New Changes to Outpostnine [Archive]

Yang

05-24-2006, 06:49 PM

Well...i would give my appreciation as digital artist....

Az: I was surprised, the new design is kinda cool, but at first I was i little confused, i was clicking here and there at the homepage trying to find your amazing editoriales about your staying there, and i couldn't find (for now), i was kinda excited, it's always good to improve things, and this is so far, a good improvement. nice web designs.

About gaijinsmash.net or whatever....the illustration is fine, but i don't like those kind of illustrations (vectorial illustration), so maybe i will do something about it in near future, i could make a good illustration for your site (if the the time and studies allow me to do it) but yerah basically the design is good,but i was kinda confused to where to find the complete bunch of stories that you'va wisely wrote from the start of your work there in the school at today.... maybe i must to take a look again....

But, dude, the site is better now, better than that basic html website....

congratz ;)

Angelyne

05-24-2006, 07:24 PM

The graphic at top is pretty cool, but I don't like how it takes up a quarter of the webpage. It's kind of distracting.

Also don't like having to scroll down that far to find an entry, but I have no idea if that's a temporary thing until Az is done.

The Republic

05-24-2006, 07:59 PM

Holyshiz! when I got here like30 min ago it wasnt like that, just normal, but now I went back to the home page and it was like Shizam! Outpost Nine! COOL!

Noticed you ve got some ads there, too Az. Trying to defray the costs, huh?

4letterwords

05-24-2006, 08:07 PM

I hate it.
Oh well.

Jiant Flying Panda

05-24-2006, 08:10 PM

So... I just checked it out and so far I can;t find the editorials....

When I click on archives only one editorial shows up, lol. Is there something wrong or what?

Duke Luke of Juke

05-24-2006, 08:12 PM

So... I just checked it out and so far I can;t find the editorials....

When I click on archives only one editorial shows up, lol. Is there something wrong or what?
He's moved them HERE (http://www.gaijinsmash.net/), JFP. Or at least, that's where I think he plans to move them at some point--I didn't look into it enough to see whether he had posted more than the first, yet.

EDIT--nope, just the first one so far.

Jiant Flying Panda

05-24-2006, 08:16 PM

He's moved them HERE (http://www.gaijinsmash.net/), JFP. Or at least, that's where I think he plans to move them at some point--I didn't look into it enough to see whether he had posted more than the first, yet.

EDIT--nope, just the first one so far.

Yup, that's where I was. Thanks, I thought There was something wrong with my comp or something, lol.

Oh yeah I love that pic, lmao. Fire breathing Gaijin FTW!

babaji

05-24-2006, 09:18 PM

err.. i don't like it, because im afraid of change also...
i loved the original one, because it was much simpler and easier on the eyes
i will probably get used to it, so whatever...

Moreover, I really really REALLY hope that Az doesn't re-release each article one by one again...

Krumptopolis

05-24-2006, 09:51 PM

That would be bunk.

Masa the Masta

05-24-2006, 10:03 PM

Nice work, Az.

Now you won't need to beg your members for money. :D

Refund, I say! Refund!! ;)

Anders

05-24-2006, 10:46 PM

I don't know how to react to the changes OP9 is going through. I guess you could say I'm torn. On one hand, I like the idea that Az is changing the website to make it more accessable to a wider audience. On the other hand, I'm questioning whether I'm 10 years older than the targeted age group for the editorial page.

I love Az's editorials and I will continue to read them as long as he writes them. As I look at the new page, I'm asking myself if I can really go up to my co-workers and say "Hey Tim, did you read the new Gaijin Smash editorial on the festering ass network?" It just doesn't have the same respectability as "outpost nine".

Edit: Spelling mistake.

exoendo

05-24-2006, 10:52 PM

so... does that mean we have to wait about two years till we can read what we read about a week ago?

Xephon

05-24-2006, 10:59 PM

I like it Az. Very pretty. :P

Man, I want one of those shirts!

ruaidhri

05-24-2006, 11:06 PM

I feel like I’ve witnessed the passing of a friend.

Who exactly is the audience for the “Festering Ass” network. If the name alone isn’t enough, the picture of the angry man with his middle finger raised certainly creates an initial negative image. To me, it begs the question: Is he giving the finger to us, the readers.

Of course I understand this is a commercial venture. The purpose is to make money. But, I wonder if Azrael has alienated one camp to attract another. Just as is written under my picture, I am an old fart. Although I’m not a prude, or at least I don’t believe I’m one, I do have people my own age that I’ve suggested they look up the “I am a Japanese School Teacher” editorials on OP9. Now, I’d have to think twice before doing that for fear that I might offend someone.

Will I stick around? Of course! As long as the forum stays a part of OP9, I’ll stay. However, like others posters on this thread, I hope I don’t have to wait two years to read new editorials.

TommyA

05-24-2006, 11:38 PM

Copy+paste on having to read each new article one by one all over again. Hell I will be in Japan creating my own teaching stories for myself by the time we get to THIS week. BUT on a business end, I would keep the new crowd waiting weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, to come back for another one, to keep them at the edge of our seat. Hell, it worked on us!

The future is interesting...

Azrael

05-25-2006, 12:02 AM

Re: GaijinSmash.net

Editorials will be posted perhaps 2-3 a week starting from the beginning. For those who have read them all, it sucks I guess, but the move will attract a lot of new readers for who have never seen this stuff before. The upside is that this now gives me time for some breathing room - I am going to be preoccupied in the coming months with a new job search, and moving. Right now I can write as many new editorials as I can, queue them up, and when the old stuff is finished GS.net will roll right into the new stuff without delays or interruptions. You will also have a regular update schedule, so no more checking back randomly in the hopes that something new is up. The downside is nothing new for a little while, but I hope you all take the time to re-read the old stuff (some of it is a bit different as it's now being professionally edited). While GS.net is progressing along I'm going to try and keep Outpost Nine updated (with other stuff) so you'll have something to pass the time.

Re: Outpost Nine's New Look
One of the things I liked best about the old site was that it was simple - I don't need Flash and embedded mp3's or any of that stuff. So I wanted to keep that simplicity in an attractive format but easier to navigate - the old site didn't exactly have the best set-up. With a navigation side-bar on every page it should be much easier to find your way around the pages now.I'm not gonna neglect good 'ol OP9, I intend to keep it fresh with new editorials and fiction. There are some photo galleries I have been meaning to add for a long time now, this will be a good opportunity to do so.

About the guest editorials/fiction - I decided to stop my submission policy. It's hard enough to keep up with my own work, I certainly can't be held accountable for others. I took the previous guest editorials/fiction down in order to stop confusion ("You say you're not accepting submissions but I see you've got guest authors....?") I'm thinking of re-vamping the Creativity forum, perhaps make it so that only accepted guest authors can post in it, then have a separate forum for open works and comments and what not. ...Just an idea at present.

The message board isn't going anywhere.

Google ads...if I was trying to make money, you would have seen more, bigger ads a long time ago. With the current layout I saw a place where I could put one or two without it being obtrusive. They are only text ads - you don't have to click if you don't want to, and they never interfere with the main content of the page.

Re: The Move, Why?
OP9's been popular for over a year and a half. But professionally it hasn't gone anywhere. I've gotten a few random mails from people but nothing concrete as of yet. In university, I thought I would love to be a writer/novelist, but sort of put that dream in my back pocket as I figured it to be a long shot. But now I've got a website with a lot of readers and a ton of people saying "If you wrote a book, I'd buy it." So what am I going to do next? I can keep going as I have been, enjoy the fact that I have a popular website and marvel at the fact that people sometimes recognize me in public. Or I could do something to make progress forward, which was the move to Festering Ass (I'm not crazy about the name either....but oh well).

No matter what, you can never win them all. I knew that there would be people who hated/opposed the change. I figure that in the move, I will probably lose some readers. I made the move because it's something that can attract more readers, and put me closer to that book deal. I'm hoping that what I gain will be greater than what I lose. It's kind of risky, but you don't really get anywhere by playing it safe.

Also, before the move "I Am A Japanese School Teacher" was going to end in August. Now, GaijinSmash.net will continue on past August, with new material.If you can get over change, I think the move benefits everyone in the long run. ...It's just a matter of getting over the change, which for some is easier said than done.

And if you REALLY need the archives...there are ways of finding what you seek

mamba

05-25-2006, 12:14 AM

well i say good luck with it az. i will continue to check the site even if it means some repeats because i have been a reader for a longtime and i feel a loyalty but that could just be me. Granted i feel the name may drive some away, but i feel most are able to look past that and see there is an underlying work there that is of a quality not shown by the name. All the best for the future and i hope that there is a book published as i would deff buy that, and i hope that it isnt too long until the new editorials are published.

Yz_gurlie

05-25-2006, 12:24 AM

I'm not to fond of this layout. The navigating buttons are a bit to big for my taste, but I'll get used to it with some time. I do like how "Outpost Nine" screams at you. Many sites just have a tiny logo at the top left corner, so you tend to forget what the site's name is, but the way the homepage is now, that won't happen. And like you, and most others, I like how the "old" (uggg, I resent calling it that) layout was simple and clean. With this version, it's simple, it's clean, but it is a bit more crowded, don't cha' think?

I don't mind the ads. Sure, I would love for them to not be there, but they don't get in the way, so it's all good. And for a +, they're google ads. Every one likes google! Grin!

I like how you made a whole new site for the school teaher editorals. Its a hassal to go to a whole diffrent page, but it's only an extra 5 clicks, right? And this way, once op9 is even more poupular then it allready is, a while bunch of newbies won't suddenly pop on the forms. It'll also save the old heads from seeing the same koncho videos again, and again, and again, and again... So thank you for that.

On GS.net, its not bad, but like many other posters, I don't like changes. It does feel like I'm going onto someones Xanga and reading thier random rant of the day. With the other version, it felt more like articals. But I can't ask for everything, right?

..."I Am A Japanese School Teacher" was going to end in August.

I could have swore that you said that even after August you will contine to update. Or did I misunderstand?

Psychochink

05-25-2006, 12:37 AM

My views on the move are well documented, I'm a strong supporter.

The wait for new editorials is a little irritating, but by the same token the logic is rock-solid. Posting all of them at once wouldn't draw as many regular readers in. They'd read the lot in one big marathon session and then check in sporadically (if they remembered to at all). People need regular and new stimulation to hold their attention.

If the readership jumps the way that it should, books start looking more and more possible.

Go-go-Gadget Az!

Pierrot le Fou

05-25-2006, 01:11 AM

My opinion:

The banner is way too big. It's just huge. Mammoth. Clutters up the page.

The font is God-awful in the side menu. It looks like 'System' or something equally bland and blocky.

The images in general just look, kind of, well, unpolished. The old image was simple but didn't look bad, the new one looks like someone got a free image editor, applied a couple effects to a basic font, and went with it.

The fact that the actual 'content' of the site starts a good 1/3rd of the way down the page doesn't sit well with me either.

I don't mind change so long as it provides something new. The new site design doesn't seem to provide anything that the old site didn't offer.

As an aside -- anyone who wants to find the editorials should check www.archive.org or google's cache for older editorials. I'm sure they're there somewhere.

sakana

05-25-2006, 01:18 AM

...google's cache for older editorials. I'm sure they're there somewhere.
Yeah I found them there and was in the process of saving them to a .txt file until I realized that it was pointless because it file was getting pretty big and I had already read all of them. :P

grungy hamster

05-25-2006, 01:22 AM

Yeah, I passionately hate it. I appreciated the minimalistic approach of the former site. Also, there's no desklamp. That's kind of been like your trademark for me. I know Outpost Nine due to the desklamp. Without it, it's just another site.

The gaijin smash site seems cluttered. Also, I'm not particularly fond of the blog approach. It's a shame, because I loved this site. I suppose all that's left to me is the forums. Good thing I joined it a month or two ago.

Azrael

05-25-2006, 01:50 AM

As to how to find the old stuff, you people are seriously over-thinking. ...Your station is gone but the roads are all still there.

I didn't design the GaijinSmash site. It was designed by the FAN in-house artist. All those sites have the same/similar layout, so it couldn't be helped. The Az-zilla came out well though I thought. I personally hate blogs myself, and GS.net does look like a blog now, but oh well. Here's another "You can't please everyone" - before I had tons of people in my inbox telling me I should convert to blog format.

Despite the dressings and the changes in looks and formats and whatever, the content is still going to be exactly the same. I'm kind of hoping people will realize that and not get hung up over visual stuff.

grungy hamster

05-25-2006, 01:58 AM

Well nevertheless you are still a good writer in my eyes.

When you say that all the roads are still there, does that mean one can go to the old article page via the url bar?

Langosta

05-25-2006, 01:58 AM

You're going to be reintroducing the articles over a period of time for the benefit of the new readers at festering ass, right? Does this meant that Moeko's owl will shortly be removed from the main editorials listing and added later along with the "I am a Japanese School Teach but Gaijin Smash sounds cooler" articles?

I prefered the old outlook, and it's a little bit of a bummer that we'll be waiting for new material for a bit. But since you're going to be busy it can't be helped really anyway, and all in all visuals don't ammount to much.

I'm also excited at the prospect of a schedule where we can regularly expect editorials to come out at certain times, but then I worry it might become troublesome for you.

Well best of luck at any rate

exoendo

05-25-2006, 02:20 AM

I absolutely don't blame az in the slightest for trying to make something of this entire thing.

That doesn't mean it doesn't suck for us though :(

2-3 stories a week equals 8-12 a month... at that rate we wont see any new stuff for a loooong ass time. Not to mention it might be a little weird if on the new site the time reference may get screwed up (i.e. articles weeks apart may be referred to as 'last year' at some points)

exoendo

05-25-2006, 02:21 AM

Also, Yes, I just signed up for the forums but I've been reading the editorials for a while now, just thought I would mention that...

- exo

Pierrot le Fou

05-25-2006, 02:41 AM

Okay, I think what Az is saying is that the old editorials are still on OP9, they just aren't linked any more. Weehaw.

And in regards to the 'festering ass network,' perhaps he could explain it away with a reference to a kancho gone wrong due to long fingernails and skilled delivery, followed by a visit to the ass-doctor?

Decade

05-25-2006, 04:12 AM

At very least we'd appreciate notification on OP9 (a new thread would be most effective) when your actual new editorials are available on FAN.

xanth

05-25-2006, 05:43 AM

Having read through this thread, I can understand Az's need to distance his school teacher editorials from other stuff he's trying to do in life.

On the other hand, maybe because it was fan-designed, this new website feels like a step backwards. The design looks like it was put together by someone in high school who's new to coding. I also find the text hard to look at. The simplistic almost monochrome scheme worked fine in my opinion. The only thing I would have changed would be dividing the editorials up into seperate pages by year so they didn't stretch all the way down the page.

The visual and the "festering ass network" will discourage a lot of people from reading or suggesting it to others. I'm sorry, but it's true. While you may attract a new audience from the new design, I see them as being younger and less intelligent. And they'll probably get bored once you stop posting the old "kancho" editorials.

You're desire to attract a new audience, the redesign, and the google ads seem to be an attempt on your part to make this into a business venture of some sort. I'm not sure you can make it sucessful in that fashion. I know there are people who are willing to send you money, but then there are lots of others like me who have been coming to learn about Japanese culture. While not always completely intellectual, your editorials have put an aspect of Japanese culture in a unique light for me, and I feel that in some respects, I've learned a lot.

Slowly re-releasing your old editorials may bring in some new people, but I don't think you'll be seeing an increase of even a quarter of all the people who read them now. And I personally have less of a desire to visit if I'm not going to see anything new for a little less than a year.

I would suggest this. If you like the design and the name, fine, keep them. But continue putting up new updates in addition to re-uploading the old ones. I've read through the archives dozens of times, and have little in the way of an urge to do so again, unless I feel nostalgic sometime.

