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Welcome to the Island
What is this place?
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The Rules
Grading ScalesThe Siren
The Josh
The Leviathan
disclaimerI believe that my review style is non-prejudiced, however, considering that I am human, I sometimes make mistakes. In the "Other Problems" section, I will state things that I personally do not like in your site. Other than that, everything you see in the review will be non-prejudiced. I review as fairly as I possibly can, but there will always be the grumblers. Try not to fit into that category.Application
my qualificationsJust as you don't want a McDonald's worker to serve you a puffer fish, you shouldn't want an unqualified reviewer to tell you about your sites. That's where this little list comes in handy. I'm going to list the pros and the cons that you'll find about me. Pay close attention if you wish.
ReviewsYou stare at the sea, watching the waves wash over the beach. There's nothing out there, no ships, no planes. Nobody's looking for you.Someone coughs behind you. You jump out of your chair, sure it's the Siren coming back with your review. To your surprise, it's a scrawny teenage boy.
The Real ReviewsNewest reviews are on top. Each link takes you to a new anchor. Click the "Reviews" tab at the top of the page to return here.Vaguelette || 5 Nov 2011 || Siren Pennwick || 10 Oct 2011 || Siren Blank Canvas Magazine || 11 Sep 2011 || Siren Cabana || 08 Sep 2011 || Siren Games of the NC Mall || 04 Sep 2011 || Siren The Magic of Disney || 29 Aug 2011 || Siren Every time I have more than five reviews, the old reviews will be relocated here. It helps keep the page neat and clean. Vaguelette Note: For some reason, my Chrome is messing up with scroll boxes, so I had to review it in Firefox. First Impression: 9/10 points Introduction: I see you've gone for a story introduction. No matter what other people say, I think that story introductions (when done correctly, mind you!) really bring something to the site. Do you remember The Teahouse? It was nothing but story, but within that story was... Nevermind. I'll just go off on a rant. As I was saying, you've started with a story introduction. The one thing that's wrong with your introduction is that I cannot tell when people are talking. I know that TNT does not allow petpages to use quotation marks at the beginning (or end) of sentences, but there are numerous ways around this, from using «Guillemets» (a form of quotation marks) or using either bold or italicized letters. (Although, italics are normally used for thoughts.) I have placed the code for Guillemets below: Guillemets code: I wish you would have explained the meaning behind the word "Vaguelette." Is there a specific reason you chose this word as your site's name? Does it have a special meaning to you? I would love to know why you named it this! -1 point for unclear text. Layout: Your layout is gorgeous, and though I don't understand the name of the site [see above for explanation], I think it matches rather well. It's certainly a functional site, although your credits link leads to...a default page! Le gasp! It took me a while to actually find your credits. I realized, finally, that your credits were on the Sitely page (for whatever reason). -0 points for [blank]. Updates: -0 points for [blank]. Overall Total: -0 points Layout: --/10 points Organization: -0 points for [blank]. Colors: -0 points for [blank]. Overall Total: -0 points Spelling: -/5 points Grammar: -/5 points I will tell you which page I found the mistake on, then I will copy your sentence in italics, and right below it will be the corrected sentence, with the corrections in bold. Simple, right? If you have any questions, let me know. Sitely: --/10 points Content: --/25 points Extras: -/5 points Other problems: *No Points deducted* Overall Score: --/70 points overall Recommended || Not Recommended Pennwick
First Impression: 6/10 points The very first thing I notice about your site is the fact that the Neopets bar at the very top is kind of cut off.  I have taken a screenshot and pointed it out to you. I have a question, Do you use tables anywhere in your layout? If you do not, there's a great code for you to use: Simply place that in your style tags and it should make that bar completely black (which will look much better than having it cut off in an odd position). However, if you do use tables in your layout coding, do not use this code. I hope that makes sense. Introduction: The Anyways, back to the introduction. After reading through it, I don't get the feeling that this is, in fact, a "literate, grown-up writing site." The entire feeling of the introduction is that of a place for anyone to submit their writings, regardless of quality. ("This is a great place to submit work, enter contests, and enjoy reading some great literature. You can win prestigious awards, enjoy recognition, and have others read your writing.") Nobody ever thinks their writing is trash (though I'll submit to that; I've started a story over twelve times before), but how good are you at rejecting submissions? Sorry if I'm rambling; everything will be explained later. (But seriously, don't hesitate to neomail me if you have ANY questions. I'm always willing to help clear things up! (Be sure to finish the review first.) -1 point for clarity. Layout: The first thing I noticed was the simpleness of the layout. (Is that even a word? Mozilla recognizes it, therefore, it must exist.) It's very easy on the eyes. Now, let's get on to the actual commentary. 1. I, personally, would have used an anchored layout. It's a bit simpler, and keeps everything in its own little section. Some sites, such as Soroptimist don't use anchored sites because of their content. I suppose the non-anchored layout of yours could be useful if someone wished to search for a specific username, but ask yourself: How often does that happen? Why not try an anchored layout on another page, and see how it works. (Several people test different layouts on another page so they can see how it works compared to their old layout. It's quite useful.) Plus, if you do it this way, you don't have to contain the comics in one tiny little scrollbox; they can have the whole main-section-box (or whatever it's called!) all to themselves. -1 points for navigation ability. Updates: It took me a few minutes to find your updates (but that could be because I have bad eyes). They're crammed into a tiny little box in your sidebar. Now, considering that this is, indeed, a writing site, I would think your updates would be in a noticeable space on your site; somewhere beneath your introduction, for example. Your updates are also very short and non-descriptive. It's fine to use bullet points (or, in this case, pencil-points) to outline the main idea for that particular update, but it's great to go beyond that! I'm not saying you need to write an entire story for your update; you can elaborate more, though. For a submission site, your updates are spaced very far apart from each other. How often do you clear your updates? You told me you've been open for a year, yet you only have three updates. What happened to the other ones? -2 points for updates. Overall Total: -4 points Layout: 8/10 points Organization: As I mentioned in the above section, your layout would work very well if it were anchored. It would get rid of a lot of unnecessary scrolling. I love the layout as it is, but there's something to be said for ease of use. An anchored layout would make it much easier to navigate your site. I do applaud you on the use of the anchored scrolling bar; just take that a step further and anchor the whole thing. If you were to anchor the layout, here's what it might look like: Home: Contains the introduction and updates. Submitting: Contains the rules, the formatting guidelines, the suggestions, and the submission form. Showcase: Contains links to three different spaces. (See below.) ---Within Showcase: Have three anchored spaces on the Showcase main page, leading to the "Featured" section, the "Poetry" section, and the "Prose" section, so everything's laid out nice and neat. Comics: Contains comics. This way, they have their own (anchored) section and do not have to be crammed into a tiny scrollbox. Contest: Contains information about your current contest and the entries and deadline. Ongoing Story: Contains the ongoing story. Each section should be in its own little scrollbox. Awards: Contains the awards you've created for the various areas of your site. Archives: Contains the past contest entries and the showcases (for what is the use of a showcase without an archive of past ones?). Sitely: Contains the link-back buttons, affiliates, directory links, review sites, and your other sites (in that order). Credits: Contains your credits and your received awards, along with your advertising places (if you choose to do so; otherwise, the adverts can go in the "Sitely" section). Now, I'm not telling you how to run your site; I'm simply giving you a suggestion as to how to better organize said site. -2 points for organization. Colors: I love how you've based the whole thing around the colors of the Neopian Times. The blue-and-white color scheme is easy on the eyes and allows for someone to stare for an extended period of time at your site (though I do not recommend staring at a monitor for hours on end). Though if you're telling the Neopian Times to "move over," should you be copying their color scheme? Just a random thought. -0 points for colors. Overall Total: -2 points Spelling: 5/5 points I did not find any spelling mistakes. Grammar: 1/5 points I will tell you which page I found the mistake on, then I will copy your sentence in italics, and right below it will be the corrected sentence, with the corrections in bold. Simple, right? If you have any questions, let me know. You can press CTRL + F in your browser and paste the italicized sentence there in order to find it. 1. We all know how it feels to suffer from writer's block, not have anyone appreciate our work, and experience rejection. Yet we still write. 