Taleworlds Forum Rules
1) General forum rules
2) Guidelines for posting
3) Warnings, mutes and bans
4) Contact details
5) Errata
1) General forum rules
By posting on Taleworlds you agree to the following rules. These rules are in effect on all boards. Certain boards may have specific rules which apply only to those boards; read the stickied "posting rules" thread near the top of the main board page to see if these apply.
No piracy, talk of piracy, talk of warez, or anything of the sort. No linking to sites with this kind of content
The following actions are prohibited on the forums: 1) Any facilitation of infringement of copyright, or of obtaining materials that do infringe copyright, be it through explicit or implicit written suggestion or through supplying such materials directly. 2) Any linking to websites that facilitate copyright infringement or supply materials that do infringe copyright. 3) Any promotion or endorsement of copyright infringement, or of obtaining or using materials that do infringe copyright.
The exact punishment for violation of this rule will be decided on an individual basis, but it will always warrant at least a warning, in severe cases violators may receive an immediate, permanent ban.
If you have obtained any of the TaleWorlds games through piracy, you will be immediately banned from the forums. You may be allowed to return once you have bought the game and registered your serial key on the main site, which will show a game icon in your forum profile as evidence that your game copy is legitimate, however this will be assessed on a case by case basis and is at the discretion of the administration team.
TaleWorlds is legally accountable for all content posted on these boards, and we don't want to get in trouble with the law. Bear in mind that a search engine such as Google may easily return your post out of context on a search, and we don't want to attract the wrong kind of attention.
No porn, links to porn sites or anything similar
The members of this board range from pre-teens to retirees. We don't want to offend or corrupt anyone. Again, breaking this rule can lead to a permanent ban without warning.
In addition to the above rule, any images posted on the TaleWorlds forum are required to meet a minimum “underwear/swimwear” standard. This means no pictures should be shown of nude individuals with conveniently-placed ‘stars’ or black-spots. Images which do not meet this standard will be removed, and offenders warned. Repeat offences will result in a mute, and possibly a permanent ban.
No derogatory or discriminatory remarks based on ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, nationality or gender. No hate propaganda, and no racism.
Racism of any kind will not be tolerated. This is an international community with members from many different cultures and backgrounds. Breaking this carries the same penalties as above. Note that this includes (but is by no means limited to) sexism, homophobia, religious based hatred and similar.
No trolling, flaming or anything similar
This is an open, friendly community and also the first stop for those seeking information or assistance of the game. We will not tolerate flaming or trolling; this includes but is not limited to deliberately trying to provoke an argument (flame-baiting), personal insults and verbal attacks. If you disagree with what someone has said, debate the point, not the person. Harassment of other users will not be tolerated either; this relates to PM-harassment or harassment by constantly insulting users across multiple threads, or by making disparaging comments that have no content relevant to the topics/discussion.
We would like to remind all of our members that this community is provided for the use of all members, not just those with a high post count or early join date. We all get sick of reading the same questions again and again, however we'd rather you didn't bother replying if you don't have something constructive to say. Remember, you were a newbie once
No Spam
Spam clogs up the forum, makes relevant and accurate information harder to find and causes the forum to slow down for everybody. The definition of ‘spam’ includes, but is not limited to, the following actions:
- Posting twice with the same sentence or similar ideas — please condense these into one post
- Multi-posting — if you need to add something, and yours was the last post in the thread, edit your last post instead of adding a new one
- Excessive “Meme” images — especially when not accompanied by text
- Posting the same thing across multiple boards, whether this is the same topic across multiple boards, or the same reply across multiple threads
- Quote pyramids — quotes imbedded within quotes which serve no purpose
It is better to post quality rather than quantity. There's an old saying that empty vessels make the most noise. A few well thought out, intelligent posts will do you far more good in the long term than a host of poorly worded posts. A high post count will not confer any special status on you — your fellow members will judge you by the quality of your posts rather than quantity. You will find the infrequent but intelligent posters are often accorded a lot more respect that those with higher post counts but little actual content. The best posts are those which provide something to discuss or add to a debate.
No begging for Serial Keys
Everyone here has bought the game. No one will give you a key for free. We've already had every sob story going, including those who are unable to buy the key due to not owning a credit card/being able to use paypal. The only thing begging for a serial key will get you is a free permanent ban.
Other Language Boards
Language boards are created for users of shared languages to come together and discuss the games without the need for conversing in English. “Invasions” of language boards and posting in said boards in anything other than the intended language is considered a form of spam, and perpetrators will be dealt with appropriately.
