinned at the top of a forum to see if special rules apply.

Conduct Advice

How can I post in The Discussion & Debate area without getting (metaphorically) hacked into little pieces?

To improve your chances of having a civilised debate in these areas remember: read, edit, give sources, and stay calm. Read - Try to read the entire thread. This is important as it can give you sources for information (which are very important for a debate) and tells you what has already been argued about. Unless you are bringing new information regarding a past issue or point, it is redundant to dredge up an old settled argument, especially if it has been some time since it was last talked about in the thread. Edit - After you have written your response, always send it through a spellchecker after reading it over again yourself. Your post will be better received if it doesn't include obvious spelling and grammatical errors. Give Sources - A credible source can go a long way in helping you win a debate. Facts without sources will be often disregarded as mere opinion. Stay Calm - Far too often, members become frustrated and angry on various threads. This happens to all at times, and the best cure is to step away from the debate. What you do after that is up to you, but do not go back to the debate until you have calmed down. If a debate looks like it is getting too heated, a moderator will often close down a thread temporarily to clean up heated posts, as well as giving all parties a chance to calm down.

How would I defend myself against flamers and trolls?
Hopefully, you won't have to! But if someone does flame you or troll you, report their post using the Report button. DON'T respond in kind. If you flame someone who flames you, that just starts a flame war and you'll find yourself in as much trouble as the original flamer (provoker).

What if I want to express my opinion privately to certain members and I want to contact them individually?
Try emailing them if they enabled their email address, or use the "private messaging" - PM. Be careful though, members do (and should) report harassing or annoying PMs to moderators. Just because it is a private message, it does not give you leeway to flame or troll others.

I'm being harassed by a forum member, what should I do?
The "Report" function is available in threads, visitor messages & even private messages so just use that and a site moderator will intervene and deal with the issue. Harassment is not allowed on TWC as per these rules.

What's the "Report" button?

This button at the bottom right of each post will generate an automatic email to all the moderators of that forum telling them that the post has been reported. You can use it to tell the moderators every time you see a post that breaks the Terms of Service. While it is not our aim to create a generation of informants, experience has proven time and again that reporting a post that you consider offensive or disruptive is far better than attempting to deal with it "on your own", by either attacking the poster or threatening with some form of action in the thread. Furthermore, a report is the fastest way to alert the moderators about serious breaches of ToS such as posting of porn and also to get yourself rid of ad-bots. Reporting posts is encouraged!

Moderator Actions , Infractions and Appeals

TWC's staff moderators enforce the Terms of Service throughout the site and can issue warnings and infraction points for breaches. There are methods of appeal if you feel you have been given an infraction unfairly (that is outside the terms of the ToS).

Where do I complain about moderators and their actions, or I feel I am being mistreated?

If you think you are being mistreated or that a moderator is acting outside the ToS then you should PM one of the administrators who oversee moderation on a daily basis. Current Moderation Overseers are: Tango12345 Abdülmecid I You can also post about any problems you're having or your thoughts in the Moderation Commentary Thread where administrators will try to resolve your problem or answer any of your relevant questions regarding site moderation, it is best to be calm and coherent when talking about the matter in public as it breeds positive conversations which further breeds solutions and satisfaction.

How do I appeal an infraction I think I've been given unfairly?

There are a variety of possible methods please see below: Appeal by PM to the moderator concerned or to an administrator: Members should feel free to discuss any moderator action or decision either with the moderator concerned or with one of the moderation overseers. This is usually the best way to start if you disagree with an infraction you have received, but you should also start here if have an issue with other actions such as thread warnings, thread closures, notes, and so on. You can find a list of moderators and administrators here. Appeal to the Praetorium: Appeals in the Praetorium are heard by all moderation staff, and all cases are private, which means that other members will not be able to view your appeal thread. You can appeal infractions in the Praetorium and you can also ask for an official ruling on any instruction you have been given by a moderator via PM, note, or thread warning. You cannot appeal other moderator actions like post deletions, thread closures, probation, and so on. You can find the Praetorium guidelines here. Appeal to the Tribunal: Appeals in the Tribunal are heard by an independent panel of Tribunes and Magistrates, and all cases are public, which means that other members will be able to view your appeal thread. You can only appeal infractions and other penalties in the Tribunal. You can find the Tribunal guidelines here. Appeals against infractions follow much the same process in both the Praetorium and the Tribunal. To open an appeal against an infraction, simply create a thread requesting an appeal. Try to provide relevant information about the infraction such as the approximate time the infraction was given, the name of the moderator who issued the infraction, and the relevant thread or forum. After you have created the thread, a moderator will post the infraction and deliberations will begin. You may explain your position in the appeal thread. After you have given your side of the story, a thread will be created in a hidden forum and deliberations will be initiated. Once a decision has been reached you will be informed of the verdict.