1. We all know how it feels to suffer from writer's block, to not have anyone appreciate our work, and experience rejection, yet we still write. (Combined the two sentences to get rid of the fragment.) Note: I suffered over this sentence. There's something here that just doesn't seem...right. I can't put my finger on it, but it might have to do with subject-verb agreement. This sentence just doesn't sound right. I've read it aloud a few times, and I still get that weird feeling. Keep it or leave it; it's up to you.) 2. The Neopian Times can be too difficult to be accepted into and too limiting in the subject matter they will allow. Well look out, NT! 2. The Neopian Times can be too difficult to be accepted into and too limiting in the subject matter it will allow. Well, look out, NT! (Changed "they" to "it" and added missing comma.) 3. All submissions, if longer than a short poem or containing anything in quotation marks must go on a petpage. Simply link to the petpage you put the literature on in the Neomail you send me. 3. All submissions longer than a short poem or containing anything in quotation marks must go on a petpage. Simply link me to the petpage you put the submission on in Neomail you send me. (Fixed the comma, added the word "me," and changed "literature" to "submission," as you use the word literature way too often.) 4. Format the writing properly, and according to my formatting guidelines. They are very unique! You must read! 4. Format the writing properly and according to my formatting guidelines. They are very unique! You must read them! (Removed unnecessary comma and added the word "them" to the end of the sentence.) 5. However, it is a good idea to format quotations according to Pennwick's guidelines anyway, as petpages do not allow quotation marks consistently, and italics is used to denote thought, not speech. 5. However, it is a good idea to format quotations according to Pennwick's guidelines anyway, as petpages do not allow quotation marks consistently, and italics are used to denote thought, not speech. (Self-explanatory.) 6. Well I have an almost perfect solution for it. It takes a bit more effort, but it looks great, and it's the best solution I've found. 6. Well, I have an almost perfect solution for it. It takes a bit of an effort, but it looks great, and it's the best solution I've found. (Comma and word choice.) 7. Format your piece according to my formatting guidelines, before presenting it to me even for previewing. 7. Format your piece according to my formatting guidelines before presenting it to me for previewing. (Removed unnecessary word and comma.) 8. Reread your submission several times looking for errors. 8. Reread your submission several times, looking for errors. (Added comma.) 9. If sending in a comic, please try to save it as .png or .gif, as those are higher quality than .jpg 9. When sending in a comic, please try to save it as a .png, as this is a higher quality than a .jpg. (.Gifs are used for moving images, and normally leave horrible dots on non-moving images. .Pngs are much cleaner.) 10. Badly spelled and punctuated pieces because you didn't know any better or because you were too lazy to fix it will not be accepted. 10. Pieces that have bad spelling or punctuation because you are too lazy to fix it or because you didn't know any better will not be accepted. (Whole thing rewritten.) 11. Remember to have a couple people proofread it before you send it in, and to format it properly! 11. Remember to have a couple of people proofread it before you send it in, and remember to format it properly! (Missing words.) Note: I did NOT proofread your submitted works. That is your job! Since you have more than ten grammatical errors yet call yourself a writing site, I tremble to read your submissions. How do you decide to reject submissions? Are there a specific amount of grammatical errors you must spot before you reject it? Perhaps you should have a section in your "submission" section explaining how you reject submissions. Sitely: 7/10 points My first comment is, "Why are the words "buttons" and "link back" on two different lines?  Was this intentional? If so, why? Secondly, your listers and reviewers should be above your other sites. We don't specifically want to know about your other sites just yet; we want to see where you're listed and where you have been reviewed. Thirdly, it would be very neat if you could put your review scores up on your buttons using the hover effect. (If you do not know how to do this, ask.) It lets others know how you've scored. There are several people who look specifically for review buttons and check a site's scores before even thinking to look at the site. Content: 14/25 points I'm going to go through each section and comment on it. Stick with me; we're almost done! Introduction: Already explained this in the opening section. Submitting & Awards: The submission guidelines are very long, but they're very thorough. I would think that Things that are NOT Rules would go BEFORE the Submission area. It would make a lot more sense. Also, why are the awards way up here? It seems like it's out of place. Awards are something that should go near the bottom of the page or in its own section. [-2 points] Showcase: I didn't even know there was more than one poem; you should put each submission in its own scroll box. That way, people can look for someone's submission and read it without having to scroll through someone else's. If I hadn't tried to read the end of Genna's poem, I never would have seen Lola's. [-3 points] Comics: I feel bad for the comics. They're all squished in one little box, and you have to scroll past some (honestly annoying) commentary about each comic before actually getting to the comic. Then you have to drag the comic into the address bar to read it. Why not get rid of the scroll box entirely? Or, better yet, put each comic in its OWN scroll box, and then put the commentary BENEATH the comic, so we can read it if we want to after we read the comic. [-2 points] Current Contest: There's absolutely nothing here. Have you been advertising? I can't take away points if nobody has entered anything, but this space is suspicious. Ongoing Story: What are your guidelines for submission again? Do you even check grammar? I counted six glaring grammatical errors in this submission. How did you miss these? (Have you been advertising for people to submit story pieces?) [-4 points] Past Contests: Why do you have this section if you do not have any past contests yet? Save this section for when you actually have an archive to look back on; otherwise, delete it. [-0 points] Sitely: Commented on in the above section. Credits: Nothing here. Extras: 1/5 points Honestly, there's nothing here that would keep me coming back. The current submissions are almost non-existent, and site traffic seems to be very low. (You have less than one thousand hits, and you've been open for a whole year.) The one submission I read through had six glaring, completely obvious grammatical errors. Do you proofread things before you paste them on the page? I suppose that the fact that this is a user-submission site is the only thing that would have caused me to visit it in the first place. Other problems: Something useful would be to require your submissions to be put in a textarea. Example: Submission here! That would make it a lot easier than having to go through the Page Source to get your submissions. There's always a chance TNT's coding regulations will garble something. *No Points deducted* Overall Score: 42/70 points overall That's a round 60%! First of all, Happy First Anniversary! Second, I would like to take this opportunity to tell you that your site is not bad at all. In fact, if you could fix it up a bit, it would be very nice. As of now, I can't give a straight recommended or not recommended. It is a nice site, and I'm leaning more towards the Recommended area. However, with the unclear rejection rules and the grammatical errors in the submissions, I don't know quite what to think. You have a bit of a ways to go, but if you were to work hard, I'm sure you can get there. Just remember to advertise your contests and submissions, and use Soroptimist's Shout-Box to your advantage. I look forward to reading more submissions. Recommended || Not Recommended || Maybe Blank Canvas Magazine Introduction: The introduction covers everything that any visitor could possibly want to know. There is one thing that bothers me, though: the arrangement of the words My name's Sarah. It...just doesn't feel right. Perhaps taking out the contraction so it just says My name is Sarah would make it look a bit better. On the subject of the introduction, you do have a few missing commas in this introduction. Don't worry, though; all that will be addressed later on in the Grammar section. -0 points for introduction. Layout: The layout is very easy on the eyes, but it doesn't seem to match the name. When I first hear the words "Blank Canvas," I think