This is The Guild, the discussion forum for the Shogun: Total War and Medieval: Total War fan site www.totalwar.org. Considering the real-time nature of this bulletin board, it is impossible for us to review messages or confirm the validity of information posted. Please remember that we do not actively monitor the contents of posted messages and are not responsible for any messages posted. We do not vouch for or warrant the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any message, and are not responsible for the contents of any message. The messages express the views of the author of the message, not necessarily the views of The Guild or any entity associated with The Guild. Any user who feels that a posted message is objectionable is encouraged to contact the administrator of the pertinent forum (displayed at the top of the message thread list) immediately by email. We have the ability to remove objectionable messages and we will make every effort to do so, within a reasonable time frame, if we determine that removal is necessary. This is a manual process, however, so please realize that we may not be able to remove particular messages immediately. The staff has also the ability to edit all messages by all users, but we rarely use it in order to avoid misunderstandings as to the identity of the originator of any given text. If a post's content is essentially objectionable, it will be deleted instead. Examples of objectionable messages include, but are not limited to:

• Posts containing addresses of warez sites or anything piracy-related; note that this includes "hacks" designed to enable Shogun: Total War or Medieval: Total War to run without a CD. The administration is aware of the fact that some use a "no-CD hack" for the perfectly legal purpose of enchancing their system performance, but we feel that the possible illegal benefits from these hacks outweight the legal ones. Anything pertaining to software piracy is in general highly discouraged.
• Posts containing information on and/or requests for the Shogun: Total War or Medieval: Total War CD key codes; if someone has actually lost his CD key, he should ask about the matter from Electronic Arts Customer Support. Anyone asking for someone else's here is assumed to be a pirate trying to deny the game's developers their rightful compensation for this work.
• Posts containing references or solicitations for, or technical specifications of, multiplayer cheating. Cheating in the single-player game is each user's private matter, but cheating in the multiplayer game detracts from everyone's enjoyment and from the gaming community as a whole.
• Posts containing names of people suspected of cheating in the multiplayer game. This clause has been much debated; its purpose is to avoid fruitless controversy. No conclusive proof on anyone cheating in the multiplayer game can be obtained or presented. Therefore, the staff and the majority of the patrons (approximately 70% voted in favor) feel that it is for the best to avoid making accusations; even if truthful, their inconclusiveness will probably lead to "flame wars" which are inconvenient to the forum and its every patron. Keeping of private "cheater blacklists" is allowed, indeed encouraged, but The Guild does not wish to be the medium for such. (Note that in the case of "name posting", the staff will often make an exception and edit out the name rather than deleting the entire message.)
• Posts containing "spam", such as advertisements, chain letters, pyramid schemes, and solicitations. Recommending a game you in your opinion like is not wrong, as long as you are not trying to sell it. User accounts created exclusively for the purpose of posting inconsequential advertisements will be unceremoniously banned.
• Posts containing any generally objectionable material: knowingly false and/or defamatory, inaccurate, abusive, vulgar, hateful, harassing, obscene, profane, sexually oriented, threatening, invasive of a person's privacy, or otherwise violative of any law. Posting of copyrighted material, unless the copyright is owned by you or by The Guild, is discouraged. The Guild expects its patrons to remain civil even in the face of disagreements. Any kind of "flaming", slurs or insults adressed to an individual or a group is extremely inappropriate. Please respect etiquette at all times.

Several separate forums exists for the purpose of grouping the messages by their primary topic. Care should be taken to post messages only in the forum meant for that type of content. The staff makes every attempt to keep topics in their correct forums. Topics posted in an inappropriate forum will usually be closed shortly, with a final message explaining the transfer to another forum and a link to that forum, where the discussion can continue. Please note that the supposed inactivity of some forums compared to others is not an excuse to post messages in the wrong place. Although The Guild does not and cannot review the messages posted and is not responsible for the content of any of these messages, we at The Guild reserve the right to delete any message for any or no reason whatsoever. You remain solely responsible for the content of your messages, and you agree to indemnify and hold harmless The Guild, Jarvis, Inc. (the makers of the bulletin board software), and their agents with respect to any claim based upon transmission of your message(s). We at The Guild also reserve the right to reveal your identity (or whatever information we know about you) in the event of a complaint or legal action arising from any message posted by you.