Features Breakdown

Please see also: Shankbot's Unofficial Guide for New Members - step by step instructions on creating sigs, editing thread titles, adding rep and more!, which explains some of the features in more detail and includes screenshots (you will need to be logged in to view the thread).

Forum Posts and Messages

The TWC forum uses vBulletin software, with BB code for posting, this page lists most of the BB tags used on TWC, the page explains how to make bold or italic text and use other more advanced formatting options for posts. You can switch between BB code being shown in the reply window and WYSIWYG mode by clicking the ^A/_A buttons at the top left of your reply screen. The "Go Advanced" reply option gives you access to shortcuts for more BB code features, such as spoilers and indents. You can also access the "Preview Post" function from the Advanced reply screen.

The following are frequently asked questions about posting:

Why can't I edit my posts?
Sorry for the inconvenience, members have to have 25 posts and been registered for at least one week in order to edit their posts. This was introduced to prevent spam advertising accounts from editing their posts.

Can I delete\close my own thread?
No you can't unfortunately, you can report it though and explain in the report why you would like a site moderator to close/delete it for you, he/she may or may not close/delete it at his/her discretion.

I've realised I posted in the wrong forum, can I move the post/thread?
Sorry, only moderators can move threads or posts, please report your own post and explain where you think it should be moved to. Please try and avoid posting the same post/thread in multiple locations!

How do I make polls?
You can only make a poll if you are starting a new topic. What you need to click to add a poll to your post is the "Yes, post a poll..." box near the bottom of the screen. If you need to add a poll later then you need to PM an Administrator. To create polls you need to have 25 posts and have been registered for at least one week.

Can I vote in polls?
To vote in polls you have to have 25 posts and been registered for at least one week. This was introduced to prevent people creating duplicate accounts and spamming site awards or competition votes with them. Note: If you have more than one account you should not use them to multi-vote in the same poll!

Can I edit a poll that I created in my thread?
No you can't unfortunately, however you can report your opening post in your thread and ask a site moderator to edit the poll for you to whatever you want. Alternatively, you can also create a new thread and report the old thread for deletion, whichever you prefer.

How do I post and reply to visitor messages?

To post visitor messages, you have to have 25 posts and been registered for at least one week. After that, you can view another user's profile and post a message using the "Visitor Messages" tab. If you want to reply to a message someone has left on your profile use the "View Conversation" button so the reply goes to their profile and not yours! Please note that visitor messages are public by default.

How do I send a private message? - needs answer cba atm

How do I make or join a Social Group?

To join or create a group you have to have 25 posts and been registered for at least one week. Groups are accessed from your My Profile" page not "My Account". Go to your profile page and on the left-hand side under "Albums" you will see "Groups" with "Join Groups" link next to it, note this is a different section to "Permission Groups". Click that Join Groups button to join or create a social group. Also remember to search the already made Social Groups to see if there is already one for your topic.

How do I rename or delete my Social Group?
Just contact any Site Moderator, and they can rename/delete or edit your group description if need be. Alternatively, you can post your request in this thread.

Reputation

Reputation is a fun feature that theoretically enables you to see your community standing with the other members of TWC. In theory, the more reputation you have, the more highly thought of you are by the other members of the community. It has no other real meaning, and many members choose to disable the display.

Reputation here will be described as if you were using the default TWCenter skin. The symbols are different on the other skins, the principle is the same however.

How do I give rep?
You can add reputation to a post by clicking this button: You can only add 1 point of rep to each post and you can only give 7 points total a day. Additionally, you have to rep 5 different users before you can give rep to the same user again, in order to prevent rep abuse.

