Trout is an online magazine that has survived for well over a year, with (mostly) weekly updates, now changed to (mostly) fortnightly-- that's two weeks, for Americans. Most online magazines don't last that long, and many aren't updated anywhere near as faithfully. And of the two or three that leaves, very few are as well done.

The first question I've always been asked is "Why is it called `Trout'?" The basic answer is "no one really knows." The facts, however, are that one Andy "Sid" Gittins, as a friend of Robin "The Editor" Parkinson, was asked for suggestions for the name of this site Robin was planning. Sid said he'd always wanted to write for a publication that was called Trout. Robin had no objections, and so it's called Trout. Why did Sid want to write for something called Trout? If God knows, He's not telling. I don't think Robin knows-- to find out, he'd have had to ask Sid. And there would probably be a pun involved, or at least it's a legitimate concern, and so there the matter rests.

Trout maintains a very refined, dry sense of humour. It doesn't rely on shock or vulgar language or ideas. The crassest thing offered is the Classic Chat-up (pick-up) Lines. Even those scrupulously avoid any overtly obscene words, even though one of the variations is on the theme of "Is that a banana in your pocket...?" It is a point of honour among the Trout contributors-- or at least to the editor-- that the chat-up lines for cats never mentions the word "pussy." Some things are too easy.

Yes, I do actually contribute to this little haven of neuroses too small to defend themselves in the wild. I am biased. But I do know that if I didn't write for Trout I'd still be a very jealous and resentful fan. Robin has collected some of my favourite writers to help pad his walls (they're obviously softened with a lot of beatings). This group combined to create some very distinctive new characters; not all of them are human and even the most technophilic of them is anachronistic. I'm still not entirely sure I know how that's done.

Possibly a large part of Trout's anachronistic feel comes from the fact that everything there is done gently. Robin's own writing-- when he's not channeling one of the more virtual of the contributors-- is easily identified by the gentle way he treats his characters. He writes about them as if they're real people; even his Bad Guys are sympathetic, and he understands them and has probably too much compassion for what he's going to put them through. There's amusement there, too, but it's the kind of smile you have when you know that at any second the person you're watching might turn around and make eye contact, and you want them to know that yes, you do understand exactly what that's like, and have sympathy for their unavoidable bumbling attempts to get through. I sometimes worry that someday one of us will have to sit Robin down and break the news to him that none of his characters are real and they're not actually feeling miserable when he twists the plot. I suspect it would break his heart.

Another component to the "feel" of the place is the graphics. I didn't see much of the early look of Trout because I used a text-only web browser at the time. Since I changed over, though, I've been fascinated by the details. The drawings aren't finely-crafted, highly-detailed artwork, but I keep having the uncomfortable feeling that they're still art. If you can imagine a blend of James Thurber and EH Sheperd (the classic Pooh books), you will find the middle ground occupied by Trout graphics. Each column has a logo and at least two of them require a new drawing for each edition. Camra Obscura needs a sign for the featured pub every week, and Sol III requires at least one sketch of the lifeform under observation. Some of the Sol III graphics are uncomfortably close to the bone-- I've found myself uneasily wondering if there's any truth to the legend that images can capture the soul of the subject. Soon Trout will be getting a facelift, we've been promised. I was extremely wary of this and looked the new site over very carefully to be sure none of the old look was sacrificed to something New and Slick. Nothing of the old feel will be damaged in the change, and in fact there'll be some new drawings so I've decided to be heartily in favour of the update. There's one new face I find particularly worrying, and not just for the titles: Auntie Aspidistera will be the new Agony Plant and, I'm sorry, omBudsPlant. It wasn't my idea. But wait until you see her. The drawing makes up for any number of horrible titles.

If you like PG Wodehouse, Jon Hassler, Terry Pratchett, Robert Benchley, James Thurber, or Will Cuppy, you will probably like Trout. How a website can manage to convince you it's at least 60 years old I will never understand, but Trout manages it. As a haven for those who are tired of getting tangled in the convolutions of the web, sick of sites straining to Be Amusing, and just want somewhere to relax without fear of offense, Trout is without peer. And Dashiell Hammit, I do wish I'd thought of it first.

And I mean it.