So, fair warning: I've got a lot in my mind on this topic, but more so ones related to it. Because I don't think I'm going to find the "right" time to dump this manifestation of thought elsewhere, it's going here. All of it. I apologize in advance if this is really scatter-brained and doesn't exactly flow from point to point. I'm going to clean it up as best I can, so everyone can understand it at the very least. My intention isn't to make myself a martyr, but I feel the need to say some things that need to be said, and I know I'm going to draw some flak for that. The tone of this post isn't at all supposed to come off as condescending or attacking. I'm just throwing out a perspective. Take a deep breath, everything is going to be alright. Also: I point out a lot of stuff with seemingly no explanation as to how to fix it. I'm throwing what I see out there as a means for others to tackle it, think about it, add to it. I finally have had some free time out of my schedule to come up with this much, and I'm going to need awhile for any more. Sorry 'erbody. [quote]How do we, as the community, need to take the initiative to ensure that the community as a whole is steered in the right direction? [/quote] Step one: Drop everything to do about trying to "make it the way things were." It's gone, it's never coming back. Ever. The magic and everything that was the old bnet left with the site change. Earlier actually, but that's rhetorical. Segue #1: What this all comes down to is the difference in the titles. Everything that was b-old was because of Halo, and the game it was. It catered to the largest variety of counsel gamers I've ever seen. This was because of all the play styles, from casual to pro, that it was host to. Social, ranked, custom, and forge. It didn't matter what you wanted to do, the game had it. The community grew around what the game had. Sadly, right now, that's what Destiny is lacking in. There is absolutely no ability for players to use the game itself as a creative outlet. (Yes, there is some, but I'm comparing this to Halo to give you an idea. So there's zero.) There is zero benefit to being a highly skilled player unless third party leaderboards and stats are your thing. That old group of community members and players are gone because those parts of the game are missing from Destiny. What was, is dead. The sooner everyone here starts working toward something "new" collectively, and stops trying to "bring back what was" we will see a shift in the direction we need to go. I'm not at all pointing the finger at any one person, or group of people. This is a nameless thing. Something that I was totally about (the whole let's make it what it used to be thing) until recently when I saw it was a part of the problem. Realize this: You, me, and all the other people who don't suck (jk, but really) were there for that awesome time. As a matter of fact, it's what has me, you, and many others like us still here to this day. Bring those memories with you. Bring that experience of that [b]era[/b] with you and use it as a model to build something completely new, here. New game. New site. Lots of new members. What's going to be the community, is going to be new also. So let's all start moving in the right direction. [quote]How could Bungie reasonably support us?[/quote] As stated above (and I'll defend it to the death) the reason we don't have the same kind of community we used to is the difference in the games. Destiny doesn't support that same kind of creative output and community interaction that Halo did. Sure, these changes are hard to bring about and this is a different discussion entirely, but at the very least, Destiny needs to have custom games and bigger party sizes. We need a game that supports the type of community sought after. You need to build something in a fashion of "If you build it, they will come." Well, they built it, and look what they have to show. This is a tough thing to do. How do you make this happen? I'm not entirely sure, but you start by being heard. However, let's not forget that Bungie's support extends further than the game itself. It's also here, on this website. A part of the issue is that there has been very, very little input taken from the community about the site itself in comparison to the game. Is that obviously going to happen? Yes, the game comes first. But the level of appeasement toward the game verses bnet is ludicrous. If there was half as much attention paid to people on the forums giving feedback about the forums, in relation to those giving feedback about the game, we'd have had titles back by now. Keep stressing what changes we need on this site. Vocalize that to the right people, the right audience, so it can change. This is all about discussion on group features, site features, and the like. What do you want done to this site to make it more enjoyable for us? We need to get a big list of that together, somewhere, and get it to where it needs to go to make a difference. Yeah, that's super vague, but everyone should be on the same page for that. We've got a big group of people who are mentors, ninjas, or forum personalities that are more than capable of building a following for stuff like this. "Use ya powahs!" Segue #2: This new community manager seems promising enough. Might be worth it to try and lure him here to listen to what we have to say. So, that's about all I have for now. I've got more to add, but I'm mentally stretched for now. Things like titles, mentors, ninjas, and the like are something I want to post about too, eventually. I'll either add to this post, or keep everyone in the loop about where I drop the next piece.