I rarely make Bnet birthday threads. In fact, I believe this is only my second one ever. But considering that I joined the website during a similar time (during the lead up to the release of a new game), I thought it appropriate to look back and reflect on 8 years of membership, a little over 6 of those years as a Forum Ninja. Apologies in advance for the WoT and blogginess of this post, but hey, it's me after all. Let me first say that 8 years on a website doesn't make me smarter, better, or wiser than anyone else. Many of the folks who frequent this particular forum have been here even longer than I have, and even some of the newer guys are just as, if not more, deeply rooted in the community and just as, if not more, capable of observing and talking about the community as I am. As a result, I'm not going to talk about the community or what I think needs to be improved. Separate threads can be created for that stuff, and I can throw my opinions in there. Instead, I want to take this opportunity to walk down memory lane. So much of my life over the past 8 years has involved this site and this community, and I'm hoping that by indulging in a little bit of nostalgia, those of you who have been here for a long time will remember some of your experiences, and those of you who are newer will gain an appreciation for what this community can be, beyond a place to just talk about games and entertain yourself. When I first encountered Bungie.net in 2002 or 2003, it was in its infancy. I mostly came here to read news posts about the upcoming launch of Halo 2, as I had quickly become a rabid Halo: CE fan in the early days of Xbox. But 2003 was also the year I began law school, and despite gaming being my favorite hobby, the infamous "1L" year of law school kept me so busy that creating an account and engaging in the forums never even crossed my mind. In fact, despite purchasing Halo 2 on launch day, [url=http://halo.bungie.net/stats/playerstatshalo2.aspx?player=FoMan123&ctl00_mainContent_bnetpgl_recentgamesChangePage=129]playing thousands and thousands of games of it[/url], and lurking here to check my stats and read about other players' experiences in the forums during all of that time, it did not cross my mind to actually create an account until several years later. Fast forward to the summer of 2006, and I had just graduated from law school. I was sitting in various coffee shops all over the Washington DC area studying for the bar exam. Sure, studying for 5 or 6 hours a day sounds like a lot, but when that's all you're doing (my law firm job wouldn't start until fall, after I had taken the bar exam), that leaves you with hours and hours of free time every day. Halo 3 had recently been announced, and to fill my free time, I came back to Bungie.net to read the forums. Then, one day, I decided I wanted to respond to a thread, and went to create an account that matched my gamertag, "Foman123," only to discover that at some point, I had already created that account. I couldn't remember what email I had used to make that account, so I just made a new account using the infamous "x"s ("x Foman123 x"), for which I still get made fun of to this day. :-) As many of you know already, I've been really active on this site for pretty much the whole time I've had an account. And 8 years of activity is time to build up a lot of friends, memories, and experiences. It's also enough to change your life. I went from being a corporate litigator for a Washington DC law firm, defending banks and airlines in some of the most boring cases imaginable, to moving out to Seattle, working in the high-tech and gaming industry, and hanging out with tech geeks and game developers. Instead of wearing a suit to work and frantically trying to bill enough hours to keep my job, now I wear jeans and talk to nerds like me about the legal issues surrounding exciting new technologies that are going to make gaming even more awesome and, sometimes, even change the world. And I attribute a lot of this positive change to this community. I wanted to just quickly tell a few tales from some of the most profound memories that stick out in my head over the last 8 years; some of which have had real effects on me -- whether directly or indirectly -- not just here on this website, but in my personal life as well: * [url=http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20070619222419/bungie/images/f/fb/AR_Warning.JPG]My first private message from AdjutantReflex[/url], arising from the [url=http://bungie.wikia.com/wiki/AdjutantReflex]Iris VMC/ARG[/url]. Just about had a heart attack when I saw that in my inbox. * The early days of [url=http://bungie.