Whoever said school isn't useful? For one of my classes, I had to assemble a collection of articles. For one, I decided to interview James. However, in review we've discovered that it answers quite a few questions about PKMN.NET, and he's given me the go-ahead to post it on the site. So, here it is.

UA: Hello James.

JM:: Hi Bre

UA: To the questions, then?

JM:: Let's go!

UA: First off, why don�t you tell our readers a little bit about yourself?

JM:: I'm the webmaster of one of the leading Pokémon sites- pkmn.net - People call me Psythor, but my real name is James O'Malley, and I'm only 15. I can't think of much else to say, really. I also like Politics a lot, though.

UA: How long has Pkmn.net been around, and how did it get started?

JM: PKMN.NET, or at least, the UK version, "Pokémon UK" has been going for over three years now. I started one evening when I just thought I'd experiment with Frontpage Express- and this was only about a month or two after I first discovered Pokémon. The site really got going when I got hold of "proper" Frontpage- the pages were basic and frames based, and my friend had to do the uploading at first, but eventually I got to grips with it.

UA: Frames? What spurred the change to tables then, and what do you use to make the pages now?

JM: At first the logo, which was massive had its own frame. After about a week like this, I quite rightly bought it down to two. I moved onto tables when I was told that frames are dated and I agreed. These days I use PHP with a mySQL backend to make pages work- the code behind it is quite frightening. I'm glad I wasn't the one with the task to code it all!

UA: Who does code it, then?

JM: Matt (Pokédude) coded the whole backend originally, but it�s been over a year since we started "phPUK", and I've added my own bits of code and things- the core of things is still there though.

UA: Interesting. So what exactly do you do at PKMN.NET?

JM: I do all sorts- I add pages, report news, write pages, code new features, maintain old features, work on the political side of things and generally keep the site running smoothly... or so I like to think. I'm sure Jeroen could tell you otherwise.

UA: *laugh* How do you get along with the other administrators and senior staff?

JM: Great, I think- although they might complain about me in other windows for all I know. There are no disputes or disagreements, because if there were, they wouldn't be senior staff. I'd probably trust their opinion more than mine, in most cases (unless it was the "James gives away money to other senior staff" policy").

UA: *laugh* Well, that's great. So... what are your goals for PKMN.NET?

JM: To provide the best possible Pokémon site I can and provide the public with the latest Pokémon news and information first. I'd also like to make some money out of it so it can pay for itself, but that's unlikely.

UA: That is a shame. So do the costs of maintaining PKMN.NET come out of your own pocket, then?

JM: Sort of. The costs aren�t exactly steep- hosting is only costing me $5.95 a month (but it could go up if popularity rises), and domains �10 every two years. I don't mind paying because I enjoy what I do an awful lot. Incidentally, it seems my parents are paying for my hosting, which I can't complain about. I think they do so because it keeps me quiet- my mum says that I'm "low maintenance." If there were a freezer and microwave in this room, I could live in here.

UA: Is it difficult to run such a popular and large website while only fifteen years old?

JM: I don't think so, really. It's probably easier than having a full time job. Despite it being a big year for exams, I'm getting next to no homework or anything, and I've got plenty of time to do things. Probably. I think the way PKMN.NET is managed makes it much easier to do. The other senior staff do a lot of work, and the PHP/mySQL stuff makes data really easy to manage. Having people to help me improves the quality greatly- if I were just running a HTML based site with only me and perhaps one or two contributors working on it, I'd probably be having a nightmare if faced with such easy-managing php/mysql rivals.

UA: ^_^. When did you start learning HTML and PHP/mySQL?

JM: I started to learn HTML only a few months after opening- its pretty vital, really. It�s also funny when you see what a mess of code Frontpage makes. As for PHP/mySQL, I first learnt PHP after PKMN.NET launched using it- one of my first scripts was an e-card script that used text files. As my PHP skills improved, I naturally progressed onto mySQL stuff. This has only been in the past year, though.

UA: Wow.

JM: They're all pretty easy when you know the basic syntax. It�s like another language- once you know how grammar works, putting in new words is easy.

UA: How would you say PKMN.NET is doing right now�both its forums and the actual site?

JM: Absolutely amazing- its like we've hit the "big time" all of a sudden. I mean, our hits have been steadily increasing from 1000 a week, to 500 a day, which I was very pleased with. Lately, since the launch of high profile stuff like the Pkmndex and Pokédex, on a good day we've been getting 1000 unique visitors a day! In fact, last week, we got 10,000 unique visitors. We've had 150+ new members join per day for the past two days- although this could be because a server bug deleted some accounts. It�s still astounding, though.

UA: That's amazing... Speaking of which, how does PKMN.NET maintain the sense of community it has? There are well over 2000 members now, though I forget the exact number, yet there's a real warmth, and a familial feeling to the place.

JM: 3597, actually. I'm not really sure how it does it- I think it�s because it has a "personal touch." Like, rather than being serious like some sort of news programme, it takes a humourous approach to some things, and references the obscure, a lot of the time. The latest news update features a recoloured picture of David Dickenson from the British TV series "Bargain Hunt", for instance. Aside to that, the ability to comment on every page, news story, episode guide and the forums, I suppose makes people feel like they are a part of it, rather than just reading it. Perhaps even involvement of senior staff helps- if something is posted in site-based forums, nine times out of ten a senior staff member will respond.

UA: Ah. How well do you get along with the average PKMN.NET member?

JM: Quite well, I hope. There isn't really an "average" member, because they're all different. For example, people who have perhaps pushed the boundaries of our rules and perhaps have been cautioned against doing x, y and z probably aren�t on as favourable terms as I am with person q.

UA: *nod* What�s up with the Name Rater and Sentret? Will we ever find out their identities?

JM: I don't even know why everyone thinks they have alter-egos! They are just like anybody else!

UA: There's a real person who acts like Sentret or the Name Rater, not on purpose? I thought there were psychologists for that.

JM: I'm sure they exaggerate a bit, although from the conversations I've had with them, I can assure you that Sentret is "nuts as a fruitcake" (as my mum would say), and the Name Rater is like the Daily Mail when it comes to embracing things.

UA: Heh. How did you find them?

JM: They both said they want to help PKMN.NET, actually. I was chuffed in both cases.

UA: Okay, I think that's it as far as serious questions go.

Page written by Psythor.

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