EAE Award Winners 2000

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The Ultimate Star Trek Collection (January 2000)
I remember The Ultimate Star Trek Collection was very useful when I made my first steps in creating my own Star Trek site two years ago. Therefore it's a special pleasure and honor to award TUSTC with the EAE Award. Webmaster Erwin van der Waal has managed to keep the content of his site always up-to-date and growing. The extent of the database is awesome. Virtually every topic of common interest is covered with a lot of text and graphics. "Serious" canon facts are carefully supplemented with conjectural info and various trivia. I guess it would take days to view and read it all. Everyone who has ever searched for specific information will like the easy navigation through TUSTC and the fast loading of the pages. This is because, unlike many other approaches, this site doesn't use complicated programming techniques or exaggerated graphic design. Maybe this is even one reason why the site is still alive and thriving. I especially appreciate that all sub-sections are accessible from the index page and unmistakably named. No endless searching of sub-pages with obscure names is necessary. Congratulations, Erwin "Ernest"!

Star Trek Lives (February 2000)
A place with such a title *must* be good. I admit that was not exactly a logical argumentation, but this site lives indeed in that it offers a lot of interactive features such as a discussion forum, surveys and news. Especially if one is tired of LCARS menus that all look alike, here is a place with a unique design. An HTML 4 browser is required, yet, the technical performance is fast and flawless. The main part of Star Trek Lives is a comprehensive database, spanning all important topics in the Trek Universe. It is a very good place to search for specific facts, whether it is a photo of Tasha Yar or information about rarely seen artifacts like the Stone of Gol. Many of the depictions are taken from Star Trek card games, and cannot be found elsewhere in the web to my knowledge. The download section has a couple of very interesting things too. There is an English version, but the German version is currently more extensive. Summarizing, Star Trek Lives is an all-round Trek site with interesting stuff for everyone. I couldn't imagine anything that is missing except for the announced sections to be added soon. Congratulations to webmaster Matthias Krackau!

Star Trek in Sound and Vision (March 2000)
I don't think there is any other place with such a massive compilation of high-quality sounds and images. Unlike other media collections, STinSV has been frequently updated for over three years. From the four series to the movies, there are lots of pictures of virtually every character and ship and, as unique features, many computer screens and planet images. The sound archive has everything from title themes to touching, dramatic or funny quotes - and computer beeps, of course. The two STinSV webmasters, Richard and Dave, show a very good sense for what is relevant. Unlike many similar sites, they don't just present lots of blurry images that all look alike and can be found anywhere else in the web. Moreover, it would not be justified to just call their work "collecting", considering that they record all the sounds, make screen captures and scan images from magazines themselves. The web design is pleasant in that it recreates TOS, TNG and other interfaces without exposing the visitor to a graphical overkill. Agreed, the pages load rather slow, but it's worth waiting for. Congratulations for this truly impressive media collection. If you don't find it here, it probably doesn't exist!

Star Trek Voyager - Starfleet Database (April 2000)
No other Star Trek series has inspired so many well-designed and informative fan websites. Many of them would deserve an award, but STVSD is our favorite, because of the diversity of information and other features. The site has recently undergone a redesign, I recommend Internet Explorer to see a flawless layout. STVSD has virtually everything about the actors, characters, the ship, the races and, of course, the episodes. STVSD is frequently updated with new rumors, episode descriptions and reviews. There are various innovative interactive sections such as "Storykeeper's Sanctuary", the fan quiz "VQ" and "Seven's Hive of Irrelevance", in addition to the many "usual features" (regarding the high standard of this site) such as a message board, chat, send-a-postcard, etc. We are impressed that a once small personal website could develop to such an impressive source of information and fun, through the dedicated work of webmaster Chris Reuter and his team. Teamwork appears to be an essential aspect, especially in the STVSD review board, providing different views that are interesting to compare. The site's motto is: "Fans not only want to know. Fans also want 'to do'." - I couldn't express it better.

