I remember that time OP, but not as a Halo fan because I just became one in January of this year.
I remember a time, somewhere in the early PS2 era, when online gaming really started to pick up on gaming consoles. A time when you were happy to have a 128KB DSL connection and never complained about a video "loading too slow". A time when you got online for the first time and people taught you how to play the game instead of just lashing out at you and telling you to leave.
I miss those days when I used to play Socom II online and we played as a team. A time where everybody used their headsets, got along, worked as a team, supported one another, and WON THE GAME because of it. Before it was about gloating about how many headshots, wins, and K/D ratio you have on your record. People played for fun and became friends. You went online and you knew who most people were in the game, not because of status but because you fought beside them in many games.
No factions, no competition, just an extremely fun experience.
I miss those days...