11-23-2007, 09:56 AM
The point of accepting a declaration of war is basically saying "We won't flag you as a criminal / murderer if you kill us, but we will also be trying to kill you, too." Without accepting a declaration, killing the guild you declared war on would be no different than murdering anyone else.
Think of it like... if you say you are going to beat somebody up, and then you just run and beat them up at the grocery store, you are likely going to be flagged as a "criminal," and face the concequences. If, however, you both actually formally agreed that you wanted to fight (like what one would do when accepting a declaration of war), and then fought somewhere legally (related more to IRL than UO,) then whoever won would simply be called the winner, but would not face legal attacks.
Think of it like... if you say you are going to beat somebody up, and then you just run and beat them up at the grocery store, you are likely going to be flagged as a "criminal," and face the concequences. If, however, you both actually formally agreed that you wanted to fight (like what one would do when accepting a declaration of war), and then fought somewhere legally (related more to IRL than UO,) then whoever won would simply be called the winner, but would not face legal attacks.