Stephy

05-25-2006, 06:04 AM

Yeah I found them there and was in the process of saving them to a .txt file until I realized that it was pointless because it file was getting pretty big and I had already read all of them. :P

aww. teach me how to do that. I think I missed like 5 of them only. :(

Azrael

05-25-2006, 06:31 AM

馬鹿外人

05-25-2006, 06:49 AM

Good on you for putting in the effort, Az.
Can't wait until the new site's all been finished.

^^

Pierrot le Fou

05-25-2006, 07:04 AM

I don't give a snot about the ads, and have personally suggested that this is a great opportunity to make money by writing for you. I do think that the banner clutters up the site a Hell of a lot more than the ads do, that's my objection.

CrazyAce86

05-25-2006, 07:28 AM

Meh.

That's all I have to say about it.

Meh.

peru

05-25-2006, 07:30 AM

...But apparently, they're not.I write (or aspire to). I get it.

You've weighed your options. The exposure from this website - great as it is - hasn't materialized into a book deal. You'd like to live off your writing and you should be able to. You're good enough to be published and know it.

You have a steady (and steadily increasing) fanbase as proof of your quality.

Hacks and plagiarists are getting deals every day with less.

(To the board, now, in general.)

About Tucker Max: can anyone really refute - their personal opinions of the man nonwithstanding - his utility here? It isn't that he's published books, it's that he's published them and sold. He's cracked the NY Times list - that is *not* an insignificant achievement.

He's offering Az the benefit of his experience. What's the problem here - the loud green? The ads-which-you-can-nix-with-Adblock? The blog layout?

You can still access the archives. Az has hinted as much. Has anyone tried googling "gaijin smash?"

Give it a shot. See what you get. Look familiar?

I'm seeing people (here and on the Gaijin Smash site) bitch and moan about trifles / superficialities. Are we here for editorials or banner graphics?

Ahem.

Az is trying to make a living off his work. The man's given us countless hours of great entertainment at no charge - can't we support him on this?

The content hasn't changed. Why throw a fit over the dressings?

Psychochink

05-25-2006, 07:35 AM

Yeah, so apparently, I'm a sellout now. The vast majority (of those bothering to comment) really don't like the changes...

...I had my reservations, but thinking about it it benefitted everyone in the long run - not just me, but the readers as well. I was just hoping people would be understanding of that.

...But apparently, they're not.

Given that the level of bile in this thread is far below what has happened in the past, I might assume that you are getting snarky emails. Things to remember here, dude.

There are only 2,794 members of this message board, only a tiny portion of which I'm sure even read these boards, let alone post on them. So a small percentage, of a small percentage, of your readership has come out deriding these changes (and not even all of those, although those of us in favour are definitely in the minority). This sampling of people is inevitably comprised mostly of the most 'rabid' section of your readership (barring the ones that are here because you know them personally).

So what you're looking at here is the 'vocal minority'. Does that necessarily mean that they're the only ones who think this way - of course not. However...

Some of your fan base, and in particular that portion of it that bothers to sign up and post on the forums, likes the feeling of being 'exclusive' - it makes them feel all warm and fuzzy inside, like they have some kind of personal connection to the author. Now, this isn't necessarily a bad thing, and admittedly the fact that somebody whose work I admire is likely to read and digest this post gives me a little of the warm fuzzies as well.

However, consciously or not, it also makes them feel like they have some kind of 'ownership' over the site and the way it is presented. You will recall from previous threads that people were taking this whole issue very personally. There was precious little debate about the merits (or otherwise) of the move, and most of the little there was was clearly fueled by an emotional reaction to OP9 changing at all. Arguments were being made with reasoning justifying a knee-jerk conclusion, not with conclusions reached through dispassionate examination of the evidence.

At least now, more people seem to have an appreciation of their own proclivities, and can even make fun of them:
...I fear change. So I hate it.
and remember, a big part of the previous reaction was due to people being afraid they'd lose these boards. Now that's off their radar, the reactions are less extreme.

Some of your established readership will need time to adjust, this is inevitable. At least this time much of the criticism is based around practicalities (e.g. the new site's visuals) rather than hysterical moral objections. For that matter, even the visual/layout criticism is inevitable when you've gotten used to reading things a certain way - none of your established readers are really capable of analysing the new site layout in a vacuum. Hell, it looks weird to me too, but I recognise that's imply because my brain is trained to expect your material in a certain format.

It's not like you just decided one morning, "Hey, I'm going to move the site!" This is a considered, reasoned move based around an evaluation of what might give you the greatest future chance of publishing your work. As you said, that will benefit everyone in the long run. Try asking the question of the forums - "Would you rather the site move and I publish a book, or that the site doesn't move and there be no book?" and see what response you get.

Nothing's guaranteed, of course, but I think people have come to the basic recognition that if they ever want to see "Jeff W." on the cover of a book, you need to be proactive in your approach to this. [Sidenote: If you were to publish, would you use 'Azrael' as a pseudonym? Hmmm...more to the point, would they let you...]

More to the point, you've spent a much longer time considering the pros and cons of everything surrounding this move than we have. You're also one of the few people here who is capable of looking at this purely from a "What's best for Az?" perspective.

Edit: Er...yeah, what peru said. Damn my slow typing.

Edit 2: Ah, I see what you mean, I just checked the comments under the first article. My points remain - you will never please everybody, and give people some time.

haterllnation

05-25-2006, 07:41 AM

Spiffy. I agree with the editorials, but I am willing to wait on that, since we have been waiting anyways, right? Looks Good on the front page.

edit.

Thinking about this, you should take the good you can from the switch. Hmm, think of it as a bond between those who were here before the switch. It IS kind of alienating, but if you are really here for what's there to offer, you'll put all that aside soon enough. I agree about enjoying how it was before. I was just used to it. I will, however, welcome the new site even though the audience may or may not be on the same audience or what not..

Good thing though I got on here before the switch over, even though I am still rather new (on forums not reading the editorials, ha).

peru

05-25-2006, 07:44 AM

Edit: Er...yeah, what peru said. Damn my slow typing.You had a lot of different - good - points.

I'm so tempted to use a smiley right now. I'm liking the Sherlock Holmes one.

Kaji

05-25-2006, 08:00 AM

I'll admit, I'm really going to miss the updates over the coming year, but hopefully there'll be some good ones on the side (the SF porn ones were a riot). Only thing that really gets to me about the new layout is that there's a big square google ad right in the middle of all the content. If it could be relegated to an edge (top, bottom, side, wherever) it'd be a lot more reader-friendly, in my opinion.

Kind of sad to see the old go, but that said it's good to hear that you're moving up in the world, man. Good luck with this, and I look forward to reading more when more comes out!

JapaneseLever

05-25-2006, 10:10 AM

don't blame the critics here. this is probably one of the best ways to open up your stories to another audience in general. i going to embrace the change.

although i am dissapointed about the delay for new editorials, the amount of new readers should easily cancel that out.

why the hell can't people be more happy for you az?

don't worry about the nay-sayers here; just wait for your new audience (and older readers like me) to approve and be happy... and enjoy the money i you are getting.

Urban~Ninja

05-25-2006, 10:22 AM

Hell its better then anything i could put together so in my opinion it rocks.

Also who the hell cares about the ads, those ads may be the diference between the site being up for a month or being down for a month. Also the site is easier to navigate to get to the Teacher editorials, and thats important in itself.

Az man if its worth anything I like your new layout, i dont love it but i like it, the people who say your a sellout maybe they could donate the revenue you make with the ads instead...or they can stop their bitchin.

gar-ry

05-25-2006, 10:42 AM

I don't mind the new changes. I haven't really been at the forums, but I've been reading the editorials for over a year, and I guess its nice to see a change of any kind after a long time of the same thing.

About going to FestingAss... well, once you move past the name and see why Az has moved in the first place, I think its a good idea. Sure it would be nice to hang around here at OP9 forever, but if he can get the stories out and get more people to laugh than that is even better i think. I look forward to reading the articles over again, coz its been awhile since i started.

And.. there is still a mirror of the old stuff up atm so people don't need to worry about never seeing the archive ever ever again. it is still on the internet; just use google.

Good luck with the new site!

ed. I actually miss the Hamlet quote on the hp though!

Renter

05-25-2006, 11:15 AM

Where Are The Editorials!?

gar-ry

05-25-2006, 11:21 AM

Where Are The Editorials!?

http://omega.med.yale.edu/~pcy5/japanese/teacher.html

but they won't be updated; and there won't be any new ones til the Gajin Smash one catches up anway.

PiccoloNamek

05-25-2006, 11:29 AM

Having read through this thread, I can understand Az's need to distance his school teacher editorials from other stuff he's trying to do in life.

On the other hand, maybe because it was fan-designed, this new website feels like a step backwards. The design looks like it was put together by someone in high school who's new to coding. I also find the text hard to look at. The simplistic almost monochrome scheme worked fine in my opinion. The only thing I would have changed would be dividing the editorials up into seperate pages by year so they didn't stretch all the way down the page.

The visual and the "festering ass network" will discourage a lot of people from reading or suggesting it to others. I'm sorry, but it's true. While you may attract a new audience from the new design, I see them as being younger and less intelligent. And they'll probably get bored once you stop posting the old "kancho" editorials.

You're desire to attract a new audience, the redesign, and the google ads seem to be an attempt on your part to make this into a business venture of some sort. I'm not sure you can make it sucessful in that fashion. I know there are people who are willing to send you money, but then there are lots of others like me who have been coming to learn about Japanese culture. While not always completely intellectual, your editorials have put an aspect of Japanese culture in a unique light for me, and I feel that in some respects, I've learned a lot.

I agree. I really don't like it. The old design was fine. The new one will attract an extremely juvenile audience, mark my words. I enjoyed reading the editorials, not only for their humorous content, but because you could also actually learn something from them. But I don't really feel like visiting the "festering ass" network. Ever.

xanth

05-25-2006, 11:57 AM

Yeah, so apparently, I'm a sellout now. The vast majority (of those bothering to comment) really don't like the changes.

If I was in this for the money, wouldn't it have made more sense for me to keep my own site and then just plaster ads all over it? And then, wouldn't I have done that in the very beginning?

People keep telling me I should have a book made. I know that. The site as it is was going nowhere. Sure it was mad popular and a lot of people liked it, but that's as far as it went. I heard from one book agent, and things didn't work out between us. Aside from that my inbox was filled with random questions about Japan a Google search could have answered, and countless You Tube video links to something Japanese, and other assorted questions and personal life stories and whatever, but nothing to actually advance the site.

So I took a move that I felt would put things in motion. Get the site more out there and get in touch with the people that can make things happen before this thing is doomed to the "OMG old" vault of the internet. I had my reservations, but thinking about it it benefitted everyone in the long run - not just me, but the readers as well. I was just hoping people would be understanding of that.

...But apparently, they're not.
I'm sorry if I seemed like my reaction was a little heavy. I know that you've put a lot of work and time into all of this. And don't get me wrong; the effort is appreciated.

And like psychochink mentioned, I'm part of a small minority who reads the editorials that actually bothers to post on the board. The vast majority may approve of these changes, I don't know.

I think the existance of your site opened up something. Your site was the first example I'd ever seen of "the average guy's" experience in Japan. That's part of the reason you get all those emails, because you're seen as "approachable".

This is the internet. Life goes on, there's a time for everything, and everything dies in popularity eventually. But just the fact that it's there and that it's got such a continuing fan base shows that you've already had a positive impact on people. And to be fair, if people need to read your editorials, they'll find them whether on outpost 9, or the "Festering Ass Network" (I'm sorry; it is a Horribly crappy name).

A lot of us may simply be reacting to the "shock" of a new site. I may and probably will feel less put-off by the new site next week.

Praetorian

05-25-2006, 12:11 PM

Where Are The Editorials!?

Check the title of the OP9 IRC if you want to find all the editorials he has written so far.

Trump

05-25-2006, 12:15 PM

I think part of the reason people don't like the banner across the top is because there is soooo much white empty space in it. It's not really a banner, it is just some words with lines around it.

It also looks like the site was designed for someone using a VERY high resolution on their monitor. All the banner and the fonts are just huge. Even at 1280x1024 it seems like very little fits on the screen.

As for the move itself, I'm fairly impartial. It is not my decision and I come here mostly for the forum now anyway. It was interesting to read one of the article every once in a while, and it is a little disappointing that a "little while" is really more than 6 months.

But in general it must be exciting for you. Once you get past the trepidation, change is what keeps life interesting!

kilreli

05-25-2006, 12:17 PM

:kuurraaaaiii: (spelling for more of an effect...) :gloomy:
so far, i miss the old outpost nine..... it was more of a secluded thing. a place i could go to that may not be picked up on the radar of the uncountable number of Japanophiles. Luckily, back then there was an easier defense. if they were being...japanophilish, they would be verbally raped. i just hope this place keeps the same mood to it. also yeah, as someone suggested on the editorials website, Az should def put the original dates with the posts.

:sigh:...best of luck with this Az. i just hate when things get too big...and become a fad...cause then people will think of me as one of those freaks "following the fad". and when its over and im still here, ill be "one of the freaks that didnt hear that the fad was over".....or something:meh:

edit: Im still behing Az 100%. We all should. He was the one who gave us these random stories of his life as it currently is, and brought us all to this forum. Do whatcha wanna do buddy!

im still not tryin to be a bastard...but is there a like to OP9 from gaijinsmash.net?

jlgolson

05-25-2006, 02:16 PM

At very least we'd appreciate notification on OP9 (a new thread would be most effective) when your actual new editorials are available on FAN.
http://feeds.feedburner.com/Gaijinsmash
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Gaijin Smash is lauched

Another new FesteringAss site goes up today, Gaijin Smash. It is the hilarious story of one man teaching English in Japan.

New entires will come every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Only thing that really gets to me about the new layout is that there's a big square google ad right in the middle of all the content. If it could be relegated to an edge (top, bottom, side, wherever) it'd be a lot more reader-friendly, in my opinion.You're kidding right? Have you ever read NYTimes.com, or, for that matter, any other site on the net? Talk about intrusive advertising. It's a google text ad. Scroll past it. If you want to support Az, click on the damn thing.

God forbid anyone try to capitalize on their wares. I feel like I fell into a humanities class at Oberlin.
I agree. I really don't like it. The old design was fine. The new one will attract an extremely juvenile audience, mark my words. I enjoyed reading the editorials, not only for their humorous content, but because you could also actually learn something from them. But I don't really feel like visiting the "festering ass" network. Ever.Waaaaaah. Take your ball and go home. It's the same content, why would you stop being able to learn something because the layout changed? I fail to understand this viewpoint. Silliness.

OK, that's all for now.

Kaze

05-25-2006, 02:38 PM

Give it a few weeks. People will get used to it and move on.

However, I do agree that the "Festering Ass" name will cause a few problems, especially for those of us who only have internet at work/school. In my case, every website I visit is run through the Department of Labor firewall, so at some point it may be blocked because of the name.

At the same time, change is inevitable, and I understand Az's point of view, being a budding writer who hopes to be published some day myself. All I can say is, regardless of my personal feelings or like/dislike of the new site, Az is doing what he thinks is best to open up new possibilities and I support him 100%. I think he should definitely write a book, and if this new change helps him achieve his goals, then I say good on him. I wish him well in his endeavors.

:clap:

Anders

05-25-2006, 03:14 PM

I've just noticed something that really bothers me. I just re-read Azreal's first editorial and I must say it is a classic. I didn't care much for the google ad in the middle of the page, but I guess I can deal with that. What really bothered me was the comments. There were 98 comments on the first editorial. Most of them calling Azreal a sellout and worse. Nearly all of them mention that he is recycling editorials from 2 years ago. SO FUCKING WHAT!!!

