Are you here because you are...

Stopping by to pick up a bounty? Just a simple man trying to make your way in the universe? Someone that has no idea what I'm talking about? Wanting to get involved with the community? A gamer? A Star Wars fanatic? Wondering why I'm such a dope?

If you apply to any of those, then you've come to the right place to start! Seriously, though, I'd like to say to all of you,

Welcome to Jabba's Palace and welcome to Empire at War Heaven!

Obviously, you're reading this because you've just recently come to this forum, and are new to our forums in general. This guide is designed to answer most of the basic questions. If you have a question about something in the forums, read this guide before asking questions.

In case you haven't guessed, I am a moderator; someone that volunteered to be at HeavenGames to help out with making sure everything you read on the forums is appropriate and useful. However, I'll get into that later. First of all, we'll divide this guide up into a few parts so that you can more easily read the sections you want (though you should read the entire guide for the whole story). You can click on any category to jump to it immediately.

Introduction to the Forums
Our Forums
Our Staff - Contacting Us
How to use BBCode
Forum slang and lingo
Frequently Asked Questions

Introduction to the Forums

Once again, welcome! Since you've made your way to our community forums, I hope you'll be an active player in our discussions here. However, though it's not hard to post, it could be challenging to become a contributing and accepted member of the community; it's just human nature. This guide is designed to brief you on things that are a must-know if you plan to participate in Jabba's Palace (or any HeavenGames forum).

Proper spelling and grammar is a must. Please make an effort to post coherently and with reason; that also means don't post new topics just because you have the urge to. Think about each post you make before you post it. Is it really necessary? Will people like it? Is it funny, is it useful, or is it stupid?

If English isn't your first language, that's perfectly fine, and I myself give you credit for being able to grasp the English language's sometimes-stupid and weird grammar rules. If you need help with posting in English (which is the official language of HG), I'm sure one of the forummers and moderators here speak your language (for instance, I know some Deutsch ). Don't be afraid to ask for help. However, one thing we do not allow is messages posted solely in another language. However, if you can provide a good translation, then it's acceptable.

Some things you should do RIGHT NOW:

• If you haven't already, read the Code of Conduct, the fundamental rules of our forums: Code of Conduct
  
• Check out the punishments guideline. This defines how our moderators punish people for bad things they do: New Policy on bans and warnings
  
• If you're interested in the history of HeavenGames [LLC], please go here: About HG
  
• Read the sticky threads in all of the forums you plan to visit. They contain important information about that particular forum. A sticky thread says "Sticky:" infront of it. This thread is a sticky thread.
  

• Post something that does not relate to the forum's purpose (please see the Our Forums section)
  
• Post topics that only contain personal messages for a particular forummer; use email or an Instant Messenger to contact them.
  
• Break any of the rules that are defined in the Code of Conduct or posted in sticky threads in the forum.
  

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Our Forums

This section is provided to let you know what each forum is for. If you're going to post here and become a "senior" member, you're going to have to understand what topics should go where. I've tried to provide some situations on what should go where, so please pay attention to them.

Game Discussion

This forum is dedicated for discussion revolving around this website's focus; Star Wars: Empire at War. This forum is for discussion involving the aspects of EaW that have not already been covered by another, more specific forum. You can speculate, discuss and ask for help in here.

What you should do here:

• Discuss your likes and dislikes about the game.
  
• Ask for technical support.
  
• Post "War Stores"; mini-novels detailing an epic battle you fought in the game.
  

• Talk about things that don't relate to Empire at War.
  
• Ask a question that has already been asked (use the forum search tool to check if your question was asked!)
  
• Talk about mods or strategies
  

Strategy

The primary use of this forum is to share strategies, ask for strategies and just generally talk about how you win (or lose) games.

What you should do here:

• Talk about strategies for the game.
  

• Talk about modding or other aspects of the game that are not strategic.
  

Modifications

"Mods" are modifications designed for Empire at War. They can be used to change almost any aspect of this very modable game. In here, you can investigate some of the secrets of modding, look at other peoples' mod projects and announce your own!

What you should do here:

• Post your latest mod.
  
• Ask for help.
  

• Ask for mods, unless someone has posted a thread where he accepts requests.
  
• Talk about any other aspect of the game.
  

Jabba's Palace

Unless you have a severe case of short-term memory loss, you'll know this is the forum you are currently in. Though the community may not be well developed at this point, it will soon develop a flavor and a taste of its own. Every community forum does. What defines this forum is that anything may be discussed in it. However, this is not a forum where you can post messages over and over again, and this forum does have rules. There will be no tolerance for violations of them.

What you should do here:

• Talk about anything you like.
  

• Discuss Empire at War or Star Wars; we have other forums for doing that.
  
• Give comments about or website; we have a forum for that.
  

Feedback/Guestbook

The purpose of this forum is pretty straight-forward. In here, you post any comments, suggestions or complaints you have about our forums or the site in general. Before you waste your time, if you're going to ask about having image avatars, no, we have no plans to enable avatars at this time..

