Quote by KimmiBeGood

A needle in my left forearm throbbed the whole time. My acupuncturist said it was clearing a stress block. Now I’m yawning like crazy.

As to Milik and David’s points, my 2 cents:

I’d definitely think personality would be as important for a mod. Too many chiefs could be a problem. And I’m a people watcher. I’ve seen since I started here the competitive natures of writers. Which can be good and bad. Comparison is often a thief of joy.

If you are yawning now, you might be asleep when you read this, Kimmi... 😊

I agree with you on the moderator personality; they need to work as a team and all pull together just like the dragon boat rowers... In real life, that is often easier said than done, of course. 😊

With Sprite, I miss her competition stories too. When she said that she was not entering any more, I messaged her and reminded her just how good her winning entry, "Ellie", for the Anti-Valentine competition was. Which brings me nicely to competitions...

I think you know this, Kimmi, but I privately judge every competition story. Yep, I read every story, make quick notes and then give it a mark out of 10, which sometimes goes down to a 1/4 mark. 🙄 I have done this since the first competition I entered, the Anti-Valentine... and 'Ellie' scored a 10 and to this day remains the only time I got the actual winner right! 😊

Having your own private competition is quite therapeutic... so I don't worry too much about the real thing anymore.

BTW: Kimi, for the 'Island Getaway' comp, you scored an 8/10 for "Entangled in the Tentacles" with a particularly high mark in storyline... something that I feel sometimes gets overlooked in the real competition.

I believe that there are larger things to worry about atm, but eventually I would like to see a change where everyone gets a mark out of 10 for their competition stories and a brief comment. That's what I do, and I feel it would give everyone a sense of involvement. Though it will probably bring other issues... 🙄

Quote by KimmiBeGood

Okay here comes the man with the needles…

😳

Good luck! 😳

Quote by Milik_the_Red

thank you for understanding. As soon as I posted that I started feeling like I was being official again I had flashbacks.

I don’t know what’s going on with me, but I’ve been suffering some horrible insomnia lately. I had another night I didn’t get any sleep and here I am with the bar serving breakfast

Ah, well. Time for coffee whiie watching the sun come up

I'm a happy soul, honestly. 😊 As we are in the pub, I open up a little about why I think the way I do...

Milik, you actually said what I already (sort of) knew, having started to visit this site in 2010. I'm pretty certain I joined then. 🙄 But officially, I joined almost 10 years ago when I started helping an author (now left) here. Then my writing efforts started just as Lush moved to V2 (I submitted my first story on the same day it went offline), almost 3 years ago.

However, what I have never told anyone is that I once invested in a website similar to this, though not adult. It started in a UK university and spun out into a web-based company. It did very well for a short period but failed to adjust as its site traffic increased... and ultimately disappeared. 😳🙁

Now I am not suggesting for a moment that it is going to happen to LS, but I do suggest that it is paramount that authors' approval waiting times are kept reasonable if this business is going to keep growing...

Nuff said! It's gone noon; I'll have a cold beer, please, Lion. 🍺😎

Quote by Milik_the_Red

Having been behind that curtain I feel I can safely say there is a lot more going on than verifying stories. The mods deal with a shocking amount of complaints and frankly, totally unfounded jealousy. Jealousy of the mods themselves, and jealously of how some might perceive how their work is seen by the mods.

Thank you, Milik, for your thoughtful... and accurate post. 😊

Hopefully, it will bring home to members here what the volunteer moderators go through, and make people think. 🙄

It also reinforces the need to find ways to take the pressure off them... A while back, I suggested a recruitment drive. It seemed to just get dismissed. However, I do not know what goes on backstage, having never been there.

Maybe, there could be someone in between the author and the moderator; let's call them a proofreader. They read a story and add an independent note for the moderator on what they thought, that it meets the site guidelines, the grammar, etc, something along those lines. They would work for the moderators and be trained/judged to eventually become one.

What I do know is the story queue lengths will need to be got on top of, hopefully sooner than later. That those ideas, and more importantly, solutions, need to be welcomed backstage.

PS. I see Lions just opened up; a cup of the finest Yorkshire Tea for me, Thanks, Lion. 😎

Quote by sprite

Don't be surprised if it gets put on hold for a week. that's pretty much how we're going to handle assembly-lined stories in the future. Lately, our premium members have been doing power dumps and it's not sustainable for us to put them at the top of the queue anymore every time they do.