We may not like the changes because we've been here from the beginning. What kind of friends are we if we're trying to sabotage any chances Az has to expand? I really hope there is a way to delete the negative messages 98 PEOPLE LEFT ON HIS FIRST POST!! Goddamn we're being a bunch of assholes. Lets set aside our differences in opinion and be supportive of Az's latest move. We all love his work, lets allow others to enjoy it as well.

blank slate

05-25-2006, 03:33 PM

Am I loving it? Not really. I'm sure I will get used to it sooner or later though. I'm just glad that you will be able to continue to write up some more great articles about Japan. I hope that you are able to accomplish what you wanted to do with this move.

Although, I have to say that I'm psyched since he is going to put up more pictures. Hooray for more pictures!

Chelsums

05-25-2006, 03:38 PM

http://outpostnine.com/editorials/teacher1.html
Just change the number. Jeez, don't tell me people are that slow.

Anyway, Az, I think it is a great idea for you to make a change and get exposure! I'm happy for you :D There are some things I don't like about the new layout on GS and OP9 but if you like it, then that's all that matters. And if you don't, well, you should look into changing it XP

The only thing is I definitely think you need to put the original date on your editorials somewhere when you respost them.

Good luck, Az! I really hope the new exposure does you good, because I definitely want to buy your book one day. I just hope your new fans appreciate your writing and learn from it, instead of just being like, "omg kancho lol."

Zaysho

05-25-2006, 03:40 PM

What really bothered me was the comments. There were 98 comments on the first editorial. Most of them calling Azreal a sellout and worse. Nearly all of them mention that he is recycling editorials from 2 years ago. SO FUCKING WHAT!!!

Agreed.

I don't see what the issue is. It's not like the site's content is going to change in any way. It'll still be Outpost Nine. So Azrael made a few changes that may benefit him later on, what's it to everyone else? I don't think that makes him a sellout or whatever else (I haven't actually read the comments, so I don't really know what people have to say). It is his site, he could do as he pleases with it, can't he? It's not like he is going to do something stupid like force us to pay to read his stories/editorials or to join the forum. Let's just let Az do his work and stop complaining about it already.

Monkey

05-25-2006, 03:43 PM

I think it should be a dark blue instead of black. Black always has a tendency to look depressing on the web. It also reminds me too much of some awful myspace websites.

I do like the new professionalism though, keep up the good work! :D

PiccoloNamek

05-25-2006, 05:01 PM

http://feeds.feedburner.com/Gaijinsmash

You're kidding right? Have you ever read NYTimes.com, or, for that matter, any other site on the net? Talk about intrusive advertising. It's a google text ad. Scroll past it. If you want to support Az, click on the damn thing.

God forbid anyone try to capitalize on their wares. I feel like I fell into a humanities class at Oberlin.
Waaaaaah. Take your ball and go home. It's the same content, why would you stop being able to learn something because the layout changed? I fail to understand this viewpoint. Silliness.

OK, that's all for now.

The presentation of the content is almost as important as the content itself, I believe.

Langosta

05-25-2006, 06:54 PM

You know if you guys really like what your reading, for free, don't complain about it. Criticisms are fine but don't say the same thing as everybody else, and be constructive with them; offer a way to better the site.

You would've been waiting for editorials for a little bit anyway, because of Az's job search right.

I say go support the site which you enjoy reading so much and click on the pesky ads, it's not gonna hurt you and it'll be good for the site.

PS I think it's funny that an ad by google was for ask.com

ruaidhri

05-25-2006, 09:54 PM

Ok, in defense of Azrael.

Like others, I was not initially enamored by the move to the “Festering Ass Network”. However, that doesn’t stop me from appreciating Azrael’s story telling skills or his establishing the Outpostnine Forum. Will I re-read the old editorials? Yes I will and I’ll laugh again at Azrael’s recounting of his confused and embarrassing moments.

When Azrael first started writing his personal accounts of teaching Japanese schoolchildren, I believe he did it primarily for himself. He didn’t anticipate having a worldwide audience expecting him to produce more stories equally interesting, embarrassing and funny. That would be a tough expectation for anyone to fulfill especially when they realize they no longer are writing for themselves and actually have an audience critiquing their work.

So here we are two years later. Life does go on. Azrael won’t be a Jet teacher forever. However, I believe he will be a writer that can find and exploit the funnier side of life. Ten years from now people probably won’t remember his Japanese school teacher editorials? But they’ve sure helped a lot of us make it through the past couple of years with a chuckle or two.

I, for one, appreciate Azrael for what he has done for all his readers and all the members of his Outpostnine Forum. You see, both belong to him, not us. He can do what he wishes without our consent or approval. Now, if you don’t like what he did you have two choices. You can either get over it or leave. That’s your decision.

I hope Azrael’s connection with FAN works. He certainly deserves something for all his efforts to please us. We certainly have done little to please him. I never met Azrael yet, from his editorials, I believe I know him. He’s a big friendly guy that wouldn’t do you any harm. So why are so many of you trying to harm him by blasting him in your FAN comments? That’s just wrong!

edited for spelling

GovernorOfCA

05-25-2006, 10:45 PM

I think the existance of your site opened up something. Your site was the first example I'd ever seen of "the average guy's" experience in Japan.

There are a couple hundred other JET blogs out there, chronicling the "average guy's" experience in Japan. More than a few Outpostnine forum contributors are JETs--and bloggers--themselves, including myself (I'm leaving in August) so I'm sure you can find other examples of OP9-style material, if you can't wait for Jeff's new updates.

There's at least one published book that's similar to Jeff's editorials, but with more context about Japanese culture, more accurate references to what's going on around him (ie. Feiler doesn't walk straight through the Yasukuni shrine and not realize it), more travel throughout the country, and significantly less kancho. It's called "Learning to Bow" by JET Bruce Feiler. I'm sure there are other books as well.

In sum, you've got other options to get your JET story fix.

MNJetter

05-26-2006, 01:58 AM

For a little constructive criticism, I agree with the aforementioned:
The only thing is I definitely think you need to put the original date on your editorials somewhere when you respost them.

For personal opinion, I haven't really formed one yet on this site, because I bookmarked the forums and not the main part of the OP9 site, so nothing on this site has changed for me yet.

For gaijinsmash, I will regret not being able to read new editorials with the old look that allowed me to look busy during a slow day at work. If you read the current editorials, there's no mistaking the fact that you're not doing anything productive. But situational things aside, I like the new look.

Puppet Death

05-26-2006, 02:17 AM

The free plane ticket was the kicker to sign onto Jet? Was the connection to a NY Times bestseller the most attractive part of the move? Does it outweigh the tacky domain name and the banner? Both are pretty negative for a site that is not negative at all. I feel like the Japanese School Teacher editorials have been moved to www.funnyjokes.com or some other cheap site.

While the writing is the most important thing, remember the old adage "don't judge a book by its cover." But I know I do, to a significant extent. The site screams with RATED T FOR TEENS. That sucks, I think your site deserves a classier look. (...unless you're seeking to attract a teen audience.) The NY Times author hookup sounds pretty sweet. But I think you got screwed over with site layout and design, the present book jacket for this project.

Consider moving again. Really. Get your hands dirty. But in such a way that you're climbing OUT of the festering ass, not in.

More personal & opinionated stuff:
At the very least, no ads on the main page, man.

The Az-zilla is a total cliche. I would suggest an image that leaves people guessing.

Argh get out of the dark! Or at least don't use plain green font.

Your defense is such bullshit. If you were after money, you claim you'd have had ads all over your site from the start. So what? How does that justify the ads now?

I also miss the desklamp...that was so plain and cool. I think you can humbly reintroduce it (please!). The OP9 logo thing is bland.

I really recommend some tables. Or just somehow change the layout so that things aren't so big and scrunched up.

Already I can feel myself getting used to visiting an Az-zilla once a week. What a sad thought. However, Az-zilla would make a nice mini-logo, a sort of satire on your own stuff. Main theme? Dameee.

In any case, I am inspired by and respect your courage to change, to go for something bigger. I don't think you've sold out yet, though you're getting awfully close. Don't settle on something that sucks. Good luck, hope to see something awesome yet.

Puppet Death

05-26-2006, 02:24 AM

Oh and be patient with adjusting to the move. It's just so ridiculously different. Don't respond to feedback ASAP. I myself might grow to like your hideous site. I mean come on. Festering ass. ew. *click*

yea patient

D-pad

05-26-2006, 02:28 AM

Now Az, I know you never really found me important, but here is my 2 cents. I think this was a rather blotched move. New Name=awful(where you trying to make it sound cooler?), only old editorials for ages=kinda sad, ect...you get it? I know some will stay loyal to you no matter what, but as for me, I've lost a lot of respect for you.

With all due respect from someone you don't much care for,

D-pad

Masa the Masta

05-26-2006, 02:41 AM

I made a comment on the first editorial. Whenever Az decides to accept my comment, you guys can read it.

Basically, it's me saying that you all are complaining as if you're all valid, paying customers. Emphasis on paying.

While Az didn't have any big Google ads, he did have this modest paypal donate button since god-knows when. Did any of you donate? Did any of you donate when he asked you to? If not, are you in any position to complain now that you, the dear reader of Az's editorials who can STILL read his content, free, 100% without having to give a dime to Az for his work, to complain, bitch, and make a big scene about losing respect?

Give yourselves a good lashing, dick whipping, and sodomization. This guy lives breathes and eats Japan. He's on the front lines, having to go through what many other people would play russian roulette to with a fully loaded gun, and he's writing this out, at NO cost to you guys, in fact, he's even PAYING it out of his pocket just so you guys could read what he has to say, and even after the cultural faux pas, the ass pokings, the ass medicines, the doctors, and invertibrate animal themed fellatio, you all have the GALL to say that you lose respect for Az over the fucking COLOR AND PICTURE of a new website where he can present his goodness to more people?

Give me a fucking break.

The Divine Comedy

05-26-2006, 02:59 AM

I'll be honest and say that I'm not completely thrilled about the new site and design, but I'll probably get used to it. For one thing, I liked the simplicity of the old one. Easy to get around in, easy to use as a cover for messing around on school computers. Also, not very happy about the FA network, but if it helps Az get published, I can accept it.

Also, everybody who's bitching and flaming Az, give it up! He's probably not going to change it because a bunch of his "fans" get pissy over a simple change in design or joining of a network. I don't LIKE it, but I can still be mature about it. Can't you?

Puppet Death

05-26-2006, 03:09 AM

you all have the GALL to say that you lose respect for Az over the fucking COLOR AND PICTURE of a new website where he can present his goodness to more people?

Give me a fucking break.

We don't all send cash, but we do commit our time to reading the site. We pay with our time. So yeah we have the gall (and right) to review his work and voice our opinions, and pretty much give the message board and comments section a purpose. It's still the internet, his site is still free.

It's not about losing respect. It is true that people who would actually use this change as basis for losing respect for Az don't appreciate him as a person. But those kinds of readers are only a measure of success; they'll be here when Az rocks, they'll leave when he messes up. That's a fact, and you can't control these people.

Rather you can either help Az out with some feedback, or become a reactive like it/hate it reader. Because ultimately, we are all readers looking for something to enjoy.

Pierrot le Fou

05-26-2006, 04:19 AM

The Az-zilla is a tremendous logo because it is indicative of Japan, and that's good for readers who haven't been. Furthermore, it fits the website title (gaijin smash) a lot better than a more 'subtle' banner.

Hell, if it gets Az a book deal, why not? He's already promised me 15% of the proceeds (right Az? RIGHT?)

grungy hamster

05-26-2006, 04:26 AM

Masa the Masta

05-26-2006, 04:49 AM

We don't all send cash, but we do commit our time to reading the site. We pay with our time. So yeah we have the gall (and right) to review his work and voice our opinions, and pretty much give the message board and comments section a purpose. It's still the internet, his site is still free.

It's not about losing respect. It is true that people who would actually use this change as basis for losing respect for Az don't appreciate him as a person. But those kinds of readers are only a measure of success; they'll be here when Az rocks, they'll leave when he messes up. That's a fact, and you can't control these people.

Rather you can either help Az out with some feedback, or become a reactive like it/hate it reader. Because ultimately, we are all readers looking for something to enjoy.

Ultimately, I will always support Az in whatever he does, because he's human just like the rest of us, and given his ambitions, I'm sure we would opt for the same choice he made, given the opportunities.

I've SHOWN my support by defending Az and calling out on the people that have so called 'lost respect for him'. I think it's stupid to be bitching and moaning over a site.

I can understand giving good feedback and giving criticism about the content, which is what Az actually has to say, but this resentful losing respect crap is stupid, because although you took the time to read what he has to say, that has nothing to do with the reason why people are complaining. The editorials aren't changed so that the entire storyline is different. It's the same exact thing, except with HTML all over it.

mawande

05-26-2006, 05:24 AM

I haven't learned to navigate it yet.

Azrael

05-26-2006, 02:05 PM

At the very least, no ads on the main page, man.

Your defense is such bullshit. If you were after money, you claim you'd have had ads all over your site from the start. So what? How does that justify the ads now?
On GS.net, I don't have a choice. That's just a a part of the deal. It's undesireable, but a necessary evil.

OP9 has ads now because, well, GS.net has them. I limited them to text and put them in a place where you never have to bother with them if you don't want to.

What I find interesting is that OP9 was a heavy traffic site with no ads for a year and a half. ...Do you know any heavy traffic sites that have been ad free at all, yet for a year and a half? Not putting up ads potentially lost me a lot of money, but I didn't do it because I didn't want to, and thought "wouldn't it be nice if there was one place on the web where people could go without ads in their face?" It was something I could do for all the people coming by to read my stuff. I held out as long as I could, but it just became an inevitability. Then, the people for whom I sacrificed the potential money for for so long started bitching when the ads eventually did show up.

I don't expect loyalty or anything. Why should I? What I was hoping for was a little more....understanding maybe? Everyone's quick to offer their personal opinions on why they hate what I've done and how it's disadvantageous to them, but very few have offered me any advice on what I could do that would be advantageous to me. No one's offered a better way to reach more readers and have a direct line to the very industry I'm trying to break into. People are so blinded by the ads that they fail to see the content hasn't changed. People are so offended by the layout and colors that they fail to see that the changes will allow the editorials to continue on past August, and make them MUCH more regular (as opposed to random sporadic updates before).

As I said, I can't expect loyality from anyone. People are disappointed in what I've done. ...I'm disappointed that people can't see past their own desires to understand and support someone's who's always tried to support them.

Davey

05-26-2006, 02:30 PM

I gotta go with Az here. A guy needs money to live AND to keep his server up. I doubt he gets enough money from donations and work to pay for both. A few ads here and there never killed anyone and it's still the Az we all know doing the same things as before, just with some ads to help pay for it all.

While I don't really like the FAN thing, I ain't gonna get worked up about it. We're still getting the funny, FOR FREE, and Az is getting the chance to attract more readers and the possibility of a book deal.

ruaidhri

05-26-2006, 02:35 PM

Azrael, obviously you gave careful consideration before acting. Most of your readers, including me, had a knee jerk reaction. While you viewed the entire picture, we just saw the finger.

Yes, I for one do appreciate what you have done. I do understand your desire to expand your opportunities. I do expect you will be successful.

Remember that protest is always louder than praise. And, please consider that they wouldn’t be protesting so loud if they didn’t really care. They do. But, if you’re to be successful beyond OP9 they can’t have you for themselves.

You made the right decision for yourself. As I've always told my own two sons Anders and Redbeard, be kind and generous to others but most of all to yourself.

Thanks for what you’ve done and what you’re doing.

Ruaidhri

MNJetter

05-26-2006, 02:43 PM

Praetorian

05-26-2006, 02:47 PM

What I find interesting is that OP9 was a heavy traffic site with no ads for a year and a half. ...Do you know any heavy traffic sites that have been ad free at all, yet for a year and a half?

http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net

That said, though - I don't really care either way. You're a great writer, and I'm happy for you you get to expand your reader base and make some good money aswell. The only thing I mildly dislike is your previously 'fun for the whole family' editorials being linked to something named the 'Festering Ass Network', but that was your decision and I do believe you did what was best for you and ultimately the site.

