New Chapters Approved
New Chapters Approved
Looks like we had a backlog of new chapter submissions. Sorry about that. I've just gone through them all and approved a ton, if you had one waiting go check it out.
HBO Interview Database
HBO Interview Database
Halo.bungie.org has added a database of all
Halo Interviews. I was surprised to find my old HaloPlayers interview on there, from way back when we thought Halo would have Internet access. Jeez, things do change! Anyway, it's a great resource, be sure to check it out.
New Feature: Game Reviews
New Feature: Game Reviews
UpdateThank Cpt_Canuck for this idea, it was his suggestion.
I've forgotten who suggested this, but it seemed a fine idea so I went ahead and created a Game Review database type for chapters. Use it to post reviews and have members rate console games, PC games, board games, drinking games, whatever!
Extreme Close-ups & More...
Extreme Close-ups & More...
This week on Tru7h & Reconciliation, we thought we'd try something new for our screenshot section:
Extreme Close-ups. Some are easy to figure out, others may take a bit more work. We'll leave that up to you. ;o) Also we've added a new section--by request we've created a
Desktop Section for customizing your PCs with all kinds of Halo goodness. This week, halo logo art, including the elusive gamestock splash screen.
Seventh Column Motto Revealed
Seventh Column Motto Revealed
Total Codex just reminded me that I never announced the official choice for the Seventh Column motto. Whoops. The official motto (currently being worked into a pretty friggin' cool shirt design) is
"Tru7h. Carnage. Bungie."
New Feature: Site Change Log
New Feature: Site Change Log
It's a little odd to post news about every minor bug fix or change to the site to the top level on this site, so we've created a new home for these posts over on the left, beneath the poll. If you're looking for up to date news on known bugs or bug fixes or even minor feature additions for Bungie.net or your Seventh Column chapter sites then this is the place to go.
News Posting Having Issues
News Posting Having Issues
Update: The problem has been resolved. Your news posting results should display properly now. I also fixed a small issue with the activity log not recording everything it was supposed to, so you can see more info now.
Some of you may have noticed that when you attempt to post a new news story that instead of seeing the "success" message, you see a page header and nothing else. I am aware of the problem and am working to correct it. Your news still is getting posted, so don't just blindly hit "reload", you'll end up double posting.
More Formatting Shortcuts
More Formatting Shortcuts
You now have the following shortcuts available for formatting text on this site: B for bold, I for italic, TT for teletype, and LI for list items. Even better,
you can now name links! That's right, just add a name attribute to your links and you'll end up with something
like this. You'll see updated instructions for all of this when you make a post. Enjoy!
Marius Net Interviewed
Read Full Top Story
Messaging Not Quite Working
Messaging Not Quite Working
Update: Messaging is fixed. Move along.
Messaging is messed up again (you'll see a db error when you try to send), though fortunately emailing messages still works. Achronos says he knows what the problem is and is fixing it.
Bungie.org Halo Race
Bungie.org Halo Race
Bungie.org's Halo site is hosting a contest called the Maw 700 (
http://halo.bungie.org/misc/maw700/). The goal is to drive the gauntlet on The Maw in the shortest time. Head on over for details.
First Halo Comic
First Halo Comic
Tang, founder of Slacker Pimps (
/fanclub/571), sent us a great new feature, this Halo comic:
/images/site/halo/comics/tang_2-28.jpg Check this out and let us know what you think... if you like it enough maybe we can convince him to make it a regular feature.
Group Activity Logs
Group Activity Logs
I've taken a few users' requests and made the group activity logs (previously only a staff tool) accessible to all group members. The activity log is an easy way to check up on what's new in your group, especially in your databases. The link can be found when you're visiting one of your chapters, in the left hand navigation bar, below Members.
No More Double Spacing
No More Double Spacing
Achronos forgot to mention another little fix he implemented while adding in yesterday's formatting shortcuts. You no longer have to put two blank lines between paragraphs in the site's forms to create a paragraph break, only one. Might seem insignificant, but if you've used the site much you know this is a blessing.
Marathon Infinity Netmap Poll
Marathon Infinity Netmap Poll
We've updated the Marathon Infinity favorite netmap poll with the remaining contenders, but we've also carried over the winners from the original poll, Duality and Route 66. Go vote!
