Howdy pardner! Study this here fine print well for yer bound by the terms of the account written below.

Affliction Networks Terms of Service for Bang! Howdy

By registering and creating an account with Affliction Networks you agree to comply with all these terms. If you do not agree with these terms, do not create an account and do not continue to use the www.banghowdy.com site or other Affliction Network site. If you have an existing account and do not agree with these terms, please go the registration page and delete your account.

1. Services. Bang! Howdy is an internet service that allows you to play an online game in which the places, characters, plots and other content may be created by you, other members, Affliction Networks or other parties. In additon the Bang! Howdy web site provides bulletin boards and other game related services. The www.banghowdy.com web site, game, and other services are collectively referred to as Bang!.
2. Age Requirement. You must be at least fourteen (14) years of age to use Bang! You represent, warrant and covenant that you meet this age requirement.
3. Access. You must have access to the Internet in order to use Bang! It is your responsibility to select, obtain and pay for any equipment or services necessary for access.
4. Registration. If you accept the terms, Affliction Networks will process your registration form and establish a user account.

   You must select a user ID to identify you to Affliction Networks and other users of the Bang! web site. You may not select as your User ID the name of another living person (unless it is also your name), a name for the purpose of fraud or disparagement, or a name that violates any third party's trademark right, copyright, or other proprietary right, or which Affliction Networks deems in its sole discretion to be vulgar or otherwise offensive. Affliction Networks reserves the right to delete any vulgar or otherwise offensive User ID, or to require you to change your User ID. You must also select a password for your account.

   Affliction Networks recommends that you choose a password with letters and numbers, and do not use your User ID as your password. The registration form will ask you for other information about yourself ("Registration Data") which you represent and warrant is at all times true, accurate, current and complete, and which you agree to update in order to maintain as such. If you breach this representation, or Affliction Networks has reasonable grounds to suspect that you have, Affliction Networks has the right upon notice to suspend or terminate your account and this agreement and to refuse your current or future use of Bang! (or any portion thereof).

5. License. Subject to all of the Terms, Affliction Networks hereby grants you a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to access the Site and to use Bang! only on the Site solely for your personal entertainment purposes. Affliction Networks may revoke this license at any time and for any reason. Specifically if you breach the terms of service we will ban your account. The terms of such terminations are explained in section 9.
6. Restrictions. You agree not to do any of the following prohibited actions:

    

   1. reproduce, distribute, publicly display or perform, translate, modify, adapt, create derivative works from, deconstruct, reverse engineer, decompile or disassemble in any manner Bang! or any portion thereof, including but not limited to any character, graphic, associated software or proprietary communications protocol used by the software or any utilities, applications, emulators or tools derived therefrom;
   2. permit any other person (including but not limited to a former member whose account Affliction Networks has terminated) to access Bang!, or create or provide any other means through which the Games may be played by anyone besides you (e.g., through server emulators);
   3. upload, post, email or otherwise transmit through Bang! any material that (i) is unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, tortious, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, libelous, invasive of another's privacy, hateful, or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable; (ii) you do not have a right to transmit under any law or contractual or fiduciary relationship (e.g., inside information, proprietary information from an employer or confidential information subject to a nondisclosure agreement); (iii) infringes any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other party's proprietary rights; (iv) is unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional material, "junk mail," "spam," "chain letters," "pyramid schemes," or any other form of solicitation; or (v) contains software viruses or any other computer code, files or programs designed to interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment;
   4. harm minors in any way;
   5. impersonate another user or administrator;
   6. forge headers or otherwise manipulate identifiers in order to disguise the origin of any materials you or another party transmit through Bang!;
   7. disrupt the normal flow of dialogue, cause a screen to "scroll" faster than other members of the Services are able to type, or otherwise act in a manner that negatively affects other members' ability to engage in real time exchanges;
   8. interfere with or disrupt the Services or servers or networks connected to the Services, or disobey any requirements, procedures, policies or regulations of networks connected to the Services;
   9. intentionally or unintentionally violate any applicable local, state, national or international law, including, but not limited to, regulations promulgated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, any rules of any national or other securities exchange, including, without limitation, the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange or the NASDAQ, and any regulations having the force of law;
   10. "stalk" or otherwise harass another; or
   11. collect or store personal data about another member without the express permission of such member.
   12. reveal personal data about another member--including but not limited to personally identifiable information about the member, administrative role of the member within a game, and information about game characters associated with the member--without the express permission of such member.
   13. modify any files or use any game hacking/altering/cheating software or tools, including scripting or macroing software, or attempt to disassemble the game client and/or decipher the data transmissions between Bang!'s client and server. These activities will result in immediate termination of the Player's Account and may subject you to civil and/or criminal liability.
   14. engage in any behaviour that is contrary to the 'spirit of the game' as defined by Affliction Networks in its sole discretion. This includes the use of multiple characters or accounts to undermine or spy on competing parties, or to otherwise manipulate the game environment.
   15. play Bang! on any server or service that is not provided or authorised by Affliction Networks.
   16. Bang! has a zero tolerance cheating policy, your account will be terminated and ban appeals will automatically be denied for this category.