I think many of the people here are not protesting because they want you all for themselves, or think you're a sellout - I think most of the people think you could've been more succesful by original ideas of your (our? I'm sure most of us would've loved to contribute) and remaining independent from Max Tucker's Festering Ass network in the long run.

MNJetter

05-26-2006, 02:55 PM

The only thing I mildly dislike is your previously 'fun for the whole family' editorials being linked to something named the 'Festering Ass Network'

When did an editorial that often uses kancho, sex, and porn (yes, in that order) as a subject become "fun for the whole family?" lol :P

EDIT: Add-on

Alrighty....I just looked at the new site for the first time, instead of just coming straight to the forums. I don't know what everybody is complaining about....the editorials archives look unfinished, but I really like the layout for the fiction stuff. The logo gives it sort of a news-broadcast-y type of feel, which is good for a site that uses editorials a lot....modern editorials did have their humble beginnings nestled in newspapers, after all.

Gaijinsmash is cool too. The ads are a little annoying, but I realize full well that nothing can be done about that. I will miss reading them at work, but it's not updating for a while yet anway, and I like the Az-zilla.

I clicked all the ads I could find on outpostnine.com. Enjoy your pennies from google! :D

Praetorian

05-26-2006, 03:08 PM

When did an editorial that often uses kancho, sex, and porn (yes, in that order) as a subject become "fun for the whole family?" lol :P

Kids are never too young to learn about that stuff, should they go on vacation to Japan.

Honestly, the only editorial that might've been mildly 'not safe for kids' might've been the octopus one, but that's it. And ofcourse, it's not like people's eyes will catch on fire the second they read 'Festering Ass'... but it still carries a stigma. I don't know how to explain it.

GovernorOfCA

05-26-2006, 03:36 PM

he's writing this out, at NO cost to you guys, in fact, he's even PAYING it out of his pocket just so you guys could read what he has to say,

Jeff has said in his "ask me anything" thread that his bandwidth costs are being covered by a generous benefactor. He was not paying for bandwidth as of two months ago.

Assuming that is still true, he is paying SQUAT out of his pocket to keep you entertained, unless you count the $40/month he probably pays for internet access.

However, he is getting paid $32,000 per year (NET income) to live in Japan.

Since he lives in a rural area, his rent is subsidized or perhaps even free, depending on his situation.

He does not pay income tax, car insurance, or vehicle registration fees.

This is what Jeff IS doing:
Updating a pure text blog, once every three weeks. No photos. No flash. No fancy HTML. Just text.

This is not difficult. It does not entail significant time or money. He whips up a 500-word entry in Microsoft Word about 12-year-olds sticking their fingers in his ass, plops it into an HTML template, and adds a hyperlink on his editorials page. Assuming he does this once every two weeks, it's an expenditure of about five hours per month, depending on how fast he can type.

I love reading his editorials as much as the next forum dweller, but don't canonize the guy.

anver

05-26-2006, 03:50 PM

snip.

And ofcourse, it's not like people's eyes will catch on fire the second they read 'Festering Ass'... but it still carries a stigma. I don't know how to explain it.

Probably the fact that nobody would assume to find quality writing like Az's under the moniker of "Festering Ass".
And it just sounds immaturely obscene.

Citizen

05-26-2006, 04:21 PM

I'm not fond of any of the changes to OP9, the GaijinSmash.net site, or the FAN. Aside from the money they pull in, the FAN has little to no merit.

Although, I must give the FAN's artist credit. GaijinSmash.net looks like something you'd find on a festering ass.

Oh well. I'll just stick to reading the forums from now on.

h2orowe

05-26-2006, 11:49 PM

Az, I haven't read the whole thing yet, only up to page 3 1/2 but my tiny teenage attention span can only hold that much for now.

Anyway, to the point, sire Azrael, do you think you could, possibly if you have time, once a month do a new editorial, and put it in the creativity section? That way your main fans (The ones who use the forum, or whatever) can view it on there, and will be satisfied with at least some new things once a month.

I don't know if anyone suggested that yet, but I've only read halfway through.

Azrael

05-27-2006, 12:23 AM

Az, are you talking about the comments you're getting on the gaijinsmash page and emails, or just the ones in this thread? Because it sounds like you're specifically scolding the people on this thread, and there are a lot of us who have made it quite clear that we're supporting you, not trying to be overly critical.
I meant in general. The GS.net page and I've gotten some scathing emails as well.

I've also gotten a lot of support, so thank you to everyone who has been supportive of the move and understands why it happened.

Since he lives in a rural area, his rent is subsidized or perhaps even free, depending on his situation.

He does not pay income tax, car insurance, or vehicle registration fees.

This is what Jeff IS doing:
Updating a pure text blog, once every three weeks. No photos. No flash. No fancy HTML. Just text.

This is not difficult. It does not entail significant time or money. He whips up a 500-word entry in Microsoft Word about 12-year-olds sticking their fingers in his ass, plops it into an HTML template, and adds a hyperlink on his editorials page. Assuming he does this once every two weeks, it's an expenditure of about five hours per month, depending on how fast he can type. My rent is nowhere near free, in fact it's one of the highest among JET's (at least that I've heard...I've asked around). I had to change apartments, got zero help from my board of education, and had to cough up the ~$3000 key money on my own.

We do pay income tax. We have to pay into the pension fund as well, but the pension money we can get back after we leave Japan.

It wasn't once every three weeks, it was twice a week, once during the slow periods. ...Not that difficult, eh? Would you like to give it a shot? Your duties will be -

-- Keeping an eye out on your job for something that you can entertain people with. If nothing happens, then keeping an eye out for something around you you can write about.

-- Posting editorials at least semi-regularly so that people don't complain. Once a week-ish. And making sure they're funny, cause that's what people expect from you now.

-- Having to at least read emails everyday, for if you miss a few days you'll be backed up by several hundred, at least. And trying to respond to a few, ignoring the questions that could have been answered by a Google search, ignoring everyone who has a "unique" suggestion of how to do things better, ignoring the people who've decided they're going to email me everyday until I do respond.

-- Making sure the message board is still running smoothly. Locking out of control threads and banning spammers. Ignoring PM's from people that are like "So and so said something mean to me, why don't you do something about it!!"

-- Since the weekends are completely tied up, this all has to be done M-F...work's not really an option since I don't have internet access...so between the hours of 5~1AM-ish. Oh yeah, you're also going to have to fit in evening eikaiwa, going to the gym, keeping up with my real life friends, eating, and time to at least relax so everything doesn't drive me absolutely insane.

Urban~Ninja

05-27-2006, 01:01 AM

Seems like GovernorOfCA just got shot down by Az Himself.

Az personnally i would say ignore the people who are ragging on the new site and the move of the Teacher Eds. They have been getting entertainment for free and they will continue to get it, but if you want to change the format of how its recieved then they just have to deal with it.

Ender at Eros

05-27-2006, 02:12 AM

For those of you waiting for Az to finish posting the archives on the new site, here's the Google cache link to the old posts:

http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:SYqUSOho_PcJ:www.outpostnine.com/editorials/teacher.html

K, so that link ended up being refreshed, here's another link: http://omega.med.yale.edu/~pcy5/japanese/teacher.html

Soli

05-27-2006, 02:12 AM

Changes are good. :) It will take some getting used to but I like it.

Mr. Az: It is very generous of you to write all those funny editorials, let us have a forum, and deal with the silly people who bother you. :P It must take a lot to handle all that at once! You're a nice person. And I hope you have a good day! :clap:

Mastiker

05-27-2006, 02:15 AM

no, i think Az should defend himself :D it's fun, because he's right, and they're wrong.

i like the new look to everything. granted, i'm not all "yay! advertisements!" but i'm used to it. "the internet has advertisements? omfg! i have NEVER once seen advertisements on the INTERNET!" granted, yeah, he never had them before and now he's "sold out" but so what. if Az wants to make money for doing something that he puts actual legitimate effort into, then he's smart. i don't care that there's ads, and i'm quite all right with az "selling out". stop complaining. unless you can start posting regular editorials that a large (or semi-large) audience can and does enjoy, then you have no right to say how you'd do things differently, because you do no know all the information.

so... power to ya az for "selling out" i hope you get lots of new readers and publicity :D

Ender at Eros

05-27-2006, 02:42 AM

woah, my last post was definately misplaced.

i don't really mind the ads, and as for the content, its never been better :p

keep up the good work!

AnimeFan3oo3

05-27-2006, 02:49 AM

I don't know... as a graphic designer, I really like the banner. What I do not like is the huge amount of advertising on the side; and the panel next to the advertising. The color of the the side is pretty ugly, too. Where the hell did that dark greyish color come from? (I'm not even mentioning the green.)

Just some quick cleaning up I did: http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/2575/gaijin0yf.jpg

I know it's not possible to make it exactly like that, due to the required Google ads, but I think it would be smart to put them on the bottom of the page, and make them black.

In the end, I suppose that it doesn't really matter if the editorials are the same excellent quality we have come to expect from Az.

I don't really mind him putting up one old editorial per 2 days, either. Would you rather have it if he put all of them up, but the next time he updated would be six months from now? I fully support his decision.

GovernorOfCA

05-27-2006, 07:48 AM

We do pay income tax.

No, you don't, unless you weren't paying attention when you were mailed your General Information Handbook.

If you filed the forms correctly, you do not have to pay income tax in Japan or the United States. You are exempt from Japanese income taxes for the first two years on JET, and you are exempt from U.S. income taxes if you earn less than $80,000 per year. See http://www.jetprogramme.org/e/new/us_tax.html for the Japanese tax information. There's a link to the General Information Handbook on the JET programme website's front page.

It wasn't once every three weeks, it was twice a week, once during the slow periods. ...Not that difficult, eh? Would you like to give it a shot? Your duties will be - (list of duties snipped)

Yeah, I know, that's what blogging is. Millions of people do those things, with the exception of responding to everyone's emails and regulating a forum. You could anoint a couple moderators to police the forum--I'm sure you'd find a dozen volunteers willing to dedicate themselves to such an endeavor--and just stop reading all the redundant emails and PM's.

How long does it take to write an entry? An hour? Maybe two? Do that once a week and you've spent four hours per month on the website. If you spend another three hours reading fifty daily emails asking how to apply for the JET programme, that's your prerogative, but it's not necessary to keep the site running.

Believe me, I'll give it a shot when I'm over there. I was an editor for two years at my university's twice-weekly newspaper, where I did layout, design, editing, and wrote half the articles in the opinion section every week while going to school full time and running the student government. Updating a website where you have complete creative control and don't have to deal with the inanities of three other editors' egos takes less time than the job at the newspaper.

Anyway, my original response to "masa the master" still stands: Jeff isn't paying out of his pocket to keep the site running. Bandwidth costs are already covered, and he'll now start profiting from the Google Ads.

Incidentally, I'm sorry to hear about your apartment difficulties. You got screwed on that one.

kilreli

05-27-2006, 10:30 AM

Azrael won’t be a Jet teacher forever.
LIES FROM THE PIT OF HELLLLLLL!!!
ok just kidding
funny thing: i didnt even notice the ads on the op9 website until a minute ago, and didnt really care, cause they werent in the way at all. i havent visited gs.com again, but i dont think ill care about the ads. hell, ill click um every so often just to help out.

Everyone's quick to offer their personal opinions on why they hate what I've done and how it's disadvantageous to them, but very few have offered me any advice on what I could do that would be advantageous to me. No one's offered a better way to reach more readers and have a direct line to the very industry I'm trying to break into.

I started reading the stuff in the fiction section lately. last night i read "Without Words" (good stuff by the way)
I dont know if you wrote that one, cause i think you said you were also posting stuff from other people, and i didnt see a name, but what i think is that a lot of the people here are hesitent to have a whole new wave of people come in, becuase they dont want those people to ruin what they have. The reason i brought up this short story, is for its beginning.

"I wouldn’t dare jump in the lake. Sure, it was a beautiful day - the sun was shining, and it was hot. Not hot enough to make you want to stay inside, where you’d be safe within air-conditioned walls. No. Just hot enough to lure you out of your cage, and tempt you to enjoy days like this while they last. On a day like this, the lake seemed to be begging you to jump in. Jump in and cool off, and when you got out, the air and water would mix together and make everything perfect. But I didn’t dare touch that lake, or even come close to it.

The lake was perfect, pristine. The gentle breeze, which swayed everything from hair to grass to insects, couldn’t even phase the lake. For me to jump in, I’d be violating it. The lake would lose all of its beauty, and come back to the world of the mere mortal. I couldn’t bring myself to do something so vulgar. "

For us, the lake is the OP9 website you created. We have done as best we can in keeping people from jumping in and ruining it, becuase we feel we know how to appreciate it. A strong grow of a fanbase scares us, because we dont think we can hold them all off from ruining what you have made, until they either leave or realize how great your editorials are.

Thats how i currently relate to it though....but then again i didnt put too much thought into it...:boggled:

also, i personally love the OP9 update. well...excpet moving the japanese teacher editorials. oh well, ill get used to it. anyways, its a good way to separate your japanese experience editorials and the rest of your work. before when they were mixed together, people probably didnt pay so much attention to your other stuff....
ill admit, i didnt really. thats why i just started reading the fiction. i only got through the first two cause i havent had time, but they're really good and well written. keep up the good work.

also, i may have stated before, but probably not, everything is fine, but the gaijinsmash website just doesnt look appealing. it could use a better look. but thats about all. time for dinner! yosh

Azrael

05-27-2006, 10:41 AM

No, you don't, unless you weren't paying attention when you were mailed your General Information Handbook.

If you filed the forms correctly, you do not have to pay income tax in Japan or the United States. You are exempt from Japanese income taxes for the first two years on JET, and you are exempt from U.S. income taxes if you earn less than $80,000 per year. ...I'm a third year. :D

Yeah, I know, that's what blogging is. Millions of people do those things, with the exception of responding to everyone's emails and regulating a forum. There's a HUGE difference between what I'm doing and blogging. Bloggers have, what, an audience of a couple hundred? Maybe a thousand or two? My website gets twenty thousand unique visits a day. It makes a big difference when a lot of people are reading. I used to wonder why webmasters of popular websites acted a certain way towards some things. I understand completely now. I dunno if it's something one can truly understand unless they've experienced it for themselves.

The actual process of writing an entry and posting it doesn't take that long, sure. But there's more to writing an entry than just sitting down and pounding it out - I still have in my Word Pad file half a dozen would-be editorials that started out great then just fizzled out. If I had a hard day at work, I don't really feel like writing anything, much less something amusing/entertaining (which is what people have come to expect now). If I was a blogger with a small audience, I could just throw up whatever and not care. But I have a large audience, and feeding people crap isn't going to fly. Add to that that I am genuinely really, really busy (I have to be one of the few JET's that can't complain that I've got too much time to kill), and it just complicates things. I'm not saying it's this impossibly difficult thing, but it's most certainly not a walk in the park either.

The beauty of the apartment situation is that I have to move again in August...the apartment I'm in now is in my name, but I decided to give it to my BOE so they could use it for my successor (it's easier for them...and I don't particularly want to stay here). I asked them for help again in getting a new place, and this time it was "Well, you aren't going to be working for us anymore, so we're not obligated to help you..." I told them I wasn't asking as their ALT, but personally, and got the same response. Beautiful. I've gotta fork over another key money in a month or two, but this time I've only (ha! only) gotta pay about $2000.

Pierrot le Fou

05-27-2006, 11:12 AM

Your contract should still state that your CO pays your income tax so that the income you receive each month is equivalent to your first two years (barring small changes in insurance payments and pension payments).

And the apartment thing I went through as well, but it's a choice. Unless of course they were booting you out of your old place and not providing a new place or assistance in finding a new place. Which I bet is also contrary to your contract.