Who can give rep?
Because of issues with account cloning in the past, where people created accounts just to give themselves rep, only users registered for at least one week with over 25 posts may give rep. Furthermore, it may take an hour or so after your 25th post for your rep to start working, even if you've been registered for over one week by that point.

How do I know which member gave me rep?

Generally people also mention their username along with the rep comment, if they have not chosen to do so then it's an anonymous rep and you won't be able to find out who it came from. However, if you have been insulted via rep feature then contact any moderator or an administrator as they have the access to view it, they can remove the insult and take care of the offender as per TWC's terms of service.

Where does reputation show?
Your reputation shows up in two places. One, on the left hand side where you post, a collection of symbols shows a rough guide to how much rep you have. Two, in your control panel, which gives your total number of points and a more comprehensive display of the last 20 rep points you received, showing which post you got it for, who gave it, and any comment they left.

How many rep points do I have?
You can see the current number of rep points on your profile by clicking My Account. The total is shown at the top of the "Latest Reputation Received" table.

Can I disable reputation?
Yes, you can disable the display of your reputation in your control panel under "General Settings". If you do so, your own rep won't be displayed on your posts but you will still be able to give other people rep as well as receive it and view rep messages.

What does it look like?

Each symbol represents a certain number of rep points. It starts at 3, so if you have less than 3 rep points, you'll show the scales symbol for neutral rep. Some very few members who have received negative rep from the staff will have this replaced by a red square. Those users who have disabled the reputation feature will simply show a grey square. Once you hit 3 rep points, you'll get 1 gold ring Each ring = 3 points, so if someone has 5 rings, they have 15 Rep points. You can only get a maximum of 5 rings, after that the rings are transferred into a fleur-de-lis. Each gold fleur-de-lis is worth 15 rep points. Each red fleur-de-lis is worth 150 rep points.

Reputation Descriptions

When you hover over the reputation icons in someone's post a reputation description will be shown, the descriptions are based on famous movie quotes, the quotes change as the number of rep points increase.

Below is a list of all the descriptions, and which film they came from, sorted by the number of rep points. "User" in the descriptions will be replaced by the member's actual user-name.

List of Rep Descriptions and Point Levels

0 User, My precious - Lord of the Rings 1-5 User, we have a problem - Apollo 13 6-15 User can't handle the truth - A Few Good Men 16-20 User ought to go careful in Vienna. Everybody ought to go careful in a city like this - The Third Man 21-25 User came to TWC for the waters - Casablanca 26-35 User coulda had class. Coulda been a contender. Could've been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what he is - On the Waterfront 36-45 User was once tested by a census taker. He ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti - Silence of the Lambs 46-55 User, you got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya, punk? - Dirty Harry 56-65 User, TWC thinks this is a the beginning of a beautiful friendship - Casablanca 66-75 User's looking at you, kid - Casablanca 76-85 User is not in Kansas anymore - Wizard of Oz 86-95 User could carry a coconut by gripping it by the husk - Monty Python and the Holy Grail 96-105 User didn't expect the Spanish Inquisition - Monty Python's Flying Circus 106-115 User , Hasta la vista - Terminator 116-125 User , short of being attacked by a giant octopus, would like to be undisturbed for the next thirty minutes - Crimson Tide 126-150 User can't fight in here! This is the Total War Room - Dr. Strangelove 151-175 User says: Freeeeeeeeeeedom! - Braveheart 176-200 User . James Bond - James Bond 201-225 User 's hometown were two miles of public lighting in the streets when London was a village - Lawrence of Arabia 226-250 User has seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion - Bladerunner 251-275 User made us an offer we could not refuse - The Godfather 276-300 User knows what they call a Quarter Pounder with cheese in France - Pulp Fiction 301-325 User is following the white rabbit - Matrix 326-350 User is like the smell of napalm in the morning - Apocalypse Now 351-375 User is Keyser Söze - The Usual Suspects 376-425 User CAN simply walk into Mordor - Lord of the Rings 426-475 User will dine tonight in Elysium - Gladiator or 300 476-525 User is big! It's the rep icons that got small - Sunset Boulevard 526-575 User is Rosebud - Citizen Kane 576-625 User lived in Italy for 30 years under the Borgias - The Third Man 626-675 User is poised on steady legs, then begs for several eggs frothed to a mousse - Cyrano de Bergerac 676-725 User is getting cuter every minute - The Big Sleep 726-775 User has all the usual vices, besides those they've invented for themselves - The Big Sleep 776-825 User likes his brandy in a glass - The Big Sleep 826-875 User knows what gold does to men's souls - The Treasure of the Sierra Madre 876-925 User had a friend once. A dear friend - Once Upon a Time in America 926-975 User doesn't have to show you any stinking badges - The Treasure of the Sierra Madre 976-1025 User shall possess, unscathed, something outlasting mortal flesh - - Cyrano de Bergerac 1026-1075 User will show you where the iron crosses grow - Cross of Iron 1076-1125 User is the stuff that dreams are made of - The Maltese Falcon 1126-1175 User grieves over his manners on long winter evenings - The Big Sleep 1176-1225 User frankly just doesn't give a damn - Gone with the Wind 1226-1275 User likes talking to a man who likes to talk - The Maltese Falcon 1276-1325 User bets you 105,000 dollars that you go to sleep before he does - The Treasure of the Sierra Madre 1326-1375 User knows there are two kinds of people in the world - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly 1376-1425 User , I expect you to die - Goldfinger 1426-1475 User is ice cold in TWC - Ice-Cold in Alex 1476-1525 User kicks ass for the Lord - Dead Alive 1526+ User doesn't feel any pity if one of those dots stopped moving forever - The Third Man

