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nicola

Over 90 days ago

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United Kingdom

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6 Jan 2015

Quote by overmykneenow
I've not investigated but maybe there's an option for payment using app stores.

That way membership could be bought as an in-app purchase and any payments would go through via iTunes or Google Play. If there was a problem with Lush being an adult site, it could be covered by making premium accounts on blue site that work here as well.

I highly doubt it. Apple are anti all things adult.

Google copied their policy and after they bought Android (now Google Play), removed all adult apps from their store.

The free android app we paid thousands of dollars for, was pretty much rendered worthless overnight, having no audience. 588-rolleyes

588-rolleyes

6 Jan 2015

Quote by vivien
I support paid memberships, in order to make this even a better place. What bothers me most, is the amount of privacy I have to give up to stay. I suggest the administration give serious thought to accepting prepaid credit cards. I also want reassurances my private information is really secure, What sort of security arrangement is in place to assure that?
LM touched on this, you’re no longer a casual visitor with a paid membership.

The amount of privacy you have to give up to stay? Please read our privacy policy.

All we collect is your email address for verification purposes, and your gender. That helps cut down the number of fake accounts set up by troublemakers.

We do not store any financial information. Memberships are processed by the second largest payment processor in the world.

5 Jan 2015

Quote by lafayettemister

Great, so I can still post pics to my friends' profiles. I enjoy doing that.

Fair enough. I don't mind sitting tight at all.

Your opinion, as always, is most welcome. I don't believe I've ever been dismissive of anyone's opinions here. I constantly ask questions to our community / for feedback, about almost all facets of the site, and changes we are looking to make.

I think you must have missed the final line in my very first post in this thread, where I mention that all authors registered prior to 1 Jan 2015, will be grandfathered in with a Bronze Membership, as a thank you for contributing to the site. If you look at your profile, there's already a Bronze badge on it.

Effectively, nothing whatsoever will change for you.

You might have misunderstood about the advertising. The main reason people will pay for Silver instead of Bronze, is so they don't have to view the banner ads anywhere on the site. This has proven to be a big reason for most people, and many sites offer this option these days.

Why? Depending on the sponsor / adverts, they may have parts which are flashing gifs, or perhaps images that are too hardcore / not to everyone's tastes. I prefer reading content with no distractions, as do a lot of people.

5 Jan 2015

"Teetering on the edge of closure" is far from where we are at.

Well said OMKN. Some posters appear to have ulterior motives for posting what they have.

It is very much a case of strategic forward planning. Anyone who makes any kind of income online, knows that display advertising revenues, have been in decline for a number of years, both on mainstream sites and those of an adult nature.

Businesses need to find other income sources. That is exactly what we have done.

Thank you to all those who've posted messages of support, both publicly and privately. We've had a very good response so far overall.

Gav is looking into adding another dedicated server for our core database, which should improve reliability and speed. The hardware we have is almost maxed out. We are also looking at managed hosting, to further improve reliability.

The Premium Library is being worked on, and should be up this month.

4 Jan 2015

Quote by Dani
This thread is about QUESTIONS CONCERNING THE MEMBERSHIP OPTIONS. This means how it works, what it entails, what you have access to, etc.

If you want to piss and moan/spout conspiracy theories, you're free to do so elsewhere.

Thanks Dani. I'm glad you cleared that up!

3 Jan 2015

This thread has been created for people to ask questions about the new membership model.

I have closed off the other thread as it became submerged in messages relating to a programming issue which has now been resolved, and people complaining about the new measures put into place. That is not what this thread is for.

Before posting any questions, please thoroughly read this post: https://www.lushstories.com/forum/yaf_postst41205_New-Freemium-Membership-Model-for-2015.aspx which is more or less the same as the PM which is being sent to all members.

Questions already covered off in the above post, or general complaints relating to the new set up, will be deleted to keep this thread from becoming too cluttered.

Key points:

All members registered before 1st January 2015, will effectively be given a 6 month bronze membership.

New members get a 3 month free trial, all features enabled.

Authors published with us already, will be given a lifetime Bronze Membership.

3 Jan 2015

Apologies all.

There was an issue with the grandfathering in of existing members.

All members registered before 1st January 2015, will effectively be given a 6 month bronze membership. I believe this has now been fixed.

New members get a 3 month free trial, all features enabled.

I will lock this thread and start a new one, because this looks to be full of replies caused by the coding issue primarily, and general complaints rather than questions.

1 Jan 2015

Quote by simplyjohn
May I .. newbie here. Looking at the model, third item from the bottom, 'Restrict who may contact you' ... available to Gold only. Is this the use of the hard block function please?

Newbie

laughing9

If you look in your privacy settings, the current restriction options are shown in there: https://www.lushstories.com/membership/update-details.aspx?s=privacy

We may change / add to this, to allow greater flexibility.

Quote by simplyjohn
Could you also explain briefly what the 'Premium Story Library' is; I had that question twice yesterday and said ...

The Premium Story Library, hasn't been activated yet, but here's a brief rundown.

It will contain stories which authors do not wish to make available to the general public. These will typically be meatier works, longer stories, or even complete ebooks.

How the idea came about, was that an author contacted me, saying she'd like to share her other stories, but not in a way that content thieves have easy access. She very kindly said she'd allow us to publish her works, to support the site, if they were behind a pay wall as it were. This means her work is more protected, and it adds to the draw of paid membership.

The library will grow over time. It will contain ebooks / longer stories, which we consider to be of a very high quality. Authors who contribute to the Premium Library, will of course get more exposure to their work, and it's likely that they will be more widely read as a result.

1 Jan 2015

If you have any queries or concerns about the new membership levels, please ask them here rather than start new posts.

Thank you.

Nicola

31 Dec 2014

Well said Chrissie.

A reminder to a few impatient people, that it's not uncommon on the most popular story sites (of which we are in the Top 3), to wait over 2 weeks to see your story published. The average turnaround on lushstories.com, is typically less than 24 hours. Our verification team is the best around =d>

31 Dec 2014

Our friends in Tuvalu are getting ready to light the blue touch paper already, while I'm about to get the ice scraper out so I can see out my car's windscreen, on this chilly English morning.

Wherever you are, I wish you a fizzy, fun and fantastic 2015.
Stay healthy, and don't forget to tell those close to you, know how much you love them. love7

love7

Mark Twain sums up New Year's celebrations for me very aptly:

"New Year's is a harmless annual institution, of no particular use to anybody save as a scapegoat for promiscuous drunks, and friendly calls and humbug resolutions."

I'll raise a glass to that! 3601

3601

Nicola xx

23 Dec 2014

Those nippers are making me hungry eat

eat

They would be nice with a chilled glass of Prosecco on Xmas morning.

22 Dec 2014

Quote by overmykneenow
Most social networks are desperate to get your mobile number on their records - it helps them sell your information for $$$. Every time they ask you to verify who you are they get more and more marketable info about you

Thanks for the tip! kekekegay

kekekegay

Our privacy policy should dispel any fears anyone has about what we collect here and why.

22 Dec 2014

I wish all our members good health, happiness, and an abundance of love over the holiday period and beyond. And fewer run-on sentences, comma splices, and those that start with "And".

Thank you to everyone who contributed to our thriving community this year. The site is what we all collectively make it. 2407_group_hug

2407_group_hug

Stay safe and have fun!

Nicola

P.S. The promised sexy pics follow:

17 Dec 2014

Quote by trinket
In previous writing competitions, after the winners and runners up were listed, the rest of the top ten stories were awarded RR's and one story got an Editor's Pick. The Editors Choice was given this comp but no RR's to the rest who made up the top ten. Considering they are stories that were good enough to be included in the top ten (or 11 in this comp) I wondered why the RR's weren't given this time?

I am positively stoked to be on that list, and grateful there WAS even a comp to enter. I am in no way ridiculing Lush's award system, just thought I'd ask why this comp was different? Of course I'm not going to deny I would like one but am curious to know why some of us didn't for this competition?

I hope I don't sound ungrateful because I'm not. I didn't enter thinking I would be anywhere near that top 11 list, I had never entered one before so I did it for the contestant badge! Lol. I'll admit it. I'm a badge whore.

This would have been better in a pm.

Usually the Top 3 (and often the Top 5 or 6) are given an EP. The rest are not given an RR automatically. Often in competitions, there is a cut-off where there's a big drop in total points given by the judges. That's usually where the RR's stop.

Sometimes, stories which deserve RR's, are missed. That's unfortunate. If you think a particular story deserves consideration for an RR, please let us know. Moderators who really feel an RR is justified, usually give them, even after the fact.

As to the themes, I visit many story sites, and start falling asleep at the banal nature of most competitions out there. Authors have often spent months on a story, prior to a competition starting, knowing what's coming up. That's not a challenge is it?

I prefer springing them on our membership at random times, with (hopefully) interesting and different themes.

There will be no Valentine competition on lush in 2015. Hopefully the world of erotica, will be a slightly more interesting place, because of it...

17 Dec 2014

Stories are to be restricted to 3500 words, as an added challenge book

book

A heads up - temperature contrasts are of most interest to the judging panel. The use of both hot and cold in storylines, is more interesting, than simply a "hot sex on the beach" type story.

17 Dec 2014

At this time of year, many of us around the globe, are experiencing extremes of temperature. Sun worshippers might be trying to escape the 40°C heat by dipping into the cooling surf at Bondi or Copacabana Beach. Snow lovers may be finding ways to warm their cold aching bodies after a hard day on the slopes at Val d’Isère or Keystone.

Competition Theme

Stories entered into this competition, must feature an extreme of temperature, as a core plot element. Perhaps your characters like playing bdsm games with ice cubes or candle wax, or surprised by a cold glass dildo? Has a sweaty gym or sauna session turned into something more? Maybe your cast are stranded in deep snow, and need to somehow conserve body heat?

Full details here.

14 Dec 2014

Quote by Lisaga
She moved closer, licking her lips slowly just as I had done. But she wasn’t playing now. Purposefully, she undid her top two pyjama buttons

No full stop Shame on you

Shame on you

14 Dec 2014

Quote by guiltee
“If you don’t stay still and take your punishment believe me your bottom will very sore by the time I have finished.” I smiled at her words.

Nice! Tweetied.

12 Dec 2014

Happy Birthday Milik Big Hugs

Big Hugs

Really sorry to hear about the relationship split. It must be a very difficult time for you both, after so long together.

Take care, and hope to see you around these parts more. Hugs

Hugs

occasion6

12 Dec 2014

Quote by Liz
"Davey boy, get your game face on. You're my wingman tonight. We're gonna strut into that club like two hunks from the planet big-bollocks."

laughing9

I guess it could go in the humour section, not sure about the erotica one...

11 Dec 2014

3 or 4 of the recent entries weren't exactly 140 characters, so they've not been posted.

The rest have icon_smile

icon_smile

30 Nov 2014

Thine will be done once I'm settled, I know I have a lot of catching up to do.

Thank you for the posts folks, please keep them coming, I DO like a challenge.

30 Nov 2014

I like Brad Pitt, his acting and outlook on life.

I hope if he stumbled upon this site, he'd feel the same about me and what I try to achieve here.

Actors, artists, writers, we are cut from a very similar cloth.

30 Nov 2014

laughing9

Slow Sunday huh?

30 Nov 2014

I read somewhere that both Nicholas Cage and Tom Cruise went for the part of Pinocchio recently, but both were turned down. Apparently their acting was too wooden.

25 Nov 2014

These competitions are getting harder and harder to judge. This is not only my view, but a comment sent to me by no less than 3 of the judges.

We made an extra slot as the voting was so tight, so it's a Top 11 this time around.

Well done to our 3 prize winners. I am particularly pleased to see Flytoomuch placed this time around, he's been peppering the Top 10's for quite some time now.

A huge congrats to avrgblkgrl, Lupus and flytoomuch =d>

Winner ($150): Want, by avrgblkgrl
Second place ($100): Not a Word to Grace, by Lupus
Third place: ($50): Twisted but Precious, the Morning After, by flytoomuch

Honourable mentions go to the following stories, which made up the remainder of the Top 11:

Welcome to Angel Falls, by liz
Eating Breakfast in Glass Slippers, by TheScheherezadeFeint
One Incredible Costume, by rejectreality
Who Done Her, by jayne33
Bukkake Party, by naughtyannie
Waiting for you, by 0Curious
Youth Revisited, by jefferyb
Kidnapped Teased and Fucked, by trinket

Thank you all who submitted a story to this competition.

Cheers,

Nicola

(It's either cached or there's a glitch, but the results aren't showing up on the competition page, Gav is looking into it).

25 Nov 2014

laughing9

I wouldn't want to lose you too naughtyannie!

I like the idea of occasional non-story competitions. This one has a *cough* bit of a past. I'm open to ideas for something a little different.

23 Nov 2014

Time for another?

17 Nov 2014

Apologies all, I flew into London on Friday, and haven't had a chance to get online much.

I've just been sent the spreadsheet of all the scores, and the top stories are now with the judges for their consideration.

The announcement date for the winners, has been pushed back to the 24th. Sorry!

Good luck to all who entered.