of something artistic and showy. You have a typewriter and some random blocks of French text. Any particular reason for the French? The layout is very well put-together, though. The image is blended well, but I really wish the "layout coded by -insertnamehere-" could have been at the bottom. When the image first loaded, that's all I can see. "Oh, so they made the layout. Huh. I wonder what else they do there?" It really distracted from the image. I do like the way that you have the navigation; it scrolls with the page, and there aren't any unnecessary links scattered around. Everything is exactly the where it is supposed to be and nothing is simply lying around waiting to be clicked; it's all out in the open. -1 points for layout. Updates: As a site such as yours does not really need updates, I took a glance around the site to see if I could find your old issues. To my surprise, you do keep your archives. That's fantastic. -0 points for updates. Overall Total: -1 point Layout: 8/10 points Organization: Everything seems rather easy to find. You click on the Magazine page, and you're taken directly to the articles with no extra links. The only think I can think of to tell you is that you might want to double-space your magazine navigation links. Having them all bunched together makes it difficult to click the one that you want (or maybe that's just me and my irritating laptop mouse). For the Magazine page, you could think of using the site owner's name instead of their username. Using their username makes it messy; most often, it bumps the name down to the next line and then you don't have a neat row of stars. Tell me, would you rather read an interview with The Workshop Owner mrsanta1231234- or an interview with The Workshop Owner Rica? The extra numbers and sometimes nonsensical string of letters makes it seem less professional; always use someone's name when referring to them. Would you like to always be called iloveeyore96? "Hey, iloveeyore96, you've got to see this!" "Oh, iloveeyore96, I suppose you've heard of this?" "iloveeyore96! Check this out!" See how that looks? Now, if you use someone's name, it looks much better. Oh, Sarah, will you take a look at this for me? Hey, Sarah, you've got a worm on your head! Etc. Now, on to the Advertisement page. A great way to organize this would be to use tables, such as the ones that Kaleidoscopic uses for its Site of the Month entrants. See how each site has a button, then a little blurb beneath it? Soroptimist also does this with its "Site Community" section. To keep with the magazine theme, you could do the boxes like Classified Ads; all in little squares with the ad beneath it. In fact, there used to be a site like this - I think it was run by Cass if I'm not mistaken. You can ask her to help with the tables, probably. It's just a suggestion; it might make the page a bit neater. You could even keep them the way it is (stacked on top of each other, one per row) and still put them in a little box by themselves. -2 points for organization. Overall Total: -2 points Spelling: 5/5 points There was only one misspelled word; you will see it in the 'grammar' section below, as it was not worth posting twice. Grammar: 0/5 points I will tell you which page I found the mistake on, then I will copy your sentence in italics, and right below it will be the corrected sentence, with the corrections in bold. Simple, right? If you have any questions, let me know. Home page: My name's Sarah and I'd like to welcome you to Blank Canvas Magazine, a site that offers you all the latest news. From Neopet reports and game guides to Altador Cup coverage and editorials, this is your site if you want to get caught up on what's happening around Neopia! My name is Sarah, and I'd like to welcome you to Blank Canvas Magazine, a site that offers you all the latest news, from Neopet reports and game guides to Altador Cup coverage and editorials, this is your site if you want to get caught up on what's happening around Neopia! (missing comma; undid contraction; combined fragmented sentence with the one before it) Of course I don't run this place alone, I have the help of our amazing team and the magazine's co-owner Stella. Of course, I don't run this place alone; I have the help of our amazing team and the magazine's co-owner, Stella. (missing comma and semi-colon) If you do neomail me for a chance to be featured in next month's issue. Simply explain to why you think it should be featured. If you do, neomail me for a chance to be featured in next month's issue. Simply explain why you think it should be featured. (missing comma; extra word) Here at Blank Canvas, we showcase users works and allow their work to be seen by the users of Neopets. Here at Blank Canvas, we showcase user's works and allow it to be seen by the users of Neopets. (missing apostrophe; deleted double use of 'work') We accept all submissions including stories, comics, articles, etc and the item will need to be on a petpage. If you would like to submit you work, fill in the form below. We accept all submissions, including stories, comics, articles, etc., but the item will need to be on a petpage. If you would like to submit your work, fill out the form below. (missing commas and punctuation marks; wrong conjunction; missing 'r;' and wrong word replacement) Magazine Page: Customization Spotlight: 30 users pets were selected due to their amazing customisations. Everytime a new issue is released, the 3 pets with the lowest amount of readers votes will be eliminated. Thirty user's pets were selected due to their amazing customization. Every time a new issue is released, the three pets with the lowest number of reader's votes will be eliminated. (missing apostrophes; non-spelled-out numbers; and wrong noun) **Note! Spell out all numbers under fifty, and ESPECIALLY if they are at the beginning of a sentence! Three pets were eliminated leaving us with 24 contestants all hoping to win the Customisation Spotlight. Three pets were eliminated, leaving us with twenty-four contestants all hoping to win the Customization Spotlight. (spelled out '24;' missing comma) Interview with Nienke: First of all to start of the interview I must say I am a very big fan of your layouts as you can probably see by looking at most of my sites. My first question is How did you first get into making layouts? First of all, to start our interview, I must say I am a very big fan of your layouts, as you can probably see by looking at most of my sites. My first question is, how did you first get into making layouts? (missing commas) Which out of all the layouts you have created is your favourite? Out of all the layouts you have created, which is your favourite? (misplaced modifier) Making more layouts of course. And I might even going to be taking request! If, of course, I'll have the time. Making more layouts, of course. And I might even take requests! If, of course, I have the time. (missing comma; unclear wording; unnecessary contraction) Out of ten how amazing is Blank Canvas Magazine? Out of ten, how amazing is Blank Canvas Magazine? (missing comma) Interview with Alaia: I was actually surfing when I thought up of the name. I knew it was a type of surfboard and then I searched up on Neopets if anyone else had that name. I was actually surfing when I thought of the name. I knew it was a type of surfboard, and then I searched on Neopets to see if anyone else had that name. (unnecessary words; missing words) To be honest, No, I didnt. I opened Alaia up hoping I could help improve sites and writing is my passion. To be honest, no, I didn't. I opened Alaia up hoping I could help improve sites and because writing is my passion. (uncapitalized a word; subject-verb agreement) Interview with Caro's Banners: What made you start creating banners? Why did you start creating banners? (wrong words) Note: You forgot to insert a -br- tag after the second question! Interview with Trapped Fairytales: What made you start creating buttons? Why did you start creating buttons? (wrong words) The image, the border and the animation all fit the button perfectly. The image, the border, and the animation all fit the button perfectly. (missing comma) Do you have any tips for those who would like to create their own buttons too? Do you have any tips for those who would like to create their own buttons? (leave out the word 'too') I really don't have tips, but just be original and create buttons to your abilities. I really don't have any tips; just be original and create buttons to the best of your abilities. (missing semi-colon and missing words) Also, just make sure that the image, border, text and animation all blend together. Also, make sure that the image, border, text, and animation all blend together. (extra word and missing comma) I decided to use the name for it's creativity. Recently, I actually found out the site name used to be my friends site way back then. xD I decided to use the name for its creativity. I found out recently that the site name used to be my friend's site way back when XD (inappropriate apostrophe use; doubled words) Interview with The Workshop: What made you start creating graphics? Why did you start creating graphics? (wrong words) Definitely, all the sites I saw at first were absolutely amazing to me. Foomanshu also inspired me a lot, it was the first graphic site I had ever seen, and Rebecca and Amy definitely made very good role models for me. Definitely; all the sites I saw at first were absolutely amazing to me. Foomanshu also inspired me a lot; it was the first graphic