Name: Mellissa
Site: this is the time
Brief Description: This is my personal site. It's got information about me, as well as all of my writing. It also serves as a collective for my other projects.
Date of Review: 08/27/02

Splash: Your splash page is quite intriguing, and I like the purple and white color scheme. I also like the look of the outlined font for the Billy Joel lyrics that overlay the blurred image. The image map to pop-up window on the splash image was neat, allowing your visitors to see all of your affiliations without cluttering up this simple page. I have two criticisms of your splash, the first of which is more of a concern than the second. You don't list *any* requirements on your splash page. The primary purpose of a splash page is to advise your visitors in advance about what they're getting themselves into, so you should list all of your site requirements. I didn't notice too many, since your site doesn't have a lot of interactive content (and that is not a criticism, as you will see when I discuss your content, below), but you definitely need to alert your visitors that your site can only really be viewed with 1024x768 screen resolution. (More about this under "Layout.") My second criticism of your splash is a minor one. While I like the look of your splash image, I notice that it is pretty much identical to the splash image for the Rebecca Herbst fanlisting. You have a lovely image of her on your main page, so I'm sure there are others. I would recommend finding something unique instead of using the same image as the fanlisting, in order to differentiate yourself and really make the splash page *yours*.  2.5/5

Layout: (1) Well, the first thing that I noticed about your layout was that it is *really* wide. Even with my usual 1024x768 screen window, I couldn't see all the text. I had to extend my window to its absolute maximum width in order to see your site without an insane amount of simultaneous back-and-forth and up-and-down scrolling. Since about half of all web-surfers use screen resolutions *smaller* than 1024x768, you might consider altering your layout a bit for their convenience. (That should be a fairly easy change to make.) (2) The second thing I noticed about your layout was that the text crashes right into the rule surrounding your text box. This would look a lot nicer if you indented all text even just a few pixels. (3) The third thing I noticed was that your blog is waaaaaaaaay too long for the layout you've got going. The standard blog layout has the blog in a scrolling frame, which would probably be a good way for you to go. If you aren't sure how to do this, drop me a line of email (kimberly@nothinglikethesun.com) and I can direct you to some useful resources. Additionally, I would recommend putting your blog on a page by itself, instead of just sticking it on below the purple text box, because it looks a little funky right now ... like it was unintentional or unfinished. The "Me" section would be a good place for it, if you choose to go that route. (4) I found your heading ("This Is The Time ... version three point zero...Rebecca Herbst") very difficult to read. Perhaps if the purple background was a bit darker (maybe to match the purple in the image of Rebecca), it would be easier on the eyes. (To sum up) Overall, your layout is quite simple, which is well-suited to a site that focuses primarily on text content. The suggestions I've made are fairly minor, but they do currently affect the viewing experience of the site quite a bit. I think they'll mostly be quite easy and quick to fix.  3.5

Originality: Gotta say ... your site is really original! I mean, personal sites are *everywhere* these days, but very very very few have as much interesting content as your site! Just the fact that you have so much of your own fiction writing and essays on the site makes it completely unique ... because *nobody* else has your writing. (Or, at least, let's hope not! Thieves!) Your layout isn't terribly original, but most of the content really makes up for that.  4.5/5

Content: As I mentioned under "Originality," your content rocks! You have *tons* of stuff here, and it's pretty much all really interesting. I especially enjoyed your Quotes section, and spent quite a while reading them all, chuckling over those that were familiar. (Hey there, fellow "Empire Records" fan!) Even those quotes that weren't familiar were well-chosen and compelling ... and served to give insight into your personality and values. This isn't just a random compilation of stuff ... it's a clear expression of your thoughts and feelings and hopes, and that's a neat accomplishment! Your reading list, movie descriptions, and song lyrics were great too (I've had Pink's "Don't Let Me Get Me" stuck in my head since viewing your site, thank you very much, you evil person, you!) ... but of course the heart of your site is your own fiction and essays. Your content is just fabulous! The only suggestion I have is ... more! Oh ... and you might want to have a little section with more info about Rebecca Herbst, such as *why* she's your favorite actress. That was the only thing I thought might be missing.   5/5

Navigation: In general, navigation of your site was quite smooth and easy. I like the look of your navigation links that overlay the image, and found them very clear and intuitive. Unlike many sites, yours did not require me to *hunt* to find out how to get around. My only quibble is that your sub-pages (such as the reading list) do not link directly back to the category in which they reside. So your visitors have to try to remember which section of the site they're in and click on that same category again, or use their browser's back button. You can make this a bit more convenient for your visitors by simply putting a link back to the appropriate section at the bottom of each page, just above the link to "Home."  3/5

Various Comments: I really enjoyed looking through your site, and I *love* your collection of quotes! I may very well come back to visit again in the future, because I had such a good time exploring and reading your content. Great job! Do a bit of polishing of the layout and navigation, and your site will be really excellent!

Total Score: 4/5