Yeah. it's just internet whining. It's because none of what Halo Reach did affected existing canon - at best it was a minor footnote, like Halo ODST.
Probably some whining was involved because there was an interview with someone at Bungie I think that said they'd break canon to deliver a better game experience, and it just got amplified by the internet into how Halo Reach was good because they broke canon.
Everyone else who likes Halo didn't mind it - it was one of the best sendoffs you could do as the progenitor of Halo. (I still remember rumors of the Halo project long before it was actually demonstrated at MacWorld 1999...)
Probably some whining was involved because there was an interview with someone at Bungie I think that said they'd break canon to deliver a better game experience, and it just got amplified by the internet into how Halo Reach was good because they broke canon.
Everyone else who likes Halo didn't mind it - it was one of the best sendoffs you could do as the progenitor of Halo. (I still remember rumors of the Halo project long before it was actually demonstrated at MacWorld 1999...)