- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
A mixture of things, most likely. As has been said before, easier navigation informed people that forums actually existed, and so they signed up. ILB.com probably also has something to do with it - it's probably attracted quite a few ARG players intrigued by the entire Halo phenomenon, and has unfortunately brought in a few impatient souls who expected some huge and rather unlikely announcement from the game, as well.
Also, since the first Halo, Bungie's profiile has been raised dramatically, and will continue to be raised. The fact that you won't be able to turn on the TV, go on the net or even walk outside without hearing about Halo 2 somewhere is no doubt going to get even more people curious about the developers behind this opus they keep on hearing about, and there will be even more new faces about. It's certainly going to keep this forum... interesting.