Star Wars Universe

This forum is special in a few ways. First of all, it is dedicated to talking about Star Wars! That's certainly the best part! Secondly, this forum is actually merged with the Star Wars Universe forum on Galactic Battlegrounds Heaven. What this means is that any post you make in our Star Wars Universe forum, it will be seen in their Star Wars Universe forum, and vice versa.. This is called "livelinking." This is so that Star Wars fans from both sites may come together to discuss their favorite movies, books and galaxy! You can access the Galactic Battlegrounds Heaven Star Wars Universe forum here.

What you should do here:

• Create Star Wars-based Role Playing Games, or other games (like Word Associations, trivia, etc)
  
• Discuss and debate Star Wars to your heart's content.
  

• Bash the Prequels or the Original Trilogy. Everyone has their favorite trilogy, and it's fine if you want to say that you don't like it. However, don't harass someone because they favor one set of movies over the other.
  
• Discuss Empire at War.
  

Forum Guidelines

This forum is updated with new information from the HeavenGames staff about new rules and policies.

Moderation Announcements

This forum maintains a listing of forums with a "record." That is, forummers that have violated the Code of Conduct. This mainly for the reference of moderators and other staff, but it is also useful for you to keep tabs on who is banned or warned.

Fleet Command

The staff of Empire at War Heaven discuss top secret issues in here. You know, things like updates to the site, problems with the forums, galactic domination. That sorta thing.

What you should do here:

• Keep out! The forum is password protected and accessible only by staff members.
  

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Our Staff

Empire at War Heaven is maintained by a hard-working team of volunteers that put their heart and soul into making this site the #1 stop for downloads, discussion and information. The least you can do to repay them is to give them some respect. There are many forums of staff, so I'll explain each position a bit, then I'll list all current staff here. It may be helpful to remember that the traditional titles of staff positions fit with the site's name; "HeavenGames."

Cherub (Lieutenant)

A Cherub is a level of entry for most staff. The job of a Cherub varies greatly; some Cherubs may moderate the forums, others may add content to the forums or approving downloads. However, their biggest job is counting posts by hand. Regardless, Cherubs are a vital part of the website and should receive just as much respect as any other staff.

Angel (Commander)

An Angel is a Cherub that has performed with exceptionable quality and workmanship. They have been in Cherub for at least three months and have not made any violation of the Code of Conduct for the past eighteen months. They are the elite of HeavenGames; the senior staff. Some of them are "support" staff, which administer the files and code new programs for HeavenGames. Others carry out the same duty as Cherubs do. Being an Angel is an honor.

Seraph (Fleet Admiral)

Seraphs are Angels that have volunteered to run a site. They "pull it all together" and make sure the staff are doing their jobs properly. They assign work, and they have all the powers of Angels and Cherubs. They can directly change the colors of a forum and they have FTP access to their particular Heaven. They are basically site managers. Seraphs are rare, but essential to a community. Only the best achieve this position.

The Forum Moderation Team

The Forum Moderation Team does not have a color assigned to it. In fact, they may be Cherubs, Angels or Seraphs! The Forum Moderation team, or FMT, is basically a council of highly experienced and knowledgeable, senior moderators that oversee the staff (Cherubs, Angels and Seraphs) activity on the forums, and ones that make changes to the Code of Conduct and other issues like that. The FMT communicate regularly to discuss issues and they have the power to moderate at any site, any time. They are "Global" Moderators. They are what the moderators answer to, aside from their Seraph, and they are responsible for responding to moderators' queries about anything they are unsure of. They are also responsible for correcting any staff oversight.

Though the FMT can be identified by their name (either "FMT Member" or having "(FMT)" in their title), I'll list the current members and their traditional duties:

David - Chairperson, Unban Request Response
Angel Chris - Chairperson
Crazed Ewok - Staff Response
Brad4321 - Member

The FMT can be contacted jointly at fmt@heavengames.com.

The Exco

The Exco, like the FMT, do not have a color assigned to it. Formerly known as the Halo, the Exco are responsible for day-to-day management of HeavenGames LLC. They supervise pretty much every aspect of HeavenGames, including new Heavens and technical aspects. They also approve new staff members. They are *the* top of the chain . This is the highest position that any staff can achieve, and currently has 3 members:

GillB - Project Manager
Zen - Technical Manager
Jayhawk - Staff Manager

The Owners

Above the Exco are the owners. They actually own and pay for the business HeavenGames LLC. They all hold actual, real-life jobs, and gain no monetary profit out of HeavenGames. Currently, the owners are:

Spineman
Zen
Reckless Rodent

Empire at War Heaven Staff

Below is a listing of the current staff at Empire at War Heaven. They are the closest to you as forummers and to the website itself. They edit the content and moderate the forums daily. The contact information listed are the methods of contact these moderators use. If someone else contacts you claiming to be a mod, make sure they're the right person using the information listed here!

