Talk:Activation index

How it works

I suggest that we should include the information found in the Library article about the cloned DNA sequences, and how the Index contains all that information necessary for targeting all things with those sequences. -J.f 4 September 10:38

Why did Tartarus make Miranda Keys insert the index into the control room panel when he could just do it himself? Are only humans allowed to do it? jacket023 07:44, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

Yes, only Reclaimers can preform that specific task, and it seems like Reclaimers = Humans. --Dragonclaws^(talk) 09:24, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

or possibly the index has a failsafe in it where upon being touched for the first time it accepts DNA from the reclaimer and then only that reclaimer can use the index, similar to the technology used in a "law-giver" sidearm shown in Judge Dread. -Ergna-

Where in the level Halo do we find out that the index can activate any halo except the one it is found on? Besides if that was so, then it would have been impossible to activate Installation 04 and 05? --Bravo Kilo 04:49, 27 October 2007 (UTC)

~ Where it says that it's "made of an advanced material," and that's why it can be stored in a network as information? Uh...I would think that it can be stored in a network because the Index itself is entirely information. The little handheld key is just the Halo version of a USB dongle that can carry all that information from place to place securely.

So the Index is programmed with the DNA of potential targets so that the Halos will know what to target? I wonder what would happen if you replace the human DNA segment with that of a Flood super cell?--Amitakartok 15:56, 27 May 2009 (UTC)

From The Index to Index

This article's headline has two major errors, both about the "The". First off, there are seven indexes, and no reason to use singularis. Secondly this is the only article with the in it's title. Not even ark use the. Please dispose "The".

It has always been referred to as The Index. We use proper names, which is what that apparently is. -ED 22:07, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

Main Image

Shouldn't the main intro image be the one from Halo 3, not the one from Halo 2? I always thought we use the latest and newest images rather than any of the old ones. This latest change made as of recently confuses me. So, why this change? --Xamikaze330 15:39, 2 February 2012 (EST)Xamikaze330

The rules are more flexible than that. The latest image of the Index in its actual, physical form is from Halo 2. The Halo 3 version is merely its holographic representation. That, and the current main image looks better than the Halo 3 one, because the accuracy (and visual appeal) of the latter suffers from having been taken against a black background, resulting in the hologram's transparency not being as apparent as it should be. When the rest of the image is transparent and the Index itself has a black background, it may lead to the misconception that it's the actual color of the hologram. Meanwhile, this image doesn't give that false impression, since the rest of the background is black as well. Because the cropped image has no background, the Index's transparency should be similarly relative to the background as it is in its original environment; see this or this image for examples of transparency in PNGs. --Jugus (Talk | Contribs) 16:00, 2 February 2012 (EST)

Technically, we should be using the one from Anniversary. (or so it says in the sacred caves) 16:03, 2 February 2012 (EST)!

If that were remotely possible, if HCEA had Pan Cam and Theater mode. Damn, I really miss Theater mode with that game. Not like it matters. I thought I read that we were supposed to be using the latest and newest image, in this case, the Activation Index from Halo 3. --Xamikaze330 17:05, 2 February 2012 (EST)Xamikaze330

See it this way: we saw two objects in Halo: CE and Halo 2. The index itself and the holographic representation of the index. Before Halo 3 was released, both object should be using the Halo 2's appearance as the main image. In Halo 3, only the holographic representation of the index was seen (and not the actual index). So, technically, the latest appearance of the actual index was seen in Halo 2. Or, like "the sacred cave" said, use Halo: CE Anniversary's. —S331 _{(COM • Mission Log • Profile)} 20:12, 2 February 2012 (EST)

I would use Anniversary's version, graphics are just better.--Spartacus ^{Talk • Contribs}

On second thought, we shouldn't be using Anniversary's graphics because it is consider a less recent version. This is like the Brute Minor and John-117 main images. As far as I understood, we use pictures not because they are "pretty, HD, better graphics", but because they are the most recent in the timeline. So if 343i made a game called "Halo: Harvest" and the game takes place during the earlier times of the Human-Covenant War, and there's an MA37, we will still use the image from Reach. Halopedia is kind of like a document made by ONI, recording everything in Halo. "Latest sighting: 2552 November on Delta Halo, by Miranda Keyes" and not "Latest sighting: 2552 October on Alpha Halo, by John-117". I'm referring to the actual activation index. —S331 _{(COM • Mission Log • Profile)} 21:21, 2 February 2012 (EST)

There, ("Halopedia is kind of like a document made by ONI, recording everything in Halo.") a precedent for current and future issues concerning versions of images! Also consider that if they looks the same (visually/aesthetically), then pick the prettiest one (such case being the image of Emile-A239). — subtank 21:38, 2 February 2012 (EST)

^Yes, that is a good standard! Perhaps we should add it in some form to the Layout Guide, or the Manual of Style? There's a few standards like "main article image should be a closeup" or this one, "use the model most recent in the timeline" that could get added. Tuckerscreator^(stalk) 23:21, 2 February 2012 (EST)

It would be good to add this to the Manual of Style. I've seen edit wars in the past involving the changing of article image.--Spartacus ^{Talk • Contribs}

While using the image that appears most recently in the timeline is a good general guideline when it comes to things like the Brute armors, I don't think it should be as rigid as to apply in every possible instance and be an end in itself. Like Subtank said, the image quality and presentability are also factors to be considered, so if the image that is technically latest in the timeline is of significantly lower quality than another one that chronologically precedes it, then I believe an exception can be made. There's also the fact that this only applies to things that have changed, in a canonical sense, between their appearances. For instance, canonically, the appearance of the Index has stayed unchanged since it was made, so a few months' difference in the timeline doesn't matter at all. Therefore we might as well use the version that is the most visually pleasing. If someone had a good image of the Index from Anniversary (i.e. higher resolution than the one from Halo 2), then I don't see any reason not to use it.

I should also add that background transparency shouldn't be an end in itself, particularly if the transparency compromises the presentability of the image. Like I said before, this image better represents the holographic Index than this one, because the latter is removed from its original context (partially transparent item against a black background). If a cropped image doesn't retain the traits of the original, in this case, the transparency of the Index, then it can be considered to be of lower quality, which eliminates the point of cropping out the background in the first place. --Jugus (Talk | Contribs) 01:24, 3 February 2012 (EST)

It doesn't have always be as exact as "always most canonically recent". Concessions should be made for things like artistic license and noticeably higher resolution. As for this page, the Halo 2 image is depicting the physical Index, whether as in the Halo 3 one Cortana is merely presenting a holographic representation. The quality doesn't look noticeably lower on the H2 image, if anything, it's worse on the cropped H3 one, where you can visibly see the pixels. Tuckerscreator^(stalk) 02:27, 3 February 2012 (EST)