As a webmaster who has strived from the very beginning to create a site which presents information in as an entertaining manner as possible, I appreciate the same when I see other sites on the web. Although one or two of the sites listed above are made by professional webmasters for their clients, the material presented is solid--and worth spending some time looking over.

A "commercial" site must be more than an advertisement. It should offer enough "free" material so that a visitor will be willing to stick around to be entertained/educated and thus hopefully he/she will seriously consider purchasing etc. the services/products that are being offered.

It should be a site that respects its visitors' right to leave whenever they choose (hopefully after bookmarking it of course)--I very much dislike having to get rid of a frame, especially if I click on a link to a site on a links page and have to look at it inside a frame that takes up half of the screen.

I like to see a page that is polished as much as possible before anyone other than the webmaster sees it. There should be enough information (educational and/or entertaining) so that anyone except perhaps the most casual of web surfers will want to hang around for a while.

Although a site may be always under construction, visitors should not be reminded of it by large icons that never seem to go away. All writing should be free of typos and easy to read (a few esoteric words are okay--we occasionally need an excuse to open a dictionary).

If any graphics are used (which certainly is encouraged), they should be both well done and used appropriately. Ditto for the choice of background--it shouldn't overpower the site's content, and it should be pleasing to the eye.

As for subject matter, obviously western themed sites are of prime concern, but as I have varied interests, don't be surprised to see other sites also receiving the Bunkhouse Award. If you would like to nominate a site for this award, please click on envelope to email me.

Note: Please delete the anti-spam word "west" from the address before sending email.

Please give a complete URL, so that it is easy for me to click on it and go to the site. If the name (or at least handle) and email address of the webmaster aren't on the site itself, please include this information in your email.

Thanks for your interest in the Bunkhouse Award! --Ted