Angel AoErat - Site Director

• Email: aoerat@heavengames.com
  
• MSN: aoerat@hotmail.com
  
• AIM: AoErat
  
• ICQ: 37126820
  
• Yahoo: Neoteric_Knight

• Email: mace@heavengames.com
  
• MSN: mace__@msn.com
  
• AIM: ChainMace
  
• ICQ: 199622484
  
• Yahoo: hgmace

• Email: crazed@heavengames.com
  
• MSN: crazed_wookiee@msn.com
  
• AIM: CrazedEwk
  
• ICQ: 192245728
  
• Yahoo: thecrazedewok

• Email: msnell05@gmail.com
  
• MSN: MasterEchuu@hotmail.com
  
• AIM: MJSnell101
  
• ICQ: 215719625

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How to use BBCode

So, by now you're probably wondering how I'm doing all this fancy stuff. Well, I'm using HTML, mostly. However, HTML is disabled for non-moderators. This is because HTML could be abused by any forummer that knew how to use it. So, instead, we use something called BBCode. It's not exactly HTML, but it's alot easier to use, and it's safer for all of us.

I'm not going to explain how to use BBCode, because you can find a tutorial here: http://www.heavengames.com/forumfaq.shtml

However, there are some tags that are not mentioned in that guide. Among them are,

[c=FF0000-FF9900]Dynamically colored fading text[/c]

[ul][*]
• <-- The correct way to make a little dot like that.

Furthermore, if you intend to use colors, there is a Hex Color Table that you may use to choose a specific color.

It's customary around here to make a signature. You can put quotes, links to websites you like, or anything else that tickles your fancy in your sig. Around here, we used the whisper tag ([w] [/w] ) to make signatures more appealing and less big. I suggest you do the same.

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Forum slang and lingo

This section explains the abbreviations, slang and terms used on the forums.

LOL (laughing out loud)
IMO (in my opinion)
ROTFL/ROFL(rolling on the floor laughing)
AIM (America Online Instant Messenger)
YIM (Yahoo Instant Messenger)
ICQ (ICQ Instant Messenger)
BRB (be right back)
ROTFLOL(rolling on the floor laughing out loud)
Newb (A forummer who is new)
N00b (a forummer who spams, has bad grammar or has bad spelling...basically just a idiot)
HG (HeavenGames)
SWGBH (Star Wars Galactic Battlegrounds Heaven)
EaWH (Empire at War Heaven)
AoE3 (Age of Empires 3)
AoKH (Age of Kings Heaven)
EEH (Empire Earth Heaven)
AoMH (Age of Mythology Heaven)
RoNH (Rise of Nations Heaven)
CBH (City Building Heaven (Emperor, Zeus, Pharaoh and Caesar III Heavens))
SWGB/SWGBG (Star Wars Galactic Battlegrounds)
ATM (At the moment)
FYI (For your information)
TCE (The Crazed Ewok (my previous name))
GD (General Discussions [Forum])
SWU (Star Wars Universe [Forum])
CoC (Code of Conduct)
OD (Outside Discussions [HG Community Forum])
GTG/G2G (Got to Go)
Mod (Moderator or Modification)
HTML (HyperText Markup Language)
CSS (Cascading Style Sheets)
PHP (PHP:Hypertext Preprocessor (Recursive acronym))
CGI (Common Gateway Interface)
ITT (In this thread...)
uber (A German word technically meaning "over" but has come to be known here as "better than" or "very good".)
IIRC (If I remember/recall correctly)
AFAIK (As far as I know)
RTS (Real-time Strategy)

Some other things you might hear:

Cuban hacker--An inside joke, this refers to Mace, who is an excellent programmer.
Communist/Capitalist-- This isn't technically strange things, but there is a subtle debate/joke about communism and capitalism in the forums, however it is sometimes serious.
Nazi/Hitler-related things-- Thought not necessarily a funny matter, you may see things relating to Nazism on the forums, they are usually not meant to insult anyone, but sometimes can.
Pwnt/own/pwn-- Means to make a fool of somebody through ironic or similar means (ie: "i hav teh best spelin!" -- "Haha, pwnt!")

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Frequently Asked Questions

This section is designed to cover any miscellaneous questions you might have about the forums or HeavenGames. It's not that long right now, but it will be added onto as time progresses.

Q: I want to know about Empire at War!

Q: Can I be a moderator?

Q: How can I know if I'm doing something right on the forums or if what I'm doing is wrong?

Q: What does "Closed" or "Off-Topic" mean infront of a thread?

Q: I really want to put HTML in my post, or I want a sticky thread.

Q: My question isn't on this FAQ, or I want to see something else in the guide.

Closing

I'd like to thank you for taking the time to read this guide. May the Force be with you, and I hope to see you around the forums!

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[This message has been edited by Crazed Ewok (edited 03-03-2006 @ 06:28 AM).]