site I had ever seen, and Rebecca and Amy definitely made very good role models for me. (missing semi-colons) I was used my username as a base and I was definitely going for a Christmas-y feel. I didn't actually know about themes back then, I just thought it would be a fun way of having a site. I used my username as a base and I was definitely going for a Christmas-y feel. I didn't actually know about themes back then; I just thought it would be a fun way of having a site. (unnecessary word; missing semi-colon) Note! You forgot to put a -br- tag after the question about requests! Challenge Sarah: Of course I accepted the challenge and managed to create a look for 746np's. Of course, I accepted the challenge and managed to create a look for 746 neopoints. Interview with The Florist: This is probably a hard question but which is your favourite site of yours, The Florist or Sugarrush? This is probably a hard question, but which site is your favorite, The Florist or Sugarrush? (missing comma; unclear wording) Interview with Box: What made you start creating buttons? Why did you start creating buttons? (wrong words) Interview with None Other Than Fyora the Faerie Queen (*pokes title* Your forgot the e in the word "none!") Why thank you for having me come! Why, thank you for having me! (missing comma and unnecessary word) What do you love the most about being the ruler or Faerieland? What do you love the most about being the ruler of Faerieland? (you used "or" instead of "of") Well, it can have its flaws, but overall I love it. I'm at the top of the Heirarchy in Faerieland, but I love to help others in any way I can as well. Well, it has its flaws, but overall I love it. I'm at the top of the heirarchy in Faerieland, and I love to help others in any way I can. (wrong wording; unnecessary capitalization; wrong conjunction; unnecessary word) Interview with Chef Bonju Remember to capitalize the word "Neopians!" It's a proper noun on this site! I have heard that you had to cook on a ship with very unappreciative crew members, so how was that like? I heard that you had to cook on a ship with very unappreciative crew members, so what was that like? (unnecessary word; wrong wording) It was sad to know that they didnt appriciate my cooking, even worse one of lifes necessities is food. It saddens me to this day. It was sad to know that they didn't appreciate my cooking; even worse when one of life's necessities is food. It saddens me to this day. (missing apostrophe; misspelled word; missing semi-colon) (Overall, I thought Bonju sounded far too nice. If you read through the old Cyodrake's Gaze comic, Bonju is rude and prideful.) Work for Us Page: They can also create boards to interview the users' of Neopets or ask for their opinions and views. They can also create boards to interview Neopians or ask for their opinions and views. (Just use the word "Neopians") This includes interviewing players, writing match reports, predicting scores and winners and overall covering whatever happens due the course of the Altador Cup. This includes interviewing players, writing match reports, predicting scores and winners, and, overall, covering whatever happens during the course of the Altador Cup. (missing commas and wrong wording) Interviewers interview selected neopets users' and fictional neopets characters. For example in the September Issue we interviewed site owners, Fyora and Chef Bonju. Interviewers interview selected Neopians and fictional Neopets characters. For example, in the September Issue we interviewed site owners, Fyora, and Chef Bonju. (missing commas; uncapitalized words) Advertisements: I am currently in the process of creating a halloween themed gallery. This means I am seeking alot of items to go in it. I am currently in the process of creating a Halloween-themed gallery. This means I am seeking a lot of items to go in it. (capitalization; hyphen; 'a lot' is two words) Overall, I am very disappointed in the number of grammatical errors throughout your 'magazine,' considering that you have two "editors" (I'm assuming the owner and co-owner are the editors?) working on this magazine. Sitely: 7/10 points Link-Back Buttons: You have only three link-back buttons? Yet, on your Archive page, you have more than that. What happened to the other buttons? You might want to get a few more for other people to use if they don't like the ones you currently have. -1 point for link-back buttons Affiliates: You have...a few affiliates. That's okay; you're a relatively new site. (Like I'm one to talk; over three years and I only have three affiliates?) Perhaps you can place a neomail envelope beneath your affiliates and ask people to apply. Or, if you'd rather search out your affiliates yourself (like I do), start looking! -0 points for affiliations Listings: Android is closed; Ellie's Directory has closed; Zioned has closed; Merry Go Round ahs closed. Be sure to check your links every once in a while! -2 point for dead links Reviews: Why do only some of the reviews have hover-over scores? Are you missing those scores? (Plus, this is just a reminder; be sure to put my button somewhere on your site! I didn't do all that grammar-finding for nothing!) Overall Total: -3 points Content: 20/25 points The interviews were a very good idea! It is certainly an interesting idea; you should have interviewed several categories of site owners, though: those just starting out, those who are somewhere in-between, and those who are well-noticed. Do we all want to read about the successful site owners? What about those who have great content, but are simply unnoticed in the world of Neopia? How did you choose the ones to be interviewed? The September Banner is not all-that-great, either. It's a bunch of buttons stuck on a background. The basic idea is great; it was simply poorly-implemented. Why not ask one of the interviewees to create a banner for the Blank Canvas Interview Edition? That would have been a fantastic idea! I'll also admit that I was skeptical about the fact that you referred to 'Static Motion' as having the highest-quality banners out there. One should never use the words "highest quality;" sometimes that site has high-quality stuff, but more-often-than-not, they don't. That's why I was thinking, I should stay away from Static Motion. Once I clicked on the site, though, I could tell that your first impression was correct; they do indeed have rather high-quality stuff. Of course, not every banner is fantastic, but that's to be expected of a human being. So, in short, be careful of how you describe things! Extras: 3/5 points I love the little pixels and the (apparently collectible) icon of the month, but the banner of the month leaves something to be desired. Other than the articles, there's nothing much to come back for, but why would you need other things? You're a magazine; articles are what you're supposed to be doing. Other problems: Pay attention to the grammatical mistakes! I spent a whole thirty minutes searching those out! Be sure to get a couple of people to look over the site before 'publishing' it. Don't rely on review sites to catch everything for you! An editor/owner should be editing the site! *No Points deducted* Overall Score: 52/70 points overall That's a 74%. What got you was your blatant disregard for grammatical errors. That's a whole five points by itself. Just remember to check back over every word you write and make sure that submissions really are of "the highest quality," as you say. Still, you have a very promising site. I'll probably be back, even if just to see how you're doing on the grammar aspect. Recommended || Not Recommended Cabana Introduction: It's a very nice introduction, very unique. I used to see the "dictionary definition" introductions all the time; lately, however, they seem to have gone the way of the dodo. The only thing wrong with the first part of the introduction, though, is the fact that you're missing a comma after the number 24. It should read July 24, 2010. Yours is missing a comma. The second part of the introduction is also missing a few commas, and the second sentence is just a complete train wreck (pardon me). You repeat yourself unnecessarily and forget your punctuation. Instead of: I am Julia and I like to make fonts so I decided to make a font page so everyone can use my fonts, providing you like them ; ). why not try saying something along these lines: I am Julia, and I enjoy making fonts. I decided to make a font page so everyone can use them, providing that they like them. First of all, using smileys in a "professional" area of your site (e.g., your introduction, your rules page, and any other pages of your site, save for your introductions) can make people take your site less seriously. Would you enjoy visiting a site that used :) or :3 or XD every third word or so? By just reading through somebody's introduction, you can tell a lot about the quality of their site. (Not to mention that your particular smiley has weird spacing.) Second, you repeat yourself unnecessarily (as I mentioned before). There is no need to say the word "fonts" three times within the same sentence; it's redundant. Therefore, in the example I have given above, I split the single sentence into two sentences and reduced the number of times you used the word "font" and "like." You don't have to use that exact wording, but something along those lines would be nice. -1 point for unclear wording. Layout: The layout is very nice. It's very...clean. The boxes are of a perfect size. The navigation took a second for me to locate (but