I think the two burning questions are "Why?" and "Where are the archives?" ... I'll get to the second question in a minute. First, let's tackle the "Why?"

"I Am a Japanese School Teacher", and subsequently to some extent Outpost Nine became very popular and well-known. The fanbase grew to be quite large, and while this was great, ultimately the site wasn't really going anywhere.

I was going to end the teacher editorials when my JET contract expired in August. A few months ago, I knew that my contract was ending, but past that I had no idea what was next - or even where I'd be. I consider my kids and co-workers to be the true stars of this editorial. So a few months ago, I was looking at having no direction, and a severe lack of material. I honestly didn't know if I'd be in a position to keep writing, much less anything anyone would actually want to read. I decided to end the editorials while they were still good - like Michael Jordan retiring with the number 23 and hitting the final three pointer before the buzzer in Game 7 of the NBA Finals. Not like MJ wearing #45 and sitting out the fourth quarter of the last game of the regular season.

As an English major, I'd of course dreamt of one day becoming an established author, but never really entertained the idea - I figured it was a one in a million shot. ...And then the teacher editorials came along. I'd been contacted by two book agents. With one, we ultimately didn't end up working out - creative differences. With the other, past the introductory email I never heard from him again. Getting a book published is no walk in the park - you either have to be found, know someone who can open some doors for you, or already be a published author.

So there I was. I had a popular site that was treading water. I was facing a serious lack of material in the coming months. I'd sent out book emails and queries but gotten no responses. Then I got the offer to join the FAN. Practially speaking, there was no reason not to do it - having my work professionally edited, working with a NY Times Best Selling author, and having avenues to book agents and publishers. The only possible downside was fan reaction - would people take well to the move? I gave it a lot of thought, but ultimately decided that moving to FAN was the best in the long run - with the change in format I could continue the editorials on past my JET years. With their software I could update automatically, so there would be no more guesswork and waiting on when the next new story would come out. Not to mention the possibility of a book deal. So I did it, and hoped the fans would understand that this change was for the future - so that "I Am a Japanese School Teacher" could become something more than a cool little hobby I had.

If you thought I was doing this solely for the money - wouldn't it make more sense for me to stay on my own server and just plaster up ads everywhere? Wouldn't I have done it when the site first started getting heavy traffic? How many heavy traffic sites do you know that were completely ad-free for over a year and a half? Why do you think OP9 was ad-free for so long?

And finally, the archives. They'll be back in time. And when they do return, GaijinSmash.net will roll right into new material, regularly updated, the same old content from before, if not better.

Your understanding during this transistion is greatly appreciated.