2nd item in the FAQ:
What happens if BTC Guild closes?
BTC Guild has outlined an official closure process on the bitcointalk.org forum thread (click here). To summarize the process:
1) The pool will provide 2 weeks notice prior to shutting down mining operations.
2) There will be at least a 3 month period (starting with the 2 weeks notice) for users to withdraw balances.
3) The minimum payout will be removed, but any transaction under 0.01 will have to pay the network transaction fee (which may be more than the balance owed).
This process may be altered due to the circumstances of the closure. If new laws or regulations come into effect that force the pool to be closed, it is possible the closure may have only a few weeks to process. Users should not leave balances unattended! Set auto withdrawals, always check the site for news at least once per week. If forced to close, unclaimed funds may not be retrievable after the closure date.
Fourth item on the terms of service:
4: The pool is not an online wallet or bank
BTC Guild is not a bank or e-wallet. You cannot deposit coins into an account, transfer coins between accounts, or send specific amounts to third parties. Users should utilize automatic distributions to automatically receive their coins at regular intervals.
Sixth item on the terms of service:
6: Inactive accounts may be pruned and/or deleted
BTC Guild reserves the right to prune inactive accounts from its database if they have not been accessed in more than 1 year. An account is inactive if it has not been mined on AND has not been accessed through the website in more than 1 year. A 30-day notice will be by email (if one exists) prior to the permanent deletion of any account. Any balances remaining on an account that is permanently deleted will be considered a donation to the pool.
Seventh item on the terms of service:
7: 90 Days Notice of Closure
In the event that BTC Guild is being closed down, users will receive a minimum of 90 days notice before all services are disabled. After 90 days notice, any unclaimed balances will be kept by the pool. The 90 day notice can be superseded by a shorter notice period if the closure is caused by US Law/Regulations forcing the pool to shutdown.
Notices of pool closure will be made on the News section of BTC Guild, a warning at the top of every page while logged in, and the Bitcointalk.org's thread for BTC Guild.
As you can tell by the giant red notice on the site, I've actually continued to allow withdrawals well beyond the 90 days, currently more than 30 days beyond previously established closing process timelines. Even beyond that, I loosened up withdrawal rules beyond what was previously promised, removing the transaction fee (0.0001) for amounts under 0.01, and instead just making 0.0001 the minimum at no fee.
I also never exercised the account pruning option in the terms of service. Accounts were only pruned once (on accounts dating back to 2011 when the pool was proportional and donation based), but all data was kept in a separate database and is restored upon request if somebody comes back to an old account.
