Interviews with Stars of the Community Volume 52: Brother Jones and Preston Cole of the Halo Archive

[Drizzy_Dan]

Hello everyone and thanks for coming to read this interview. This week I linked up with my good friend @@Adv Jones from the Halo Archive and a fellow Community Manager there- Preston Cole. If you don't know about the Archive then you will soon. Hope you get good info from this one: 
 
 
 
 
DD: "Can you each give us a brief history lesson of your time here on the Halo Archive?"
PC: "Sure. So, I became aware of the Archive through Twitter. I joined in October of last year, and I quickly jumped into lore discussion. I was made a Builder because of that. Eventually I was a candidate for a Community Manager position, and became one in December/January. I am still a Community Manager today."
BJ: "So I came across the Archive through Waypoint from a PM from someone...can't remember who. But they told me about this place and back then it was still on ProBoards. I joined and was still in college then, so I only lurked, for like years. At least until sometime last year I knew graduation was coming so I would have more time on my hands and wanted to learn more about Halo and it's universe. I started as a Lifeworker and then I became a CM same time as Cole (could say the same "rush" class ayy Cole?) and a few others. And still one today."
 
DD: "Awesome so you guys have been here for some time and know the ins and outs. What has kept you guys sticking around the Halo Archive all this time?"
PC: "I would say the community. The Archive is made up of a diverse group of individuals that bring a lot to the table. Everyone gets along. It's great to see game days where you can have a dozen or more members of the Archive playing ridiculous custom games or matchmaking and everyone is laughing. It's a place where everyone has someone in common and can talk freely whether it be Halo lore and life talk."
BJ: "What Cole said. Along with I see this place to become a large name within the Halo community. When you hear about Halo and its universe one of the next things you should hear or see is the Halo Archive. We are always open to partnerships and the community helping hand. It's a fun place to meet new people who are knowledgeable of the Halo lore and love the games too!"
 
DD: "I definitely agree with both of you. The people here are friendly, welcoming, and the most knowledgeable people I know about the Halo Universe (not to say there aren't any smart members outside of that realm, there are plenty). You brought up a great topic there Jones about partnering with other entities. Can you tell readers about the current affiliations you have?"
BJ: "So far on our list of Affiliates that is always growing, we have:

• Podcast Evolved (From Rated M Gaming Network dedicated to covering the latest Halo news, events, and more.)
• Halo Fan For Life (Exactly what the title says, A blog from one of Halos biggest fans)
• Haruspis Blog (A knowledgeable Halo fan whom writes deep analysis on Halo lore and more.
• Halo Canon (Halo fan whom creates lore videos, unboxings, and more all related around the Halo universe)
• Halo.fr (French platform of Halo fan news and their own wiki)
• Halo Swallower (The Onion style news soruce. Your 1th Halo News Source)
• Hidden Xperia (Halo fan whom creates lore videos and knowledgable theories for future events in Halo)
• Halopedia (The #1 source for all Halo Universe information. The Halo Wiki)
• and last, but not least you guys! 343iCF!

That is our list so far and currently have one more on the way which will be announced in the next beacon.
But each of these affiliates we help lead our members to their content and resources and vice versa. If they need help in anything we can help with, we will do it. We want to help make the Halo community be known to all and for all to know each group and organization. So many groups out there all focused on one universe, but each so different in their own way."

PC: "I'll add:

 

We are always looking to work with other Halo fans and communities.  No one should ever hesitate to reach out to us. Our goal is to continue to make Halo an enjoyable community to be a part of through cooperation and collaboration."

BJ: ""

 

DD: "I really do think it's awesome how you work with so many different communities and you guys on Staff always seem to be up to something with various switches and additions. It's a big Staff really. Kind of makes you wonder what such a place would need so many hands on deck for . Do you guys have any projects in the works that you may be able to hint at a little?"

PC: "We have some ideas in the work. The Beacon will most likely touch on this, but we have do have an interest in generating much more of our own content and outsourcing of content in the future. I expect this will kick up with the approaching release of Halo Wars."

