Q&A – IOAPA.DK Webmaster

Kell B. Larsen
Participant in the IOA main session 2002. Member of the IOAPA.DK and responsible for the development of the website. At the moment, Kell is working on his thesis in Sport Science at the University of Copenhagen. The title of his thesis is: Diagnosis of nerve entrapment in the wrist and forearm on workers experiencing a non-specific pain due to repetitive computer work. Kell also coaches youth team handball at national level.

How did you get the idea for the website?
In November 2003, when we were founding the association, one of the other members suggested that we get a website or at least a place on the Internet to exchange information. I took on the task of examining the possibilities and that was the beginning of the ioapa.dk.

How do you prevent that any of the texts placed on the website are offensive, misinforming or illegal?
We have not had any problems of that sort at all. Each member has a unique username and a password for the website. This means that for every text placed on the website, we can register who wrote and edited the particular text. Besides, most of the userbehavior on the website is written to a log file so that we can go back and check for abuse. And only the Webmaster has access to editing (whereas the other members have access only to the texts they wrote themselves), which means that misprint and typographical errors are easy to correct.

How did you learn to make websites as the one you have made for ioapa.dk?
It was quite a coincidence actually. When I took my minor in mathematics at the University of Copenhagen, I took a class of computer science where I learned to program and having made static websites in the past, it seemed logical.

Can you make a profit of it?
Well, yes and no. The ioapa.dk website is made on a completely voluntary basis, so I have not been paid doing it – which I prefer. I see it as my contribution to the Olympic work. Later on, I have been hired to make a website for a CVU (a Danish centre for adult education). I also make websites for clubs, unions and small or medium sized businesses – but it is still just a hobby for me.

How much time have you spent on the ioapa.dk website so far?
Luckily, I do not know. Often I reuse features from one site to another, but most of the times, I start out making something for the ioapa website because it is fun and it motivates me the most. Often, I then use the features from the ioapa website on the other websites I am making.

How about the members without access to the Internet?
In Denmark, we are so lucky that the vast majority of the population have access to the Internet. 79% have access to the Internet from their home computer and most of the rest have access to the Internet from their workplace, school or elsewhere. Because of this, we have not yet had problems – but of course, we may be excluding some, probably mostly elders, from participating in the IOAPA.DK simply because it is mostly done electronically.

Which features are you most proud of?
There are many; the message board works very well, but I would have to say the Olympic Encyclopaedia. It is still not that extensive, but it has the potential to be huge. And even now, it contains many interesting pieces of information concerning Olympic issues.

What’s next?
I have several ideas. Considering all the information available on the website, it should have a complete search engine covering the entire website. That is my next project. Besides, I would love having some motion pictures on the frontpage – maybe a video-clip from Olympia or a slideshow of Olympic values. Another thing is the help file that consists of a simple link to my personal e-mail address. I would prefer something more user-friendly – maybe with some text explaining how to use the website and how to get the most out of it…

Translation: Line Røber-Christensen

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