Post Count Titles

On the left-hand side of each of your posts directly under your avatar location you will see a short line of text, this is your post count title, or custom user-title. Post count titles don't have any deep meaning they are merely associated with your post count. The more posts you have, the further you progress up this list. Citizens, Local Moderators and TWC Staff have the ability to override their default title with a custom user-title of their own choosing.

Here's the list of the current default titles, they were based on the game Total War: Attila.

List of Post Count Titles

Title English Translation Required Post Count Barbarus A barbarian 0 Laetus A Barbarian settler defeated by the Romans and dispersed to another or several parts of the Empire. 1 Foederatus Barbarian settler or soldier in a group under treaty with the Romans 25 Libertus A freed slave. 50 Civis A citizen 100 Tiro A soldier in training 200 Miles A soldier, known as Pedes or Eques depending on his unit. 300 Semisalis A veteran soldier with 1.5 times pay grade. 400 Decanus The same as the Strategikon's Dekakontarchos, or the commander of a Contubernium. 500 Biarchus Equivalent to the Strategikon's Pentakontarchos, commander of 50 men, essentially the Late Roman Optio. 600 Ordinarius A centurion in a Limitanei unit. 700 Centenarius A centurion in a Comitatenses or Auxilia Palatina unit. 800 Ducenarius A commander of two centuries in the Late Roman Era in Auxilia Palatina units. 900 Senator Not much is known about the rank, but modern historians think he was a battlefield herald. 1,000 Campidoctor regimental drill master 1,500 Domesticus regimental chief-of-staff 2,000 Vicarius Not to be confused with a Late Roman Governor, this man was the replacement should the Tribunis die in combat. 2,500 Primicerius The Lieutenant Commander and Administrative head of a Late Roman unit. 3,000 Protector Domesticus A cadet officer earmarked for military or political role that often served in a Late Roman unit. Like an ensign, in a way. 4,000 Praepositus Commander of a Limitanei garrison, or in some cases an old Legion 5,000 Praefectus Commander of a Roman Legion 6,000 Tribunus A generic command title, but always used in the Legio and Auxilia Palatina regiments, the elite forces of the field armies. 7,000 Praeses the Governor of a minor province, such as Pannonia Valeria 7,500 Vicarius Provinciae Governor of an important province, such as Dalmatia 10,000 Limitis A count of Limitanei in a province: this is a rather unusual occurence and seems to be beneath the command of a Dux. E.g. Comes Tractus Aremoriciani 12,500 Dux Limitis The Commander of the Limitanei in a Province or sometimes a region. E.g. Dux Thebaidos 15,000 Comes Rei Militaris The Commander of a Comitatensian Field Army. E.g. Comes Dalmatae 20,000 Patricius The title of Patrician, which at this time held no real privleges but paved the way for obtaining higher ranks. 25,000 Domesticorum The Commander of the Protectores Domestici, originally the Imperial Guard but by the Late 4th century an Officer's Cadre. 30,000 Cura Palatii The new commander of the Imperial Guard units, according to Dr. Meaghan McEvoy. Lit. "Curator of the Palace" 40,000 Magister Militum The Commander of a Regional Field army, such as Comes et Magister Militum per Gallias. 50,000 Praefectus Praetorio The administrative chief of a praetorian prefecture, such as the Praefectus Praetorio Italiae, Illyrici, et Africae. 60,000 Magister Officiorum The Commander of the Scholae Palatinae and the administrative chief of offices in the Empire. 70,000 Magister Militum Meaning "Master of the Soldiers", was a top-level military command. 80,000 Patricius Noster The Full title being Magnificus vir parens patriciusque noster, the title that cemented men like Stilicho and Aetius as supreme commander. 90,000 Augustus There were two of them: one in Constantinople, usually the Senior Augustus, and one in Ravenna, usually the Junior Augustus, for each administrative half. 100,000