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page]Bungiepedia[/url]. Building a wiki from scratch was no small task, and I learned so much about the intricacies of building a comprehensive website -- and especially how much I still don't know about it! * Playing in the [url=http://halo.wikia.com/wiki/Halo_3_Beta]Halo 3 Friends and Family Beta[/url]. It was an amazing experience, one that I still talk about. Running into Bungie employees and well-known community personalities every single game was singularly awesome, and Valhalla was glorious! * [url=http://halo.bungie.net/Forums/posts.aspx?postID=18311139]The welcome from the community when I became a Forum Ninja[/url]. * The day in June, 2008 that I received a private message from a young, talented artist asking if would mind checking out his Halo 3 fileshare screenshot. When I clicked on the link, my jaw hit the floor when I saw the shockingly beautiful [url=http://halo.bungie.net/Online/Halo3UserContentDetails.aspx?h3fileid=39160055]"Gargoyle."[/url] It didn't take a genius to realize that this was gonna be big, and I immediately knew that this was something that needed to be shared. So I rapidly sent a private message to Stosh strongly urging him (in fact I might have commanded him!) to look at the picture. He did, and with the publicity Bungie helped to give it, "Gargoyle" would eventually go on to become the most downloaded Halo 3 file share art of all time (and the second most-downloaded file share of all time), with over 7 million downloads. The artist, of course, was [url=http://www.bungie.net/7_predator5791/en/view/profile/index#!page=index&mid=96595]Predator5791[/url], who would go on to become a Forum Ninja and whom I would have the pleasure of meeting in person eventually at PAX. * [url=http://s315.photobucket.com/user/Foman123/library/PAX%2008?sort=3&page=1]PAX 2008[/url], back when there was only one "PAX" (not "PAX Prime") and when badges didn't even sell out at all, much less in minutes and you could just hang out and chat with game developers about whatever. My first PAX (I've gone every year since), my first time seeing Seattle in all its summer glory, my first time meeting community members and Bungie folks in person, and the point at which I decided I must move here eventually. * [url=http://halo.bungie.net/Forums/posts.aspx?postID=41663774&postRepeater1-p=1]The passing of BerserkerBarage[/url]. It was the first time since I had joined the Bungie.net community that we experienced the sudden death of a prominent member (though we've lost others in the past), and sadly it was a guy that I knew well, had met in person, respected enormously, and really liked. Declining the invitation to his wedding because of work remains one of my big regrets, and is a mistake I'll never make with any friend ever again. * [url=http://s315.photobucket.com/user/Foman123/library/PAX%2009?sort=3&page=1]PAX 2009[/url], when I met a talented artist who went by "[url=http://www.bungie.net/7_halcylon/en/view/profile/index#!page=index&mid=6653]Halcylon[/url]," who was making a name for himself with killer fan art and website design for [url]http://hawtymcbloggy.com/[/url], and PAX 2010, when I met a burgeoning clan leader by the name of XerxdeeJ at an event at Bungie's brand sparkling new Bellevue offices. Several years later, they would both be hired at Bungie -- and I would move to the Pacific NW soon after, sparking IRL friendships that never would have happened without Bungie, its focus on community, and Bungie.net. So if there's any "lesson" I've learned in the past 8 years, I guess that it is the following: this site and community are what you make of them, but they can literally change your life for the better. I know lots of you out there are passionate about gaming and game development, but you are uneasy about fully participating in this community. As a result, some of you are lurking, reading this right now, but have never posted in the forums. Some of you have an alter-ego that you mostly use for alt accounts, trolling, and shock-posting. Some of you are friendly enough here but have an online-only life that is wholly separate from real life. But even if you don't fully participate in the "community" part of things, all of you are here because you love gaming. And many of you are perfectly happy with your life, and that's awesome. But for those of you who might fall into these categories, and find yourselves dreaming at night about working in the gaming industry or making gaming a bigger part of your livelihood or career (rather than just something your parents or significant others yell at you about doing too much of), I'd urge you to get more involved, make some new memories and have some new experiences like the ones I've had. You might just find it leading to the career, friends, and/or life that you've been imagining :-)