Privacy and data protection
Personal Messages (PMs) sent between forum users, and chat logs from external private messaging systems or emails, are considered private discussion. Conversations held via these communication channels should not be posted on the forum for public viewing. Similarly, posting of personal information or images of users obtained through Facebook, Twitter or any other form of social media is strictly prohibited. Everybody is entitled to their privacy, and should not have to be concerned with their personal details being ‘leaked’ on this forum. IP addresses are also considered personal information when tied to a specific user. Posting chat logs/emails/PMs/IPs or images of others without express written permission from all parties involved will result in any offending data being removed and the user responsible being punished according to the severity of their transgressions.
No linking or posting of illegal or graphic material
Linking to or posting illegal or graphic material, such as video or photographs of a person's death, child pornography, graphic scenes of violence, gore, etc. is against the forum rules and will be dealt with harshly.
Avatars and signatures
No deliberately offensive signatures or profile pictures are allowed. This includes, but is not limited to, pictures of members of the Nazi party, symbols of racist groups or nudity. Signatures must abide by the size rules specified on the 'Forum Profile' page of your account — that is, they should be no larger than 200 pixels high, including all images and text. Moderators and Administrators may choose, without due warning, to alter your account as they see fit and further actions may be taken depending on the content.
Both avatars and signatures must adhere to a "safe for work" minimum standard, which means sexualised/provocative or inflammatory images are forbidden. Remember; your avatar and signature are the first and last things anybody sees of your posts, and images or slogans which marginalise any group of people are not conducive to a welcoming environment.
Threats
Any violent threats made against other users or forum staff are taken very seriously, on or off the forum and will not be tolerated. Threatening behaviour, explicit or implicit, should be reported to forum staff and will be dealt with accordingly.
Armagan's word is final
These boards are provided at TaleWorld's expense for fans of Mount & Blade. Purchasing a licence does not confer any right of access to these boards, you have no right of free speech or anything of the sort. This should be considered a privately owned forum of which we are all guests, nothing more. While we do try to work with and listen to the community, once a decision has been made no amount of complaining is likely to alter it.
2) Guidelines for posting
Be Polite
Like your mother told you, treat people how you want to be treated. If you post a polite, well thought out post then you are more likely to get a polite, well thought out response.
Internet slang
Don't use chatroom abbreviations, l33t sp34k or similar. If you can't be bothered to type out a coherent, intelligent post then don't expect anyone to type out a coherent, intelligent response.
Topics
Check to see if an existing topic already covers the subject you want to post about. We would rather you posted into that thread than started a new topic, no matter how old. Please give your new topics relevant titles rather than nonsensical ones — "Improving weapons and shields" is a lot better than "My suggestions". Not only does this allow people to see what your post is about (so you’re likely to get interested posters) but it also helps the search function return relevant results. In addition, when starting a thread that requires an opinion, ensure your post actually contributes. The first post in a thread about Melee vs Ranged weapons should give your own view about this, rather than being an empty post with no information or opinion for others to act upon.
Cursing
The swear-filter is active for all newly joined members as standard, but this can be switched off by editing your profile. Regardless of whether you have the swear-filter active, the use of expletives should not make up the bulk of your posts. If you constantly use bad language you may be asked to tone it down.
Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar
Your browser most likely has a spell-checker; use it. Remember that not everyone on these forums speaks English as their primary language, and correct spelling and grammar can help them understand what you are trying to say. Punctuation actually does serve a purpose; it makes your post easier to read. By the same token, we will not tolerate "Grammar Nazis" here. Not all members have the same standard of literacy or written English, so the occasional mistake is to be expected. We all make mistakes.
Public vs Private
Remember, the forums are a public arena. If you wish to talk specifically to a single poster, use the private message function. That's why its there.
Let the staff do their job
It is up to the administration or moderation staff to decide what will happen to a member or post which breaks the rules. Remember, each time you reply to a post, you send it back to the top of the board. We would much rather you hit the report to moderator button if you find a post in breach of these rules rather than replied to it, especially if its simply to state that the poster is likely to get banned. On a similar note, don't just post "this is in the wrong forum" replies, at least try to answer the question. Rest assured we will get around to the post in due course.
Keep to the topic at hand
Try and stay on the topic of the initial post when replying. While we all go off on tangents, it is annoying to the initial poster to see the discussion range of the topic they posted about. It also doesn't help those who are looking for information to find what they thought was a discussion on the best weapon in Mount & Blade is actually a lecture about medieval swordsmithing techniques. If you find the thread is wandering off topic, try creating a new thread in the relevant forum to discuss the other issue.
