A Prelude of What's to Come...? Guild Information Extravaganza

As you've probably noticed, BioWare gave the community a little pre-PAX treat in the forum of a slick new Guild Headquarters page.

Today, we’re excited to announce the launch of the new Guild Headquarters (HQ) as well as the Pre-Launch Guild Program. Many members of the community have already been organizing guilds on the forums, and we’re now happy to provide the tools to officially register and reserve your guild’s name. In this new section of the website, you can search for an existing guild to join or you can create a new guild and begin recruiting members. When Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ launches, you may be able to import your guild directly into the game, subject to availability and meeting certain criteria*.

Every guild gets its own guild mini-site on www.StarWarsTheOldRepublic.com, complete with information about the guild, its recruitment status, and its own public and private forums. Create or join a guild now and you’ll have the opportunity to have your own space to socialize and organize before the game launches. Every guild is automatically entered into the searchable guild database, which makes it easy for players to find their ideal guild. Get your guild together early and get ready for The Old Republic!

To learn more about guilds in The Old Republic, check out the Guilds Game System page for details, and to search for or join a guild, visit the Guild HQ now! Also be sure to visit the Guilds FAQ for answers to commonly asked questions.

*Conditions and restrictions apply. See Guilds FAQ for full details.

To discuss the Pre-Launch Guild Program, please use this thread in the Guild Hall forum. To report bugs, please use this thread in the Website Feedback and Support forum. Please note that some words and phrases, particularly some relating directly to Star Wars, are restricted. If you feel your desired guild name is restricted in error, please contact us using the site support form.

So far, all of the reaction that I've seen regarding this has been overwhelmingly positive.   As Ayane points out though, there are some interesting bits in the FAQ section.

Is my guild* guaranteed to be transferred into the game and what are the criteria our guild needs to meet for the transfer?

All guilds that meet the following criteria will get transferred into the game: 1) At the beginning of Phase 3, the guild leader must log in to the website and verify that their guild remains active and wants to be imported; and 2) The guild has at least four members who have pre-ordered the game by the time we initiate the import. Details about Star Wars: The Old Republic pre-order program will be provided at a later date.

Emphasis mine.  A clever way to not only make sure that SWTOR is pre-ordered as much as possible, but also that there's a certain level of commitment among the guilds who are signing up ahead of time.  Four seems to be a reasonable enough number for most guilds.

A 500 member cap is about average right now, so folks in guilds who run the risk of exceeding that will probably institute a no-alt policy at first, which is par for the course.  Now I'm even more curious to see what sort of information is revealed at PAX!