Cleaning up the Soup Kitchen

It's been 9 days since I've posted in PS because of being needed by my sister. She's progressing, but very slowly. Thank you to those who've expressed your concern and offered prayers for her recovery.  My granddaughter is over her crisis.

I've had little time or desire to peek into PS, but from what I've seen and been told, not only is AI rampant but plagiarism has returned.  I ask you, poets... which do you consider to be the bigger offender?


A poet's voice will not be drowned out in obscurity
when from our conscience thoughts it is displayed.
But when the soup is riddled with AI cheating
and plagiarism, it's rancidly sour with impurities.

No surge of waves will stop a poet's ink from flowing
nor will gusting tempest winds cast their pens away.
It's the deep desire to write that all of us are owing
to the need of words seeking escape from the mind.

Those of us who write from heart and soul...
yes, that sounds like an overused cliche,' but AI
poetry is just a click away, written by machines
and plagiarists steal it from another source...
posting it as their own. It's demeaning to the Soup,
or as Jan would say, "It's nothing more than poop!"

I would like to think the community is worth saving
but I've seen no signs of that taking place.
Indifference is not the attitude anyone should take.
If the site matters, clean it up... for goodness sake.
Leave your thoughts in comments if you're craving
a say and I'll respond when I can from a hospital room.

None of us should take for granted a single day of life
or our family and friendships for we are not immune
to life threatening issues that always take precedence
over everything else beneath the glowing haloed moon.
Copyright © | Year Posted 2025


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Date: 6/23/2025 6:37:00 AM
Lin, you raise something, which has global implications. Any private information service (like PS) has an ethical responsibility to enforce rules of behavior. That costs time and money, and thus far, the ability to make money for many sites has trumped enforcing the rules. This has been true of the major social media sites and could well define what we have here too. Allowing plagiarism and AI-generated poetry demeans us all. Stopping it costs time and money. Will PS rise to the occasion?
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Lane Avatar
Lin Lane
Date: 7/13/2025 10:31:00 AM
Nope, the site remains in the doldrums and will continue to plummet since it's not being dutifully governed by its administrator (s). There's a yin and yang, more like a 'Yank' from some who enjoy pretending they're all about love, peace and all that gook when they throw out a fishhook hoping innocent fish will bite and believe their banter. Example: My blog followed by one to counter the reality of the site's issues. It's the usual pitfall, so I say let them eat cake.
Date: 6/23/2025 3:08:00 AM
Dear linnersz, well expressed, i always am put off by plagiarism, pathological liars, stealing, etc etc it definitely is in my opinion ~ deceitful, disheartening, disappointing, despicable, disgusting and much more. I dont even have enough words to express or to try and understand or advocate against the hypocrisy. All i can say is the world is in chaos, and the ones who do what they do should maybe think of doing good and of karma, and if they dont believe in karma maybe just think of God. And like ive said; i dont use ai and i dont plagiarize and i am against any deliberate deceit, or stealing of others heartfelt poems. Sending you light
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Lane Avatar
Lin Lane
Date: 6/23/2025 4:44:00 AM
Thank you, Ink for your comments of gift of light. This was written to shed light on plagiarism and AI... thus far being ignored by admin. Granted, a trivial thing when compared to the world in chaos, but if one point in the loss of integrity allows to go unchallenged, what next?
Date: 6/22/2025 8:51:00 AM
Rumour has it Lin, a serial plagiarist is back on the soup, trying to rebuild a following perhaps, who knows? it’s sad really, and highly likely that mental health issues are at play, as there is nothing to be gained by copy and pasting another poets work, Yes there are bigger and more important issues going on in our lives, speaking of which I’m glad to hear your sister’s health is progressing albeit slowly, cheers David
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Kavanagh  Avatar
David Kavanagh
Date: 6/22/2025 10:44:00 AM
I agree Admin are lame ducks, when it comes to policing plagiarism and AI!
Lane Avatar
Lin Lane
Date: 6/22/2025 10:18:00 AM
It's not a rumor, David. I've seen proof of more than one copied word for word. I've posted my thoughts on it and I'm done advocating for poets... real poets to care. It should be dealt with by the 'administrators.' "Serial plagiarist" would be a funny title but there's nothing humorous about someone who's recommitting the theft by plagiarizing many times per day and claiming it as home grown.
Date: 6/22/2025 3:50:00 AM
Lin, hope your sister is doimg bette.tYour poem reflects my feelings about the soup at the moment and it is heartbreaking to see it being destroyed. Sad, that some sponsors are ignoring the problem. it's an insult to all poets who actually write true poetry. But, we will survive this, we have survived other disasters on the soup, and true poets will rise to the top again
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Lane Avatar
Lin Lane
Date: 6/22/2025 4:11:00 AM
Thank you, Constance. It'll be a long road and a lot of work for Fran to regain what she's lost, but she'll not be doing it alone. I agree with everything you've written, and I've always known what the site means to you. Your diligence in conducting fair contests is noted.
La France Avatar
Constance La France
Date: 6/22/2025 3:57:00 AM
Soup used to be known for its welcoming community. Now it is known as a place to post ai junk and plagerised poems. Those of us who care about soup need to speak up, these poems will never place in my contests. I check every single poem on 3 Ai checkers and for plagerism also which is not easy to do.
Date: 6/21/2025 8:35:00 PM
They plagiarized because they are exhibitionist who want attention. These aren't people who appreciate poetry. These are people who have a sick need to be noticed. Thanks for bringing this up.
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Lane Avatar
Lin Lane
Date: 6/22/2025 4:05:00 AM
Thanks for adding your thoughts on the issue, Hilda.
Date: 6/21/2025 5:18:00 PM
You have been missed Lin, but family always comes first and you have had so much to deal with. the soup kitchen is in dire need of cleaning out especially those who plagerise poems - it is disgusting to see that a poet who died in 1990 has her poem on soup in June 2025 - I have this and others . it is bringing the site into disrepute - lets hope soup admin do their job and remove the offending person from the site. hugs Jan xx
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Lane Avatar
Lin Lane
Date: 6/22/2025 4:05:00 AM
Admin doing anything immediately? as if. Thank you for being so supportive, Jan. I didn't think you'd mind me mentioning what you think of the AI use and plagiarism.
Allison Avatar
Jan Allison
Date: 6/21/2025 5:20:00 PM
At the end of the day with AI the poet is pretending they have written a poem but it is being generated by a bot. Plagiarism is theft of another poets work, it is a crime and it should be stopped immediately by admin
Date: 6/21/2025 2:48:00 PM
Lin, A great poem and I agree with you 100 percent. It's disheartening to see all the AI and plagiarism debauchery going on. The integrity of the site is disappearing with all of this non-sense. Hope your sister makes a full recovery soon. Thinking of you. - hugs.
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Lane Avatar
Lin Lane
Date: 6/22/2025 4:02:00 AM
Thank you for commenting on my thoughts with your own, Tania. A PS report card would show it failing in many areas. I'm grateful for your kind concern about Fran. ;-)
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