Honestly fuck this fool. Not naming any names, but there is a fair amount of the halo dev community who is baffled at the free passes he gets. Everyone else respects 343 and their employees, but the guy who doesn't seem to learn after blackmailing them, stealing their dev builds, dropping the n-word, urging youtubers to post videos that 343 requested they not, seems to reap the rewards.
I may sound jealous, but honestly 343's emphasis on community unity over community values tends to be pretty gross. It was great when they blacklisted Actman for his behavior, and it's unfortunate that was where it stopped. It's the reason I have no interest in working there anymore and why I feel empowered to speak my mind on twitter and other platforms. What's super dumb is their blackballing of actman and the community isolating him genuinely made him self reflect and he gave me an in person heartfelt apology for his behavior.
Yet when people rear this ugly heads and start complaining about things like the Gillette ad, PDP not being as bad as the people who complain about him, reveal themselves as pro gamer gate, you know they'll get a free pass. Most of the vocal halo community tends to be pretty conservative, so I understand they would basically be going to war with their community, but it's still pretty shitty situation. I honestly don't know what they can do.
Having actually gone to community meetups at PAX since 2014, these people are definitely in the minority and there are so so so many Halo community members who are tolerant, warm, welcoming and have a very clear moral code. And even some of the people with shitty opinions can be pretty friendly, respectful and genuinely nice to others. But most people in the community don't want to make waves. And when they do, they see the consequences of it. Both LNG and myself have been pretty heavily harassed in the past, with Late Night Gaming's girlfriend receiving rape threats and the like a number of years ago. Personally, I don't care about the harassment as being the most popular guy has never been something I particularly care about. I've got my own community built around my project where we have strict rules and moderation regarding what is acceptable and not. But there certainly is a ripple effect that happens from the few bad eggs.
Also LOL
Edit: I am sure this post will make the rounds, but I want to add for anyone reading it who has invited me to events, gotten me more involved in the community, introduced me to 343 peeps or are from 343 who have befriended me, please know that none of you are of the ones I am describing here, and I can not be thankful enough for the opportunities and expierence you have offered me.