Story verification times

Just to advise that these will be a little slower than usual for premium members whilst we work on the story backlog.

If you normally submit stories immediately they're approved, can we please ask that for now you give a few days grace to help us out.

Thanks.

I am. 😊

Quote by Jen

Just to advise that these will be a little slower than usual for premium members whilst we work on the story backlog.

If you normally submit stories immediately they're approved, can we please ask that for now you give a few days grace to help us out.

Thanks.

Thank you for letting us know, Jen. 😊

I see there are 27 story moderators, plus the admins (if needed). While I'm sure this has been discussed many times... However, what is the main reason for not increasing the moderator pool beyond this number?

In my opinion, I believe Lush Stories will continue to gain popularity (if fees are kept reasonable). So it may become more of an ongoing issue (among other things).

I also feel the moderators are the beating heart of LS. Without them, this site just would not work so well. 😊

Jen, I think being able to submit stories every day is a luxury writers don’t need on a site this big. Has it ever been discussed to limit submissions to maybe one a week per author? I know I’m not submitting right now, but I’d gladly adhere to that guideline.

Quote by KimmiBeGood
Has it ever been discussed to limit submissions

Plenty of times! On Lush v1, we used to have an enforced 24hr or so exclusion after publication. That (or something similar) may have to make a comeback if the volume of people submitting stories ten minutes after their last one is approved continues.

Quote by wxt55uk
what is the main reason for not increasing the moderator pool

1. Availability. Many have been approached and don't have the time.

2. Mettle. Moderating is a demanding role, especially for a voluntary position, and many have burned out from trying. We don't want anyone to be turned away from what they do best: writing.

You need a thick skin and even temperament to manage it, among other things.

I was curious as to why the approval time for the latest segment of my story was taking longer than usual. Thanks for the heads up. I will just sit back and do my best to be patient. **twiddles thumbs** 😉

Quote by WannabeWordsmith

1. Availability. Many have been approached and don't have the time.

2. Mettle. Moderating is a demanding role, especially for a voluntary position, and many have burned out from trying. We don't want anyone to be turned away from what they do best: writing.

You need a thick skin and even temperament to manage it, among other things.

Thank you for taking the time to answer WW.

Not expecting an answer, just throwing this idea out there for thought...

Rather than the admin approaching and searching for new moderators, why not do the reverse?

Have keen LS members (not just authors) answer a well-worded LS forum advert. Doing it this way may unearth new talent. After all, you don't have to be a fantastic writer to be a good, well-balanced, thick-skinned moderator. 🙄😊

Quote by WannabeWordsmith
On Lush v1, we used to have an enforced 24hr or so exclusion after publication.

I hadn't realized that had gone away, actually. The only time it tripped me up was when I had two parts of a story both finished and had to wait for part 1 to clear before posting part 2. But, yeah, that would be a good thing. I don't normally submit frequently enough for limits on submission frequency to become a problem, really. If I were get two out in a month, that would be a bit of a miracle right now (though I did split one of my active drafts into 2 parts so never say never)

Quote by wxt55uk
Have keen LS members (not just authors) answer a well-worded LS forum advert. Doing it this way may unearth new talent.

My experience on another site with this is that the first people to apply tend to be exactly the ones you don't want moderating. People with an agenda, people who think "I can do it better", people who just want the power trip. And even if you did, I would suggest that part of the qualifications for applying would be a resume of published Lush stories. After all, do we want someone who knows squat about writing or the basics of writing like spelling and grammar to be a mod? Right. And the best way to test for that is to review their own writing.

Quote by wxt55uk
After all, you don't have to be a fantastic writer to be a good, well-balanced, thick-skinned moderator. 🙄😊

That's pretty much the main thing, lol.

Quote by Seeker4

My experience on another site with this is that the first people to apply tend to be exactly the ones you don't want moderating. People with an agenda, people who think "I can do it better", people who just want the power trip. And even if you did, I would suggest that part of the qualifications for applying would be a resume of published Lush stories. After all, do we want someone who knows squat about writing or the basics of writing like spelling and grammar to be a mod? Right. And the best way to test for that is to review their own writing.

A good point, Seeker4, and something I agree with and would expect. Hence, the need for good private vetting along with other measures.