       Software that can be used to gain an unfair advantage in our games may not be used. This includes automation tools, macros, bots, auto-typers, and tools that circumvent any of our mechanisms designed to automatically log out inactive users.

       Any game-specific, third-party software that encourages contradiction of the previous statement, bypasses the normal navigation of our website, automatically requests pages from our website or which endangers user accounts are also regarded as detrimental to Bang! and should not be used.

   17. Allowing someone to intentionally win a ranked game is prohibited and considered cheating.
   18. Real World Trading is prohibited
       

       Real-world trading is the term used for activities which occur outside of the game environment which result in the real-world sale or purchase of items, scrip, coins or any other form of virtual currency or services with the intention of supplying or advancing a Bang! in-game character other than by the means that are incorporated into the game.

       This includes, but is not limited to, purchasing scrip or virtual items for Bang! on 3rd party websites, buying a Bang! account on 3rd party websites, paying someone to increase your account's experience and paying someone to complete bounties and activities on your behalf.

   19. Account sharing is prohibited
       

       Each account should only be used by one person. Never share your account with anyone else, as doing so will likely get the account banned. Players may not sell, share, transfer or lend their account to anyone else. Players should not accept an account that anybody else offers, as they may be stolen, and this could lead to your own account being disabled!

   20. Exploiting a bug intentionally is prohibited
       

       Players must not use or attempt to use any cheats or errors which they may find in our software. Any exploits a player finds must be immediately reported to Affliction Networks through customer support.

   21. Using alternative accounts to play ranked games is prohibited and considered cheating.
       If you create an account to verse yourself or someone in your immediate area you are prohibited from versing against each other unless approved by a staff member of Affliction Networks.

    

7. Content.

    