that's because I am a tired Kitty tonight), but once I did the navigation was simple. Everything seemed to be in its proper place. -0 points for layout. Updates: Where are all your updates? I understand if you clear them at the beginning of the week, but that's really a practice that you need to do away with (if you do that at all; I'm not sure). Take a lesson from Soroptimist; keep only a week's worth of updates at any given time. Just let us know you're alive! (If you only update once a week, keep a month's worth of updates. Adjust your kept-updates depending on how often you update.) -1 point for missing updates. Overall total: -2 points Layout: 9/10 points I mentioned this in the previous section, but your layout is gorgeous. Miss Kendra certainly did a fantastic job; you did an awesome job fitting all of your content into it as well. Organization: I don't understand why people continuously use these I agree! and I disagree! signs. People don't really look at them; they simply glance at them and pick the appropriate link:  Nobody even has to read the rules that you have so graciously set down for them. Your rules, however, are very easy to follow. I'm thankful that there are none of those weird "click the punctuation mark after the third word in the second sentence to continue to the actual fonts" tricks hidden anywhere in your rules. For that, I congratulate you. The continuous clicking, however, can drive one a little mouse-crazy by the time that they actually get to the fonts. A way to streamline this would be to get rid of those agree/disagree buttons and simply put your font navigation on that page anchor. That makes on less page to click through, and one more happiness point on the customer's scale. -1 one point for clicking. Colors: Everything certainly seems to work well together...although those navigation links could be a different color. Is there any particular reason that you chose purple for the navigation links? What would they look like blue? Or green? The purple ones look a little odd at first glance...but then again, they do kind of grow on you. I suppose it really depends on how eye-popping you want your navigation to be. It's all up to you. -0 points for color. Overall Total: -1 point Spelling: 5/5 points I did not find any spelling mistakes while looking through your site! Grammar: 2/5 points I did, however, find a few grammatical mistakes while reading through your site. Here's how this will work: I will tell you which page I found the mistake on, then I will copy your sentence in italics, and right below it will be the corrected sentence, with the corrections in bold. Simple, right? If you have any questions, let me know. Home Page: Well hello there! Well, hello there! (Missing comma.) -0 points for home page. Fonts Tab: I used Firefox when making these fonts, so sorry if they don't come up right in other browsers. I used Firefox when making these fonts, so I'm sorry if they don't come up right in other browsers. (Missing word.) **Note: For the next few, the name of the font will be on top, and the correction will be in italics beneath it. Meowclops Eye font: There should be a hyphen in the word all-seeing. Grarrl Keno-Show Goes On (Lupe Fiasco) font: The word "all right" is two words, according to grammarian Bill Walsh as well as American Heritage Guide to Contemporary Usage and Style. Chocolate-Random Quote font: First of all, this is not a "random" quote; this is from the highly-popular movie Forrest Gump. Second, the correct phrase is Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get. Jetsam-Wanna Fight?-Iowa Fight Song font: The words "fight for family fight for friend" are not in this song at all, according to several Wikis and the Iowa State website. Just thought you'd want to know. Let it Snow!-Baby it's Cold Outside (Dean Martin) font: The word "it's" in this font is missing its apostrophe. In order to correct this (as TNT doesn't allow apostrophes in siggies), use the ' mark on the key that also houses the ~ symbol. I use it for my fonts all the time. It shows up funny on the guild boards, but it looks fine on the actual Neoboards. -2 points for Font Tab. **Note: From here on out, the 'correction' method will return to normal. Request Tab: And, a font recoloration is where I take a font I already made and recolor it to match a different avatar that you want. So go ahead, request a font, a review, or a recoloration today! A font recoloration is where I take a font I already made and recolor it to match a different avatar that you want. So go ahead; request a font, a review, or a recoloration today! (Never start a sentence with the word "and;" also used a semicolon to fix the second sentence.) -0 points for Request Tab. Pickup Tab: -0 points for Pickup Tab. Extras Tab: The only thing I noticed is that you once again used a weird smiley face on the "site names" section. Sitely Tab: Buttons linked back to their creators! Buttons link back to their creators! (Wrong verb tense.) Currently looking for sister site! Currently looking for a sister site! (Missing word. Also, I would like to point out that you don't necessarily need this "placeholder" here; you can just keep it blank, e.g. no placeholder, until you actually find a sister site. You should, ideally, be good friends with the person who runs this sister site, as your SS will be the one who gives you advice all through your sitemaking days.) -1 point for Extras Tab. Overall Total: -3 points Sitely: 8/10 points Link Buttons: All of your link buttons are very nice; however, this one: 
looks a little...odd. It is almost as if the creator cut the button off at a very odd position, then slapped some blue paint in the center and added some text. Your best button would have to be this one:
It's simple and the animation doesn't take away from the overall button. One other thing I would say is to organize your link-back buttons into one section! Having two sections is a little odd, even if they are for two different types of buttons. Why not place them in one section and label them inside that section? Say, "these are for normal linking back" for one section, and "these are to put on your userlookup if you use one of my fonts!" in the second section. It makes it simple, and there's not a lot of useless clicking. (Some people might not even know what a "userlookup button" is. It's crazy, I know, but it happens.) -1 point for link buttons. Affiliates: I'm going to repeat this here for good measure: I would like to point out that you don't necessarily need this "placeholder" here; you can just keep it blank, e.g. no placeholder, until you actually find a sister site. You should, ideally, be good friends with the person who runs this sister site, as your SS will be the one who gives you advice all through your sitemaking days. Remember, you can't find your sister site just anywhere. It takes time and dedication; just look at Cass and (the self-frozen) Adzs. They were best friends and both ran very successful sites. They are a perfect example of sister sites. You seem to have a good number of affiliates, but is putting the words "high-quality only" on your requirements such a good idea? Some people might think that their sites are high-quality when, in actuality, they are not. I myself have had to turn away several affiliates because of this very issue, so I eventually stopped putting the words on there. Sure, I still get a more than a few lower-quality sites asking to be affiliates, but I also turn them away with a smile and a compliment about their site. It makes it easier to say "Your site is not the type I'm looking for" in a rejection letter than it is to say "Your site is not high-quality enough to affiliate with mine" in the same rejection letter. See the difference? Give it some thought. -1 point for unclear rules. Listers: You could put your "listing achievements" in this section, you know, instead of in its own section. You can keep the section for awards and fan mail (that's great in itself), but place the listing achievements in the directory section. Just a suggestion. -0 points for listing section. Reviews: Nothing to comment on here. You're smart enough to realize that having your reviews organized via layouts is a great idea. The only thing I would add is that, somewhere on the site, you have a listing of old layouts (if you've saved them, that is). It makes it easier for people to see the layouts (just a screenshot will do) and see how you've evolved over the months. -0 points for reviews. Credits: Again, nothing to say here. You've credited people, and you've credited well. -0 points for Credits. Overall Total: -2 points Content: 19/25 points Picture Fonts: The Meowclops font is actually pretty unique; it took a bit of work for me to figure out what it was at first (again, tired Kitty = even worse eyesight than she normally has), but once I did, I smiled. The Gloomy Rain font looks more like snowflakes than raindrops; otherwise, though, it is a very nice font. I like it. The Dark Lurker - Skull font look quite...robotic. It doesn't inspire fear in me like I would think a flame-eyed skull would do. It kinda makes me laugh. Was that the point? The Sloth - Tic Tac Toe board font looks gorgeous. "Sloth Wins. WORLD DOMINATION!" I love it! The "Firework Pteri" font doesn't have a title. You might want to check into that. (I do love the font, though.) The Kau-Check font looks a bit odd. It's difficult to tell where the white squares are because, of course, it doesn't have any outlines. It is a neat idea, however. The Chef Bonju-Fork