I only brought the suggestion up, as I hate to think that the enjoyment of this wonderful site is waning for some due to the workload, the story publishing waiting times or the unseen pressure to moderate due to the length of the approval queue.

I keep this post short; I do have some ideas, but I keep them private.

Quote by Jen

That's pretty much the main thing, lol.

That and being able to down a lot of alcohol.

Quote by sprite

That and being able to down a lot of alcohol.

Ain’t THAT the truth 👍

What about premium writers who only submit one or two stories a month?

Quote by fillelapine

What about premium writers who only submit one or two stories a month?

Normally, you would get top-of-the-line service for your premium content. But currently they’ve suffered a real backlog they’re trying to work through so temporarily we all have to wait a little bit

I have a story that’s been waiting for a couple of days which is almost unheard of here

But a little patient will pay off and it’ll come out and things will normalize. This is just a highly unusual situation.

Quote by Milik_the_Red

Normally, you would get top-of-the-line service for your premium content. But currently they’ve suffered a real backlog they’re trying to work through so temporarily we all have to wait a little bit

I have a story that’s been waiting for a couple of days which is almost unheard of here

But a little patient will pay off and it’ll come out and things will normalize. This is just a highly unusual situation.

Thank you very much for your reply. I am just impatient sometimes. 🫣

This is why I have refrained from publishing anything in a while. The mods have far more and better words to read here than my idle ramblings. Several have even acknowledged their relief in not seeing my name on the list, which just proves the wisdom of my action -- or inaction, if you will.
In all seriousness, they are the very soul and sensibility of this place, well deserving every writer's unbridled thanks and praise. If anything, they are the victims of their own success in making LUSH the best place on the web to be seen and published.

Is the backup cleared?

I've had a story assigned to a mod for a while but I see some people have had 2 stories published in the last day so I'm guessing it's cleared

Quote by deviantsusie

Is the backup cleared?

Sort of. We got it down a few days ago to something manageable, then over the weekend had an absolute glut of stories, most from premium members.

Things will unfortunately continue to be bumpy until we can get some better tools to help smooth the flow. Some will get approved fast, others might take longer.

Just to add to the above...

We now have nearly 6000 platinum and gold members, so although stories are still fast tracked, the wait times will range from between 1-4 days in general. This isn't a guarantee - things will fluctuate throughout the year, but I just want to reassure people there has been no change with the way the stories are received.

Obviously, story fast tracking is just one advantage of a platinum membership, and many premium members don't write stories. We are continually monitoring this. For information, we may occasionally allocate things to a mod to allow us to manage the main queue a little better, so you may see a story as allocated, which then shows at a later time as unallocated.

For non-premium members, the wait time will usually range from 5-10 days, but can creep up to 2 weeks at busy times.

Please don't be surprised if more stuff gets rejected back to authors to fix, instead of us fixing it ourselves. A good proofread or a simple spell check should catch the basic errors that we still often find.

Thanks.

does this mean i am actually expected to work now?

Quote by sprite

does this mean i am actually expected to work now?

Quote by Jen
We now have nearly 6000 platinum and gold members,

Wow. I think this is my takeaway from this. It is fantastic news even if it is causing us some inconvenience on the moderation front. Paying members keep this place alive and viable.

👍👌😁

Quote by Seeker4

Wow. I think this is my takeaway from this. It is fantastic news even if it is causing us some inconvenience on the moderation front. Paying members keep this place alive and viable.

👍👌😁

This was my take too! 😊

My new story was submitted Saturday and approved early this morning, so 3 days basically. I can live with that.

I will recall mine and wait

What is a premium writer?

Quote by MissVixen

I will recall mine and wait

Why? Then you're delaying it even longer. I am getting the feeling that 3 days, or maybe even more, is going to be the new normal for members. I'd hate to think how long non-members will be waiting. You could be waiting weeks only to find that it will still take days to clear the queue. Get it in sooner and it will be out sooner. I've got part 2 of my current story in the queue now even though I know it might not see light of day until early-mid next week.

EDIT: Think of those call centre queues where hanging up just sends you back to the start of the line.

Quote by MissVixen

What is a premium writer?

Platinum and Gold members.

Quote by AvidlyCurious

Platinum and Gold members.

Ohh I resemble tha..