My post has been deleted/edited/locked
Sometimes a moderator will edit or delete your posts. Sometimes they will give a reason, sometimes the reason is obvious. Do not post a thread complaining about this, edit your post to restore information or re-post a deleted post. If you have any questions or issues regarding why a post has been modified, PM the admin or moderator responsible, or contact another administrator who will be happy to help.
3) Warnings, mutes and bans
TaleWorlds operates a warning/mute/ban system as follows:
Minor transgressions will result in a warning. Repeat transgressions or serious infractions will result in a higher warning percentage being issued. A warning up to and including 65% will result in a green ‘warned’ tag being visible beside your avatar on all of your forum posts. If your warning goes to 70% or above, you will be automatically muted, and the green ‘warned’ tag will turn to a red ‘muted’ message which will, again, be visible to all users. You will be unable to post in threads or send PMs whilst in a muted state.
Once you have been warned or muted, your warning level will decrease by 5% every 24 hours, and once it falls below 70% you will be able to post/send PMs once more. When your warning level reaches 0% the ‘warned’ tag will be removed from your posts, however the warning you were issued will remain on your record and will be visible to all moderators and administrators. Consider this your permanent record; users who accrue too many warnings on their record, or break a ‘serious’ rule, will be permanently banned. “Too many warnings” does not have a quantifiable number; it is however many the administration staff feel is enough for a particular user to be banned, and may depend on which rules have been broken and the frequency of warnings/mutes accrued.
Sometimes users will receive a temporary ban which expires after a certain number of days, but permanent bans are more common as being muted effectively creates a posting ban which can last for up to a week. If you have been muted or banned and wish to appeal your mute/ban, you can contact the administration team by emailing your concerns to: [email protected]
If whilst muted or banned you create, or use an already-existing, “alternative” account to post, then any and all accounts associated with your primary account will be permanently banned and no appeal will be considered.
If one user posts on behalf of a muted or banned user, then they will share in the punishment. If somebody is banned from this forum, it is for a good reason, and “channelling” the muted/banned person undermines the work of the moderators.
If you come across a private message or post which breaks the rules, do not respond. Doing so is only likely to encourage the troll, and may land you in trouble to boot. In both cases, the best course of action is to click the report to moderator (for posts) or report to administrator (for PMs) link. This will notify all staff members of the problem, and it will be dealt with as soon as possible.
4) Contact details
If you have a problem with a moderator or administrator, or their actions, you can PM the staff member in question. Usually we are happy to respond and explain exactly why something has been done. If you don't feel you can approach the staff member in question, feel free to contact another administrator with your concerns. Do not post a topic to complain about the member in question — while we will allow general debate regarding admin/moderator activities we consider flaming a staff member the same as flaming a normal board member.
If you are unable to PM a mod/admin or want to discuss your issues via other channels, you can email to: [email protected] (for English/International enquiries) or to [email protected] (Turkish-only enquiries)
Users of Other Language boards should in the first instance attempt to discuss any problems which arise with the specific Language Moderators for their particular board. If necessary, a global moderator or administrator can be contacted, but please keep in mind that global mods and admins may not speak the language which the majority of your posts have been made in, and some collaboration with the language moderator(s) may be necessary.
5) Errata
Boards marked [EX]
Boards marked with an [EX] after the title are a special kind of board. These boards function as links to external websites not hosted on TaleWorlds. TaleWorlds & Ikisoft take no responsibility for the content of third party sites.
Modding
If you are considering joining our modding community, you should take note of the following; Many people here like to share and provide others with resources (marked [OSP]), but if you wish to include their work in your modification, you are required to credit them. Most OSPs can be used on this basis, but there are some that may ask you to contact the author (among other things) in order to gain permission. This is clarified in the opening post of the OSP (which are found in The Forge) and it is your responsibility to ensure that you have permission and provide proper credit for the resources that you use. It should also be clear that you cannot simply take things from other mods and use them in your own modification unless you have gained permission from the respective mod authors. Once you have permission, it cannot be redacted on a whim.
Should you lack permission for content and still offer it via download on this forum or another platform, it will be considered theft and result in your ban from the TaleWorlds forum.
A final note
When posting in the Off-Topic area, please bear the following in mind: If you think that your post might be taken as offensive, then do not post it. If you find another person's post offensive, please consider the intent behind it. Just because a person's beliefs or opinion are different than yours does not necessarily mean that they are attacking yours. Again, common sense goes a long way. We will not tolerate either discrimination or personal attacks on this forum, in any board.
Not all situations can be covered within the rules. You may be warned, or even muted or banned, for something that is not present on this list. Please use your common sense when posting.
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