font is very long; is there any way to shorten it? Putting that on the Neoboards might annoy some people (I know the HC might object!) Have you seen anyone using this font? If so, what do they say? Have you gotten peoples' opinions on this font? The Snorkle Snout font is adorable...once you figure out what it is. Is there a way that you make the snout a lighter pink? It's a very dark, hot-pink-type pink, and it just looks awkward paired with the light-pink piggy. -2 points for picture fonts. Text Fonts: I just want to know...do you leave the "I" letters uncapitalized for a reason? It does look right in the overall font, of course, but for a grammar OCD freak like me, it makes me twitch. *twitches* Since you have so many in this category, I won't go and comment on each individual one; I'll tell you the ones that I like the best as well as the ones that I like the least. Likes: -Kau Fortune Teller (Adorable! Took me a while to figure it out, though.) -Faerie's Ruin (So unexpected!) -Island Mystic (Very...deep.) -Kiko (reminds me of...chickens?) -Dark Lurker (This one is so much better than the picture font you have.) -Mutant Lenny (I love Edgar Allen Poe; this fits it!) -Faerie Grundo (Family Force Five is great; this fits it perfectly.) -Mutant Graveyard (THIS IS THRILLER!) Dislikes: -Captain Scarblade (The font for "love" looks really out of place.) -Chocolate (You used the wrong quote!) King Kelpbeard (It just looks...wrong? I think it's "king of everything," but I could be wrong.) -Number Six (While it did make me laugh, it could possibly reportable by those crazy people on the HC.) -Moehog (Using the letter "R" for the word "are" just makes it look sloppy.) -Snicklebeast (The quote and the image just don't go together at all.) -3 points for text fonts. Customizable & BC Fonts: What a great idea! Although, is the FB font really yours? Other people have had the great idea to make it for themselves; how do you know they didn't create it if you go after them for "stealing?" I do love the BC fonts, though; are you planning on working your way through the rest of the Neopets? -1 point for lack of diversity. Overall Total: -6 Points Extras: 3/5 points I love the fact that you offer font reviews and recolorations for the fonts that you have created. Other than that, though, there's not much else here. Other problems: *No Points deducted* I believe I've covered everything. Overall Score: 54/70 points overall That's a 77%. Congratulations! Your fonts are fantastic, but there are a few things that you can clean up around your site. Focus on your grammar, as well as filling out those sections of your site (such as the BC Fonts) that could use a bit more content. I would certainly recommend this site to a friend. Recommended || Not Recommended Games of the NC Mall First Impression: 9/10 points After a quick click-through of your pages, it seems that your site is very well-organized and, most of all, clean. It's easy to find my way around the site, and everything's laid out nice and neat. Something else that could be done, though, is to add a little introduction to your main page. Something like, "Hi, I'm -insert link to user lookup- and welcome to Games of the NC Mall!" Then continue with the rest of your explanation. It's lovely. The layout's very nice, too. You could even add something in the italics underneath the "Best Viewed In" buttons that says "Press F11 for the best view." It looks fantabulous in full screen! Layout: 10/10 points As I mentioned in the previous section, the layout is fantastic. The only way it could be improved would be to shorten it by about...twenty pixels or so? Just enough so that the page doesn't scroll (at least, it scrolls in my browser resolution). When I click a link, it moves the page down and I can only see part of the words (I can still tell what they say, though). There's nothing to take off here because the layout is amazing. You shouldn't have to change anything. Spelling: 5/5 points I did not see any spelling errors. Grammar: 1/5 points I will tell you which page I found the mistake on, then I will copy your sentence in italics, and right below it will be the corrected sentence, with the corrections in bold. Simple, right? If you have any questions, let me know. Homepage: This guide was also meant to go hand-in-hand with my gallery with is also entitled Games of the NC Mall, and can be found by clicking here! This guide was also meant to go hand-in-hand with my gallery, which is also entitled Games of the NC Mall, and can be found by clicking here! (Missing comma and a typo, spelling "which" as "with.") But first, let's quickly find out what the NC Mall is. The NC Mall can be found here and is similar to the Neopian shops in which you can buy food, wearables and neohome furnishings, but different in the aspect that you have to use real money to purchase Neocash (via credit card or paypal, or if you're really lucky you can purchase NeoCash cards in selected stores across the world). But first, let's quickly find out what the NC Mall is. The NC Mall can be found here and is similar to the Neopian Shops where you can buy food, wearables, and neohome furnishings. It is different in the aspect that you have to use real money to purchase Neocash (via credit card, PayPal, or from selected stores across the world; if you're really lucky, you can win Neocash from various games across the Neo world). (Missing comma, mistaken word, as well as a reworded sentence.) IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO KNOW MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE GO TO THE FAQ SECTION, AND IF YOUR QUESTION ISN'T THERE, PLEASE NEOMAIL ME BY FOLLOWING THE LINK ON THE CONTACT TAB WHICH WILL RE-DIRECT YOU TO MY MAIN ACCOUNT IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO HAVE MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE GO TO THE FAQ SECTION, AND IF YOUR QUESTIONS ISN'T THERE, PLEASE NEOMAIL ME BY FOLLOWING THE LINK ON THE CONTACT TAB, WHICH WILL REDIRECT YOU TO MY MAIN ACCOUNT. (Mistaken word, missing comma, unnecessary hyphen, and missing period.) There are 4 games inside the NC Mall (although currently 2 of these games are on hiatus) and to be able to play these games you need to have enough NeoCash on hand to be able to purchase the appropriate playing token. Whether this be a token, key, dice or widget, depending on what game you are playing. There are four games inside the NC Mall (although two of these games are currently on hiatus), and to be able to play these games you need to have enough Neocash on hand to purchase the appropriate playing token. Whether this is a token, key, die, or widget depends on what game you are playing. (Spell out all words under "twenty;" subject-verb agreement.) JubJub Power Bounce, Castle Nox Corridor of Chance, Blumaroll and Bigsby Shadington's Wonderclaw. JubJub Power Bounce, Castle Nox Corridor of Chance, Blumaroll, and Bigsby Shadington's Wonderclaw. (Missing comma.) Jubjub Power Bounce Page: You need to have purchased a JubJub Power Bounce token, and activated it in your inventory, and then you can play. You need to purchase a Jubjub Power Bounce token, and activate it in your inventory before you can play. (Subject-verb agreement.) Each token gives you 3 JubJub balls in which to launch around the game board to land on a disc. Each token gives you three JubJub balls to launch around the game board to land on a disc. Now I did mention that you get 3 balls. This also means that you get 3 chances of perhaps getting a better prize. So if you don't like your first prize, you don't need to take it, feel free to play again. But on the 3rd try, you MUST take the prize they give you. Now, I did mention that you get three balls? This also means that you get three chances of getting a better prize, so if you don't like your first prize, you don't need to take it; feel free to play again. On the third try, however, you MUST take the prize they give you. (Missing comma, punctuation mark, spelling out "three," and a bit of rewording.) In May 2011 just before JJPB went on vacation, we were allowed to have 4 tries instead of the normal 3. But it has since resumed to the normal 3 tries per token. In May 2011, just before JJPB went on vacation, we were allowed to have four tries instead of the normal three, but it has since returned to the normal three tries per token. (Spelled out the numbers, missing comma, as well as a confused word.) Castle Nox Page: You need to have purchased a Castle Nox Corridor of Chance Key, and activated it in your inventory, and then you can play. You need to purchase a Castle Nox Corridor of Chance Key, and activate it in your inventory before you can play. (Subject-verb agreement.) Blumaroll Page: You need to have purchased a Blumaroll Dice Pack, and activated it in your inventory, and then you can play. You need to purchase a Blumaroll Dice Pack, and activate it in your inventory before you can play. (Subject-Verb agreement.) Wonderclaw Page: You need to have purchased a Wonderclaw Widget Pack, and activated it in your inventory, and then you can play. You need to purchase a Wonderclaw Widget Pack, and activate it in your inventory before you can play. (Subject-Verb agreement.) FAQ Page: **Note: Be sure to put a space AFTER the comma, not BEFORE the comma when putting items in a list! You do this several times throughout the "Which Countries?" list! Sitely: 7/10 points I don't understand the "Button Here!" signs in your link-back button area. It would look much better to leave them out; as it is now, they're just messing