GENERAL THOUGHTS ON READER RECOMMENDED STORIES...

Quote by patokl
What remains unclear to me, is how members, who choose to be invisible when online, are counted in those statistics. If they're not, actual numbers could be a lot higher.

Quote by Tricky_Dicky
And it has become a much talked about issue on the other site.

Quote by noll


So, what's this other site you keep referring to?

Quote by Tricky_Dicky
No, I'm not advertising competing sites.

Quote by Tricky_Dicky


. That made me laugh.

No, I'm not advertising competing sites. I prefer this site, most people do, but, as I said before, most people can't get their stories published. And it's not down to punctuation and grammar with the good authors. This is a genuine issue concerning story rejections that I raised earlier, but all people seem interested in doing is calling me Lusty Linda or Desperate Dan.

It's so frustrating. I'm pulling out my hair over here.

Quote by adagio_sabadicus


At times I'm frustrated, having to wait, but talking about conspiracies..that's all BS. It I thought that a mod was singling me out, I would report it. Why don't you go to the top banana, (Nicola) and say so? You are getting nowhere with rants. Why not move one to pastures that suit you. You have become very boring.

Quote by JC72
I am not really sure if this is the right place in forums to post this topic, or if it should be brought up at all. My guess is this topic is discussed in private among friends where nothing really gets done or changes. Bringing up how RR works or doesn't may cause me to lose a few friends or who knows, make a few, but after hearing at least four friends this week alone talk on the subject I wanted my questions and thoughts public.

I, like many, see the same small group of people getting a majority of recgnition with some stories barely posted before the symbol appears. The one that caused my concern is when a friend showed me a story that had been up for sometime when she friended a Mod, the next day the story had a RR. I am, nor would I ever accuse a Mod of wrong doing, but by not being open about who chooses what, too much is in question.

So wondering if this was just sour grapes on my part, I took twenty pieces from this sight to the Lit Professor's I work with to ask their professional opinion. Ten pieces were RR and ten were pieces I had read that were not recognized here on Lush. Only two pieces of the ten RR, were picked as top pieces by one teacher, the other just three. I am not a math major, but that is 12.5 % of the pieces declared RR being picked by pros with no bias or nepotism involved. The few who did really well in judging were told, because their work deserved me sharing the good news. If anyone wants to know what pieces won the judging, p!ease message. The pieces that did not will never be shared because this isn't about making any one person feel bad.

So instead of just bitching or causing hurt feelings, I was always taught to brings answers to questions if you have an issue. So with all this being said, here are a few ideas that some of us discussed in private. Agree or disagree, but please be polite as this is just my idea of starting good open communication. Below are a few ideas we liked as a group, many others were shot down... Last word by me, most writing here is done with a lot of effort and passion, so many good writers deserve to be recognized before they just give up or move on.

IDEA'S FOR RR.....

1. Any story or poem given RR, should include who gave the RR and a quick blurb as to why.

2. If a Mod gives a RR to one writer, they can't give a second one to same person for six months with no back tracking on stories.

3. No RR can be given to anyone on a friends list.

4. Readers be allowed to send personal favorites to Lush, bypassing Mods so that staff can make choice if worthy.

Many others, but these were the four all liked in some form...

With good intentions,
J

Quote by MadMartigan

Gonna call bullshit on this one and a technical foul on grounds of failing to be a tricky schlong. I was a mod in the past. And I have to echo the inordinate amount of shit that gets submitted that wouldn't even get accepted by a middle school creative writing teacher huffing paint on lunch break. You detail out exactly what people need to do to get a story approved, and they ignore everything. Or, rather impossibly, make it even worse.

It's seriously NOT that hard to get stories approved here. Lush publishing standards are child's play. I'd shudder to see these people actually submit to a real publisher. Rejection notices galore. Maybe even derision for just how bad some of the stuff is that mod's have to read. And I have to tell you, I've read some fucked up shit on here I wish I hadn't.