Mc-Kinley-Station (May 2000)
As already mentioned above, there are lots of excellent Voyager fan sites. I have come across a Voyager site whose wealth of information and entertainment is almost incredible. Mc-Kinley-Station is created and maintained by Andreas Kümpel and is completely in German. Although the LCARS layout is graphically extensive, the pages load very fast. One of the many merits of the site is the database that covers all topics from races, planets, ships and technology to the fully illustrated episode list. I especially liked the complete crew list and the tour of the ship. It's a surfer's dream how the single subjects are linked with each other, and I can't help being astonished that there don't seem to be any dead links. There are many special features, such as a list of errors and oddities and of 47's. My absolute favorite, however, is the commented hairstyle gallery (of Janeway, Seven and Kes). The main image gallery is a must-see, not only for Jeri Ryan fans who will find more than one hundred high-resolution pics, many of which are rare or unique. As if all this were not yet enough, Mc-Kinley-Station offers all episode trailers and many other video files - I probably don't want to know how many gigaquads of server space they require. ;-)

SciFi Art (June 2000)
SciFi Art is widely known across cyberspace as the source for quality Star Trek starship 3D model meshes and panoramic images that bring them to life. 3D design software (and the required hardware, of course) has become incredibly powerful in the last few years, and SciFi Art impressively demonstrates this. The realism of their models has reached a point where the rendering has the same level of details as the original, and often even more. Check out their Ambassador class or Excelsior class, for instance, and the image and movie gallery "The Mind's Eye". It is hard to understand that such complicated structures can often be created in a matter of hours. The design tutorials at SciFi Art give a lot of insight into this process and, most important, they are likely to encourage beginners in 3D design to try it out. The SciFi Art Forums are simply the icing on the cake. They are among the most visited Star Trek forums in the web, and they are the place where new designs can be admired (or sometimes criticized), although their scope is not limited to 3D design. SciFi Art is by all means a deserving member of this EAE Award.
(Lance & Bernd)

Delta Blues (July 2000)
Judging the judge is a weird thing. Nevertheless, I will try it. The reviews of Star Trek: Voyager at Delta Blues are probably the best and most profound to exist. Only viewing the show itself is still better. Jim Wright does a great job with every new episode. Each review includes a literal transcript of the whole episode. This is immensely helpful to anyone who's looking for a particular piece of information, or just a nice quote for an e-mail signature. Delta Blues is probably the best source for fans outside North America who want to stay up-to-date, provided they allow themselves to be fully spoiled. I'm usually not *that* curious, so I read the full review just after I have seen the episode on video. The second part of each review is an analysis with criteria such as drama, acting, plot logic, or simply personal taste. Jim includes many references to other episodes as well as allusions to the world outside Trek, and this is definitely fun reading. Occasionally I may have changed my mind a bit after reading a contrary review by Jim - well, not about "11:59" which I will always hate. ;-) Delta Blues has no extensive graphics, no pictures and no downloads, but I never missed them.

Federation Starship Datalink (August 2000)
There are countless starship websites out there, and many of them just reproduce facts (and errors) found elsewhere in the web. There are several exceptions, though. The Federation Starship Datalink (FSD), created and maintained by Hobbes, is definitely one of these original sites. I have been following the development of the FSD for quite a while, and know it as a reliable source of starship information. One thing I like very much is that Hobbes manages to combine the information and the fun aspect. The FSD is much like an online "Star Trek Magazine" - well, probably more competent. ;-) The site is sub-divided in sections about Federation starships, (high-quality) images, shuttles, alien starships, Star Trek's capital ships and fan art which can be reached through a well-designed main menu (click "reload" to see a different ship each time). In my opinion the FSD proves that a site doesn't need menu bars in every corner or frames to facilitate navigation. What I'd like to praise too is that the FSD has lots of carefully designed illustrations which give each individual section or page a distinct theme. As his partner I know (and I hope I don't reveal too much) that Hobbes has some exciting new stuff which will be available soon. Be prepared...