up the synchronization of the page. The "Button Here" signs for affiliates could fall in this category as well. Do you really need those signs there? Will they mess up your page severely if removed? (I know I have these in my own affiliate section; it is simply because if I do not, the page will move over and it'll be severely messed up.) In all honesty, too, your first section of link-back buttons could be better. The three buttons in the next section are absolutely stunning; they fit in with the gorgeous layout and the organization of the rest of the page. The first section just pales in comparison to the rest of them. Also, your Directory section is out-of-date. The Faerie Compass and Spark have closed down. Content: 23/25 points It's difficult to tell which items have previews and which do not; perhaps change the link color? You might even consider trying to find a way to get bigger previews; surely there's a way, somehow, someway? It would make it easier to see the item on the pet. Extras: 2/5 points It's a great site; I have yet to see another site out there like this one. It seems to be rather in-dept. There's just not much incentive for me, personally, (or for others who don't buy Neocash) to come back to this site. You're catering to one particular audience. (You could also consider getting a counter.) Other problems: Nothing that I can see. *No Points deducted* Overall Score: 57/70 points overall That's an 81%. Congratulations! Your site is certainly one of the better ones out there; there are a few things that you could refine (such as the grammatical mistakes and the first section of buttons), but otherwise your site is near perfect. Great job on creating such a fantastic guide! Recommended || Not Recommended The Magic of Disney First Impression: 7/10 points Safari: The very first thing I notice (in Safari, at least) is how long it takes the page to load. Then, after five refreshes, the whole page doesn't load. [Edit: No matter how many times I refreshed the page, the main image still refused to load.]  ^ Safari ^ Firefox: It loaded really quickly in Firefox; it looks fantastic here! What a gorgeous layout; I love it!  ^ Firefox ^ Chrome: Nothing out of the ordinary here. It looks the same as in FireFox.  ^ Chrome ^ Opera: Lookin' good in Opera. My only complaint is...the navigation links don't seem to work?  ^ Opera ^ Internet Explorer: Most of the navigation links did not work in Internet Explorer.  ^ Internet Explorer ^ Now that we've got the browsers out of the way...on to the first impression. Introduction: Short, sweet, and to the point. Very nice. About Me?! Why is your "About Me" front and center on your home page?! This thing should be somewhere else - preferably on a page labelled "extra content" or something similar. When I first look at a site, I want to see CONTENT, or at the very least, UPDATES or NAVIGATION, without having to squint to see things. Updates: They're all squished into that tiny little box! So difficult to see/read, especially since you insist on putting all your daily-made images in that box as well. I would put your updates in that "About Me" section instead, and bump the "About Me" section somewhere at the end of the site. Request Forms: Again, why are these on the main page of the site? These should be on a page labelled "Request." Since you have a section for request pickups, wouldn't it make more sense to put the request forms on the REQUEST section? Layout: 1/10 points The Layout Itself: I ABSOLUTELY ADORE YOUR LAYOUT. It's gorgeous... No points deducted here. The Actual Organization: Let me be absolutely honest: The way you have your site organized is confusing, complicated, and completely unnecessary. Why do you have THREE COLUMNS on each page?! It makes something that should be quick and easy ridiculously complicated and infuriating. It took me five minutes to figure out why nothing was happening when I clicked on each section; you had them in three columns across the bottom! Not only that, but you have those three incredibly tiny columns across the top! No, no, no. Your site is an absolute nightmare for me to navigate. Nothing's easily accessible; it takes a lot of guesswork and searching for me to find everything. Here's my suggestion: Put each page in its own div. That will clear up your three-column overcrowding AND make it seem like the navigation links are actually working. [Note: this might be the cause of me saying that the IE and Opera links do not work.] What I don't understand is that you have your animations perfectly organized. Sure, they're still in three columns, but you don't have everything crammed into three tiny boxes and side-by-side boxes so that it'll all fit on the same page. Your animations are all on their own pages! Now, why can't you do the same thing with your other graphics? It can't be that difficult! Another thing I would suggest is that you clear out your requested graphics page! Once you're sure people have picked up their request, clear the page and put them in their proper places on the actual pages! You say that requests are for everyone to use; why, then do you insist on keeping them on separate pages? Put them on the pages so that people can see them! I was disappointed in your lack of Spirit animations; then I went to the "Request" page and saw that you had a lot of them that weren't on the normal page. Who thinks to check the request section for a graphic they want? Nobody. Layout History: What? I clicked on "Layout History," and there's a giant sign that says "Tutorials coming soon?" Where are the la--Oh, there they are. At the top. Crammed into a little box. (PUT THESE IN THE BIG BOX; make the tutorials a separate DIV! [See explanation above.]) Reviews: Everything looks all right here...but wait! What's that in the top box? A bunch of credits? That's an odd place to put the credits. Shouldn't they have their own little box? But other than that, this three-column page works REALLY well for the reviews - and the reviews page ONLY. But again, you have those extraneous links in your navigation bar! Just put "Reviews" in that bar; you don't need the "awards" and "fan mail" section in the navigation bar, too! "Reviews" will work just fine. And then again, MOVE THE CREDITS TO A SEPARATE PAGE! Otherwise, take the "Credits" and "Disclaimer" sections OUT OF THE NAVIGATION BAR! So, that's a total of nine points deducted for layout (dis)organization. While I do love the layout (that's why I left that one point up there), I just can't get past the horrible organization! Spelling: 5/5 points I did not find any mistakes. Grammar: 5/5 points I did not find any mistakes. (Although I could be missing a few; your three-column thing is hard to read @_@ I have bad eyes.) Sitely: 4/10 points Your sitely section is all over the place! I didn't even know you had any directory listings; they were hidden all the way at the end of the introduction! Just another instance of the organization rearing its head. I would create a completely separate page in your navigation and put your affiliates, your directory listings, and your reviews in this section. Not ONLY will it make it easy to look through at-a-glance, but it will also keep your directories from asking, "Why haven't you linked back to me yet?" You say, "I have!" and they reply, "Then where is my button?" That's an argument waiting to happen; trust me. Content: 20/25 points Your animations are absolutely gorgeous. I could stare at them all day (preferably on separate pages; the strain of making them all run at once makes the browser lag terribly!). Your icons, however, are a little...lacking. Sometimes they're obscured by the textures/image-overlays, but most of the time they're clear. You use a lot of glowing dots, though. 
These, for example, ^ are very difficult to see. What are they? I can't see what they are, really. (Not to mention that the tiny scrollbox they're crammed into makes it really hard to see them all.) So, that's why I took off a few points: while your animations are the driving force of your site, your icons need a little work. Your banners could probably use it, too, but the main things you need to work on are your icons. Extras: 3/5 points I would probably come back...if you changed the layout. The layout itself is gorgeous; the organization...not so much. I don't know of any other site out there that has such a variety of animations (heck, I don't know of any sites out there WITH animations!), but it takes a lot of dedication to trudge through the layout to find them. Other problems: Just what I mentioned above: YOUR LAYOUT!! *No Points deducted* Overall Score: 45/70 points overall That's a 64%. Honestly, I don't want to give your site this score. If you had a working layout, it'd be a high-eighties to mid-nineties score. As it is, though, most of your points were deducted because of your organizational problems. I'd get to working on those right away. Great job, though! I adore your animations! Recommended || Not Recommended Why? The graphics are phenomenal. The layout takes a bit of working to get used to, but once you figure it out, you can find some AMAZING graphics! The End?Well?You fall out of your seat in shock. Wh-wh-wha...? Josh is back, crouching on the edge of the cliff in front of you. Well? he asks lazily. Didn't she say she'd be thorough? You nod, a little disappointed. You didn't know that you had that many errors. You'd better get going, he warns. There's a storm coming. If you get caught on the cliffs...well, you're not going to get off the island alive. He grins again.
