Thank You Soupers! - Team Poetrysoup's Blog

Thank YOU Soupers for keeping PoetrySoup a relatively CLEAN website. You Souper's police THE SOUP and we do our best to respond to your requests. So, if there is a poem or comment on the website that breaks the rules, we typically don't know about it until YOU tell us via email. When a rule is broken, just email us with the problem poem or comment. Remember, differences in opinion is not breaking Soup rules. A critique of a poem, even when not requested, is NOT breaking Soup rules. Please use sound judgement before contacting us and do not overreact. If YOU BREAK THE RULES, do not get mad at us when your poem or account is deleted. You knew the rules beforehand, just adhere to them...simple.

While we respect our Poets' freedom of expression, there are certain subjects and content that will not be allowed on PoetrySoup. Posting poems containing this content will result in deletion of your poetry and possible membership suspension for repeat offenders. Examples of unacceptable content or subjects are:

• Sexually Explicit (X-Rated) Language
• Profanity (Curse Words or Abbreviated Curse Words)
• Nasty Comments (E.g. "This is CRAP!!!")
  
• Vulgarity
• Personal Attacks, Battles, or Slamming Soup Members (Do not use a member's name in poems or comments - unless it is positive!!!)
• Hateful Expressions (E.g. "I should have killed her")

Joyce Johnson Date: 1/6/2013 4:33:00 PM Thank you Soup for having and enforcing certain limits. I am proud to found on your site. Sincerely, Joyce Login to Reply

Charmaine Chircop Date: 1/6/2013 12:01:00 AM It would be great if the site would be divided into two..One part for kids and teens...and the other part 18plus.That way adults can expreme themselves as they wish..and teens or kids would still be able to write their poetry.I know its easier said than done but its just my idea.Happy New Year to all Login to Reply Charmaine Chircop Date: 1/7/2013 12:48:00 AM Im already watching what Christina absorbs ..Till now she s still in fairyland..and her only passion is smurfs and munchkins:) Charmaine Chircop Date: 1/7/2013 12:46:00 AM If Christina would stay in front of the computer..I definetely be there watching what she s doing when it comes to that Ruben.Its my responsibility to check what she s reading and not restricting what others write.I can t cover her eyes everytime some nude painting is on show..I can t close her ear everytime mazini sings va fan.... I do believe when she s old enough to write adults poetry is the same time she s old enough to read it.Till she s innocent to know how to write certain things..she s innocent enough not to understand.She s going to be in the real world after all sooner or later.I hate lapsus and restricting the muse from doing its job but its my opinion.

Joe Flach Date: 1/5/2013 6:12:00 PM I love what most people are saying here and conquer with most of the sentiments. The only additional suggestion I would add is: Try to email the poet first and communicate directly to them your concern about their poem. Give them the benefit of the doubt that the offense was unintentional and can be fixed. If, after that, you still have a concern, then notify Team PS. We can try to resolve issues one on one before turning in our fellow poet to the PS Police. It may be a simple misunderstanding or innocent mistake with a simple soultion. Other than that - I agree - its PS's site and they have the right to make and enforce the rules as they see fit. Login to Reply

Debra Squyres Date: 1/5/2013 11:20:00 AM I personally applaud the soup for setting boundaries. There are other sites that allow what is not allowed here and all are free to post there whatever they wish. Keep up the good work, Team Poetry Soup !! Login to Reply James Fraser Date: 1/5/2013 2:46:00 PM I also concur totally :)

Charlotte Puddifoot Date: 1/5/2013 5:06:00 AM we all obviously have sexual experiences otherwise none of us would have children, so why is it that we are so deeply affronted by poems on the subject? it's just another experience in life and art should imitate life...there are too many people trying to police other people in this world... Login to Reply Team Poetrysoup Date: 1/5/2013 7:08:00 AM I'm sure most parents here (including you) don't take their children to XXX movies, so drawing the line is not unusual. Some people just draw it in different places.

Charles Henderson Date: 1/4/2013 10:00:00 PM One other point I wanted to make and did not have the room. It is usually the same people all the time who complain most, of being censored. Most of the people, most of the time, try to stay well within good propriety, but the same few are always pushing the limit. Login to Reply

Charles Henderson Date: 1/4/2013 9:39:00 PM Ruben, If you have a 12 year old or younger kid on the soup reading some of the things that older people could care less about, it does make a difference. If the soup would hold the membership age to 18, I don't think anyone would/could complain. But until then I have to stand with enforcing the stated rules. Since the soup wrote the rules it is up to them and them only to interpret their meaning and make the final decision on what is or isn't appropriate soup material. None of us have the right to demand they remove or leave any particular work. There would be a growth period while we learn what they are likely to take off, but I think most basically know already. Cyndi has the key. Login to Reply James Fraser Date: 1/5/2013 2:29:00 PM Poetry Soup has to remain exactly as it was intended to be, and that's for all ages. I applaud this totally, and I always will......

Team Poetrysoup Date: 1/4/2013 9:33:00 PM 20 - 30% of the users of this website are under the age of 18. Login to Reply

Team Poetrysoup Date: 1/4/2013 9:31:00 PM @Ruben, of course it is subjective. What is NOT subjective? There are PLENTY of poetry sites that allow anything. That is not the choice of the owners of THIS website. Not all bars are nude bars. Not all music companies produce gangster rap. The owners of the company decide. Login to Reply Joann Grisetti Date: 1/5/2013 8:26:00 AM Thank you. Everything has a place, just not all of it here. I can post elesewhere if I want to get slammed.

Cyndi Macmillan Date: 1/4/2013 7:41:00 PM A direct question for Soup Administration... please... do you consider the Song of Solomon vulgar? If you say, no, I have a better understanding of what you deem acceptable. If you say yes, I have another decision to make. Now, I do understand, as others SHOULD, that this site is for all age groups (we did not sign a "I'm 18 or older" waver when we signed up for a membership) so I understand the need to stay clean, promote a safe environment for the 12 plus group, but I also believe that sensuality can exist in well written poetry, tastefully written. Are all poems that even suggest the sensual forbidden? Thank you in advance for a response, Cyndi Login to Reply Team Poetrysoup Date: 1/4/2013 9:26:00 PM No, to Song of Solomon being vulgar...we LOVE it.

Joe Flach Date: 1/4/2013 5:24:00 PM I am somehow reminded of the old joke where a psychiatrist is doing an ink-blot test on a patient. With every ink-blot he shows, the patient describes the explicitly sexual scene he sees in the ink blots. The psychiatrist finally states: “You are one perverted and sick individual”, to which the patient replies, “What do you mean, you’re the guy with all the dirty pictures!” Profanity, it seems, is in the eye of the beholder. Login to Reply

Joann Grisetti Date: 1/4/2013 4:23:00 PM There are many poems here that I start to read and do not finish, usually because they are poorly written or just plain boring. But everyone has as much right as I have to post and be read. If I start a poem and feel uncomfortable, I just go to another poem. Thanks to TPS for hosting a site like this. Login to Reply

James Fraser Date: 1/4/2013 3:06:00 PM I think as adults we know the boundaries that shouldn't be crossed. Love, romance & eroticism generally mirrors across cultures. Until as such times I read something on the Soup that is genuinely degrading and disgusting, I'll support such writes. This is indeed a poetry site, where many topics are freely available to be written about and shared. Just my view ladies & gents :) :) Login to Reply