BJ: "SPV3, @Ellisrael got us goin with these guys. Maybe info of this will be in the beacon too. Not sure though. Other things of secrecy are planned so far ahead in the future that its all up in the air right now so no need to put light on it, at the moment."

 

DD: "SPV3, wow. So much hype with that right now it's awesome that you guys will be in on it.  Speaking of the Beacon, I'm a big fan of the Archive Beacon and I'm pretty enthusiastic about it. Can you explain what the Beacon is and the process of putting it together?"

BJ: "If anything it is our Tri-Weekly Newsletter. I'll let Cole explain more..."

PC: "The Beacon is an article that we publish every three weeks that details happenings at the Archive, announcements, projects our members are working on, etc.  We choose a Staff member to be the main writer for each Beacon, and other Staff members chip in to help.  Drafts of Beacons are due the Tuesday before the Friday publishing date.  We proofread, edit, and add what is needed up until Friday.  The Beacons are published that Friday.  

I would compare it to a college term paper.  It takes time to complete and we all give our input on what is included."

 

DD: "I think my favorite thing about the Beacon is that since one Staff member is mainly writing it, they're personality leaks into the article. It makes it a very enjoyable read and a good way to show members you guys are paying attention to what's going on. So if anyone wanted to play with the Halo Archive members on Xbox Live, when and where should they look?" 

PC: "You will see Archive members on throughout the week, but the best chance would be on Friday and Saturdays. Those days tend to be our game days. We will play anything and everything from Infection to Warzone Firefight to custom games on forged maps. We usually have a great turnout on those days.

 

You can find Archive member gamertags on our profiles or on the side bar of individual posts on our forums."

BJ: "Some of us have our GT's attached to our profile on here and shows up when we make posts. Feel free to add whomever, even me! We are usually all on during Thursday-Sunday, but you can catch us any day just about. Come join our game days!"

 

DD: "Awesome guys thanks for throwing down the info! What are your favorite threads on the site?"

PC: "Off-topic: I'm a big fan of politics so you'll usually see me in the world events area.  Besides that I would say the Banter thread.  My phone consists of social media and memes so the Banter is perfect for a meme frenzy.

 

On-topic: Probably the Canon Fodder thread.  It's always awesome to read what GrimBrotherOne posts in there, and the discussion is always constructive and informative."

BJ: "Off-Topic: The music discussion/post thread. I love music and love to share new sounds with everyone. Not many people like some of the music I post, but they acknowledge it at the very least ha ha. And some Science and Tech threads, mostly air and space. This universe we are in is amazing.

 

On-Topic: I like almost all the on-topic threads. I don't know which ones I don't like really. And I enjoy reading them all. I learn something new of the Halo universe almost every time I do read something on-topic."

 

DD: "Very cool! It's good to know a little more about what you two like outside of Halo. It's been great but it's time to put this to a close. Do you guys have any words or shoutouts for readers?"

BJ: "Follow us on almost any and all social media. If you do that sort of thing. We don't spam, it's all relevant Halo info or other fun/funny info. Facebook, youtube, twitter, tumblr, pintrest, deviant art, just search on the social media platform and we should be on there. 

And if you haven't made an account on our forums, you should. If you like Halo lore and such, then there is nothing to loose. Plus a Halo Wars 2 giveaway will be coming too, physical copy of the ultimate edition. So follow us on twitter and facebook for more info on when that is.

Other than that......I got nothing else...keep doing what you love."

PC: "Feel free to join our forums to see what we are all about.  It's a fun and rewarding community that you won't regret becoming a part of.  We hope to see everyone soon!"

 

 

 

 

Thank you Jones and Cole for an awesome interview and I hope you all enjoyed it as well. Check out the Community Spotlight all about the Halo Archive in the Announcements! PEACE.

[Yoshi1176]

Not the BJ I was looking for.

 

Great interview guys. I usually stay here so I mostly see y'all on Xbox. Never had a bad time with people from archive. Well actually there was this one time... But I can stop.

 

 

[Adv Jones]

[Guts]

Very nice interview!

 

Looking forward to the next one.