In addition to the LIVE services Terms of Use and Code of Conduct, the following is the Terms of Service for the Age of Empires Forums.
Terms of Use:
Microsoft Studios provide the Age of Empires Community Forums (or “Forums” for the purpose of this document) as a centralized community site for all Age of Empires fans to connect and discuss all manner of Age-related information. The Forums are here for the benefit and enjoyment of all members, and are accessible to anyone who agrees to the following guidelines for access and participation to the Forums.
By participating in the Forums you agree to the Usage Guidelines (outlined below) and the Microsoft Services Agreement which can be found here.
Please adhere to the following Usage Guidelines:
BE APPROPRIATE
When communicating on the Forums, it’s important to stay on topic. These Forums have been created to provide a channel of communication across the entire spectrum of Age of Empire’s fan base, specifically for the discussion of Age of Empires. Please refrain from discussing personal matters, verbally abusing any company, product or individual, or from posting content which may be deemed inappropriate or irrelevant for the Age of Empires community.
Posts created to “bump” existing discussions, posts created to bypass or workaround the word filter or posts created to duplicate existing discussions are expressly prohibited. Posts created to inform or discuss how to violate the policies found within the Code of Conduct and Xbox Community Standards are also prohibited.
BE COURTEOUS
The Forums are intended to provide a positive experience for all members. Please make sure that you are not detracting from the community experience for any user. Your opinions are welcome, but refrain from personal attacks and harassment of other members, and from posting content which could be viewed as unlawful, threatening, ############# harmful, indecent, lewd, abusive and inflammatory.
All content posted on the Forums should maintain a helpful and courteous tone, and not be intended to provoke or flame other community members.
BE SPAM-FREE
Additionally, the Forums are not to be used for the promotion of third-party services, products, websites and/or organizations. Please refrain from posting content that could be considered advertising, junk mail, spam, chain letters, or any other form of unauthorized solicitation.
Remember that any advice or recommendations offered on the Forums are those of the individual members, and they are not specifically endorsed by Microsoft Games Studios. It is each individual forum members’ responsibility to follow or not follow any advice or recommendation given by another user.
You should not post your or anyone else’s personal information on these Forums including but not limited to name, physical or email address, age, phone number, credit card or sensitive log-in information. Furthermore, if any user asks you for personal information, such as the information detailed above, do not provide it.
BEWARE
While the Forums may be reviewed by a moderator staff, the content therein is not guaranteed to be moderated or endorsed by Microsoft Game Studios. Microsoft Game Studios is not responsible for any failure or delay in removing objectionable content or any content that is in violation of the aforementioned guidelines.
While the moderator staff does not generally edit conversations posted by members, they do retain the right to use judgment to determine if any conversations violate Code of Conduct and Xbox Community Standards. If conversations are deemed to be in violation of the aforementioned guidelines, the moderator staff can edit the content of the Forums in whatever way they see fit to protect the integrity of the Forums.
Additionally, the responsible party for such violations can be temporarily suspended from posting or permanently banned (their Forums privileges permanently revoked), once the moderator staff has reviewed the conversations suspected to be in violation of the guidelines.
BE A LEADER
Part of your participation requires adherence to the guidelines as outlined above, but also requires that all users perform in an exemplary and commendable manner. Please make full use of the Report Abuse functionality of the Forums, which notifies moderators to objectionable content or any conversations which appear to be in violation of guidelines as outlined above.
From time to time, the moderator staff may designate certain members with leadership roles. This designation does not imply that Microsoft Game Studios endorse this person’s posts or comments. The designation only allows the community to know when a member has performed in an exemplary and commendable fashion, and may, on occasion, assist with monitoring the Forums to ensure its integrity is maintained.
UNSOLICITED IDEA SUBMISSION POLICY
Microsoft or any of its employees do not accept or consider unsolicited ideas, including ideas for new advertising campaigns, new promotions, new products or technologies, processes, materials, marketing plans or new product names. Please do not send any original creative artwork, samples, demos, or other works. The sole purpose of this policy is to avoid potential misunderstandings or disputes when Microsoft’s products or marketing strategies might seem similar to ideas submitted to Microsoft. So, please do not send your unsolicited ideas to Microsoft or anyone at Microsoft. If, despite our request that you not send us your ideas and materials, you still send them, please understand the Microsoft makes no assurances that your ideas and materials will be treated as confidential or proprietary.