Six year old group, 10th largest on Bungie.net, and a heck of a lot of history. In 2007 the group 'Owners of the Katana' was made as a place for those who had gotten the Katana in Halo 3. At the time of creation, the Katana was a coveted collectible that was very difficult to get since you needed all the achievements in the game. To get in this group, you had to show that you had it- whether by wearing it on your character (which we would see via your profile page on the website), or the Security Helmet, or by having all 1,000 GS. As time went on, the criteria changed. We evolved as the community did. Soon the criteria was changed to 'get 1000 GS in Halo 3 or have the Katana/Security Helmet' since the armor permutation became glitched in 2008. When ODST came out, we said if you had 1,000 GS there that was OK too, and the same with Reach. Over the years, OTK became a place of gathering not for people that had a Halo 3 armor permutation, but for people that achieved awesome things via achievements in Bungie Games [that we could see]. Every single member in the group has had their profile checked for this criteria, and every single member was accepted individually. I have little doubt I've personally looked at at least one thousand of them. But as we all know, with Halo: Reach being transferred away since Bungie and Microsoft divorced (they're still the bestest of friends of course), then Bnext coming in, nearly every private group died on this website. OTK weakened greatly in this dark time along with nearly all other groups. But that isn't the end of the group. No, that's just [i]an[/i] end (there are no beginnings or ends to the Wheel of Time, you see). I will be bringing back OTK with Destiny, and we will evolve with the times. The purpose of the group needs to evolve, and we will do so with Destiny- there will be criteria involving Destiny to join, and this will mean that every person in this group has something in common. OTK will again be a place to discuss games and things just like in the public forums, sure. So why bother? Because though many people probably don't remember it, Private Groups offer a smaller active community where people can grow much closer than what you will find in the public forums. Looking for people to brag about your accomplishments in games to that won't just blow you off? There you go. Looking for people to play with that can more easily be held accountable? There you go. Looking to show Bungie that Private Groups are a damned important thing and that we cannot wait for more updates to them? There you go. [quote][/quote] So here's the deal. I'm not actually accepting people in the group right now. The old criteria will never be removed- if your avatar has the Katana, Security Helm, or your profile is not set to private and I can see your achievements and you have over 1000GS in a Bungie Game, then you qualify already. So when Destiny comes out, you're set. For those of you already in, feel free to make some noise in the group- make a thread that has been on your mind- and prepare for the future. For those of you out of the group? ... The group membership limit was just raised to 50. There is no need to reserve a slot for a 10th anymore. So what I encourage you to do is to join the 70 other people in the member queue right now. Join them and... sit there. Turn on notifications for group announcements. And when the time draws closer... and I open the doors again when Destiny draws nearer? You meet those criteria, and you'll be welcomed in to be part of a brand new start of one of the oldest still-kicking groups. And you'll be among the first to usher in the new era. Cheers.