Halopedia:Bungie Weekly Update 02-18-05

This is the Bungie Weekly Update for February 18, 2005, written by Frank O'Connor.

Bungie Update
Every week we try our best to answer the most urgent community questions. This week's is pitifully short, but for a fairly interesting reason. Please direct all hate mail to your local congressman.

Angry mob asks,

Why is the Weekly What's Update so short this week?

Shut up is why. Also, we're working like mad on cheat fixes and downloadable content stuff. Seriously. I'm about to go into hiding.

Most people in America asked,

Any news on what you guys are doing about cheating?

Yes. I can tell you that our technical fixes for cheating are nearing completion but this stuff takes time. They have been tested and will soon be sent for further testing in a more technical environment. When that process is complete, the changes and improvements will be implemented. And we think you'll be pleased with the results. Some of the changes are subtle, some dramatic and one or two may even be a surprise. Caveat: This has nothing to do with downloadable content. This stuff is still weeks rather than days out, but it sure ain't months.

Everyone else asked,

What about downloadable content then?

Downloadable content continues to be a priority for Bungie. Like the cheat fixes, our teams are hard at work on some very cool stuff. I can also tell you that our downloadable content plan is pretty epic, probably very surprising to a lot of folks and we think we have a plan for new maps that's going to make everyone happy. Remember my "trench" tease from ages ago? Try this: "aqueduct."

Uncle asks,

What does a forum moderator actually do?

It's the job of the moderator to keep the peace on the Bungie.Net forums. Bungie makes it possible for them to do this by giving them the ability to move posts, lock them so they can't be replied to, delete them if they're really bad, and even give problem users a timeout from the forums.

Moderators are chosen by Bungie. Bungie chooses members of the community they trust to watch over their forums and represent the Bungie Way. The existing moderators are able, though, to make suggestions to Bungie about who might make an ideal moderator.

The current forum ninjas [Ed. note. I changed Shishka's correct use of Ninja to plural "Ninjas" because it is more ultimate and hardcore] are:


 * Stosh (Master Forum Ninja)
 * Shishka (Master Forum Ninja)
 * Yoozel
 * Sigma
 * MakaVeli4Life1
 * Goweb
 * Reiginko
 * Recon Number 54
 * chris547

Callmealf asks,

''What kind of things do moderators ban us for? I got banned.''

Good question. Due to the ridiculously high volume of posts on the Bungie.Net forums, you may find that the Bungie.Net moderators are more strict than the moderators on other forums. A lot of the things you might be able to get away with at other sites won't fly here.

Your safest bet is, before you post, to read the Terms of Use, the Code of Conduct, and the forum rules to get a good idea of what can be a problem. Also, keep in mind that different infractions receive different reprimands. A petition will just get locked, for example, but commentary about how you feel about the current American president or a prime minister's foreign policy will get you blacklisted. A little flaming might get you reprimanded, but if all you ever do is hurl insults and act like a jerk, that's a blacklisting waiting to happen. Calling people "noob" or any variation of the word and dodging the curse word filters (they're there for a reason, you know) will get you blacklisted immediately.

Keep in mind that blacklisting does more than simply keep you from posting the forums. A blacklisted user is also unable to view their stats until the term of their blacklisted has ended. Keep this in consideration before you call that guy asking about the yellow warthog a "retrted -blam!-ing n00b."

If ever you see a user causing trouble, or giving people grief, and a moderator doesn't seem on hand to respond immediately to them, feel free to message them. Don't worry about whether or not our inboxes are being filled by other people reporting the guy. We'd rather have 10 pms each that help us locate a guy and deal with him rather than not hear anything and have some jerk run rampant. Be sure to include the username and the URL of the post in question.

Lastly, be sure to use common sense. Some rules shouldn't even need to be mentioned.

A wiseacre asks,

Do you think the update will be useless as usual, and what kind of shoes does Shishka wear?

It is what it is. We just can't answer all the questions we'd like to right now. Airwalks.

Mike asks,

''Do people ever abuse you when you're playing on Live or are they too scared in case you ban them? And could you get someone banned instantly?''

Of course. I suffer the same type of abuse that everyone else does, including corpse humping, cursing and worse. Lots of folks have no idea who I am - most people in fact, and others couldn't care less. A few even get more aggro because of it. And sure, I could get folks banned instantly but I won't unless they do something colossally stupid like threaten to kill somebody or something. I have kind of a potty mouth myself, so I understand the occasional curse. My pet peeves are racism, and people who talk smack when they're losing.

And finally, Pedro asked what my favorite all time Mister Chief was. I'd have to go with this one: