I want you all to take what I am about to say to heart.
We are a community, a community thrives from its members, the members thrive off of each other. When there is disagreement members tend to not flow and "mesh" well with another. We need to understand that we are all going to have a different opinion on things and we need to accept the fact that: It is okay. We may find some who share our same values, hobbies, or likes... so we tend to "migrate" to that group of people. We begin starting these little forum "cliques" where we protect one another if someone is disagreeing with what the "group" thinks or believes.
Something I would love to see in this forum is Character. This forum has the potential to have amazing Character, but yet it still falls short because we get too focused on the little things that another member does. I remember in the shoutbox reading as Headhunter/superintendant/whatever else he was called, would always reference Xbox.com... "have a problem? go to xbox.com " he would say... it would make everyone chuckle, Absolute Dog would be in the shoutbox and randomly change someones name and they would go crazy because it was unexpected. But at the end of the day they would all laugh about it. I remember when there was a thread dedicated to Spectral Jester filled with Spectral Jester jokes (people turned them into Chuck Norris jokes), then someone created a thread for Absolute Dog and for Twam.. they would always be in competition but would always get along and be friendly. We could go into a conversation in the Halo section, and whether someone created a duplicate topic the members would still be there for that person and say "Hey, here is the answer etc." and fully take the time to explain it instead of saying things like "There is already a topic like this >insert link here<". I remember people literally in awe of Twinreaper as he earned his "Tech Guru" title, he would go into a topic and give this huge explanation on how things worked.. it was truly incredible. As the forum has grown we have experienced some changes, we have had leadership leave and return, and members of great character leave.
What has happened? Every time we turn around there is an argument and a disagreement and "someone saying something mean to someone", or "someone is no longer friends with someone", or "so and so didn't agree with me", or "this person doesn't like Halo 4 because of etc." What has happened? The character of the forum went from a "It's about the community" character, to an "It's all about me" character.
Am I pointing my finger at a certain person? No. Am I pointing my finger at a certain group? No. I am pointing the finger at us. We the community are ALL at fault here and need to find the Character that we once were known for as "The greatest Halo Community on the internet".
Memories. Great memories. I joined this site and didn't even realize that my OP rhymed until a member brought it to my attention. Selfless, honest, friendly, and willing. Be that kind of member. The kind of member that is willing to take the time to explain something to a new member instead of pointing them in a different direction. We are ALL guilty of it, even me, but I want to see a change of character for the BETTER in this community... and it all starts with YOU.
-Total Mayh3m