   1. Participatory Content. As part of our interactive approach, Affliction Networks provides you with certain opportunities to submit your own ideas, text, graphics, plots, characters, feedback and other materials while you participate in the Games, bulletin boards, chat rooms and other activities in the Site or Services (collectively, "Participatory Content"). By submitting any Participatory Content, you represent and warrant that you are the owner of or have the right to post your Participatory Content, and your Participatory Content does not infringe the rights of any third party. You hereby grant Affliction Networks a perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive, sub-licensable, worldwide, royalty-free license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, distribute, publicly display and perform any and all of your Participatory Content in all media now known or later developed. You, and not Affliction Networks, are entirely responsible for all of your Participatory Content that you upload, post, email or otherwise transmit via the Site, Services or Games.
   2. Third Party Content. You acknowledge and agree that the Site, Services and Games contain materials owned by Affliction Networks and its licensors (including other members), and you agree not to interfere the copyrights, trademarks and other proprietary rights of such parties. You agree that these rights are valid and protected in all media existing now or later developed, and that except as is explicitly provided otherwise, your use of such materials shall be governed by the copyright laws of the United States and other applicable laws.
   3. Content Monitoring. As a matter of policy, Affliction Networks does not manually pre-screen or monitor the content that you or other members may post to the Bang! site or game. Affliction Networks does use automated mechanisms as necessary to filter obscene or vulgar language, mechanisms which are under user control (see the Options panel). Affliction Networks does reserve the right to monitor all such content, and reserves the right to remove without notice any and all content that Affliction Networks, in its sole discretion, finds offensive or otherwise objectionable. You are solely responsible, and bear the risk, for evaluating the accuracy, integrity, quality, completeness or utility of any content. Affliction Networks makes no representations or warranties about the content appearing in Bang! Under no circumstances will Affliction Networks be liable in any way for any content, including but not limited to, for any errors or omissions in any content, or for any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of the use of any content posted, emailed or otherwise transmitted via Bang!
   4. Mature Content. Affliction Networks has adopted a "MATURE" rating, and parts of the Site, Services and/or Games contain adult or mature content that some users may consider offensive, indecent or objectionable. While Affliction Networks has established a list of restrictions (section 5) and may in some instances choose to monitor and take action upon inappropriate gameplay, chat or links to the Services, it is possible that at any time there may be language or other material accessible on or through the Site, Services or Games that may be offensive or objectionable to some users.
   5. Content Transmission. You understand that the technical processing and transmission of the Services, including your Participatory Content and Public Content, may involve (i) transmissions over various networks; and (ii) changes to conform and adapt to technical requirements of connecting networks or devices.
   6. Links. The Site, Services and Games may provide links to other sites for your convenience only. Affliction Networks does not control, is not responsible for, does not necessarily endorse and makes no representation about the materials contained at any linked site. If you choose to visit any linked Sites, Affliction Networks recommends that you review the other site?s terms of use. Affliction Networks is not responsible for webcasting or any other form of transmission received from any linked site.
   7. Names. In creating your character in Bang! we ask that you use names appropriate for the setting. Do not use names that violate these terms, that might be offensive to other players, or that include copyright or trademark characters or products. Avoid names that are from or imply popular media and culture. Affliction Networks will arbitrarily change any names it considers unsuitable, or ban the accounts associated. Other than in these circumstances, names will not generally be changed.
   8. Auctions and Sales. It is against Affliction Networks policy to allow accounts, characters, items, or money to be sold for real money on auction sites or otherwise. We will ask auction sites to respect this policy. We will terminate accounts that we believe are in violation of this policy.

    