Profile and Account Settings

The "My Account" section gives access to a number of ways you can personalise your TWC profile, including adding signatures, avatars and profile pictures. Here you can also choose how much information you'd like to add to your profile, e.g. if you'd like everyone to know your gender, or birthday, or which Total War games you own. You can also set a number of privacy options and choose if you are emailed notifications about your thread subscriptions.

Some common queries about profile features are answered below:

Why can't I create a signature yet?
To discourage joining/posting simply to spam signature links all signatures are currently disabled for new users. Once you have 25 posts and have been a member for a week you will be able to create a signature.

What can I put in a signature?
Signatures can contain text and/or images, the dimensions are bound to a 550×175 pixel box automatically, with anything outside of that being cut off. The text can include BB code and hyperlinks. The maximum combined file size of all images in a signature may not exceed 250 KB according to the current TOS. Any images used must be uploaded to an independent hosting site.

How can I display an avatar?
The "Edit Avatar" button in your control panel allows you to select an avatar from some pre-defined images hosted on TWC. You can also choose to use your own custom avatar which can have a maximum size of 100×100 pixels or 80 KB (whichever is smaller). You can upload the image to TWC but uploading images to an independent hosting site is preferred.

How do I add a profile picture?
The "Edit Profile Picture" button in your control panel allows you select a small picture to display in your profile. The image can have a maximum size of 640×480 pixels or 250 KB (whichever is smaller). You can upload the image to TWC but uploading images to an independent hosting site is preferred.

Can I change my username?
You can't do this yourself from your account options, but you can request a name change in the Name change requests thread in the Questions & Suggestions forum and an administrator will rename your Username. Please note that you cannot change to a name that is already in use, even if the other user has not been active.

I can't remember my user-name/password, how can I log-in? needs answer to password bit
Sometimes members use a typical username or special symbols in it and forget them hence they can't re-login again, in that case, use the contact us option and explain your problem in it.

Can I delete or suspend my account? needs current answer to deleting bit
As a rule, TWC never deletes an account so it is impossible to delete your account. However it is possible to suspend yourself if you no longer have the time for TWC, or just need to take a break. To suspend your account just Private Message an admin with your request. To reinstate your account, use the 'contact us' button at the bottom of the forum index requesting to be un-suspended.

Blogs

TWC's blogs are written by members of TWC. They can all be found here. A wide variety of topics can be covered but special rules apply to the blogs and political or religious topics are not allowed. Members are welcome to apply to join the blogging group if they want to start their own blog or just want to comment on existing blogs.

How can I get my own blog or comment on someone else's?

Anyone can request permission to have a blog. Requests should be made by going to your profile and clicking on "Join Groups" in the "Permission Groups" section, and then clicking to join the "Bloggers" group. The site administrators will decide whether or not people should have permission to post a blog on a case by case basis. Only people with permission to post blogs will be able to post comments on blogs. If you do not want to post a blog of your own, but you do want to be able to post comments on blogs, then you should follow the steps above and request permission to have a blog.

What are the special rules for blogs and blog comments?