Another here who appreciates what the moderators, like yourself, do here. 😊

However, sitting on the other side of the curtain, I have to also say, we are told very little as to what is going on backstage.

I will be honest. Although I love them, I was surprised that a competition was announced at this time, as I know it will only add to that queue. I was also disappointed with the reply I got from the admins (shareholders?) when I suggested there should be a recruitment drive to slowly add more moderators. With 6,000 gold/platinum members all interested in writing/reading erotica, there must be at least half a dozen out there who are capable of helping with the sterling work.

Quote by KimmiBeGood

Yup! 🤣🤣🤣 I left him a comment. The story is called “Piss Pigs.” He gets a point for originality. 😀

I have seen the story (and your comment), and I will read it, as it's a comp story. But only when mine is finished. Today I managed to write 4 pages and the closing couple of paragraphs, which sounds good to me. 😜

However, of those 4 pages, 3 of them were the first page, which I just couldn't get right, and I rewrote them. So the truth is, I'm 2 pages in, a couple of finishing paragraphs in. 😳🤣

I will get there!!!

P.S. There are no funnels involved... yet!

Quote by Milik_the_Red

I tried writing on my iPhone 16 Pro Max, but dammit my eyes are too weak to see the print and if I expand the print enough to see it I can’t see enough of the sentence to keep up with it.

Getting old sucks

You're right, it sucks! 😕 I have a similar iPhone, but I have never got past one-finger typing. When I watch my 3 grown-up children message, it's turbocharged... and they just laugh at my speed or rather, lack of it. 😈

For me to type, I need a keyboard; I can't even manage to type on an iPad. 🙄

Quote by Milik_the_Red

So I woke up this morning primed to start the 2nd half of my comp entry and found my Ipad at 16% power. 😡So now I have to wait a couple hours while it charges.

This is the same Ipad I've been unsing for years and only the 2nd one I've bought. It has a lot of history as its the one Ive written most of my stories on. I never needed to replace it while I was gone from Lush and writing and I'm not even sure what generation it is.

Now, I think its time to get a new one. Meanwhile, I'm twirling my thumbs while that archaic piece of crap charges at a snail pace.

There is always a pen and paper, Milik... 🙄🤣

I retired... 😎 Then went travelling until Covid hit!

I am around halfway through writing my "Cash in Hand" series of standalone stories. Each story is set in a different genre but has the common link of earning tax-free cash, wearing uniforms, voyeurism, and exhibitionism. The story covers a married couple, John and Janet, and their journey as they go through life. 😎

Here is the link to the latest part to be published, Cash In Hand 3 – “Janet’s First Fiver” - Part 1 Of 4

For regular updates, please follow me. 😊

Quote by KimmiBeGood

Ummm, I just stumbled into a new forum … I WANT TO RATE YOUR DICK! 😳

I’ll be in my corner… you know… rating dicks.

Reading this, Kimmi, reminded me that years ago, there used to be a website where you had photos of people's faces and another photo of their naked genitalia, pussy/dick photos. They were mixed up. Then you had a lineup of, say, 50 to match the top and bottom halves and a time limit to achieve it... A 'friend' told me it was difficult to achieve! 🙄🤣

Quote by KimmiBeGood

I’m sharing my comp tagline and cover with y’all. I’ll submit tonight or tomorrow.

"Some obsessions are quietly affecting and only recognized by the one truly in tune with the other…"

Simply clever... Kimmi. 😘

Quote by CarltonStJames

Hey everyone,

The thought of writing sex makes me groan now. Not in the testiculuar/prostate relieving way either. A comp idea popped into my head last night, but identifying with intimacy is very difficult for me now. We'll see. Hope everyone is well.

I think that's true with a lot of authors. The more you write sex scenes, the more it feels like it's just a cut-and-paste exercise, which is very different to real life, of course. 🙄 🤣

While we have a moderator in Rumpies, we should raise a glass to SebastianTombs, as he has been elevated to moderator. So congratulations, and all of Sebastian's drinks can be put on my tab... he says, hoping my latest story surges to the top of the verification queue. 😳🤣🤣🤣

Quote by KimmiBeGood

Hope you can get enough time to get an entry in, David!

