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by Ringet Loris
Originality: Terrouge was the first of the Redwall Ezines, although there were Redwall Newsletters before it came on the scene in November 98. Now there are more zines in the ROC, but as of yet, none can match up to it. The name is original, too, a mixture of Latin (“terra”) and French (“rouge”) which can be roughly translated as Red Earth or the Land of the Red.
Creativity: With a site design that absolutely sparkles, many lively articles presented to us monthly, and events such as Questors Bold to its name, I’d say Terrouge was high on creativity. Each issue positively glows with the author’s individual talent, and they are based on a wide range of subjects within the great spectrum of Redwall and the ROC. Not only that, but Terrouge can boast of such projects as the soon-to-be-released, revolutionary vermin club – Vulpine Imperium – and the excellent fanfics, Greenhawk and Vermin of Autumn.
Updates: Terrouge’s issues, give or take a couple of days, are always out right at the start of every month. There is also always work continuing in the background to constantly improve the site.
Navigability: The links are obvious, laid out in traditional style down the left-hand side of each page. They are all legible and none are broken, although some pages do not yet exist.
Effort: It seems to me that all of Terrouge’s 15+ staff put in their utmost best all the time, in their own capacity. From a terribly basic look and four-article issues four years ago, Terrouge has risen to the awesome giant it is now. And none of that could have happened without Kenny, the only remaining member of the initial staff of three, and Kelly H., the illustrator, who have both put so much time into the project since the beginning. And the whole of Terrouge is going to keep on working for more improvement!
Activities: Because Terrouge is primarily an ezine, not a member site, this mark will be an average of their other marks. However, I must note that Terrouge has contests such as Questors Bold, a “Survivor”-style RPG, which are open for all the ROC to participate in, to some degree.
Achievement: Terrouge has easily surpassed its creators’ vision for it. Since its first issue, its readership has increased by more than 200 times. However, the staff are still brimming with enthusiasm, and see greater potential yet in Terrouge. Kenny informs me that something is being worked on at this moment which over the next few months will improve Terrouge greatly. But what I see as the zine’s greatest success is the patronage of the official Redwall site – Redwall.Org.
Initial Impression: The first page, as every other page, has a very professional design with wonderful pictures by the artist Kelly H. There is nothing cheap and tacky about it, and it’s certainly inviting to the onlooker.
Legibility: The text is easy to read, and all articles in the zine checked over by editor Erin before it is put out, so best spelling and grammar is ensured. The site loads quickly, graphics’n’all, and is not cluttered. Forms and links all work, and for the pages that are not yet created, apologies are made and the Terrouge design is not lost.
Atmosphere: The Terrouge staff are all in all a very pleasant bunch, and are willing to help you with whatever problems you have. Terrouge Productions is very much a self-sufficient project, and has no alliances (although at one time it was joined with Camp Willow, and still enjoys the patronage of Redwall.Org) and no rivalries above the competition each website owner has with the next. However, it does have many things marching under its banner: for example, Questors Bold and the Vulpine Imperium. However, there is a fair bit of bad feeling towards Terrouge in the ROC, most of which can be traced back to mere jealousy. At one point there was a “Terrouge Is Evil” site in existence. While the atmosphere in general is good, on the forum there have been several problems with antagonistic readers. However, overall, Terrouge is a friendly and welcoming site, and highly recommendable.
V.A. – 97%
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