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About K's Web
| So what exactly is K's Web? |
K's Web is the official web site for Kingstonian FC. It's aim is to inform and entertain and it contains all of the things that you would expect from an official web site: the latest news, fixtures and match reports, lots and lots of statistics, player profiles, as well as information on commercials opportunities and an online club shop. |
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So who makes it all happen? |
The two main people involved in the site are Gary Ekins (aka Eagle) and Ali Kazemi. Gary is responsible for the "fact-based" parts of the site - the results, the league table and the statistics - and the match reports, whilst Ali is responsible for the "features" - such as interviews, the club guides and the player profiles. Various other people help at different times (usually with a cry of pain as their arm is pushed up behind their back), and we thank them for their generosity. |
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So how did it all start? |
Some time towards the end of March 1998 Kingstonian were top of the Isthmian League, and it looked to all the world as though Conference football would become a reality at Kingsmeadow the following August. Then, whilst bored at work, long-time K's fan Jon Tolley (aka Marble) started looking at Conference teams' web sites and thought "gosh, that's something that this club is lacking - a web site" and so started one. After ten minutes he called Gary and said, "goodness, this web mastering malarkey is difficult - could you perhaps provide some assistance?" and Gary agreed.
The first site was a fairly poor effort - have a look below if you don't believe us - but it was a start. As time went on various features were added, various re-designs took place (including some interesting colour schemes) until, in the summer of 2001 (during which time K's were getting used to being in the Isthmian League all over again) the club approached Gary and asked him to make the site "official". After much soul searching and many sleepless nights, he agreed.
By now a one-man operation, Gary was keen to get some help with the new site, so approached Ali - then webmaster of another independent K's site Kingstonian Online - who agreed to combine the best parts of both sites. And on Saturday 18th August 2001 the new official site was unveiled.
| So why is it called K's Web? |
An interesting question that one. And the real answer is that nobody is quite sure. The site was originally called "The Kingstonian Supporters' Web Page" but people got fed up with that mouthful and gradually the name of "K's Web" became more widely used. A bit of an identity crisis ensued, with nobody quite sure what to call the site, but on Thursday 26th August 1999 the site was moved to www.kingstonian.net and K's Web became the "official" name. |
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So how does it all work? |
The site lives on a server somewhere in West London [here], and deep in the bowels of said server is a database. A very big database. It contains all of the pieces of data which make up the site - for example: who wore the number 12 shirt for K's first Conference appearance (Gavin Holligan - he came on in place of Eddie Akuamoah); the postcode of Doncaster Rovers' Belle Vue ground (DN4 5HT); and the attendance of the Surrey Senior Cup match at home to Chessington and Hook United in December 1997 (somewhat ambitiously given as 381).
Various programs run behind the scenes so that, when matches are completed, the scores/attendances/yellow cards etc are entered, a button is clicked and all of the "fact-based" pages magically appear. The rest of the pages are created the old-fashioned way (both index fingers). |
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So can I get involved? |
Most definitely. Even if you have no knowledge of the internet or HTML it doesn't matter. We are always keen for people to contribute - either regularly or with one-off pieces. Please feel free to contact us. Offer to write a match report or two and you'll make us very happy. |
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So what does the future hold? |
The "K's Web Five-Year Plan" (available here as a 54Mb download in zip format) says that, by the time K's reach the dizzy heights of the Premiership, the name K's Web will be known by 57% of the population, matches will be screened online live from Kingsmeadow (which, by then, will be a 50,000 capacity all-seater leisure complex) and the team will be picked after an online poll of the site's users.
So, in short, we have no idea. Tell us what you want and we might think about considering taking your view into account when we ponder on what might be a good idea to contemplate doing. Or on the other hand, we might just do what you ask for. |
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