quick question...one that may change how we figure things out:
do you think the events of this ARG are taking place 100,000 years ago...during the first firing of the halo systems?
or
do you think the events of this ARG are taking place in the present? [when i say present, i meen RIGHT after the events of Halo2...how suddenly a beacon is being sent to all the Halo construct, as well as the Ark.]

personally i think that AR was responding to the special beacon signal that it was recieving from the Halo constructs after the misfire of the Delta Halo. because AR was on Earth/The Ark
you could also say that these events are tkaing place 100k years ago in the past during the first firing because AR could STILL have been on Earth/The Ark in order to activate it, lets say to save the human/forunner race from the Halo blast.
[im not saying the humans are forunners, or that the Ark protects them...heck, it might destroy them...we/idont know...that's why it can go either way.]

Either way...i think this would be important to be considering when taking in future clues and facts...
this would effect how we percieve certain things...
like; what Iris is.

Edit:
important, because...anyone remember i love bees? how the AI construct had been sent from the future, and landed on the server that WAS ilovebees.com and the story that was taking place was that of the audio files? that threw me for a loop.
same thing could happen here

I think it's taking place in the present.

Not your definition, though. The present as in now.

Yes, that's what most people believe. That it is taking place right now, in 2007.

It's most likely taking place now, in 2007, because all of the in-game materials reference now, as opposed to some other (past, near-present, or future) time. Future game events might change that, but for now we seem to be right here.

Well, the primary evidence is the time AR gave since the 'event.'

He said it ws 871803909 hours. Now, 871803909 hours = ~99,455 years.

Now, 100,000 - 99,455 = 545.

Add 545 to 2007, and you get 2552, the year in which the Halo and Halo 2 events take place.

This suggests that the Halo's fire every 100,000 years, as, supposedly calculated by the Forerunners, that is approximately how long it takes for civilizations to become sentient and space-worthy enough to discover the Flood again.

It's a little rough, but it works out surprisingly well.

Well, lots of people still think its in 2552, because they keep mentioning that the new figure is 343 GS, and the the "system integrity" is questionable because one of the Halo's was thoroughly destroyed by MC.

Really, there's no way we can tell yet, but it being now seems to fit best.

Related question: Why did AR come to bungie.net?

With ILB, the sites involved had nothing to do with Halo. In this game, though, the AI from the Halo universe arrived at...a site about a game called Halo, featuring...himself. Or itself. And events that will take place in his/its future.

It's a little metatextually confusing.

Basically, what is the in-game reason for AR to come to bungie.net, and are we supposed to believe that kids played Halo in the Halo universe's past?