I'm not paying for Gold if the service is unreliable
The fact is, the more funds we have available, we can create a better and more reliable experience for everyone. If we could fund a second database server, we could scale the database across two machines in a master/slave configuration. We could backup the slave without affecting the performance of the other server or the website.

With an additional web server, we could ensure load was spread across two machines. If one went down then traffic would be directed to the healthy one.


As I said, I wasn't wanting to be churlish, and it wasn't blackmail. I love this site, but outages seem to be happening more frequently and for longer durations. There is a limited window when both I and one of my friends can both be online together due to living in different parts of the world. If Lush is down during that time it is incredibly frustrating. I'm minded to go gold even with the outages, but they have to put a ? in the mind.

How much cash do you need to cure these problems? Is this a massive venture capitalist thing, or crowdfunding territory?

It was a good 7 hours or so today. It always seems to happen in the middle of the night Aus time, so it doesn't get fixed until our Aussie cousins wake. It seems churlish to grump about the downtime of a free site, though if it were more reliable I would go gold.

Anybody else wonder what score Fifty Shades would have if submitted to Lush?

I suspect if it included some cliched incest schtick it would be the biggest thing this site has ever seen.

Sadly

Massive congratulations to the winners :)

I'm very happy that my silly little story got a top 10 finish. Thank you judges :D

Loving You by Minnie Riperton is like a thousand fingernails scratching down a blackboard

Whoever is 'in power' is never ever going to please everyone - it's just not going to happen and I still think that I prefer her to our current 'leaders'...



Our parties are led by political pygmies whereas she was undoubtedly a giant. She was an idealogue whose idealogy I largely despise, but history will judge her as one of our country's most significant leaders. The big shame for me is that Blair had two massive landslide victories with which to force through a similar scale shift in our country to Thatcher's but he was too concerned with popularity to do so. A wasted opportunity to build on the good things Thatcher did and redress the bad.

Now look what we are left with. Cameron, Clegg and Miliband. :(

Single handedly she transformed the economy and world wide respect of UK. Her policy of "some must suffer such that the majority can gain" will be hotly debated in coming weeks and possibly into years.


Her policy was more "your class must suffer so that my class can gain".

There are plenty of towns that over 20 years after she left office have still not recovered from her rule.

And yes she did transform the economy. At the 1979 election when the Tories used the famous 'labour isn't working' campaign showing people queuing for the dole there were 1 million unemployed. She took the total past 3 million. She decimated our manufacturing and heavy industry base. She destroyed the mining industry (with Scargill's help). She deregulated the financial sector and we've all seen how that worked out. We are now a service sector economy.

But she grew the middle class and moved politics in this country to the right. That is her true legacy. The current attacks on the welfare state and the NHS would have been unthinkable before her time in office. That is her legacy and we will suffer for decades to come.

Agreed. It's great :)

Something I've asked other authors before who say they don't get many reads/votes, do you read and comment on stories here?

I'm going slightly off topic, so a mod can feel free to delete this. I think in general there is a real advantage to having lots of friends who vote quickly when you first post a story. I rarely look beyond the first page or 2 of new stories and my eyes are naturally drawn to stories that have a high number of votes and a high average, as well as an enticing title/premise. Who wants to waste their time with a duff story? The scores can be a good guide if you want a quick fix.

If others apply a similar philosophy then it is easy to see how some stories gain a momentum, while other stories that may be great, flounder and sink.

In my case, by posting at the wrong point in the week I have had stories disappear from the front page before either of my friends have had a chance to read them. Once it is off the front page it is out of sight, out of mind. It won't get many readers and it won't get many scores. And then faced with a choice between a story that has 35 votes (Avg 4.88) or 2 votes (Avg 5), it is natural I think for people to read the former story. I'm as guilty as anyone of that when I'm in reader mode.

I'm not saying I'm a great undiscovered author. But if I friended 300 people and asked them to vote on my new story. I reckon 10% would vote without reading it. That would in turn draw many more people to my story. It wouldn't make it a better story, but it would give it momentum and in turn would give me a higher profile.

However when I first joined Lush I did the whole friending many people thing, but I got tired of people who only contacted me when they wanted something. They weren't actually interested in me, getting to know me, or chatting to me. In the end I defriended more and more until I got down to two people who I am lucky and proud to class as proper friends. So although I may add more friends in future, I won't go down the route of collecting dozens and dozens again. It's my loss in terms of my story rankings, but it is my gain in terms of quality time spent with wonderful people.