The Siren smiles sadly and turns back to the ocean. I told you. Not many people come to see me anymore. I gave you the honest truth about your site. Whether you choose to accept it or not is your problem. You may or may not decide to change it. She sighs and begins to sing again. I don't understand! you wail. What did I do wrong? Absolutely nothing. Your site needed a review, and I gave you one. Now, she says, looking back at the piece of paper clutched in your hand, it appears that you have earned an award. Go ahead, take the one that your name is carved under. If you choose any other one, I shall know about it and shall imprison you on my island forever. She turns again, and plunges into the sea. You're left with only the review paper, and the thought of collecting your award. You do so, quickly, and rush to the ocean's edge. There, you find a boat waiting to take you back to shore. Without a second thought, you leap into it. As the Siren's island fades behind you, you hear the Siren singing to herself. I hope to find this place again one day, you think as you sail away. She could use the company. The AwardsAward for 90 - 95:  Winners: Dark Light The Unknown Award for 96 - 99:  Winners: Vibe Award for 100:  Winners: None Link Back
Affiliates
Listers
Kitty
Neo Life
Real Life
Hobbies
Credits *Nothing fancy here. No beautiful pictures (mostly because I've run out of them), no long-winded explanation from the Siren or from Josh...just a peaceful list of sites and a few written thank-yous to various people. So, without further ado, let's get started.GraphicsAll of the 200 x 200 icons that you see around the site were made one hundred percent by me. I worked really hard on them, so please, do not steal them!The link-back buttons were made by: Button One: Nienke at Nienke's Premades. Button Two: Deanna at Missing Link. Button Three: Crazy at Buttons Galore. Button Four: Viky at Impulse. Button Five: Caylee at Whirligig. Button Six: Cassie. Button Seven: Sophia at The Florist. Button Eight: Cassie at Clarity Etc. The Reviews are Open and Reviews are Closed are made by The Lunch Box. Such wonderful resources. The  pixels are from Dark Light.
The SitesCurrent background from The Lunch Box. It's a lovely (non-little) site that has a plethora of gorgeous resources. I'd highly recommend this.Layout from Vibe. Kiwi's good at what she does, isn't she? If it wasn't for this site, I don't think any of my pages would ever have been "clothed," so to speak. Her layouts have that spark in them that nobody else does. If this site ever shuts down, I'm going to be in deep, deep trouble. (It'll be another Otaku! I'll sob! I swear!) Some textures are from Celetial-Star, Allianora, and Deviantart. As these are off-site pages, I can only suggest that you use a helpful search engine to help you find them. They really do have absolutely fantastic textures. Some textures are from Nienke's Resources. This is an absolutely lovely site owned by an even lovelier person, connected to an absolutely gorgeous premades site! Check it out. You won't be disappointed. The Josh review style was inspired by Apartment Nine's Review Site Guide. Cass suggested that, to spice things up a bit, add a visual review style. I have, and it seems to work wonders! The Leviathan review style was inspired by Alaia, a surfing-themed review site. Thank you, Florelle. (If you do not wish for me to use this style, please tell me and I will take it down.) Counters from Boingdragon and Whos.Amung.Us. Counter base from Dark Light. There are two great sites that helped me when I was despairing while revamping this site: Blithe (an absolutely fantastic review site guide!) and How to Offer Great Service (just what is says it is: a guide to offering FANTASTIC service!). Without these two sites, SSR would never have become the Siren's Isle that I know and love today. I salute you two! A big thank-you to iSite, where I have a profile page. I don't know how much traffic I'm getting from having a page there, but I hope that whatever happens, it was worth placing a page there! No credits can be complete, however, without counting the fantabulous Cass and her fantastic directory, Soroptimist! Between looking for button makers, checking out other review sites to see what they've got and what I don't, and just having awesome (over 2500!) links...there's not another directory like this in all of Neopia. Thank you, Cass! The PeopleOf course, as with any site, there are always so many people that I have to thank for helping me. Without you guys, The Site Formerly Known as Siren's Song Reviews (TSFKASSR) would never have been born in the first place. Now that it's simply called Siren's Isle, I have you guys to thank even MORE.First up, there's my first true site-making friend, Tina. Tina's stuck with me through thick and thin. She's always there to help me solve those irritating coding problems (I think I've messed up the margins again! Gah! HELP!) and there to encourage me when my site traffic has again fallen below normal. She's encouraged me for almost four years now, ever since I came back to Neo after a long, long hiatus. Thank you, Tina, for all you've done. Next up, we see the fabulous Siddey! She's gone through some tough decisions with me (Should I take the site down? Should I leave it up? What's up with the layout? You know what to do? Yeah? I'm having the same issue!) and somehow, we always come out on top. She's recently left the Neopian site-making world, though, to do her own thing. She's quite an accomplished photographer. Siddey, I salute you. Thirdly, we have my wonderful, amazing, fantabulous guild, Scarlet Memories. You guys have always kept me going, whether it's through the Sparkle War (I've still got my Swoozka, mind!), Mini-Plots (I think TTTL is coming back for a sequel, guys!), or just goofing around on the guild boards, you've taken several bad days and given them a complete 180. Without you, I'd be lost. My only regret is that I have to take so many breaks, considering that school's still going on. Fourthly, I would love to tell Rabbit that her graphics site is simply amazing! :3 Finally, I would like to give a shout-out to the many site-makers that got me here, even though they no longer frequent Neo. I try to hunt them down (unsuccessfully) outside these Viacom'd walls, but it's a bit difficult. So, in no particular order, here are their names: Gabby, who got me started on graphic sites and used my review site several times throughout my first few months. Sarah, who kept me going through some tough times and still found a way to make me laugh. (She also guessed my "true name," so to speak. My non-Neo name.) Yume. Without you, I probably would have quit Neo long ago. Those few months with you in SM were fantastic; I only wish you had not quit. I miss you, Yume-san. Site InformationThis site was originally started in July 2008 under the name of Siren's Song Reviews. It stayed up for quite a while, until late 2009 when a vicious, mean, horrible person (who I shall not name here) got a review. She was not happy with her review (even though it was a 91%), complaining that I was too focused on grammar (and her site was a grammatical disaster). She proceeded to flame me all over her site (I have the proof, if you want to see it), and as it was quite a well-respected site, I lost everything.In the summer of 2010, I decided that I wanted to get back into reviewing. I revamped the site layout, did a few reviews, but then school came along and I got swamped. August 2011, I started a hardcore revision of my site. "Siren's Song Reviews" would no longer cut it. I got a new layout, a new look, and a new name. Siren's Isle. It was mysterious. I rewrote my whole script, added a few icons, and revamped my rules and reviewing styles. Counter started on August 27, 2011. Original counter had 3875 hits from November 2008 - August 2011. This site is best viewed in Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Opera, and Apple Safari. It will work in Internet Explorer, but the counters will be slightly off. I apologize for this, but I want the site to work in the majority of browsers. Tweaking something just so that it works in IE but is off in every other browser is a complete waste of time to me. Just you wait, Neopia. This is going to be the best review site you have ever seen! Various Buttons
  Goodbye
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I've owned several (relatively successful) sites over the years: a directory, a graphics site, this review site, and a GIMP tutorial.