Personally I think you're providing a (free) service for people, and it takes your time, so you have every right to make a little bit of cash off of it. Everyone else, if offended by the concept that you want to make profit off of something that takes your time, can vote with their keyboards and simply not visit the site. Whining about ads seems silly when viewing the site is still free for them to view. It's not like you're charging for subscriptions...

And if your BOE doesn't want to help with you finding a new apartment, then tell them that you won't allow them to use your apartment for the new ALT as you don't feel the need to pay for key money again. Choice, again.

Everyone has choice, weehaw, now why is everyone complaining?

kilreli

05-27-2006, 11:21 AM

...I'm a third year. :D

owndizzled?

I decided to give it to my BOE so they could use it for my successor (it's easier for them...and I don't particularly want to stay here). I asked them for help again in getting a new place, and this time it was "Well, you aren't going to be working for us anymore, so we're not obligated to help you..." I told them I wasn't asking as their ALT, but personally, and got the same response. Beautiful. I've gotta fork over another key money in a month or two, but this time I've only (ha! only) gotta pay about $2000.
That's Japan for you. scrath their back, and then in return get "we're not obligated to help you..."

And if your BOE doesn't want to help with you finding a new apartment, then tell them that you won't allow them to use your apartment for the new ALT as you don't feel the need to pay for key money again. Choice, again.

Trueness. this is where your barter/threaten to gaijin smash technique should come in. Throw that junk right back at them. "well...im not obligated to help you out so......:change from japanese to english: suck a fat one"

They hate foreignes anyways, right?

Also, a quick question about the editorials. will you be still writing them as the older ones are being re-posted? I would guess so, and they would just be added after everything else is up. just wondering how that will work, thats all

Monkey

05-27-2006, 11:24 AM

Silverhawk

05-27-2006, 11:28 AM

Actually what you do and blogging isn't very different. If you think bloggers have a "small" audience you are kidding yourself. There are some very popular bloggers that easily have a larger audience than you cater to.

I really don't mind the change, but i think the 2 mistakes were done.

1) Re-releasing old editorials
This decision is purely marketing, and thanks to it you are alienating your current audience in hopes of a new. Now most of your current readers will have to wait a long time before they see anything new. You are popular enough already, people will know that these are "old".. it will just lead to bad publicity.

You should have just continued with new editorials and keep the old ones in an archive. People who want to read through the whole thing can choose how they wish to spend their time reading it. They could just read 1 editorial a day or read the entire thing. Power to the users :)

2) The design of gaijin smash
I just don't feel like the design suits you and your editorials. The internet is monotone, so design plays a big role in how you "sound". The design just looks immature to me, and it will make your editorial sound like it was written by an immature teen.

Probably not a big problem to most of us, but i do see it as a flaw which can still be corrected.

MNJetter

05-27-2006, 11:34 AM

Monkey-san.........royal blue???? ouch.

It's like gaijinsmash.net married the Blue Screen of Death from pre-XP versions of Windows.

No offense.

Monkey

05-27-2006, 11:35 AM

Monkey-san.........royal blue???? ouch.

It's like gaijinsmash.net married the Blue Screen of Death from pre-XP versions of Windows.

No offense.

Looks a heck of a lot better than black.

MNJetter

05-27-2006, 11:38 AM

Looks a heck of a lot better than black.

o.O If you say so.

Az said he can't change the gaijinsmash website anyway since it's run by FAN, so you should seek the festering ass instead of this forum to suggest changes, I imagine.

Aeikozz

05-27-2006, 01:17 PM

Before i start. i think the new site freggin sucks. The layout is horrible.
I love your site Azrael i do.
Infact i love you. Well not in that way but you know someone i don't want hit by a random nuke.

Anyhoo

If I was a blogger with a small audience, I could just throw up whatever and not care. But I have a large audience, and feeding people crap isn't going to fly.

Why not? If you expect people to be Har har entertained each time they come here then please do not bitch at how you now have like 10,000 people Demanding you be funny.

Put them in thier place. Throw up shit. Omg... you mean Az is a real person? he actually decided to say fuck it midway a entry? what is the world comming to?

Dude your human just like anybody else.

And about your site. Why do you have to go to some weird place for hosting?
Why don't you just throw up a simple word press site if you want it blog style?

It is possible. And it looks alot more user frendly than whatcha got now.

Omg.. i think i have a example...Linky! (http://www.darkangelz.com/?cat=6)

Just a couple of your articles i found most intresting (note i said intresting and not funny) that i archived on my site.

It's clean nice and pretty.

You could even throw some of those google ads you've come to love so much in there, and it'd still look nice.

I'm just saying i understand HTML 1.0 getting you no where.

but .. there are MUCH better layouts on this web we call world wide out here.

Angelyne

05-27-2006, 01:25 PM

I really like Monkey's quick redesign of GS.net. Much easier to read, and it doesn't look like something from Deadjournal.

I don't really understand all of the complaining about the hiatus in new articles, either. To me, it isn't any different than a favorite blogger going on vacation or taking a short break from writing.

Jay

05-27-2006, 01:46 PM

Damn you guys are fast.

Haven't finished everything yet and still trying to iron out kinks. Comments are appreciated.

I don't mind it, I don't mind it one little bit.

GaijinSmash confused me the first time I clicked onto it, but I stuck around for a while and got used to it.

(I still prefer the direct link to your editorials, but that could have something to do with my loyalty to Outpost Nine as a whole.)

Shamu

05-27-2006, 01:46 PM

I'm not exactly sure how I feel about the new layout, it doesn't seem as sharp as the old one. But, I think Az needs to do what's right for him and if this is the way he thinks he needs to go, then fine by me. The only things I hope that don't change are the quality of his writing (which I don't think will happen) and that the forums stay up.

Azrael

05-27-2006, 02:57 PM

Jay

05-27-2006, 03:14 PM

At the very least, no ads on the main page, man.

Your defense is such bullshit. If you were after money, you claim you'd have had ads all over your site from the start. So what? How does that justify the ads now?

Oh, blow it out your arse. Azrael doesn't have to justify himself to us, we're just the pawns in his chess game. We click onto his site and get him a little bit more exposure and exposure means possible deals and deals means getting his name out there as an author.

It's just the truth. Don't take that attitude with me.

Don't like it? Deal with it. Log off. Go find another Japanese editorial site. There are your options. Pick one.

---------------------

Jeff, I wasn't here from the start. I came along in early 2005. I was here for the start of the forum - I signed up the very first day it went up. I made the switch from PHPBB to vCrapetin, and I'll switch again if you take us to Invision (heh) or something else. If it wasn't for this site, a huge chunk of my internet time would be lost. (Don't ask me what I did online before OP9 came along, because I honestly don't know! :boggled: )

And if it wasn't for this site, the readers of your editorials wouldn't have been brought together and I wouldn't have made some of the best friends in my life, other side of the world or not.

Let me thank you for the site as a whole from the farthest reaches of my heart, and good luck with the book thing.

---------------------

To the nay-sayers: change doesn't necessarily mean loss. Change is just the next adventure. Roll with it. So what if you don't like it much? Hang around a while and let it grow on you. If it doesn't grow on you, find some way to deal with the aesthetics, because the content is exactly the same. Or don't. The choice is yours; just don't come out with guns blazing and insults flying.

Oh yeah. If the ads piss you off so damn much that you really honestly oh-my-God just CAN'T get over it, download Mozilla Firefox (http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/) and install Mozilla Adblock (https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/10/). There, problem solved in two easy links.

AnimeFan3oo3

05-27-2006, 04:04 PM

This is just a quick edit that I did in paint so it doesn't look too brilliant, but it's just an idea of a colour better than black :)

http://img93.imageshack.us/img93/1293/gaijins2gw.jpg

Or the link if the mods don't allow pics: http://img93.imageshack.us/img93/1293/gaijins2gw.jpg

It just instantly looks a lot more user-friendly to me, it also gives more definition to the logo at the top, making it stand out (although I did a bit of a hatchet job around the edges). Keeping the ads is fine, but I'd probably move the one in the centre of the page to the left. I just cut them out completely to make it easier for me ;)

Just a quick bit of constructive criticism there, hope it helps :D

I don't know... I don't like the blue. The black isn't the problem... the adds and tool bar on the right are. It would be at least smart to put the tool bar on the right and the adds on the left so that it would look somewhat balanced out.

http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/2575/gaijin0yf.jpg

^ A 2 minute job by me in case you missed the link on page 5. You can't really change the black to anything else, because it will screw up the logo/banner. It doesn't look right with blue.

MNJetter

05-27-2006, 05:32 PM

The black isn't the problem... the adds and tool bar on the right are. It would be at least smart to put the tool bar on the right and the adds on the left so that it would look somewhat balanced out.

Okay, this comes up like every other post or something. Did nobody actually read Az's posts on this thread?

I didn't design the GaijinSmash site. It was designed by the FAN in-house artist. All those sites have the same/similar layout, so it couldn't be helped.

Az can't change the gaijinsmash site design, folks, get over it.

AnimeFan3oo3

05-27-2006, 05:42 PM

Okay, this comes up like every other post or something. Did nobody actually read Az's posts on this thread?

Az can't change the gaijinsmash site design, folks, get over it.

:watson:

Yes, I did. He could ask the dumbfuck who made it to make some changes to it. I understand the need for the google ads and the need for the festering ass links, but they could at least be placed in a logical place. :frypan:

Both of these things are extremely easy to do. I'm 16 and I could create a better site layout using my ass.

Besides, I'm just expressing what I think is the logical thing to do. Whether it is done or not is not my choice. And... I was only expressing what the problem was. I didn't say Az had to do anything to fix it.

Monkey

05-27-2006, 07:00 PM

Okay, this comes up like every other post or something. Did nobody actually read Az's posts on this thread?

Az can't change the gaijinsmash site design, folks, get over it.

I'm aware that Az can't personally change the site but I'm also aware that he knows the person who can. It's far more likely that he could get them to change it than I could get them to change it. This is my only easy means of contacting Az, so I provided a suggestion.

Not that I think the site should be specifically blue over any other colour, but it shouldn't be so dark and black. Lightness always seems more attractive on a website to me.

Maybe next time I should provide a full spectrum of photoshopped screens to give everyone a choice :D

Cherub Rock

05-27-2006, 07:34 PM

It wasn't my decision to post up the old editorials one at a time. However, it's not my intention to leave you guys hanging for several months. I've inquired about what I can do for the existing audience, but I don't know if I will get an answer this weekend. Some ideas I have on my own - intersperse unread editorials inbetween the old stuff, perhaps once a week (the downside of this is that it will take even longer to reach the current stuff). And to just keep OP9 updated constantly with (non-teacher related) stuff in the interim. Perhaps even start a new editorial series on a different (but somewhat related) topic.

I wouldn't just leave you guys hanging.

If you have to leave us hanging that is cool. It's all business, and it makes sense to post the articles one at a time so that a new fan base can be built up now that you can reach a larger audiance. From a business standpoint it is better not to flood a new audiance with a massive amount of old material.

New stuff interposed between it would be pretty cool though.

CNagy

05-27-2006, 08:03 PM

There is something close to 120 articles, or so, sounds like 40ish weeks until new content. Eh, whatever, it's really easy to reach the old articles.

Az, I agree with your decision to move the editorials. Writers aspiring to get a book deal have the chips stacked against them, you might as well do what you can to put things in your favor.

However... why Festering Ass Network? Was that the only choice out there? Perhaps I am wrong, but with the fan base that you already have, it would just take a little networking with other popular bloggers to put GaijinSmash on the radar with blog fans. Blogs like WaiterRant and Club Life are simply designed and draw huge audiences (the guy on Club Life even got a book deal from it,) so it doesn't seem like design is the most important factor. Your writing style will appeal to the people who read blogs; the people who are always looking for a new blog to read. As one of those people, the design of Gaijinsmash.net only gets in the way of reading the editorial.

But hey, it is your brainchild, your venture-- do as you wish.

Zonehunter1

05-27-2006, 11:20 PM

....Fuck.
...Well, no more editiorials for me, i'll stay here. I do not want to fucking have to scroll all over to find em.

PopCulturePooka

05-27-2006, 11:26 PM

Some ideas I have on my own - intersperse unread editorials inbetween the old stuff, perhaps once a week (the downside of this is that it will take even longer to reach the current stuff).

Which means having to continuoly check the page thats usually only going to have old stuff we've read. Would be pretty inconvienient.

And to just keep OP9 updated constantly with (non-teacher related) stuff in the interim. Perhaps even start a new editorial series on a different (but somewhat related) topic. Is this what the audience wants?

If you have to ask 'permission' from your new handlers about being able to post new stuff related to teaching etc, stuff that you should have 100% creative control over, you should have a think about just how much control you are going to have over more than a few things under your new handlers.

Azrael

05-28-2006, 01:49 AM

Which means having to continuoly check the page thats usually only going to have old stuff we've read. Would be pretty inconvienient. GS is updated every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. If I could slip new stuff in between the old, I'd do it on a set day...say Wednesday. So you would know that every Wednesday, there'd be an article you haven't read yet.

This would actually be far superior to the old system, where neither you or I knew when the next editorial would be going up.

If you have to ask 'permission' from your new handlers about being able to post new stuff related to teaching etc, stuff that you should have 100% creative control over, you should have a think about just how much control you are going to have over more than a few things under your new handlers. Nobody knows this better than I.

I don't have 100% control over my work, especially compared to how it was before, and nobody dislikes that more than I. This is about turning the editorials into something more than a fun little hobby. You gotta give before you can get.

---------------------------------------

I understand people don't like the Festering Ass name...but seriously...it's just a name. And you never have to visit a FAN site if you don't want to. You never have to click on an ad if you don't want to. You can even disable them. Even if you think the layout is garbarge, were you coming to the site to look at graphics? It just seems as though a lot of people are letting minor, external stuff get in the way of the reason they came here in the first place - the writing.

A lot of people want me to have not done anything and stayed with the good 'ol OP9. ...I wanted to do that too. I wanted to do that more than all the people who are complaining and saying they're going to quit reading. But what you have to realize is that if things didn't change, not only was this site going to go nowhere, it was going to end. In two months you'd have nothing but archives. You may hate the change with every fiber of your body, but it is the change that will allow you to read new editorials (on a set update schedule no less).

MNJetter

05-28-2006, 02:17 AM

Even if you think the layout is garbarge, were you coming to the site to look at graphics? It just seems as though a lot of people are letting minor, external stuff get in the way of the reason they came here in the first place - the writing.

I think people are less worried that it's going to get in the way of their own reading experience, but that it's going to turn potential new readers away from the site. People who know you and your writing style will keep coming, but people who don't will judge whether or not they want to read your stuff by the design of your website. You are thinking of your future as a writer and trying to increase your base audience, and I think that a lot of people here are too. We like your style, and so we want to see you succeed. It's the same theory as the reason why, for instance, most parents get angrier at their own kids for doing drugs than they would at some other kid. If nobody here cared about making you successful, I don't think anybody would have put up any comments, good or bad, or cared how the site looked.

In this, the fact that you have people behind you already who want you to succeed, you have a great advantage over the rest of the aspiring writers out there. There will be comments and criticisms that you don't agree with, and the best you can do is sift through them and follow what you feel is right, or listen more closely to the comments of the people you trust most. Especially the more qualified ones. It looks like we've got a couple of graphic designers on this forum, which gives you free access to advice that most companies have to pay good money for. Branch out into new areas, like FAN, but don't be afraid to make use of the connections that you already have, too.

Puppet Death

05-28-2006, 04:03 AM

Oh, blow it out your arse. Azrael doesn't have to justify himself to us, we're just the pawns in his chess game.

Az *did* justify himself, I was responding to his reasoning. Eh. But anyway,

On GS.net, I don't have a choice. That's just a a part of the deal. It's undesireable, but a necessary evil.

Now I see.