Quote by adagio_sabadicus


At times I'm frustrated, having to wait, but talking about conspiracies..that's all BS. It I thought that a mod was singling me out, I would report it. Why don't you go to the top banana, (Nicola) and say so? You are getting nowhere with rants. Why not move one to pastures that suit you. You have become very boring.

Quote by Warlock
I don't know what more can be said on this subject. An RR is a way to make someone feel nice and just maybe for a moment a chance to stand in the spotlight. It isn't intended to be demeaning to all others. We all have work we are proud of. It doesn't change the quality of anyone else's work simply because we didn't get a thumbs up. The process isn't broken nor is it corrupt. It is simply a stroke on a keyboard.

Quote by ChuckEPoo
I think... The system is great as is. RRs encourage writers that have produced an above average story or poem. They are an incentive for others to improve. No conspiracy. No favoritism.

Quote by HotWife4U
I read most of the replies in this thread. I can't figure what possible use this discussion is. Is this a gripe session for those that have not obtained an RR? Are they saying that because their writing wasn't given one, the system is rigged? I'm pretty new here. I didn't even know what an RR was when I submitted my first story. It recieved a Recommended Read. So if the system is rigged or playing to favorites, it makes no sense I'd get one.

Quote by noll
Seems like Tricky_Dicky went the way of Lusty_Linda, Desparate_Dan, Wayne_King, etc. already. They don't stick around long.

Quote by sprite


well... a little favoritism is you drop a couple hundred into my paypal account, but otherwise...

Quote by Buz
So many of them are one and the same. Like those multiple personality disorders living in one body.

Quote by patokl
Only in American English. In British English (which is, where the language originally comes from) it's realiSe, with an S. The same goes for authorise, penalise and most other verbs that end with ize in America.

Quote by ChuckEPoo


That's actually pretty reasonable. Most of the women in my life (i.e.Carol) want thousands.

Quote by Buz
So many of them are one and the same. Like those multiple personality disorders living in one body.

Quote by Buz


So many of them are one and the same. Like those multiple personality disorders living in one body.

Quote by Ruthie


I try to go by the accepted spelling in the writer's own country. Words like colour, harbour, as opposed to color or harbor, and the ise vs. ize endings of words. I am American, though, and my instinctive spelling is US English. If I don't recognize the spelling of a word, I try to find a reference to it being spelled that way, if I can't, I change it to American spelling. What we want is consistency in a story. If you use the spelling colour, you shouldn't spell realise with a z, and vice versa, of course. The main thing we try to prevent is inconsistent spelling. "I went to the harbor today, and the colour of the sea made me realize that I needed to organise my paint box." Some verbs always end in ise, of course, no matter which side of the Atlantic you're on. There are also some American words, such as analyze, that always end in yze.

It's not always as simple as it seems.

Quote by a_chica


Got to love lush, and oh Cybil.... who is gonna be our new shrink here?

Quote by Ruthie


I'll be glad to fill in for awhile. I've had lots of experience with mental health care.

Quote by Ruthie


I try to go by the accepted spelling in the writer's own country. Words like colour, harbour, as opposed to color or harbor, and the ise vs. ize endings of words. I am American, though, and my instinctive spelling is US English. If I don't recognize the spelling of a word, I try to find a reference to it being spelled that way, if I can't, I change it to American spelling. What we want is consistency in a story. If you use the spelling colour, you shouldn't spell realise with a z, and vice versa, of course. The main thing we try to prevent is inconsistent spelling. "I went to the harbor today, and the colour of the sea made me realize that I needed to organise my paint box." Some verbs always end in ise, of course, no matter which side of the Atlantic you're on. There are also some American words, such as analyze, that always end in yze.

It's not always as simple as it seems.

Quote by Magical_felix


Actually... I don't even know what that means. Over my head I suppose.

Quote by Magical_felix


What I do know is that you don't have any RRs either... The plot thickens.