I also have a feeling that whenever Half Life 3 is announced it won't be at a VGA events. I think Valve probably thinks that a half life 3 announcement can stand on its own or is more suited to a traditional slot at E3 or something.
It depends on where they'd announce it at E3. Left 4 Dead 2 was at the Microsoft thing. And Portal 2, while not an announcement, had a dedicated thing at Sony's thing.
Portal 2's announcement was a crazy ARG thing patched into Portal 1. I guess that's why people take everything as a hint.
and I thought the star wars mention was a dead giveaway that the previous post was a joke. but whatever!
personally, I wouldn't mind another situation like Portal 2. I never get involved in it but I thought it was hilarious how cryptic Valve was and how the fans cracked it all.