Lambda

05-28-2006, 04:06 AM

Az, I hate the change, but if you're finally getting enough money to justify doing this I'll deal with it. Any chance you can upload all of the old School Teacher editorials in a .rar file or something so I can still read them when I'm bored?
EDIT: I've found about the first 1/5th of the editorials HERE: http://web.archive.org/web/20050209005807/www.outpostnine.com/editorials/teacher.html

Puppet Death

05-28-2006, 04:10 AM

I think people are less worried that it's going to get in the way of their own reading experience, but that it's going to turn potential new readers away from the site. People who know you and your writing style will keep coming, but people who don't will judge whether or not they want to read your stuff by the design of your website. You are thinking of your future as a writer and trying to increase your base audience, and I think that a lot of people here are too. We like your style, and so we want to see you succeed. It's the same theory as the reason why, for instance, most parents get angrier at their own kids for doing drugs than they would at some other kid. If nobody here cared about making you successful, I don't think anybody would have put up any comments, good or bad, or cared how the site looked.

Exactly. 10char

Lambda

05-28-2006, 04:30 AM

Dang, already posted... Ah well, Az, Good luck! :)

Pierrot le Fou

05-28-2006, 04:47 AM

Just one thing I would recommend -- I don't see any link on gs.net linking to this forum. Since the forum is an extension of the editorials in some ways, and will get people coming back for more, perhaps you should consider doing that?

GovernorOfCA

05-28-2006, 08:14 AM

owndizzled?

No, not "owndizzled." For your first two years on JET, you pay NO income tax, so your "take home" pay is $32,000. In the third year, the Japanese government increases your pay to compensate for the income tax, so your "take home" pay is again $32,000. This is what PLF said in the post right before yours, in fewer words.

Jeff, I do hope you get your book published. I also hope that you consider some options other than Festering Ass. I don't see how becoming a part of their network is going to advance your career. You don't need the extra hits if you're getting 20,000 per day. Tucker Max isn't a publisher, he's an "author" (to use the term loosely) himself. He, or his minions, is trying to exert creative control over YOUR work, which has already been well-received by tens of thousands of people. Other than the revenue from the Google Ads (which you could get on your own), how does joining Festering Ass allow you to continue writing editorials?

Crowley

05-28-2006, 08:19 AM

My only concern with the new site is no link to these forums. I've really enjoyed coming here since I discovered them, and no newbie hose = slow dwindling death of forums, which would be very sad.

PopCulturePooka

05-28-2006, 08:33 AM

My only concern with the new site is no link to these forums. I've really enjoyed coming here since I discovered them, and no newbie hose = slow dwindling death of forums, which would be very sad.
Would you really want backwashed excrement from Festering Ass sites and boards coming here?

Sen.McCarthy'sFreedomFist

05-28-2006, 09:13 AM

I'm going to be completely honest. I despise the new layout. You can say "You don't pay a cent!" or "The graphics are cool," but the fact of the matter is that I prefer the old layout in almost every way.

Komachi Angel

05-28-2006, 09:43 AM

Personally speaking I'm not very happy with the change, but then again it's not my decision and neither does it particularly have much to do with what *I* want. And this I respect.

On the other hand, I have noticed some fairly negative viewpoints here in this thread, and I must say I feel as though I know where they are coming from. Honestly, it's not much of a surprise. The forums here represent a tightknit community that has by and large been drawn together by readership of the editorials. Whenever mention was made to them it inevitably came to this site, and the people here I imagine feel not only a close connection to each other but also in contact with you. This was clearly displayed earlier in the year as people gave of themselves to help get you a plane ticket home, and in support here, there and all over.

So I thin. Correct me if I'm wrong now, but to many here I imagine this new transition is much akin to having one of your best friends change to a new and somewhat disreputable circle of people because that group can help them get something. And it can be frustrating for some as they start seeing advertising popping up, as well as having to put up with what can only be described as one of the most ill-thought out website names in all of history (FA) and all that this entails. Thusly it comes as no surprise that some people are quite defensive.

In short, it feels much the way it does for fans of all things not yet 'out there' when said thing becomes somewhat more mainstream. The only problem is that in this case people have access to the author and are taking advantage of that opportunity.

Anyway, enough rationalisation. One concern of mine has been the recent occassional posting of mindless anit-Japan sentiments in some of the forums. As far as I have noticed, the start of these coincided somewhat closely with the change to the new site, and it concerns me that we may be attracting some unwanted traffic. Pure speculation, yes, and there is always a few 'special' sorts in every batch, but I do wonder if there is a connection.

In any case, I'm not one to criticise your decision, nor is that what I am trying to do in this post. More, this is how the situation strikes me, and what I feel some here are undoubtedly thinking. In the grand scheme of things, I am merely a reader, and you the author should take your work the way you feel is best for it. While it may not be a move I would have made myself, I wish you all the best and hope you reach the goals for which you are aiming.

Pierrot le Fou

05-28-2006, 10:13 AM

The mentality of, "It's popular now, God forbid" has made no sense of me since I was in High School. He's popular. He has the chance to make money. For those of you who aren't in the know, making money is a prime element in having a roof over your head, and food in your stomach. To those who have been on an amphetamine binge for the past 48 hours, these are good things.

If he thinks this will make him money, then let him do it, and read or don't as you'd like. This is his decision to make, and while I'm sure he wouldn't like to lose your readership, if he can only keep your readership on the condition that he makes absolutely no money, I rather hope he takes the money. While altruism is a wonderful thing, pissing dollars down the drain isn't. Especially when the altruism is only appreciated on every 6th rainy blue moon Wednesday.

Hatsumomo

05-28-2006, 10:42 AM

Sheesh. I'm gone for a couple of weeks and everything is different! I'm kind of confused now.

Mastiker

05-28-2006, 12:40 PM

No, not "owndizzled." Ah, but it's such a funny word:gloomy:

Jeff, I do hope you get your book published. I also hope that you consider some options other than Festering Ass. I don't see how becoming a part of their network is going to advance your career. You don't need the extra hits if you're getting 20,000 per day. Tucker Max isn't a publisher, he's an "author" (to use the term loosely) himself. He, or his minions, is trying to exert creative control over YOUR work, which has already been well-received by tens of thousands of people. Other than the revenue from the Google Ads (which you could get on your own), how does joining Festering Ass allow you to continue writing editorials?

yeah... i second all this part right here. I know little of Festering ass other than the little snip-bits i've seen, but it's not a pretty site (and the name is anything but attractive). 20,000 visits per day? and without ads, i might ad. true, you'll be getting a much bigger audience, but the numbers you might lose in retrospect would be nearly equivilante (in my opinion) but i agree; how does joining FAN help you with your editorials? is it cause now you have to update? 'cause, i mean, other than that, i have nothing to go on for information from this site. so far, it seems that all that's changed (besides the name, and the layout) is that you have a certain time that you have to update. but you could have done that easily on your own.

at the same time though, i'll admit i don't have any other alternatives. so, i'll just bear with what you're doing although, it makes me a sad, sad lemur. :gloomy:

Jay

05-28-2006, 02:00 PM

I understand people don't like the Festering Ass name...but seriously...it's just a name. And you never have to visit a FAN site if you don't want to. You never have to click on an ad if you don't want to. You can even disable them. Even if you think the layout is garbarge, were you coming to the site to look at graphics? It just seems as though a lot of people are letting minor, external stuff get in the way of the reason they came here in the first place - the writing.

I'm going to be honest - for an aspiring writer, I don't like the name "Festering Ass" and the layout. I suspect most people go by what they see at face value and public image ONLY, so they'll look at the site, look at the name and think badly. It's how the public work; they take what they see and run with it, never bothering to see what goes on behind the scenes.

But then, I'm being overly cynical as usual. Only time will tell. All the best to you, and if you need anything, give me a buzz.

A lot of people want me to have not done anything and stayed with the good 'ol OP9. ...I wanted to do that too. I wanted to do that more than all the people who are complaining and saying they're going to quit reading. But what you have to realize is that if things didn't change, not only was this site going to go nowhere, it was going to end. In two months you'd have nothing but archives. You may hate the change with every fiber of your body, but it is the change that will allow you to read new editorials (on a set update schedule no less).

Meh, people are going to hate no matter what you do. People are idiots. But the people who stick by you and your ambitions are true supporters - the ones who boycott and hate and flame are just hangers on who stick around for the good times. You watch, they'll be back saying "I knew that guy before he was big!" sooner or later. :sarcasm:

"You can please all of the people some of the time, or some of the people all of the time, but you cannot please all of the people all of the time."

ninjabastard

05-28-2006, 03:03 PM

People bitch too much about something they get for free.

Azrael

05-28-2006, 03:45 PM

No, not "owndizzled." For your first two years on JET, you pay NO income tax, so your "take home" pay is $32,000. In the third year, the Japanese government increases your pay to compensate for the income tax, so your "take home" pay is again $32,000. This is what PLF said in the post right before yours, in fewer words.
Eh....sort of.

We get paid in a fixed amount of yen. How much this translates into dollars greatly depends on the exhange rate. Sometimes it's pretty good, sometimes we get screwed. If you're never sending money back home, you never have to think about this. In fact, after some time here you just get used to the yen and think "Ah, it's going to cost me 10,000 yen for this enkai tonight" rather than "Ah, it's going to cost me about $100 for this enkai tonight."

I however have to send money home every month (to pay off my college loans) so I am mindful of the exchange rate. Sometimes it downright sucks. If I want to have $500 in my American account, I should send no less than 60,000 yen to be sure.

but i agree; how does joining FAN help you with your editorials? is it cause now you have to update? 'cause, i mean, other than that, i have nothing to go on for information from this site. so far, it seems that all that's changed (besides the name, and the layout) is that you have a certain time that you have to update. but you could have done that easily on your own.
Well, yeah, there's that. Plus, the software they run on lets me write editorials well in advance, queue them, and they'll be posted automatically. So I can take one day and write say, 5 editorials, queue them, and then I wouldn't have to think about them again until 5 updates later.

Primarily though, Tucker Max is someone who has successfully done what I am trying to do - make a website, have it skyrocket in popularity, and then have a (best-selling!) book published. FAN also has a direct line to book agents and publishers.

The site on it's own was getting 20,000 hits a day, and that was wonderful/incredible. But aside from that, it hadn't really gone anywhere. And it's been a year and a half. I could have a million people reading a day, but if nothing comes of it... It's not necessarily just about getting more readers, it's about putting myself in a position to advance.

Random

05-28-2006, 05:08 PM

Well, yeah, there's that. Plus, the software they run on lets me write editorials well in advance, queue them, and they'll be posted automatically. So I can take one day and write say, 5 editorials, queue them, and then I wouldn't have to think about them again until 5 updates later.

I realise this wasn't your main motivation, but it's easy to get good - and free - software to do this, or indeed to just write your own.
A bit too late now perhaps, but Wordpress would do what you're after easily, and for free. Of course, I suspect the book deal / money is more motivation :P

TheKMan

05-28-2006, 10:11 PM

Jeff, I do hope you get your book published. I also hope that you consider some options other than Festering Ass. I don't see how becoming a part of their network is going to advance your career. You don't need the extra hits if you're getting 20,000 per day. Tucker Max isn't a publisher, he's an "author" (to use the term loosely) himself. He, or his minions, is trying to exert creative control over YOUR work, which has already been well-received by tens of thousands of people. Other than the revenue from the Google Ads (which you could get on your own), how does joining Festering Ass allow you to continue writing editorials?

This isn't just directed at you, but also towards everyone here who seems to be real down on Festering Ass.

Personally, I have read quite a good amount of the stuff on Festering Ass. I'm not "one of them", but I read quite a bit of them. I also read Tucker's message board, all though I don't post much. That is actually how I found Az's site, a link was posted on his message board a while ago. I can see everyone here's apprehension to Festering Ass, but I think you don't really get Tucker Max, which is fine. I didn't get him at first either. I liked his stories because I thought they were funny, but once I started reading the serious parts of his message board, a lot about him becomes more clear. His message really isn't to be immature or get drunk and have sex. His message is to be yourself and search for what is true to you, and that is the only way that you will ever succeed/be happy. He's about honesty and truth. His life works for him, and he realizes it's not for everyone.

Festering Ass is about quality content and finding what is true about it. Tucker doesn't want to restrict Az any more than you do. He just wants quality content, which Az brings to the table. The only sort of restrictions as far as I can tell is site design, and that doesn't matter too much. Festering Ass itself is very much in its infancy. Tucker has been around a bit, but he is just now getting serious about Festering Ass. In the last couple of months, he has added four of the best sites to it (HollywoodInterrupted, Fire on the Line, PhillaLawyer, and Gaijin Smash). Festering Ass will get big. Much bigger than it is, and Az will grow faster than he could by himself. There are already two NYTimes best selling authors on the network. One didn't come from his FAN site (Mark Ebner, Hollywood Interrupted) and one who did (Tucker obviously). Once Maddox's book hits number one on the NYTimes list in the coming weeks when it is officially released, publishers will start to take internet authors and sites like FAN a lot more seriously. There are two people on FAN that I am sure will get book offers as long as they continue to work for it (Az and PhillaLawyer).

Anyway, my point here is to say, Az, I think you made the smart choice. The name Festering Ass and first opinions of Tucker Max might throw some people, but in the end, people will go where the content is, and there is plenty of good content on Festering Ass and in your editorials.

paul

05-28-2006, 10:52 PM

I agree with this guy above.
The stuff on FA, despite the name of the network, is quality stuff.

Like Az said, the name is just a name. I don't see why there are complaints.

CNagy

05-29-2006, 03:35 AM

I'm glad that there is a goldmine of interesting and deep writing beneath the Festering Ass name... that's great. Awesome, even. But I likely will never actually read any of it, because the name has that much of an effect (and I am someone who typically goes out of his way to find new, interesting reading material.)

It's just a name, people say. Give it time, people say. I say that if marketing is your big goal, then you shoot yourself in the foot with a name like Festering Ass Network. For every person who sticks around to see what it is about, another person will be turned off by the name. First impressions, despite what the feel-good-everybody's-fine people of the world will tell you, do count for a hell of a lot.

MNJetter

05-29-2006, 04:53 AM

I say that if marketing is your big goal, then you shoot yourself in the foot with a name like Festering Ass Network.

If you're looking to publish exclusively on the web, maybe. But from what Az is saying, it seems like it's not so much his ultimate source of readership so much as it is a stepping stone into getting a book published IRL....in which case, especially if he gets on the NY Times list, the network really will give him access to a vastly broader audience than before. And if his work turns into a real book, the network's awful name won't be attached to it, aside from perhaps being an odd bit of trivia in his biography, which means that it won't get in the way of his readership in the real word.

Silverhawk

05-29-2006, 05:48 AM

Why was it called the "festering ass network" anyway? To appeal to the immature teens? Seriously, better names could have be thought up. Image is important in marketing... imagine if coca-cola was "cock a cola" or pepsi was "penis". They probably wouldn't have as much success.

Aeikozz

05-29-2006, 06:14 AM

Well, yeah, there's that. Plus, the software they run on lets me write editorials well in advance, queue them, and they'll be posted automatically. So I can take one day and write say, 5 editorials, queue them, and then I wouldn't have to think about them again until 5 updates later.

Dude again! i am not trying to get any kind of traffic to my site but

WORD PRESS

I have set up on my site, DarkAngelz.com, I have like birthday anoucements all set up for the members of my gaming clan already queued up. It's a Free program. and works really well.

Please throw it into google and use that.
on a better server even.

KelliShaver

05-29-2006, 07:14 AM

Well, I understand why you did it and I wish you luck with it. I hope it works otu and leads you to the publishing deal because I think you could do a well with it, given the opportunity to do so.

As a designer, I see a few things I would change about the layout of GS, but I realize that's beyond your control (I think the Adsense integration could be a lot better, making it look nicer and also making you more money from it).