Ramble over.

Something I've asked other authors before who say they don't get many reads/votes, do you read and comment on stories here? Have you read and commented on any of the comp entries? Support other authors on Lush, and they will be more than willing to support you. It's a great way to get additional reads if you don't want to collect a bunch of friends. You're also supporting other authors, and as an author you know how much you appreciate it. Take the first step!


Good luck everyone. I've read some really funny entries.

Funnily enough I received your comment on my story, and in turn read, enjoyed and commented on yours before I read your post above. So yes it does work. Certainly in the competition environment at least (I'm not so sure it does the rest of the time).

Angelica had downed the first glass of merlot before the bath was even half full. What a day! What a terrible terrible day! A bath and bottle of wine were just what the doctor ordered. She poured a dash of herbal bubble bath into the flow of water. The water turned blue, the calming lavender and heather aroma permeated the air and clouds of bubbles formed on the surface. Angelica poured...

Added 03 Apr 2013 | Category Supernatural | Votes 17 | Avg Score 4.82 | Views 2,017 | 10 Comments

The room filled with applause as Dylan switched off the widescreen tv. “That, my friends, is us at our best. I'm so proud of all of you.” Napoleon Drake was a triumph. Dylan had been sceptical about the concept of a megalomaniac duck bent on world domination. But Austen Animation was a risk taking company and it didn't take him long to realise that this show was destined to be a hit....

Added 27 Mar 2013 | Category Quickie Sex | Votes 7 | Avg Score 5 | Views 1,767 | 1 Comment

I watched Heather walk away down the corridor with a heavy heart. After so long apart I didn't want to be separated from her, even if it was only for a couple of hours. It seemed a crime for us to be so near and yet apart. But I had my duties at the House of Lush and I was needed to chaperone in the Basement. I went though the door, into the stairwell and descended the stairs. As befits...

Added 02 Jan 2013 | Category BDSM | Votes 6 | Avg Score 4.83 | Views 1,048 | 3 Comments

As I drove up the cedarlined gravel driveway I could scarce believe that the House of Lush was to be hosted in such sumptuous surroundings. For generations Grangely Manor had been the seat of the Earls of Allerton, but the financial crash had destroyed the finances of the 15 th Earl and he'd had no choice but to sell the estate to an American multinational. The 17 th century stately home...

Added 21 Dec 2012 | Category Straight Sex | Votes 5 | Avg Score 5 | Views 1,276 | 3 Comments

Dear reader, if you are unfamiliar with the locations described in this story please check out my profile. There is an album of photos taken on the day on which this story takes place. I had two Olympics tickets in my hands. They weren't the greatest seats and it was a morning athletics session of qualification rounds. But that didn't matter. I was going to the London Olympics and...

Added 18 Aug 2012 | Category Exhibitionism | Votes 6 | Avg Score 5 | Views 1,781 | 5 Comments

“It's just a little bit further.” I know where I want to take Heather. It has taken 20 minutes to make our way towards the summit of the Iron Age hill fort, but we are nearly there. Nothing remains of the fort but some earthworks, and even those have been hidden for centuries beneath a rich canopy of lush woodland. But archaeology is not why I have brought her here. We round a bend and...

Added 29 Jun 2012 | Category Straight Sex | Votes 4 | Avg Score 4.75 | Views 1,242 | 1 Comment

When I saw the message in my inbox I assumed it was spam. No sender was listed. It just said: You are cordially invited to the House of Lush. Bring yourself and no-one else. Leave your inhibitions at home. Tell no-one, even trusted friends on Lush. You have been recommended by a friend and approved by the circle. Reply with your mobile number then delete this message. I read and re-read...

Added 24 Jun 2012 | Category BDSM | Votes 11 | Avg Score 4.82 | Views 3,020 | 5 Comments

The past three days had been torture. Heather and her husband were staying with me while their house was refurbished. Being so close to Heather without being able to spend time alone with her was agonizing. As night followed day, my sexual frustration grew and grew. A fleeting glimpse of Heather as she left the bathroom gave me a tantalizing glimpse of her in a cotton nightdress. The...

Added 17 Jun 2012 | Category Wife Lovers | Votes 19 | Avg Score 4.68 | Views 7,242 | 3 Comments