Before getting into the actual review, let me first take the time to tell you that this review is a bit different. I did the majority of the review while writing MAU Madness #6. I want the readers to be able to see what goes into one of my reviews, so for a behind-the-scenes look at how this review got written, check out MAU Madness #6.

Now, to the review.

At "Rini's Top 10 SM Sites" I found "Rini's Place". When I visited the list, this site had been placed up top as the "Site of the Moment", which of course, drew my interest, so I decided to check it out.

Rini's Place is self-explanatory as far as they type of page it is. It is a fan site devoted to Rini. The splash page greets you with a collage background that is tiled, and a picture of Chibusa and Pegasus. (And to all you sticklers out there, YES I know it's more correct in this case to refer to her as Sailor Mini-moon, but I just....can't... Sue me.)

Anyway, you have this collaged background with purple text and a slightly clipped picture that doesn't look too bad. Then at the bottom of the page, there's a slight problem...an embedded MIDI file. The problem with this is that embedded MIDI files are okay only as long as the user has control over them. For one thing, I connect to the Net for the most part from the college, and it would not do to have a MIDI start playing during a class. Checking the source code, I see that the MIDI is embedded directly in the code, and that it is set to autostart and loop. The source says there is a sound control, but I don't see it on the page. My advice is to either modify the MIDI so that the controls actually appear on the page, or remove the MIDI altogether.

Diving into the page... The main page has the same basic setup as the splash...collaged tile background and purple text...and not too far down the page a bunch of CAPS talking about the schedule changes at the Cartoon Network. While this topic is certainly something to get upset about, perhaps this should be organized into an updates page or news page that is off of the main page. As it is, the user basically knocks on the door of the site, opens the door, and the author goes: Hiya! AND STARTS SHOUTING LIKE THIS!!! To avoid this sort of thing, remember that the same rules in chat rooms and such apply to webpage design. ALL CAPS LIKE THIS is taken to mean that the person using them is shouting, and people generally don't like being shouted at.

ANYWAY...

The site loads quickly and doesn't over-dazzle the viewer with huge amounts of eye-candy and super-advanced source code, which is always a good thing worth mentioning in my book. The site navigation is simple, yet functional, so we pick a link and off we go...

It appears that the main focus of the site is on picture galleries. There are two of them, and they both have good and bad points. The galleries both have a rather nice supply of pics, some of which I have not seen. The problem is that the Rini gallery looks like the pics were just thrown on the page. Each pic loads where-ever it pleases and I had to wait while the browser decided where to plop this or that picture down onto the page. To fix this, make a set of thumbnails and perhaps put those thumbnails into a table so they are better-organized.

One problem both galleries have is that the pictures have to compete with the Rini Background from Hell, a big dark pink background pic tiled across the entire page and it's twin, an even darker background that is tiled across the other gallery. These backgrounds cause problems reading the text, and they tend to grab attention away from the pictures in the gallery. My advice here is to make or shop around for a side-bordered background and use it instead. I among other people, happen to have a few Rini backgrounds at the LFHQ's Graphics Factory. You can find other backgrounds through any number of links lists that focus on website graphics.

Now before you decide that I am trashing this site, I will point out that I liked the links section. There are a number of attractive link banners and buttons, including a cute animated banner. I alos like it when an author puts in things like a chat room or a forum, and this site has both! COOL!

The profiles section could use some work. Basically, I look at this page and can ask myself, "Why go here rather than the next Rini site with a profile?" While not a MAJOR detracting factor, people are looking for things that make a site break out from the pack, and this profile doesn't do it. My advice: sit down and ponder the intricacies of the person named Rini. Give the user YOUR opinions on her. How was she different from the R season to the S season? I think a psychologist could write a pretty long essay on her if you dig a bit into the whys and hows of her first journey back into the 20th Century.

Besides, Rini is one of the FEW...the PROUD...the HEROES who were TURNED VILLAIN! Write about that! :) I'm going nuts here, but I see a lot of potential. The only other problem on the profile page is that the list is centered, and that looks bad.

The author has a seperate pic gallery for group pictures. Like the Rini gallery, there is a good selection of pics, some of which I have not seen. Aside from changing the background, the only thing I would do is pull this from the main menu and put both galleries into a gallery subpage with a menu link there pointing to each of them. This will smarten up the navigation a bit.

Despite the amount of pounding it seems I gave this site, I congratulate the author on building this site. She has done a good job and the site has a lot of potential for continued growth. I want to make sure this gets said: I want this person to continue building this page. I am not in the business of frightening people out of the SMC or away from designing webpages, and the links I provided here will lead to resources and people who will gladly help with things from backgrounds to site design tricks that will make your page really spiffy.

Keep up the good work.

Artemis' Score: 6.6