Name: kiranjit
Site: Enigma
Brief Description: Virtual Roswell Season 4
Date of Review: 08/21/02

Splash: Your simple blue and white color scheme looks very nice here, simple and elegant. The title image is intriguing, with that distressed typewriter-type font, but I thought it looked a bit odd that the edges cut off so abruptly, without any border around the image. It looked sort of unfinished, or something ... but that could just be me. I would suggest adding an image of the Roswell gang here, because the splash currently gives no clue to the beautiful graphical layout inside the site. I would also suggest removing the mailing-list sign-up from the splash, since it's already inside the site. It isn't especially attractive looking, and you want your splash to really catch the visitor's eye. You list the site requirements, which is good, but you don't mention pop-ups, without which your visitors can't view any of your content.  3.0

Layout: I looked at your site in both Mozilla 1.0 (same as Netscape) and IE5, and it looks much better in Mozilla. In IE (which is used by about 75% of web-surfers), the images don't line up correctly (see my screen captures). This might be a Macintosh problem, but you should definitely look at it ... because in Mozilla, your layout is simply gorgeous! It's a shame to see it messed up in IE. Normally, I really hate scrolling, but for some reason your pages didn't bother me. The content felt well-suited to the frame size, except your message board. You should definitely code all outside links to open in a new window, because right now they get caught within your small frame, which is very unattractive. Also, some of your pages (for example, the "History" page) are far longer than their content, leading me to scroll questioningly through tons of open space, only to find nothing there. You should delete all those extra lines of dead space and spare your visitors the frustration. Lastly, I have a concern about your layout, which is not yet a problem, since you haven't begun uploading the virtual season 4. Your layout is not well-suited to displaying a large amount of text, because the window is so small. And yet the focus of your site is fanfiction ... which one would expect to mean a lot of text. Just something to think about and plan for, since I imagine you'll be posting the beginning of the fanfic soon.  3.5

Originality: I love this idea! I know it's been done before for other cancelled television shows, but it still is not very common. So your basic concept is intriguing and original. Some of your content (cast bios, for example) is taken directly from other websites, but overall I found your site very creative, and I *love* your site title.  4.8

Content: Well, your site exists primarily to display a virtual season 4 of Roswell ... which you have not yet begun posting. So the only content on the site thus far is peripheral stuff, but some of it is pretty darn interesting. I loved reading your "History" section, and I've never even watched Roswell! The text is quite well-written: clear and compelling, with remarkably few errors. The formatting of the paragraphs was a little funky, though, since there was no indenting. It was sometimes difficult to tell when a new paragraph began. And some of your paragraphs are incredibly long, which discourages readers. I'd recommend breaking them up a bit, especially with such a small text window. I was a little puzzled by the "Cast" section. Since the focus of this site is fanfiction -- which, one would assume -- does not involve the cast at all, I suggest that a section on the *characters* would be a lot more in keeping with the theme of your site (and useful to your readers) than a section on the cast.  3.0

Navigation: I really like the primary navigation on the site, the links to the right of the text frame. It's not especially unique, but it looks simple, classy, and clear. Within those primary sections, though, navigation was very frustrating, because none of the pages have "Back" buttons, so it's nearly impossible to get around *within* a section. I'd recommend adding "Back" buttons to every page on the site, because it should be very easy to do, and it will make a world of difference to your visitors.  2.5

Various Comments: This site has amazing potential, because your basic concept is so intriguing and you've clearly got talented writers (and artists) working on the project. It's unfortunate that the layout looks wrong in IE, since that's what most people use, so that's the thing I'd focus on fixing first. That, and adding the "Back" buttons. I was surprisingly interested in your site, given how little I know about Roswell, so I imagine Roswell fans are going to adore you!

Total Score: 3.5/5