- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
Wow. Look at this thread. How fast has it grown in only a few days?
The response from all of those concerned by the state of the community, the ones fearing they will never see the return of the good oldschool days, and those who- as GJJ put it- are just here to blow sunshine up the asses of the moderators (How did you think their posts manage to shine so brilliantly white?): it's all really telling. The spirit is willing.
And that's exactly what is needed. Spirit.
This thread seemed to thrive on Achronos' mention of impending new features, yet features alone can't make this a fun place to be. In my opinion, what makes the community is the community. People are far more interesting than features, and as helpful as a site search and a karma system will be, this place is only ever going to be saved by thoughtful posts coming from those genuinely interested in the Bungie community (not just its games, but mainly its people).
What we need is interesting content. The blame shouldn't rest with the spammers or the group wars or the ass kissers or the elitists or the power-hungry-Prophet-of-Truth-opportunists. (By the way, if I come across as any of these types of people, please, someone, delete this post as soon as you can. Thanks.) The blame rests squarely upon YOU (and me), the inactive, uninteresting complainer, who doesn't get on his/her arse and do something. We need to start filling the relevant forums with engaging, thought-provoking topics. Stuff like this below is a great step (just one) in the right direction.
Posted by: GameJunkieJim
The Inaugural Issue for you all, this newsletter is for you all to share, and I'll be looking for your contributions!
I remember a while back The Watchers came up with an interesting tactic in order to save New Mombasa from degrading into a warzone. (I hope they don't mind me mentioning this.)
The idea was to 'spam' New Mombasa with interesting topics, relating to theories about Halo and Halo 2. It didn't matter if the topic had been previously discussed (as long as it hadn't been flogged with a flaming stick), if someone from The Watchers occasionally 'constructively bumped' the topic, that would hopefully encourage civil discussion to continue on its own, and drown out the noise of the fiftieth cry for the return of the ATV.
Sadly it didn't work. The Watchers were too small to manage New Mombasa.
This thread, however, has shown that Bungie.net has plenty who are willing to to help. There are loads who could take part in 'positive spamming', for want of a better expression. True, Halo provides a wealth of mysteries to explore, but I'm sure similar goals could also be achieved in the non-Halo forums.
Ignore the elephant sitting in your living room. It might not go away, but if you are distracting enough (and I mean really distracting to take eyes away from an elephant) people will pay attention to you instead, someone who has something interesting to say. If we force good stuff to rise to the top, the forums will eventually manage without stabilisers.
I realise it's very easy to say this. It's much more difficult to come up with interesting content, to make something that involves people, than to just talk the talk. I'm hardly the member to complain that people simply aren't interesting enough, but with the spirit going forward of making this a great community, (with plenty of Bungie interaction too!) it can be done!
I'm glad for this thread. It has shown me that the spirit is here in the community. (No disembodied soul jokes please.)
[Edited on 8/7/2006]