I know I have reading of stories to catch up on. Hard for me to both read and write due to eye strain from stupid work.

I am sure I will, Kimmi... I'm going to make a start tonight and have until Wednesday to get the start and end written. That will just leave the middle to fill out. 😳

Hopefully, your eye strain won't be too bad. When it comes to reading stories. I moved over to having them read to me by the computer. Then, I only look at the screen occasionally. In my case, mainly when I don't understand something. 🙄😊

I just dropped in for a quick cuppa... enjoy your Sunday, Lion; enjoy your camping, Bear with the relatives. 🙄😊

I see Kimmi's not in her korner... Yet! 😎

My next project is to look at a comp story, having just finished "Cash in Hand 3", a four-part standalone story in the college sex genre. The first part has been with the moderators for a few days. I can only guess the queue is long at the moment.

Happy Sunday to one and all; now it's time for me to get outside and enjoy the sun. 😜😎

Quote by Seeker4

Some of us do. I'm out the door on vacation as of the 25th and will get busy with prep in the week or two before that. So my effective deadline is probably September 11 or thereabouts. If I am not at least into a completed draft by then, it's not happening.

You and me, Seeker4. I have not started yet, and I'm off on vacation this Wednesday, only returning home for a week in between then and September 23rd. I have an idea, and my laptop is going with me. However, as much as I want to take part, I may ultimately sit this one out! 😕

I have just finished writing my third 'Cash in Hand' story, which will be published in the college sex genre. It is a 3-parter. My only dilemma is whether to split the 6,000-word third part into two. 😳😜

I was then going to take a break from writing, as we are on holiday for 6 of the next 7 weeks. Yes, we are retired. However, I love the idea behind the Obsession competition, and I have an idea for a story, so it looks like my laptop will be travelling with me. 🙄😎

Quote by KimmiBeGood

Thank you for not thinking I’m weird. 😀 I used to sit and write top to bottom in one sitting. Now it’s in pieces that I later try to connect, and I almost always start with the ending. I kinda need to know the ending to write the journey, now. I also record my stories now and play back to fix rough patches and flow issues.

There is nothing weird about you, Kimmi. 😊 With me, normally, I write the first couple of paragraphs before switching to the end and getting that finished. Then, join the two up. I also have my stories read to me via the read-aloud button, for the same reasons as you record yours, Kimmi. However, I have never been able to write any story in one sitting, even micro's... so I'm seriously impressed. 😎😘

Another here who loves the theme behind this competition.

I have a title, a setting and a storyline, and yes, it will be dark... However, there is a but... I am not sure if I will get the time to write it and do the story idea justice. It is the holiday season, and we are away soon for a very long holiday... 😎

I just told my wife that I'm taking the laptop on holiday with us. She said I was "obsessed!" 😳🤣

Quote by KimmiBeGood

It’s a blessing and a curse, Milik. I haven’t experienced it that bad in a long time. 😢 Still don’t feel well. That man’s pain was unbearable for him.

I am sorry for you, Kimmi... 😢 I do hope you feel better soon.

I'm just dropping in, as I heard that Jen was paying.... 😊 Though, I go lightly on her purse and have just a mug of tea. 😳

As for the new competition, I love the theme and have what I believe is a good idea for a story. However, as I'm travelling for most of the time that the competition runs (read: holiday), it is unlikely that I will have time to write something worthwhile. That is, unless I take my laptop with me... 🙄

Though if I do, I know my wife will keep telling me that I'm obsessed! 🤣

Quote by Seeker4

The scary thing is that I am on a board where most members are Europeans and they complaining about the heat too. Similar temps to here or worse. Is the whole Northern Hemisphere under a heat wave?

I can confirm that the UK is, at the moment, 30°C+ in the southern half, which is unusual, and officially, we are now in our fourth heatwave this summer. Luckily, we live near the beach and have an onshore breeze taking the edge off. What we don't normally get here is the humidity.

Quote by techgoddess

These are just my opinions of course. What do I know? 🤣🤣🤣

Kat, for me, your opinion is worth a lot here. 😊

Here are just some thoughts...

