Silverpeak Island
Ringet Loris
Originality: Silverpeak Island was the first island club in the ROC, but since its “birth” four years ago, many others have been created. Also there were no “Silver” or “Peak” anythings before it. The owner, Bandeye, has an original species; a linsang. Linsangs have never been mentioned in the Redwall books, and there are very few of them online.
Silverpeak Island provides many original activities, including a Redwall Name Generator and a Banner Exchange.
9 points out of 10
Creativity:Plenty of Bandeye’s own work is featured on the site. There is a Silverpeak Online Story, written entirely by her, but it is incomplete. Several of her pieces can be found with the stories and poems in the Throneroom and Gatehouse respectively. There is a whole page, the Palm Grove, containing her furre artwork from 1999 onwards (this is in addition to a Sketchpad for members’ artwork).
Silverpeak Island has, as well as the standard activities, some that encourage members to be very creative. The contests, especially, stand out.
9 points out of 10
Updates: Silverpeak Island used to be updated very frequently, but now it is updated less often, due to the webmistress’s very busy schedule in real life. However, the site is still updated at least once a week, but as members are always sending in new stuff and the updates are not all major, many people fail to appreciate this.
8 points out of 10
Navigability: The links are laid out in typical style: down the left hand side of the page. There are no broken links. When you move to the activities area of Silverpeak, the links change to show the different activities. There is a button at the bottom of each page to take you back to the main page. As with everything else, the links are done stylishly, using an image map.
10 points out of 10
Effort: Silverpeak is a well-established site now, but it would be lying to say that it required less effort. The type of effort has just changed - where it used to be building, designing and redesigning the site, it’s now creating more activities, and putting up the members’ contributions (of which there are plenty). Bandeye has always put her all into Silverpeak; to quote her “I spent weekends and weekends; thousands of hours...”
9 points out of 10
Activities: Silverpeak provides many activities for its always-multiplying number of members. There are, of course, the standard activities that you could find in any Redwall club. Nothing new. But there are also a variety of cool contests, for members with a variety of talents. There are two riddle hunts, one of which involves searching for 99.9% invisible coconuts - trust me, they are. You can only find them by running your mouse over them. Then there are three different PALS, a sketchpad and an arcade, containing all different kinds of word puzzles.
8 points out of 10
Achievement: Silverpeak has gone above and beyond its owner’s dreams. It has gone from being your typical, humble, tacky Redwall site to one of the greatest sites in the ROC. During Silverpeak’s four year life, it has gone through a variety of styles and designs, improving all the time. Its activities have increased, and become increasingly varied. Of course, there is always something new to strain for - in this case, speed of updates would be one.
9 points out of 10
Initial Impression: Silverpeak presents a nifty front page, giving links not only to the Island but also to a new, developing “Redwall Connection”; to the “Redwall Awards” refurbished; and to “Hyperlynx Web Design”, Bandeye’s own business.
Once you enter the Island, you are faced with a bright, tropical design that is consistent throughout the site. It is immensely appealing, and everything that you see makes you want to explore further.
10 points out of 10
Legibility: Silverpeak uses good, clear fonts which fit in with its general design. There is good contrast where necessary, and apart from when she goes hyper, the webmistress never talks you in circles. Everything is clearly labelled, the links are easy to find and most places have obvious name (although I can never remember whether poems go in the Gatehouse or the Throneroom). There is impressive, but not over- use of stunning graphics, usually furre pictures drawn by Bandeye herself. All the forms are in working order, and the site loads very quickly.
Silverpeak is totally user friendly.
10 points out of 10
Atmosphere: Silverpeak has a message board and an RPG (although that is not working at the moment). The message board is always lively - many members use it and it is a very homey place. Occasionally there are “evil intruders” who stir up a bad atmosphere, but they are rejected or converted by the happy and hyper crowds.
If you are the type that enjoys chatting to your friends by posting zillions of textless messages (the types where the heading says all you need to say), then there is something for you too, the Bo(a)r(e)d, or Bored Board.
All the Silverpeakers are friendly and welcoming, and they will always give you a second chance if you come across evil the first time.
10 points out of 10
Viewer Appeal=92%
http://www.silverpeakisland.com
Silverpeak Island is owned by and copyrighted to Bandeye Maia Linsang
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