8. Idea submission policy. Affliction Networks and its employees do not accept or consider unsolicited ideas, including but not limited to ideas for advertising campaigns, technology development or product names. Please do not send Affliction Networks or any of its employees any unsolicited materials, including any artwork or demos. If any area of the site, services or games invites you to submit material, such as a portfolio URL for a job application, such submission shall not be deemed to be unsolicited for purposes of this section 8 ("Idea Submission Policy"). The purpose of this policy is to avoid potential misunderstandings or disputes if Affliction Networks' products or marketing strategies might seem similar to ideas submitted to Affliction Networks. Please note that any material you submit to Affliction Networks in any manner, aside from examples of prior work as part of a job application, will be deemed your "Participatory Content" and subject to the terms of section 7.1 ("participatory content").
9. Your Account is Your Responsibility. You are solely responsible and entirely liable for all activities conducted through your account and/or your User ID, even if your account has been compromised through no fault of your own. Affliction Networks encourages you to maintain the confidentiality of your password, and reminds you that you do not have a license to let others use your account. You agree to notify Affliction Networks immediately in the event your password is lost, stolen, disclosed or compromised. It is not Affliction Networks' policy to ask for your password online, and Affliction Networks suggests that you never respond to an on-line request for your password. You acknowledge that although the Site, Services and/or Games may offer a feature that allows you to "remember" your password and thereby bypass the password protection, this feature makes it possible for third parties to access your account and User ID. Affliction Networks strongly discourages the use of the password bypass feature, which will in any event be at your own risk.
10. Privacy. You understand that you have no expectation of privacy with respect to your use of the Site, Services or Games, and that all communications made by or received from you may be monitored, preserved and disclosed by Affliction Network representatives. You hereby consent to the extraction of hardware system profile data and any data related to operation of the software from any computer that logs on to the Site, Services or Games using your account. You acknowledge and agree that Affliction Networks will report to law enforcement authorities any actions which may be considered illegal, as well as any reports it receives of such conduct. Affliction Networks will cooperate fully with law enforcement agencies in any investigation of alleged illegal activity. Specifically, Affliction Networks may disclose information about you or your Participatory Content if Affliction Networks has the good faith belief that such disclosure is reasonably necessary to: (a) comply with legal process; (b) enforce the Terms; (c) respond to claims that any your Participatory Content violates the rights of a third party; or (d) protect the rights, property or safety of Affliction Networks, its members or the public. These Terms are also subject to Affliction Networks' general Privacy Policy, which is incorporated by this reference as if set out in full.
11. International Use. Recognizing the global nature of the Internet, you agree to comply with all local rules regarding online conduct and acceptable content. Specifically, you agree to comply with all applicable laws regarding the transmission of technical data exported from the United States or the country in which you reside.
12. Ownership. Affliction Networks and its licensors shall at all times retain all right, title and interest in and to the Site, Services and Games, except to the extent of the licenses granted to you hereunder. Affliction Networks, Bang! and other products referenced herein are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Affliction Networks.
13. Disclaimer of Warranty. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, AFFLICTION NETWORK, ITS AFFILIATES, LICENSORS AND SUBCONTRACTORS DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. AFFLICTION NETWORKS PROVIDES THE SITE, SERVICES AND GAMES (AND ANY RELATED SOFTWARE OR HARDWARE USED OR PROVIDED BY AFFLICTION NETWORKS IN CONNECTION THEREWITH OR ANY CONTENT INCLUDED THEREIN) "AS IS" AND ON AN "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS, AND MAKES NO WARRANTY OF PERFORMANCE OR QUALITY OR THAT THE SITE, SERVICES OR GAMES WILL BE ERROR-FREE OR UNINTERRUPTED. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT PERMIT THE EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES, SO SUCH EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
14. Limitation of Liability. NOTWITHSTANDING ANYTHING TO THE CONTRARY, AFFLICTION NETWORKS' AND ITS AFFILIATES', LICENSORS' AND SUBCONTRACTORS' TOTAL LIABILITY TO YOU ARISING FROM OR IN RELATION TO THIS AGREEMENT, THE SITE, SERVICES OR GAMES SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE TOTAL PAYMENTS MADE BY YOU TO AFFLICTION NETWORKS UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WITHIN THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS PRIOR TO THE OCCURRENCE OF THE INCIDENT WHICH GAVE RISE TO SUCH LIABILITY. THE FOREGOING LIMITATION SHALL NOT APPLY TO DAMAGES ARISING FROM DEATH OR PERSONAL INJURY TO PERSONAL OR TANGIBLE PROPERTY IN ANY JURISDICTION WHERE SUCH LIMITATION IS PROHIBITED BY LAW.