Please don't take this the wrong way. I'm not being negative or putting you down. This was your decision to make and yours alone. Only you know what is best for yoy. I think the affiliation with "Festering Ass" that bothers so many people isn't so much the fact that it's just "Festering Ass" but that while you've experienced some really weird shit in Japan and have written about that, one thing that's always sined through in your editorials is how much you care about the kids. There lies a certain beauty in that realization that says something quite admirable about you and I would hate to see that overlooked or trivialized. It would be doing you an incredible disservice. This is my only issue with the network affiliation and the type of readers it may attract. It's not so much a complaint as it is a fear that Jeff the person will simply become "the guy who writes about kancho."

Jay

05-29-2006, 10:22 AM

It's a Free program. and works really well.

So does Azrael's - obviously.

Please throw it into google and use that.

What's the betting this guy gets something out of it?

CNagy

05-29-2006, 11:10 AM

If you're looking to publish exclusively on the web, maybe. But from what Az is saying, it seems like it's not so much his ultimate source of readership so much as it is a stepping stone into getting a book published IRL....in which case, especially if he gets on the NY Times list, the network really will give him access to a vastly broader audience than before. And if his work turns into a real book, the network's awful name won't be attached to it, aside from perhaps being an odd bit of trivia in his biography, which means that it won't get in the way of his readership in the real word.

The stepping stone to getting your book published is developing a large enough readerbase that someone steps up and takes notice. There are essentially three types of book deals; the first is one where you write up a full manuscript and then peddle it around to various publishers, and the second is where you draft up a proposal and peddle that around to publishers who will then draw up a contract concerning your pay and when the final manuscript is due. The third seems to be the one that Az wants, where a publisher notices work you've been doing on the web and offers you a book deal contract-- it's like a passive version of the second method.

If you get a book deal, and the book makes it onto the NY Times best selling list, then Festering Ass Network is a drop in the bucket compared to the number of people who will read it soley on the NY Times recommendation. FAN seems like a stepping stone in viewing numbers, but I highly doubt that they will constitute a large consumer base; they are the festering masses that Az seems to hope will lift him high enough on their shoulders to show up on Publishing Radar.

Azrael
Just so I am not completely being negative, I shall impart a bit of advice. Beg, borrow, buy, or steal a copy of the 2006 Writer's Market. It is pretty much the comprehensive list of publishers, from magazines to books, to just about every form of media in print. It also has interviews with writers and publishing agents, but that is icing. The real boon lays in the fact that you can pitch your ideas to the publishers who already publish your kind of material. You might even be able to sell the secondary publishing rights of your past articles to a magazine for extra cash (or, I guess it might be tertiary publishing rights at this point, if you are under contract with FAN.)

Write up a proposal for your book (there might even be an example in the Writer's Market) and send it to the publishers that match up with the genre of your proposed work. It is essentially the same amount of work as letting someone notice you (I suppose you do have to mail a short proposal, so it is a tiny bit more work) but in taking the initiative you might not have to wait as long.

Azrael

05-29-2006, 11:29 AM

The move to FAN wasn't solely to boost readership - I already have a lot of readers. It was to get that straight line to an agent's/publisher's ear, which is something I did not have before.

I actually have a Writers Market from a few years back (2003 maybe?) and I already have a book proposal (the agent who didn't work out helped me draft up one). I've already sent it out and got back a bunch of "not interested"eds. Here's the thing. I actually tried to get a book published before the whole teacher editorials and what not. Getting a book published as an unagented, first time author is stupidly hard. Agents get queries/proposals from average Joes all the time. Even if I come up with my Newsweek reference and 20,000 hits a day, I'm still an average Joe. What I need is an agent who will sell me to the publishers. However many readers I had, I did not have an agent.

So that was basically the choice. Stay as I was, and as average Joe try my damndest to get a agent and pray that something worked, or join FAN and get the special "red phone" hotline to agents and publishers.

PopCulturePooka

05-29-2006, 12:08 PM

What's the betting this guy gets something out of it?
I'll take that bet.

I use Wordpress for my blog. My mate uses wordpress for his blog. Wordpress is just a super sophisticated blog software program, ala livejournal x1000 on steroids and beefed up with Nos.

I HIGHLY doubt this guy is the owner or creator of wordpress.

ruaidhri

05-29-2006, 12:16 PM

Azrael, quite honestly, I’m over being upset about FAN. I don’t question that it’s a poorly chosen name that undoubtedly stops many potential readers from reading its pages. Yet, with your involvement and TheKMan’s posting extolling the writing of the other participating authors, I will dig deeper into what FAN offers.

It’s easy for people to give advice especially about something they personally have no experience. I have never attempted to get published. I never intend to. Still I accept that it’s unbelievably difficult, considering that even J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series, was very familiar with rejection letters as she survived on welfare checks.

I’ve always found that there are many ways to get from here to there. While each path is fraught with dangers, it does no good if you never arrive. You have chosen your path. Stick with it. Make it work, most of all for you and then also for us, your readers.

By the way, what do you plan to do with your life following JET? Will you be staying in Japan? Will you be moving to another city or area of the country? Will you continue to teach? What will you do that offers you that first hand experience that you use to so entertain your readers?

Jay

05-29-2006, 12:45 PM

I'll take that bet.

I use Wordpress for my blog. My mate uses wordpress for his blog. Wordpress is just a super sophisticated blog software program, ala livejournal x1000 on steroids and beefed up with Nos.

I HIGHLY doubt this guy is the owner or creator of wordpress.

Eh, it just sounded a bit suss that he said "please throw it into Google and use that". Like he had some reason - aside from how good or otherwise it is - to plug it.

But then, maybe I'm just being overly cynical. Ignore me. ;)

nemuri

05-29-2006, 01:28 PM

So that was basically the choice. Stay as I was, and as average Joe try my damndest to get a agent and pray that something worked, or join FAN and get the special "red phone" hotline to agents and publishers.

My mother is a writer. But in france Agents are hard to get, too expensive, and not as common as in USA or Great Brittain. that sucks, cause writers in france are unpaid. My mother writes books since 20 years, mostly she wrote books from children. Never ever she dreamed of living from it. At the most, when she had the chance to get 3 books published the same year, we could go 2 weeks in holliday... in london or Roma.
Now, she tarted writing a series of detective books that work lately. the sales are rising (she's reaching 100,000 for 5 books so far) but it's still far from sufficient for a living.
So yes, don't even try to get famous if you don't have someone to sell your stuff.

to stay in th op9 topic, it may have been said before but... where are the archives ?? that and the incorrect dates.

Jay

05-29-2006, 01:40 PM

Here's the Gaijin Smash archive (http://www.gaijinsmash.net/archive.phtml), and here's the Japanese Teacher editorials (http://www.outpostnine.com/editorials/teacher1.html).

Change the number from 1 to the appropriate number on that last one.

CNagy

05-29-2006, 04:10 PM

So that was basically the choice. Stay as I was, and as average Joe try my damndest to get a agent and pray that something worked, or join FAN and get the special "red phone" hotline to agents and publishers.
Alright, that puts it all into perspective. Yes, attempting to get published without an agent is extremely difficult (I've got a nice stack of "it's good, but it's not what we're looking for right now" letters, myself,) and if FAN builds that golden bridge for you, then it's good to hear that the system will be working for you instead of against you.

D-pad

05-29-2006, 08:06 PM

Festering Ass...My god, thats just too easy to say something about...:frypan: :knockout:

scope

05-30-2006, 01:54 AM

woo...seems i had to re-register to the forums, been so long since i logged in.

Ok i saw the new site and just had to put my 2 cents in.

Az.... im 100 percent for the idea of moving forward but the "festering ass network" is going to hurt in the long run, it will put off alot of people. Its not about being a prude (your editorials should be no holds bar) but the top level page of your site... the first impression it gives should be relatively work safe.

in terms of marketability, alot of people are just not going to want to do anything with a "festering ass"......i think youve got a broad range of people that will like your editorials, but the educator and professionals out there will be the ones put off.

its no more apealing than "stinky Vagina" or "Sweaty Thighs" ... you dont want people to hold back from passing along a link to your editorials.

--------------------------------------------

putting aside i dont particularly favor the site look...
the layout itself nothing special, looks like an alteration of a default free template...

you can use Wordpress...a free and easy to use blog software.
it does exactly what your site is doing now... (supports google tracking and ads ) and there are tons of free templates floating around for it that is easy to tweak. (Templates that dont have that plain blog look.)

no reason you cant have a regular website look without losing the blog functionality (wich is DEFINITELY the way to go)

-------------------------------------------

i honestly didnt read every comment about the move...so i dont know what exactly is so important about festering ass....all i see is the link exchange with other festering ass sites (the more i say it the more i hate it :knockout: )

i guess its a condition that you keep their layout in order to be a part of their "network" but its a pretty high price to pay.
if you were "to go it alone"... creating a link exchange is easy, just takes an email to a site with an offer of a link exchange (mention the hits you get and you would have no problem)

going with an established set of sites like FAN is OK for the Short term...and its actually a smart move since its a rocky road first getting established with a blog format, but i think that in time youd be doing them a favor

aim for the day when you break out of it and establish your own Gaijin Smash network.

Best of luck!

Azrael

05-30-2006, 02:28 AM

I told you guys I wouldn't leave you hanging.

Here's the current plan. As the old editorials are being re-posted on GS.net, I'm going to insert some new material in there as well. I mentioned before I had a stockpile of material that I had not yet used...well, I'm gonna use it now. The "Lost" School Teacher Editorials, if you will. Stuff that happened, but you guys have not yet read about. I'll try to do this around once a week, for about 3-4 times a month. So while the archives are being re-populated, you will have your new material.

I'm hoping to post a new editorial on OP9 later today (non-teacher related) so I'll make an announcement about that on the site as well.

blank slate

05-30-2006, 02:48 AM

Do you still plan on posting up any more new pictures?

Azrael

05-30-2006, 02:53 AM

...Yeah. I have to go through and re-format the old galleries, and then add the new ones. It's a pain in the arse, but I'll do it at some point. Possibly later this month, time permitting. ...But don't hold me to that.

Psychochink

05-30-2006, 03:07 AM

Gah! Seriously Az, disable comments on GS for the time being. There is precisely nothing useful being posted there at the moment, and things like the most recent 'scroll down for ten seconds, while I clutter up the page' crap just detracts from the site overall.

Azrael

05-30-2006, 03:16 AM

Heh. I haven't looked in a while, maybe I should.

Nice to see so many mature and supportive people eh?

Stephy

05-30-2006, 03:22 AM

:( No worries, Mr Az sir.

Please. Less complaining everyone. The changes don't seem bad. You'll get used to it! :) Just try it out for a little while, and make nice suggestions later. :yes:

MNJetter

05-30-2006, 09:25 AM

Just an FYI......

My sannensei boys officially think Az-zilla is awesome. I didn't even know they were standing behind my desk. And apparently I type really fast.

Aeikozz

05-30-2006, 01:58 PM

Disabling comments would be in your best intrests. They just aren't saying much of anything supportive.

NenMaster

05-30-2006, 11:07 PM

dam stupid people and they call them selves fans

AnimeFan3oo3

05-31-2006, 01:14 AM

Okay... I don't know how I missed this, but.... what the hell, at the advertisements in the middle of the pages. You'd think that there are enough on the side, but I guess not.

Is the FAN really all that good? Do the pay you? or are they keeping all that money from the advertisements for themselves?

http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/9206/111114qo.png

ninjabastard

05-31-2006, 05:01 AM

Yeah I agree with the poster above. The ads in the middle of the fucking page are pretty annoying. You got to talk to them about that. I mean, that is really shitty site design there.

Pierrot le Fou

05-31-2006, 05:19 AM

You do realize that ads with better visibility pay more than banners arse nowhere on a page, right?

kilreli

05-31-2006, 05:33 AM

Ichisan

05-31-2006, 05:49 AM

The new site is hard on the eyes. Ads in the middle of the page, a dark background colour, a font that you have to squint at, and links to the stuff you really want to look at (i.e. stories) hard to find. I don't see how bad design can be good business.

Compare it to the old site. Compare it to this board. Both are much friendlier.

ninjabastard

05-31-2006, 09:27 AM

:Sigh: ninja bastard and anime fan...you are just recycling what has been said for about 8 pages already. live with the freakin ad.
"OH NOES!!! i gotta scroll down a few more inches to continue reading! WHAT IS THIS INCONVENIENCE?!"
if you really dont like it, before you read the editorial, copy and paste the first part onto wordpad(or whatever word program you use), and then do the same for the second half. so then you can read it all the way through, without an add. plus with the whtie background, you may even feel like your reading it here.
to tell the truth, i havent been on the gaijinsmash site much. no reason to right now. he'll start adding current editorials next week i think, so ill check it out then. Sure...i prefer reading it here better than gaijinsmash, but oh freakin well. i wont lose sleep over it.....or will i? :watson:
See, when things, such as this crappy post, are a nuisance to the eyes, people simply can't stand to read them. Perhaps, next time you can write in a langauge that is readable to people who weren't beaten like they playing "who wants to talk shit to a mob boss?". I know it's the internet but atleast use some goddamn punctation if you're going to start talking smack.

Crowley

05-31-2006, 09:47 AM

I actually don't mind the new layout, or the ads. I'm enjoying reading the content again in a fresh setting. It's still very funny :)

How are your hits to date on the new site Azrael? Any different from the old site?

Jay

05-31-2006, 09:47 AM

kilreli

05-31-2006, 10:52 AM

See, when things, such as this crappy post, are a nuisance to the eyes, people simply can't stand to read them. Perhaps, next time you can write in a langauge that is readable to people who weren't beaten like they playing "who wants to talk shit to a mob boss?". I know it's the internet but atleast use some goddamn punctation if you're going to start talking smack.
Excuse me for my ignorance

<Start>
I am very sorry, Teacher. I was not under the (when used in this way we'll pronounce it "thee" ) impression that I would be receiving a grade for this current assignment, so I did not put forth my very best 100%(percent) effort. I let you down, and I am truly sorry. Please forgive me, and possibly change my grade.
Signed,
Little Billy

P.S. Please do not inform my parents of my clumsy mistake. I am afraid that they will whip me if they find out

<finish>

So, just because i tend to leave out capitalizationss, its a nuisance to the eyes? ok, sure i also leave out comma's and an apostrophy here and there, but your acting like im writing like,
"LOLZ OMFG ninjabastard, joo ST00P1D NEWBZOR!!!LOLZZZZZZZ. C4NT JOO S33 TH4T 3V3RY1 1Z 4LRA3D7 S471NG T4HT!!!! 1LL OWN JOO 1N HALO! ROFLZKLWERGH!!!!"

Just cause i pointed out that people have been bitching about that same thing since the start of the thread, i get attacked for my spelling?

As far as i know, if people have ever voiced to me that they hated my posts, it has been over the content, and not if i "Crossed my T's and dotted my I's"

I will admit, my spelling has sucked lately. ive been in japan, so i havent written as much English as i do in the States. Therefor, it has suffered :(

also...if punctuation counts so much to you...how come "ninjabastard" has no capitalizations in it? if it's your "handle" or whatever, wouldnt you at least capitalize the "N"?

On another note: :sigh: i dont even know why ive been getting frustrated over things like this lately. :duh: oh well.. it'll all pass. if i rant again, please, someone internet slap me.:frypan:

Angelyne

05-31-2006, 06:32 PM

Speaking of advertisements, I noticed a Google ad on OP9 earlier advertising:

"Find a Japanese mate today!"

Anyone else find this ironic given some of the content about Japanese relationships on this site and in the forums?

zell583

05-31-2006, 09:40 PM

hi AZ, first off i would like to say congrats on the move. i understand the need for wanting to get your stuff published, i have no problems with you going to FAN. secondly, i hope you have a better time of finding a new apartment this time around.
ok, now for the suggestions.
1. take and bring back the old editorial format of how they looked like before the move, because they were a lot easier to read and i would have no problem seeing ads on the pages as long as they are either put on the top, bottom,or the sides of the page AND NOT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE EDITORIALS!!!!
2. take and have a banner made for the site and start asking if other sites would be willing to advertise your site.
3. ask us forum goers who are members to other more well known forums and have us spread the word about the site.
4. try asking if other people would be willing to advertise on your site.
well there are my suggestions for you and again congrats on the move.

