[GoldenChaos]

Site Name: Zelda Universe
URL: http://www.zeldauniverse.net/forums/

Description: The Zelda Universe main site is the definitive resource for everything about The Legend of Zelda. It's got more content than any other fansite, and reports on the most news. We're constantly updating pages with the highest resolution artwork we can find, and continually updating our guides and pages with more detailed information on every Zelda game. But this is more about the forums.

The Zelda Universe forums make up the largest Zelda community on the internet - and it's a really tightly knit community. The site is entirely fan-run, and the forums are no different; ZU has been a member of the gaming site scene since 2001, but only recently has it undergone an immense transformation in design and direction. Previous owners who were not me tried to rid Zelda Universe of its fan-run heritage, but I brought that back in full swing, and I daresay that now ZU is better than ever. It's something to be proud of.

It took ten months to create the new design you see for the forums and for the main site, which is powered by Wordpress. I brought in a professional designer and worked my butt off with the rest of the ZU staff and community to give the place something that would last for years and establish ZU as the most serious fan site around - a fan site that not only has an immense love for the game it focuses on, in ZU's case the Legend of Zelda series, but an immense love for its visitors and its community. And ZU's community is unmatched. The community is the reason why I took the wheel from prior owners - as a member and webmaster of ZU for four years, the community is priceless. What the other owners wanted is paltry to me; and that means the rest of ZU's helpful staff can now do whatever they want, pretty much uninhibited.

That said, they're some of the nicest people you'll ever meet, and they're always willing to help other people out. Their work ethic is incredible, and the work ethic of the community - the ethic to build a better community atop the current one - is mind-boggling. I am continually stunned by my own site, and by ZU's members' love for both the Zelda series and its incredible community.

Reason for Nomination: I think that this community is something that should be honored - not just because of the incredible new design that myself and Anton Wiklund, its designer, worked on for months, and that ZU's webmaster and administrator Scott and Derek coded for more months, but because the community is not something to scoff at. It's well established and friendly and welcoming, and it's my hope that the new design serves as a message to all of ZU's members, one that says how much the community is worth to me, that I will go to any lengths to help the community better itself, as will its staff. The new design, which features a customized User Control Panel, Profile Page and Postbit, should only complement ZU's pride as what I consider the most amazing online community in the world.

In addition, members have come together and produced a community podcast which is now featured on the main site. We have forums for welcoming new members, and we have forums for getting people involved in community projects. Naturally, there are a million forums for discussing Zelda, but truly Zelda talk isn't even a taste of the ZU community. Through ZU, and through these boards, friendships have been forged, relationships begun, marriages have occurred between members. They were all originally brought together by Zelda, but in the end it was the Zelda community that really tied the knot - not the games themselves. And now they've got what I consider one of the best, most beautiful, and most customized forum designs on the internet to show for it.

I am infinitely proud of the ZU forums, and the ZU site as a whole, and couldn't be more ecstatic to be its webmaster and owner. It's my hope, and my dream, that other people will find cause to be proud of it as well - both as a fan of Zelda, and as a fan of friendships.

Thanks for even considering Zelda Universe. We all work hard.
~ Jason Rappaport.