15. Consequential Damages. IN NO EVENT WILL AFFLICTION NETWORKS, ITS AFFILIATES, LICENSORS OR SUBCONTRACTORS BE RESPONSIBLE OR LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, EXEMPLARY OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY LOSS OF USE OR COSTS OF SUBSTITUTE SERVICES, HOWEVER CAUSED, WHETHER FOR BREACH OF REPUDIATION OF CONTRACT, TORT, BREACH OF WARRANTY, NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY OR OTHER THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER OR NOT AFFLICTION NETWORKS, ITS AFFILIATES, LICENSORS OR SUBCONTRACTORS WERE ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH LOSS OR DAMAGES AND NOTWITHSTANDING THE FAILURE OF ESSENTIAL PURPOSE OF ANY LIMITED REMEDY STATED HEREIN. IN JURISDICTIONS THAT DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, AFFLICTION NETWORKS', ITS AFFILIATES', LICENSORS' AND SUBCONTRACTORS' LIABILITY IS LIMITED TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.
16. Indemnification. You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless Affliction Networks, its affiliates, licensors and subcontractors from all liabilities, claims and expenses, including attorneys' fees, arising from or related to your breach of this Agreement or portion hereof, you Participatory Content or Public Content or any act or omission by you relating the Site, Services or Games. Affliction Networks reserves the right to assume its own defense and/or control of any matter otherwise subject to indemnification by you hereunder.
17. Termination. Either you or Affliction Networks may terminate your account and this agreement upon notice at any time without further obligation to the other. Further, Affliction Networks reserves the right to terminate the Site, Services and/or Games, or any part thereof, at any time without notice and without further obligation to you. IN NO EVENT SHALL YOU BE ENTITLED TO A REFUND OF ANY FEES OR PRORATION THEREOF. UPON TERMINATION OF THIS AGREEMENT, YOUR ACCESS PRIVILEGES TO THE SITE, SERVICES AND GAMES WILL TERMINATE AND YOU WILL FORFEIT ANY UNUSED ACCESS TIME THAT YOU PURCHASED OR RECEIVED PRIOR TO TERMINATION. A member whose account Affliction Networks has terminated may not access the Site, Services or Games in any manner or for any reason without Affliction Networks' express, prior, written permission. Termination of this agreement shall have no effect on any payment obligation accrued prior to the effective date of termination. The following sections shall survive termination: 7(a) and (b), 8 and 14-20.
18. Amendment. Affliction Networks may amend the Terms in its sole discretion at any time by posting revised Terms on the Site, and you agree to regularly review the Terms. If any such revision is unacceptable to you, you may terminate your account and this agreement as provided in Section 17 ("Termination"). Your continued access and use of the Site, Services and/or Games seven (7) days after posting of the revised Terms shall constitute your acceptance of the same. Except as expressly set forth herein, the Terms may not otherwise be modified or amended.
19. Reservation of Rights. Affliction Networks hereby reserves any rights not expressly granted herein.
20. General Provisions. You may not sublicense, rent, sell, assign or otherwise transfer the rights or obligations granted to you in this agreement, and any such attempted transfer shall be void. If any provision of this agreement is held to be unenforceable for any reason, such provision shall be reformed only to the extent necessary to make it enforceable, and such decision shall not affect the enforceability of: (i) such provision under other circumstances, or (ii) the remaining provisions hereof under all circumstances. Affliction Networks' failure to enforce at any time any provision of this agreement shall in no way be construed to be a present or future waiver of such provision, nor in any way affect the right of any party to enforce each and every such provision thereafter. The express waiver by Affliction Networks of any provision, condition or requirement of this agreement shall not constitute a waiver of any future obligation to comply with such provision, condition or requirement. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, no default, delay or failure to perform on the part of Affliction Networks shall be considered a breach of this agreement if such default, delay or failure to perform is shown to be due to causes beyond Affliction Networks' reasonable control. This agreement is governed by and construed under California law without regard to its conflict of law principles, and you agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the courts located in San Francisco County, in the State of California, U.S.A. for the resolution of any dispute arising from or related to this agreement. In any action to enforce this agreement, the prevailing party shall be awarded its costs and fees (including reasonable attorneys' fees), including such fees and costs incurred in enforcing and collecting any judgment. All notices given by you shall be sent via email to [email protected]. Affliction Networks may give notice to you at the e-mail address you provide in the Registration Data. This agreement represents the entire agreement between you and Affliction Networks with respect to the subject matter referenced herein.

Changes to the Terms of Service

Affliction Networks may update the terms of service. We will notify you about significant changes by placing a prominent link on our site.

Questions and Suggestions

If you have questions or suggestions, please email us at [email protected].