: Again, I say: ASK THIS QUESTION ON A HALO FORUM, NOT A MARATHON FORUM!
Call me a cynic, but that kind of message probably isn't going to get the point across. It will just anger the poster into writing more drivel and smearing it around for all to see, and for the lessers to reply to. There are other metods that can be used in place of yelling with caps lock:
1. Actually Helping the Person Out. Giving them what they want is the easiest way to make them go away. (If this is no the case, go to #2) In the case of Max, I knew the answers to both his requests off the top of my head. Sure, it took more time them telling him to go somewhere else, but at least he has his answers and we don't have to expect an angry follow-up. Plus, the entire forum doesn't end up looking like A-holes because a few of us can't tolerate the seconds it takes to view an OT Halo post.
2. Use Manners. It's not a bad idea, and it doesn't cost anything. If you're going to post a response to a Halo post at all, you may as well be cordial. Like it or not, these people are fellow members of the Bungie fan community, which itself is something some people here consider to be very, very important. Hell, I'd rather deal with a poster like Max who obviously like Halo than the occasional bastard that comes through talking about how much it sucks. Next time a halo pst comes down that you don't know the answer to, post this (you can copy it for later use if you would like): "Poster, thanks for coming to our forum. While many of us are Halo fans, I think you will find a better and quicker answer to your question here: [insert HBO link]. This forum is about an earlier Bungie game series called Marathon. If you'd like to learn more about Marathon today or in the future, feel free to post again, we'll be here."
3. Do Nothing. You can always ignore the posts with "Halo" in the subject heading, I believe it is possible.
That said, I'm off to IHOP. Have had omellettes on the brain all damn day.
