Announcements

　　Mobile Games Channel We have another addition to the game channels to highlight mobile games content. You can now reach the mobile channel by clicking on the mobile or iphone tabs on every Gamespot.com webpage. You will also find gamespaces dedicated to mobile games [example] where GameSpot members can review mobile games, and a popular phone feature page worth checking out.

　　PC Giveaway

　　 The GameSpot Production crew have been sharing details about how U.S. residents have the opportunity to win a brand new computer and monitor. All you have to do is create a blog or user video explaining why you should get the computer. Drop by the Producer's Note blog for the details.

　　Brutal Legend Trivia & Marathon

　　Last Friday wehad an hour game play marathon for Brutal Legend. Tim Schafer and Erik Robson from Double fine dropped by to talk about the game. Also, if you participated in the trivia session, we have announced the winners in the Producer's Note blog.

　　Game Heroes Countdown

　　The Game Heroes competition ends this Thursday. You all have two more days to make a difference between Mario and Freeman!

　　TMNT Smash Up Game Night

　　Game Nights happen every Tuesday starting at 4:30pm PT. To participate, make sure you have a Nintendo Wii, an internet connection, and drop by the game night chatroom to play. Also, to make sure there is staff participation, please vote for the time you plan to show. If we don't get enough votes by tomorrow morning all Wii players are encouraged to drop by the chatroom to play a game of theirr choice.

　　Mod of the Month

　　Each month the moderators set aside time to vote for each other in hopes of being the next top moderator. This week's moderator of the month went to cell_dweller for his efforts in helping other GameSpot members, and the moderators. Additionally, if you would have voted for another moderator, each month the moderators allow GameSpot members to select other moderators for fun.

　　Member Spotlight: dtujd2

　　This week's member spotlight goes to dtujd2 for his blog about why gaming matters. His blog talks about the reasons why gaming should matter to everyone. One of the interesting points was the portion about not forgetting the elderly. Games can stimulate the brain much more than television shows can because it requires the player to be interactive! Let's flex those brains, peeps! Here is an excerpt:

　　…I feel gaming could introduce something to many of our senior citizens that goes missing from their lives all too often in their golden years: The feeling of being young, of being alive. Through gaming, our elderly can experience thrilling adventures, engrossing stories, and deep strategy that will challenge their mind, body, and spirit, but in a safe and productive way.

　　Randomness Teh Awesome

　　Blog Bunker

　　- Whitewolf725 and wolves1989 recently posted their experiences about meeting eac other in person. Check out their blogs to join in on the romantic discussion.

　　- The_Druggie writes about a variety of rage quit games, Shame on him!

　　- Bowlingotter was happy about the new GameSpot iPhone channel, and shares more iPhone game impressions.

　　- Tee-3 , the Battlefield Heroes game night MVP, shares his experience about a former game night.

　　- Tom McShea would like to give a big shout out to Cripshay for noticing a minor typo in one of the reviews. These two words do look quite similar: every and ever. Thanks for alerting us of this mistake, Cripshay!

　　- TheHotSpot emblem winners: rayjingstorm

　　- Halo 3 ODST Game Night MVP: WaterLord0

　　- Pakhair uploaded a hilarious video with a marching parade with 2 infants.

　　- Skipping this week's user review and user video mentions

　　Tip of the Week

　　This week's tip is about making sure your private messages do not consist of advertisements thanks to a question asked by leonard88.

　　We sometimes come across reports with users who are offended about a user contacting them through private messages. There are some occasions where the user did not know they were a part of a Union, and this can easily be avoided if the Union officers and leaders changed the way they contacted other Union members.

　　If you decide to use the telegram feature as a Union leader or officer, make sure you state that they are a part of your union or this private message is subject to be flagged by others for advertising, or simply harassing them. This often happens when there is a leadership change, or there are new union officers. The best way to get around this is to state the Union name in the telegram. .

　　Here is an example to consider.

　　Dear Zappers Union members,

　　We plan to have a game night dedicated to the best shooter game of all time. To join in stop by the Zappers union for more details!

　　Stating the union name and calling them a member will refresh a user's mind, or simply give a cranky user no way to report it as a valid abusive advertisement. Users who sign up for a Union should come to understand that they are signing up for any telegrams sent from these Unions.

　　Additionally, if you send someone a link outside GameSpot.com, be certain that they know them. If you send random users any websites outside GameSpot it might get flagged for advertising. The account sending the messages to many users are always subject to have the worst kind of penalties. Befriend people before sharing interesting things with them. .

　　Until next week!