ChatterNet
From Halopedia, the Halo wiki
- "If you want privacy online, ChatterNet is a pretty good bet: not foolproof, but relatively difficult for the government to monitor"
- — Benjamin Giraud in 2558[2]
Chatters are a kind of human communications device created for the civilian market, with numerous variants manufactured by various corporations. They are small, portable (sometimes wristworn[3]) and relatively disposable devices that can be used for a variety of multimedia functions in a role similar to that of a personal computer.[1] Chatters are capable of communicating over a communications network called ChatterNet, which is able to serve as an alternative to the more tightly government-regulated Waypoint.[2]
Although predominantly civilian in nature, chatters are also used by emergency services and law enforcement agencies.[4][5]
Overview[edit]
Chatters came to prominence in human society towards the tail end of the 25th century, with an explosion of such devices entering the market manufactured by various companies for many different use cases, operating systems, and features[1] - largely replacing older phones to the point that by 2552, many younger people had little knowledge of what a payphone was.[6] Some chatters leant towards a simpler design with fewer features and others more experimental in nature and kitted with high-end features such as holographic displays, real-time language translation, enhanced medical models created by Optican for health tracking and analysis, and some (created by the Sydney Synthetic Intellect Institute) even storing personal AIs.[1]
Some companies make disposable chatters themed around cartoon characters, with one example created by Trevor intended to look like a plastic kitten. These cheaper and more disposable chatters were sold in convenience shops and sometimes marketed more toward refugees on Earth fleeing the Covenant glassing of their homeworlds, due to their inability to obtain a more legitimate device or service. They come pre-packaged with a limited amount of hours of use.[7]
In the city of Mombasa, the various districts of the old city still continue to publish directories of chatters under their old headings even despite their accumulation under the wider city.[8]
The mass use of chatters declined after the Created uprising in October 2558 thanks to the vast attenuation pulses of the Created Guardian Custodes making many such devices unusable. Although many chatters survived the attacks, their use as surveillance tools by the Created contributed to a decline in popularity, and antiquated "podnets" began to replace them.[1]
The popularity of Chatters in the late-25th century meant that they were present among a group of humans who were marooned on an abandoned world, Atropos, around the time of the 2490s. They continued to use their Chatters over the next half-century, and would later trade them (among other valuables) at the annual Festival of Joyous Partition conducted with the Governors of Contrition.[9]
ChatterNet[edit]
ChatterNet is an encrypted[10] communications network used by chatters that came into prominence around the turn of the 26th century. While it was commonly used in that era, it gradually declined in use over the 26th century, eventually coming to be seen as outdated by 2558.[11] The network is monitored and maintained by the Chatter Protocol Authority (CPA), a government agency paid for by citizens' taxes.[12]
Despite the net's encrypted nature, chatters can be used by hackers for "ghosting" - the act of spying on someone and listening to their private conversations via their chatter, or for stealing identities.[10] However, it is still generally considered a safer bet for anonymously browsing the Extra Planetary Wide Web, as its main alternative (Waypoint) is "wide open" for Office of Naval Intelligence surveillance.[2]
During the Human-Covenant War, refugees fleeing the Covenant and settling on Inner Colonies were required to have a government-issued identification number in order to sign up for a ChatterNet account.[4] Despite its relative obscurity, in 2558 ChatterNet saw an uptick in usage thanks to the rise in New Colonial Alliance propaganda and attacks against the UEG.[11]
Trivia[edit]
Throughout 2015, 343 Industries' Jeff Easterling would periodically post a thread on the Halo Waypoint forums called "CF: ChatterNet", where he would ask forum users various questions to be featured in Canon Fodder articles.[13]
The visual design of the Chatter (seen at the top of this page) was based on a Halo 2-themed skin for Windows Media Player (shown below).[14]
Gallery[edit]
The artwork for the Halo 2-themed Windows Media Player skin, upon which the Chatter device's design was based.
List of appearances[edit]
- i love bees (First appearance)
- Halo 3: ODST
- Hunt the Truth
- Halo: Fractures
- Into the Fire (Mentioned only)
- Halo: Point of Light (Mentioned only)
- Halo: Moonrise Over Mombasa
- Halo: Ascension on Atropos
- Halo: Fifth Canticle
Sources[edit]
- ^ a b c d e Halo Waypoint, Canon Fodder - Falcon Fiction Flight (Retrieved on Aug 6, 2025) [archive]
- ^ a b c HUNTtheTRUTH, season 1, episode Episode 04: Crossing the Black
- ^ Halo 3: ODST, Sadie's Story: Circle 5, Arc 3
- ^ a b i love bees, Axon Clips, Chapter 2: Kamal: "The Red Button"
- ^ i love bees, Axon Clips, Chapter 2: Jan: "Witness"
- ^ i love bees, Axon Clips, Chapter 4: Kamal: "Totally Legitimate Business"
- ^ i love bees, Axon Clips, Chapter 4: Rani: "The Recruitment"
- ^ Bungie.net, Halo 3 ODST : Field Guide - New Mombasa (Retrieved on May 25, 2013) [local archive] [external archive]
- ^ Halo: Ascension on Atropos
- ^ a b i love bees, Axon Clips, Chapter 1: Kamal: "The Arrangement"
- ^ a b HUNTtheTRUTH, season 1, episode Episode 09: Phantoms: "They're switching over to only using local ChatterNet services like it's fifty years ago or something." - Katrina
- ^ i love bees, Axon Clips, Chapter 1: Herzog: "I Had a Receipt"
- ^ Halo Waypoint Forums, CF: ChatterNet - That's Armor, 'Eh? (Retrieved on Nov 2, 2015) [archive]
- ^ The Skins Factory, WMP Design (Retrieved on Aug 6, 2025) [archive]