At the moment, the Story Series Badge does not exist and, in my opinion, is unlikely to exist again because LushStories has become very popular and will almost certainly continue to gain popularity. 😎

So, I'm just thinking laterally, trying to save the badge, and wondering if one badge based on popular support is not such a bad idea if it can be awarded within the software and does not drain moderator resources. It doesn't have to be based on X number of likes. Maybe it could be X number of views, or perhaps the number of comments, or a combination of all three over X number of chapters.

It is just a suggestion, one which I believe is different from the monthly popular author/story chart, which is reset every month.

Quote by WannabeWordsmith

That's popularity not quality.

Under those terms, my series Pink would (almost, so very almost by 6 votes) be awarded an OS. But I very much doubt a panel would award it any accolade for depth of writing.

I agree with you, WW, but in a way, that is my point.

Maybe, there should be a badge for writing a popular series, and we leave the quality to one side, as it is too time-consuming to judge. It's just a different way of looking at it, and I suggest it, as I think it will attract members.

Quote by techgoddess

My take on your questions above. 😘

Congratulations, Kat. 😘 I knew you had a story that recently clicked past the 30k mark, but I didn't realise that it had been published under LushV2... So that makes it quite literally doubly impressive. 😊 However, it still only brings the total that I am aware of to two under LushV2 counting.

Though this is not really relevant to me, as my highest viewed story hasn't made 9,000 views yet! However, I do think badges and goals are important and do attract members/readers/authors. So maybe it's time to reevaluate, as I'm not convinced what was right for V1 is necessarily right and works for V2.

These are just my thoughts, but I do have one question... Do the admins know how many stories published under V2 have made 30,000 views in the (nearly) 3 years since the change from V1 to V2?

Quote by Jen

No. It was missed when we moved and has not been reinstated. Jury is still out on whether it will be reinstated at some point. It could be extremely time consuming for the panel to get through and not everyone could dedicate the time, unfortunately.

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions, Jen. I appreciate it. 😊

A suggestion on the Series Award, as I wouldn't want the already high workload on our fabulous moderators to increase further... Suggestion. For the series award, make it automated...

Perhaps for any story that has at least three parts to it and receives 100 likes for each part, leave it to the software to count and award it. 😎

Here are a couple of questions on badges which I am asking for a friend 🙄...

Famous Story: Published a story with over 30,000 views...

Since LushV2, the story view count seems a lot lower than under LushV1. I believe most authors here would agree with me on that. In fact, I know of only one author who has posted a new story under V2 and achieved 30,000 views. Maybe there are others – I would love to know...

My questions are... Is the story view count different between LushV2 and LushV1? And, if so, should the 30,000 number be revised down?

Series Award: An author of an outstanding chapter story.

In the 3 years (nearly) I have been writing here, I don't remember anyone receiving one. At least, not that I have noticed.

My questions are... Is this still supported? If not, why? And could we have readers nominate a series award?

Thank you for opening up, Bear. Just a mug of strong English Breakfast Tea for me, please. 😊

After a busy weekend hosting the family BBQ, which was good fun, a lazy day for me... There is not a cloud in the sky; the temps will nudge 30C, and I am doing a little writing in my man cave. Bears are allowed if they behave themselves! 😎

Am I the only author who likes to take their laptop and write in different places?

I just read Milik's moving poem... and left a comment. Do give it a read. ❤️

I have a healthy imagination, which makes it easy for me to fill in the blanks when it comes to what I haven't experienced in real life. 😊

Quote by Milik_the_Red

I'm going to make a green bean Crock pot meal tonight with a beef gravy chili sauce.

Per serving it should work out to well under 400 calories and under 20 net carbs a serving. I'm expecting it to make a large volume but it should reheat quite well.

I'll let you all know how that worked out.

I'm impressed that you can cook, Milik... 😊 I'm a bit of a dinosaur when it comes to cooking, yes, I do know they went extinct. 🙄 Also like the black mug with the white mug in the background as it has a rather good name on it. 😜

I just came in from my back garden (I guess that sounds rather British), where I have been putting solar lights in our two apple trees. We're hosting a family BBQ Saturday... only issue is, atm we don't seem to have much sun, though the weekend's forecast is excellent. 😎 A mug of Yorkshire for me, thank you, Bear, in real life I am actually drinking one, though it is in a plain mug, not one with my name on it. 😉