Ask and You Shall Receive
Ask and You Shall Receive
FrogBlast noticed a new theme yesterday--Soffish. Though we'd accidentally posted the old version of this theme, his detective work convinced us to finish the new one. Now the water stuff item theme you've always wanted is finally here! Careful, transparent resin may leak out.
New Formatting Shortcuts
New Formatting Shortcuts
I just added a little feature for those of you who post news frequently. Now, instead of using [ bold ] you can use [ b ] (no spaces). Same goes for the italics and the teletype tags.
DoubleTree Number Correction
DoubleTree Number Correction
A big warm thanks to crbuke who pointed out that the number listed for the DoubleTree in our E3 story was incorrect. The correct number is (310) 395-3332.
Changing Email Bug Fix
Changing Email Bug Fix
Whoops. Both of our gremlins, Chucky and Cpt_Canuck, pointed out that they were unable to change their email address since the code update. The problem has now been fixed. (Make sure your address is up to date before enabling the email feature!)
Wir haben Halo Zeite Updatschen
Wir haben Halo Zeite Updatschen
Pardonez moi, but if you've never been to a foreign film festival, now's your chance! Today on Tru7th & Reconciliation, we've added a "foreign films" section to the gallery. While our European friends await the release of Halo, you can find out how to say, "a dozen superior Covenant battleships" in French, and use it to woo women.
While you're here, take a look at the grand Finale of Halo (Cutscene x70b) in our latest installment of the storyboards section.
Audieu!
New Communication Tools
New Communication Tools
Today marks the first significant feature update since themes: email integration. You can now choose to have the server notify you by email when you have messages and when news is posted to your chapters. This update also includes the following additional features:
- You can now receive messages and news from your chapters via email
- User profile pages now display location info, home page, and instant messenger contact info
- You can now choose to display your email address in your user profile (it's hidden by default)
There are several security features built in to the email notification system to ensure it isn't abused. First, you must verify that you actually own the email address before the feature is enabled. Second, your email address is hidden from the sender field. (Thus, if you send someone a message or post news the notification people receive will show the sender's email address as the Bungie server's, not yours.) Third, you now have a personal blacklist, which you can use to block messages and email from specific users.
Anyway, lots of you requested this feature, we hope you like it! Head to the Your Settings page (
/site/0/user_settings/) to adjust your account's options
Bungie.net offline at 2pm PST
Bungie.net offline at 2pm PST
The bungie.net websites will be taken offline at around 2pm Pacific time for a large code update. Downtime should be no more than 1 hour, probably less. After the update, we'll have some new community features for you. More on that later.
MythForums.com Site
MythForums.com Site
I just noticed an interesting site I hadn't seen before,
http://www.mythforums.com. This site is providing a service to those without their own web tools, a mission dear to our hearts. If you have a Myth-playing Seventh Column chapter you may want to consider getting a forum for your chapter hosted at their site, since we don't have them here (yet!).
7th Column Week in Review
7th Column Week in Review
Another week, another review. Speaking of reviews, we have some
new database types for you that allows you to set up lists of movies and books and rate them. As for the 7th Column, well, I'll assume that your lack of mail to
[email protected] means that everyone is hard at work planning how to dominate at the upcoming E3 tournament. Don't forget to sign your chapter up at
/perlbin/blam.pl?file=/news/stories/bungie_party_at_e3.html! In other news:
- The Mob of Angry Peasants (/fanclub/415), is seeking members, and wants to advertise their upcoming events. They mention that "The Mob really likes media attention. It's the media that really gets things done in politics, and The Mob is aware of this. This is why The Mob is drawing attention to its upcoming Bureaucratic Upheaval. Everyone is emplored to assist in this upheaving of the bureaucracy." Uh, yeah... Moving on...
- Tigaj, founder of the Tigajim Assassins (/fanclub/800), is looking for Halo players in the vicinity of Greeley, CO.
- The Crocodile Bungie chapter (/fanclub/26) is having a LAN party in South Australia on the 23rd... uh, that would be today in the USA. Sorry about that guys. But if you're in Australia, check these guys out, Halo is coming there too!
And so ends another week, and my first time writing the review. Be sure to send us your postings for the week in review to
[email protected]. Also, check back early next week for some new features for every user that 90% of you wanted. In related news, 75% of all statistics are fake.
Two New Databases!
Two New Databases!
I've ducked the "no new feature additions on Friday afternoon" censors and created two new database types, Movie Reviews and Reading List. Even better, both are hooked in to the poll system, so chapter members can rate books and movies. Enjoy!