Some content is not appropriate for blogs and blog comments. If you have a blog, or if you post comments on any blogs, you must follow these rules, which will be applied strictly: no religion no politics no content which breaks TWC's Terms of Service (please note that this means all content must be family-friendly). Anyone who breaks the rules above will lose the ability to post blogs and also the ability to post comments on blogs, and their blog will be deleted. Appeals to the Tribunal will have no effect on this decision - this is a purely administrative matter and the decision will be made by the site administrators.

Citizenship & Opportunities

Browsing the forums, you may notice that many users have at least a few badges, likely a title, a colored name. This is because TWC openly and actively encourages participation in its structure, which offers users various bling and awards - anything from helping with graphics to proving yourself for the moderation team to being a good modder to patching up errors on the wiki. Whatever your niche, if you're dedicated at something on the site and stick to it, you will almost inevitably be rewarded, and if you're really putting in legwork, you may be offered Citizenship or a staff position (they do not mutually exclude each other). If you just want to be a normal user doing your thing, that's perfectly fine too.

If you want to strive for more or know how to help out the site more, however, read on.

Citizenship

Citizenship is recognition for your contributions to the website. It is a badge, a colored title, a bit of recognition and a small selection of forums open for you to post in (the Curia). It is also a path to the Magistrate position and local moderation/management positions. Finally, it is a place to propose awards, both for users and new ones, as well as make and vote on suggestions for both the Curia itself and for the website in general. Note that votes passed in the Curia are still subject to the wants/abilities of the administration, and further, to be a Citizen is not to hold a staff title or authority over other members. Likewise, you are not obliged to participate in the curia and discussions - but it would be appreciated if you lend your input.

Joining & Helping Staff

If you're interested in the Wiki, see one section down.

Almost every branch of staff is actively recruiting members, especially Content Staff, Modding Staff, and branches of Gaming Staff. Others will likely be more stringent in recruiting members as moderating, administrating, or working on technical business are very important tasks that require you to build up time and trust, and they tend to come to you.

While each department has its own standards and requirements, the listed branches are most likely to have places for newer members to contribute with less stress. Content Staff has many of its own branches that address different sections of the forum and take different talents, including writing, art, organization skills, and in all cases, dedication. That said, everything is volunteer - the site is not a job, and your position won't be treated like one unless you want to go above and beyond or put a little more into leadership roles. More information is available for each branch. If you're looking to fill an actually vacant branch, it would be useful to research old works the branch has done so you have a clear idea of what you're going to get yourself into, as well as be aware that you will likely be the main drive for the time being unless you recruit others to join with you. That said, Hex are always there to lend a hand.

Modding Staff works much like Content Staff, but has a specific focus and no sub branches. It is mainly administrative; while helping users out with modding questions is a thing, knowledge in the field is not required and duties are mainly working with TWC Download and keeping thread prefixes and the like in order. They are explicitly interested in as many hands as they can get.

Gaming Staff are a case by case basis; please see the given sections, look them over, and decide if you want to help out. They don't recruit quite so actively, but the Hotseating section in particular still has an application process. If you're uncertain, message the given director.

If you see an opportunity to contribute to a section but don't want to actually become staff, make what you'd like and send it to a relevant staff member for that section, or inquire how to help out otherwise. You may wish to get in contact with them first to see what you can do that they'd be able to use and accept. Keep in mind that Staff Non-Disclosure may prevent them from being fully upfront with you on internal matters. SND is very important to staff, and you will be expected to maintain it yourself if you join the structure.

TWC Wiki

You're here! Welcome!

The TWC Wiki hosts information about the site and the total war games, particularly site history, site information, summaries of modding knowledge, lists and pages for mods, and overviews of the games themselves as well as their features. Making it better is a never-ending process for a site that's been online over a decade. If you're interested in contributing, see this thread to get an account you can use to log-in and this page to get you started. TWC_Wiki:Things to do gives you an idea of what the priorities are at the time, but you're free to just find pages and subjects you're interested in and work on them as you see fit. You're always welcome to contact the Wiki Director for advice, especially if you might be interested in joining the Wiki Team.

Note that the Terms of Service and the TWC Wiki Policy & Guidelines apply throughout the Wiki and you must not submit copyrighted work without permission. Deliberate vandalism or repeatedly ignoring the Wiki Staff may result in temporary or even permanent removal from the Wiki, breaches of the ToS may also result in disciplinary action taken against your forum account.