AnimeFan3oo3

05-31-2006, 11:04 PM

:Sigh: ninja bastard and anime fan...you are just recycling what has been said for about 8 pages already. live with the freakin ad.
"OH NOES!!! i gotta scroll down a few more inches to continue reading! WHAT IS THIS INCONVENIENCE?!"
if you really dont like it, before you read the editorial, copy and paste the first part onto wordpad(or whatever word program you use), and then do the same for the second half. so then you can read it all the way through, without an add. plus with the whtie background, you may even feel like your reading it here.
to tell the truth, i havent been on the gaijinsmash site much. no reason to right now. he'll start adding current editorials next week i think, so ill check it out then. Sure...i prefer reading it here better than gaijinsmash, but oh freakin well. i wont lose sleep over it.....or will i? :watson:

As someone said before, we already know how awesome Az's editorials are and something like this won't stop us from reading them. I know that I will keep reading them.

However, I'm sure that this will turn off new readers. If I had no prior experience with Az's tutorials and I just found it on a random web search, I wouldn't take the time to read it due to the horrible amount of advertising and the layout.

Spaces are essential, by the way. I had trouble reading your post as well. I tend to skim past posts like yours because of the lack of spacing and capitalization. If you want people to take the time to read your posts, you could at least take to time to make it not look like you are in second grade.

Edit: The second post of yours was much better. Was it really that hard?

MNJetter

05-31-2006, 11:22 PM

See, when things, (unnecessary punctuation -1) such as this crappy post, (unnecessary punctuation -1) are a nuisance to the eyes, people simply can't stand to read them. Perhaps,(unnecessary punctuation -1) next time (now you omit the comma?? -1) you can write in a langauge that is readable to people who weren't beaten like they (verb omission -1) playing "who (capitalization -1) wants to talk shit to a mob boss?". (gratuitous punctuation -1) I know it's the internet but atleast (too good for word spacing, are we? -1) use some goddamn punctation if you're going to start talking smack.

Total -8

Perhaps you should take a little of your own advice?

ninjabastard

06-01-2006, 02:46 AM

Note the use of "it's the internet". I'm not asking for perfection because I know my grammar is shit but atleast make it so it's readable. Is it that hard? I mean, you can't tell me K's post looked like ass. It's an amazing thing when I say "don't write like a tard" people write better. I'm no grammar nazi but atleast make it so I can read the goddamn post without having to go, "what the fuck is that?"

And really, shut the fuck up jetter, I've never had professors get on my ass for some of the shit you're bitching about. Not spacing "atleast"? Really? I mean Really? Goddamn. The rest is me writing at 2:30 AM. As I said, atleast make it fucking readable. Also why the fuck do you even need to stand up for Kil when he was being a dick first. Is your penis that small that if one Japanite is insulted you have to defend the honor of a fellow small penised brother?

Sigh... whatever. I should know better to add my 2 cents with people who masturbate to Japan. You guys are too cool for me. I should know better to be messing with the J-dorks. All I said was "yeah, the ads suck". So... really, what the fuck do you expect me to say after you insult me? "Oh thank you, I have nothing but love for you losers who believe that Japan will love you when your homeland hates you."

MNJetter

06-01-2006, 03:14 AM

Note the use of "it's the internet". I'm not asking for perfection because I know my grammar is shit but atleast make it so it's readable. Is it that hard? I mean, you can't tell me K's post looked like ass.

I had absolutely no trouble reading Kil's post the first time through. I had no trouble reading yours, but I figured you deserved a taste of your own medicine. It's not good sportsmanship to correct someone's grammar/punctuation/etc. over the internet if you're not willing to watch your own.

And really, shut the fuck up jetter, I've never had professors get on my ass for some of the shit you're bitching about.

Thanks, I love you too.

I don't know what middle-of-nowhere community college you go/went to, but where I come from, you do get marks off for having blatant errors on a paper. I mean, heck, at the junior high school I teach at, we're at least as strict as that on students' papers and stuff, and they don't even speak English as their native language.

Also why the fuck do you even need to stand up for Kil when he was being a dick first.

His post was perfectly civil. He (like many of us reading this thread) are just getting a little sick of people coming on and, without reading the rest of the thread, just re-posting the exact same comments and stuff as have been posted for the last 190-something posts. This thread is supposed to be constructive, so bringing up the same stuff over and over again (when Az has replied to it multiple times, no less) is just useless.

Is your penis that small that if one Japanite is insulted you have to defend the honor of a fellow small penised brother?

Does a clitoris count a a small penis? Cuz I'm a girl. :rofl:

ninjabastard

06-01-2006, 03:23 AM

I had absolutely no trouble reading Kil's post the first time through. I had no trouble reading yours, but I figured you deserved a taste of your own medicine. It's not good sportsmanship to correct someone's grammar/punctuation/etc. over the internet if you're not willing to watch your own.
Something tells me you would be an annoying person in real life.

I don't know what middle-of-nowhere community college you go/went to, but where I come from, you do get marks off for having blatant errors on a paper. I mean, heck, at the junior high school I teach at, we're at least as strict as that on students' papers and stuff, and they don't even speak English as their native language.
I'm not going to go all out when it's just an internet post, there are limits. it shouldnt be writen like tis though.

And UCLA is hardly a community college. Are you that retarded to not know about a top 15 college?

His post was perfectly civil. He (like many of us reading this thread) are just getting a little sick of people coming on and, without reading the rest of the thread, just re-posting the exact same comments and stuff as have been posted for the last 190-something posts. This thread is supposed to be constructive, so bringing up the same stuff over and over again (when Az has replied to it multiple times, no less) is just useless.
He took a quick shot, I took one too. If my comment was stupid, ignore it. Pretty damn simple.

Does a clitoris count a a small penis? Cuz I'm a girl. :rofl:
It explains the need to intervene needlessly.

Anyway, Az. I wish you good luck on your pursuit of a better career. Good day, and may the Bauer bless you.

MNJetter

06-01-2006, 03:38 AM

Something tells me you would be annoying person in real life.

Oh good. I really cared about your opinion on that.

im not going to all out when it's just an internet post, there are limits. it shouldnt be written like this though.

He took a quick shot, I took one too.

I think you just took his post too seriously and way too personally. And you are being entirely too defensive about it. If it wasn't directed at you, you wouldn't have gotten on him about his writing style (and thus, I would never have pounced on yours). And if you hadn't felt the need to bring old material back to the table at that time, it would have been directed at someone else. Even the one that Kil wrote was directed both at you and at Animefan.....and Animefan handled it way more maturely than you did. How is any of that a "quick shot?" Did he insult you personally? No. He used bad grammar, but like you said, it's the internet. The only time he called you names was when he called you "ninja bastard"......but that's your screen name anyway, so you shouldn't fault him for that.

The first person to take a personal jab was you. And since I've been posting on this thread pretty frequently, and actually agreed with Kil's post, I decided to take his side.

It explains the need to intervine needlessly.

Actually, my underlying reason for intervening (or intervining) was because I'm bored at work and there aren't any active threads on the forum that are interesting right now. This entire forum is "needless," and we shouldn't take it too seriously anyway. But you can think that it's because a girl if you want to.

ninjabastard

06-01-2006, 03:45 AM

Actually, my underlying reason for intervening (or intervining) was because I'm bored at work and there aren't any active threads on the forum that are interesting right now. This entire forum is "needless," and we shouldn't take it too seriously anyway. But you can think that it's because a girl if you want to.
If you want to go down this one uping route, I'm drunk and I've avoiding the 300+ reading I need to do for a paper about the decision-making process leading up to the Iraqi war. Ah fuck, i need to start.

Yes, it all makes sense now.

Anyway, if kil wants to do the "lol dumbass" shit with grammar that makes mine look like a prize, he gots to expect someone to respond at some point. Sides, I would have just used something else to respond if it wasn't grammar.

Also if I was taking it personally, I would have been banned already (well there's still time). I'm still holding back somewhat.

Well, I'm done. My marginal benefit is gone and I'm sobering up.

Long live !!! Long live staircase!

MNJetter

06-01-2006, 04:10 AM

ninjabastard

06-01-2006, 04:15 AM

You're holding back? Wow. That.....wow. I'm honestly not sure what to say to that. I made a facetious comment, and you jumped down my throat that first time. I've never met someone with such a quick temper.
I'll take that as a complement.
And could you please either put new stuff onto brand new posts, or let people know when you're editing stuff? Or at least sneak all your new stuff onto a single post, instead of putting little bits on all your posts.
Sorry, my bad. I should edit everything at once but i then see shit that doesn't make sense. This is how my papers end up nice. I reread them 3-5 times.

Edit: shit added

Pierrot le Fou

06-01-2006, 04:50 AM

It wasn't until she was referred to as 'jetter' that I understood what the Hell MNJetter was supposed to mean.

Minnesota Jetter, eh? Perhaps you could use some proper spacing, eh 'jetter?' ;)

MNJetter

06-01-2006, 05:05 AM

Wow, it took that long to figure it out? I thought it was pretty obvious.

Of course, all things like that are obvious to the person making them up. :D

I'm kind of fond of "MNJ" myself, though I honestly don't care how people read it. I just needed something to enter as a website name when I started up my travel blog. And it sort of stuck.

Pierrot le Fou

06-01-2006, 05:40 AM

Jay

06-01-2006, 05:54 AM

Oh dear, these people have hijacked the thread - must be time to whack out the banstick, huh? :sarcasm:

MNJetter

06-01-2006, 06:01 AM

It takes me quite a while to figure these things out. Far far far too long sometimes. I play a game called Kingdom of Loathing which is full of bad puns (think parody RPG with zone names like 'Degrassi Knoll' and 'Itznotyoursitz Mine'), many of which took me for bloody ever to get.

Like 'The Toot Oriole' quest for new players...

Lol, those are awesome names. Sounds like a fun game.

:P@Jay.....It's my thread! Mine!!!

okay....on-topic stuff, on-topic stuff..............really can't think of any. I read my first editorial on the new version of OP9 today. Quality work, as always.

Seriously, I have gotten used to the new sites now, I think. Still not a fan of the green on gaijinsmash, but if that's the only thing on two websites that I can find to complain about, it's not worth complaining about.

MeneerDijk

06-01-2006, 06:04 AM

Yes please, keep this thread on topic. Make a thread about RPG's if you want to talk about that

peru

06-01-2006, 07:19 AM

Especially when the altruism is only appreciated on every 6th rainy blue moon Wednesday.This has bothered me.

Az is *very* open with everyone here. He's explained his motivation for the move multiple times, in this thread and on the redirect-to-GS.net page. He's addressed complaints. He's adding new updates to GS.net because you guys asked for it.

He didn't have to do any of it and... well... it doesn't seem to help him any.

The (prevalent) sense of entitlement on this site is ridiculous.

Azrael

06-01-2006, 04:43 PM

One major complaint I've been getting is that people don't like the green on GS.net. ...What if it were blue instead? Thoughts/opinions, please? (http://www.outpostnine.com/Az/v02gaijin.jpg)

Idlethought

06-01-2006, 04:47 PM

The blue is definitely easier on the eyes. You festering ass.

06-01-2006, 06:40 PM

The old site was not banned from my work. The new site is :/. I really think Az went the wrong direction with all of these changes. He should not have teamed up with another site and just built up his site on his own or with a private business partner. Especially teaming up with a site/person who clearly has a different audience/views.

I think penny-arcade is a really great example of guys who took a good site and made it into a business. They stayed exactly in line with their audience throughout and their adds are right on target with the people that read their comics and also do not feel intrusive.

That's just my 2 cents as an editorial reader of Az's stuff from close to day one.

Jay

06-01-2006, 07:52 PM

Mista Azrael sir?

The blue looks better.

:)

羽之助

06-01-2006, 10:43 PM

I'll take that as a complement.

Complement:

n.

1.
1. Something that completes, makes up a whole, or brings to perfection.
2. The quantity or number needed to make up a whole: shelves with a full complement of books.
3. Either of two parts that complete the whole or mutually complete each other.

Compliment

n.

1. An expression of praise, admiration, or congratulation.
2. A formal act of civility, courtesy, or respect.

I continue to lol.

I took it as a sign that despite going to "one of the top 15 colleges in the country (of America)", you're still an immature bastard who gets off by dishing out insults to people he hasn't met over the internet to make up for the fact that he's not doing his homework.

Blue is nice. Still don't like the black, but what else can you do with that logo, really? Personally, I'm rather tired of the whole "Japan=Godzilla smashing things!!" motif.

Angelyne

06-02-2006, 01:47 AM

The blue is much better. :clap:

MNJetter

06-02-2006, 06:31 AM

I like the blue. Not just as a substitute for a bad thing, either; I actually like it.

marycatherine

06-03-2006, 02:22 AM

Some people aren't too receptive :( Two comments from the new site...

Why are you putting old ones up one-by-one and putting current dates on them when they were written years ago? Why can't you just put the whole archive up (and date them right), and continue to write new ones?
Sorry, but I really don't like this whole web site change thing.

Wow. I've never before seen something so cool (the old site) turn so lame (this new site) so quickly (overnight). Amazing.
I mean, nice new graphics you got there. Too bad there's nothing here worth reading. =Festering ass= indeed.
I hate it when people are so completely insensitive to someone putting in effort to spiff up their own site or make something more of it.

Seriously, I didn't like it at first sight. I thought the picture was ugly, the colors were horrible and I couldn't see all of the old posts.

After a couple of days of thinking about it and reading Az's comments on the change and some fellow OP9 readers' comments, I've changed my mind quite a bit. On the whole, I don't like dark websites, so I don't do well with the black and dark gray in the background. The picture up there isn't as awful as I'd thought, and it's just a picture. I also like that the RSS feed works now. I like the new font better too. I'm not a fan of Times New Roman unless it's for a class paper. I like Arial (or something similar) when it's online. The fact that the old entries aren't there doesn't actually bother me at all. It's not like I used to re-read them all of the time unless I was showing the site to someone - most of my friends already know about the site though. I know it's a pain in the wazoo to put a site together. It's even more of a pain to go from one format to a completely different one. I think of it as changing operating systems, word processors or web browsers (computer nerd here, does it show?). It takes a bit of getting used to. I also like that the posts are being edited. I'm not really a grammar/spelling nazi, but I figure if it's gonna be published, it should sound/read correctly. (if this were a blog I wouldn't care either way)

Ok, I think that's enough from me. Basically I like both sites. I'm also, like most, a bit reluctant to change, but I really think it's for the better and it was probably a tough decision to make what with the currently large following.

Mary Catherine

Jay

06-03-2006, 07:49 AM

I didn't like it at first, either. I'm far from a traditionalist, but I just thought there was no need to change. Then Azrael started on about getting a hotline straight to publishers' doorsteps, and I thought okay, then, I can live with that if it means he'll be writing a book sometime in the near future.

Besides, I've been meaning to re-read the archives for some time now - this is a great reason, heh.

The Republic

06-03-2006, 10:07 AM

Complement:

n.

1.
1. Something that completes, makes up a whole, or brings to perfection.
2. The quantity or number needed to make up a whole: shelves with a full complement of books.
3. Either of two parts that complete the whole or mutually complete each other.

Compliment

n.

1. An expression of praise, admiration, or congratulation.
2. A formal act of civility, courtesy, or respect.

I continue to lol.

I took it as a sign that despite going to "one of the top 15 colleges in the country (of America)", you're still an immature bastard who gets off by dishing out insults to people he hasn't met over the internet to make up for the fact that he's not doing his homework.

Blue is nice. Still don't like the black, but what else can you do with that logo, really? Personally, I'm rather tired of the whole "Japan=Godzilla smashing things!!" motif.

cmon, hanensuke, that argument is already dead. no need to encourage it's revival.