The Gigantic Collection of Star Trek Minutiae (September 2000)
The title sounds as ambitious as the project actually is. The site is still under development, but Dan is presenting a wide variety of facts, conjecture, fiction, opinion and fun already now. It's actually one of the most complete sites, considering that so many different aspects of the Star Trek Universe are covered. Some of the features at Star Trek Minutiae are unique, many others are deliberately presented in a slightly different fashion than elsewhere on the web. The Starfleet Academy, for instance, is a collection of various documents in the form of a schedule for cadets. Dan's fan fiction, the Star Trek Restoration series, extending Star Trek to the 27th century, is definitely a highlight. I think it's very well-considered. My favorite section, however, is the humor archive. From the various top ten lists and parodies to very odd stories, Dan has collected about the funniest stuff to exist. Pay attention to the "AH" sign and use the restroom before reading! I like the unpretentious design of Star Trek Minutiae, the well-readable text and the deliberate use of graphics too. There are still many gaps to be filled, most notably the Starfleet Reference Databank, but Star Trek Minutiae is definitely developing to a premium site, and this is what I'd like to praise and encourage.

Main Engineering (October 2000)
Main Engineering is a gem among the Trek multimedia sites on the web. The site offers numerous sounds, images, and video sequences from over 30 years of Star Trek, carefully selected and readily accessible. The perhaps most interesting content, however, is the original artwork in the form of animations, drawings, and games. Speaking of original creations, the web design includes various graphic elements which are (TOS-style) colorful, yet pleasantly unpretentious and load as fast as the rest of the files usually does too - very important for a media site. Star Trek: TAS is a spin-off section of Main Engineering, dedicated to The Animated Series. The praise of the mother site applies to this distinctive section likewise. I would like to add that I'm amazed how much inspiration the widely forgotten series is still able to provide, even for goodies like calendars or ICQ skins. Having seen only few of the animated episodes a long time ago, this site succeeds in giving me the impression that I have missed a lot. Either section alone would deserve an award, so it is even more obvious that both together must be a worthy recipient of the EAE Award. Congratulations to Main Engineering and Star Trek: TAS!

The Trekker (November 2000)
No, I'm not only giving the award to The Trekker because it's my partner site and my friend Lance provides countless links to EAS. :-) In the first place, it's the creative goal of giving 24th century Starfleet a face. A real starship fan may understand that it's just not satisfactory to have a few facts on the few known starships of Starfleet - which must be a really big organization. This is why we are reconstructing the missing designs in the ASDB, and this is Lance's motivation to *carefully* supplement the canon Trek Universe with what he calls his "personal canon" and what I see as a reasonable vision. This is how he has managed to bridge the gap between the strictly canon material that doesn't leave much room for imagination and the sometimes absurd ship fantasies of fans. Anyone who is looking for starships will find lots of pics and information at The Trekker. Besides the ship descriptions there are separate chapters about fleet organization, fleet size, and other topics, to complete the image of Starfleet. The design is quite nice, and it would be even more pleasant if Homestead wouldn't generate such a crappy page code, which is only well understood by Internet Explorer. Yet, it never bothered me much on a site whose content counts.

The Prime Directive (December 2000)
The Prime Directive is the first site for a long time that heard me say "Wow!" when I first visited it. The site seems to satisfy really every need of a Trek fan: daily news, complete episode guides, an extensive database, downloads including "exotic" stuff like Windows startup screens and countless Winamp skins and, finally, the latest videoclips - which usually load appreciably fast. It is one of the places where you are likely to stay for hours - and return the next day when it's updated. It is obvious that the site structure has been designed for fast and easy access and not for arbitrary surfing - no obscure sub-sections, no hidden links. If you're searching for something particular, you usually won't need more than two mouse clicks from the main page. This doesn't mean that you wouldn't find something interesting by just clicking around as well! As for the design and color scheme, it's very distinguished and just beautiful. I won't keep secret the only point of criticism which, however, is beyond the responsibility of the webmaster: The flashing banners are annoying, but eventually even they can't ruin the well-designed layout. The Prime Directive is a premium Trek website in every respect and a worthy winner of the EAE Award.

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