# Wusoup help (full text)

Source: https://www.wusoup.com/help

---

# Welcome
URL: https://www.wusoup.com/help

# Welcome

## What is Wusoup?

Wusoup is a free, clean, **online text chat community** designed to **spark joy** 🫶

It's privately made and focused on: **positive vibes**, quality over quantity, and **meaningful connection**.

It has *very* strict community rules, including rules against dating and sexual content.

This is a **place for friendship**, not hitting on people.

Log in at [www.wusoup.com](https://www.wusoup.com) or keep scrolling for more info 👇👇

## Convince me this is cool

I'll do my best-

You've found a weird thing on the internet, *squee*! 🦑

This is **Wusoup**! It's one person's (https://www.wusoup.com/help/development-story) experiment in creating a **little online haven** free of sleaze, toxicity, advertising, and other bullshit.

It's a simple, meaningful thing: **a safe place to text with random strangers online**.

An old-school idea on a delusional mission (https://www.wusoup.com/help/mission) to tackle today's rampant cynicism and disconnection.

It's a throw-back to an earlier internet full of **wonder**, **possibility**, and **silliness**. Of uplifting serendipity and **real one-on-one human connection**. Of friendship and understanding. Of diversity of experiences and beliefs. Of **community** and of **optimism**.

It's an unashamedly *exclusive* community designed to *exclude assholes*.

There are SUPER strict rules against dating/sexual content (https://www.wusoup.com/help/rules) and aggressive/hateful content (https://www.wusoup.com/help/rules), and those rules are enforced **by the community**. Unique reputation (https://www.wusoup.com/help/reputation) and karma (https://www.wusoup.com/help/karma) systems **incentivise kindness over rage bait**, and **respectful debate** over snap judgements.

Users award each other (https://www.wusoup.com/help/kudos) for being inspiring, supportive, and empathetic.

Anyone aged 19 or older can [create a free account](https://www.wusoup.com/). Existing members can also invite friends (https://www.wusoup.com/help/invites); an invite acts as a vouch, and members are held responsible for those they invite.

Learn more about: Wusoup's mission (https://www.wusoup.com/help/mission), Community Rules (https://www.wusoup.com/help/rules), development story (https://www.wusoup.com/help/development-story), or keep reading...

### The **problem**

There are **awesome, friendly** people all around you. Interesting, smart, and funny people with cool stories and weird hobbies. People that **want to connect**.

But how on earth do you **find them**?

Social apps keep you trapped in your **old circles**, or just reinforce the same **old bubbles**. And people on dating/hookup apps aren't looking for friends, they're there to get laid or fish for sexual content.

Half the accounts you encounter online are trying to sell you something or get something from you, *if* there's even a real human on the other side (good luck).

And in these environments, the truth is that even if you *do* luck out and cross paths with someone cool, **everyone's guard is up** because \<gestures at the internet>.

**Human connection needs a baseline level of trust**, and most online communities just don't provide that today. Trust is fragile - it takes only a handful of jerks to ruin it for everyone.

So typical random chat apps predictably and quickly degenerate into cesspools. Walking through the door means signing up for unsolicited dick pics and crypto scams. Yaay.

### The **solution**

Wusoup innovates in my favourite way - by **being lazy**, and just doing the **common-sense stuff** that somehow no one else seems to be doing.

1. Wusoup asks folks to read the Community Rules (https://www.wusoup.com/help/rules), create a proper profile, and make an effort. Members are **responsible for those they invite**. The goal is **not** to grow at all costs as quickly as possible (gasp!). It's to grow with care, tending to the community's mission (https://www.wusoup.com/help/mission) and ensuring that the unique culture is protected.
2. Wusoup's Community Rules (https://www.wusoup.com/help/rules) are strict, and **enforced**. People are held accountable for bad behaviour!
3. Wusoup's reputation (https://www.wusoup.com/help/reputation) and karma (https://www.wusoup.com/help/karma) systems **incentivize good behaviour** and **communal responsibility**.

What's the best way to meet good people in real life? **Through a mutual friend**. Because if your friend vouches for someone, that person is less likely to be an NFT-pushing axe murderer. By acting as liaison, your friend is putting their own **reputation on the line**.

And the same principle applies here. Vouching for someone has been a fundamental mechanism of human trust for thousands of years.

Meeting new people on Wusoup is like meeting people through a mutual friend - except that **the whole community is that mutual friend**.

The Wusoup community helps **hold members to a high standard**. Folks not acting in accordance with the community's mission (https://www.wusoup.com/help/mission) **are actively banned**.

When a small minority of assholes is allowed to run amok and ruin things, they scare off everyone else - amplifying the misleading and disheartening perception that everyone online is just an asshole. They're *not*, the apps just suck.

### **Serendipity**, the app

Think of Wusoup as a small members-only club of amazing and friendly humans from around the world - all here to **text with strangers**, to **connect in kindness**, to **make friends**.

It's **random chat**, without the random genitals or scams. Focused on **quality over quantity**, substance over superficiality.

A place for **chance encounters** where the sun seems a little brighter, the atmosphere a little more *hopeful*. Kumbaya.

### The **anti-Tinder**

Wusoup's not another skeevy dating/hookup app or place that **claims** to be about friendship, when everyone's clearly just there to get laid or sext.

There's enough of those already (good grief).

Wusoup's about **chat for chat's sake**. For fun, for **making new friends**, for **good conversation**. Human to human.

It's a new spin on the excitement of old-school **anonymous internet chat**. As we remember it (i.e. better than it ever actually was).

### A strictly **creep-free** zone

Chatting to purely random strangers can be fun, until it isn't. Trolls and other creeps tend to accumulate and ruin the experience.

So Wusoup's randomness is backed by carefully designed systems that help **keep out idiots** and **maximize message reply rates**, even as the community grows.

Which means a **uniquely friendly, uniquely active** group of people from around the world.

See the [live community stats](/stats) for current activity and reply rates.

Members breaking the rules get reported and banned. Members who don't make an effort get downvoted.

### **Zero** bullshit

No spam, scams, lies, ads, bots, clickbait, tracking toolbars, microtransactions, contact harvesting, bogus user numbers, fake messages, or other nonsense.

Wusoup's handmade by one human (https://www.wusoup.com/help/development-story) (hi! 👋) that's been working on this for (checks notes) _18 years_. I'm "okay", I promise.

### Members that **actually reply**

No zombie accounts!

A big problem with other attempts at friendship apps that I've seen: **no one ever replies to messages**!

Most of the accounts you see are fake, duplicates, or long dormant. Companies are strongly incentivized to inflate their user numbers, so is it any surprise that they do? Insiders report (dude I knew at a dating app said) that as many as 80% of profiles on dating apps are fake - often bots run *by the apps themselves* to encourage paid subscriptions.

So people start treating messages as disposable trash, since you're expected to send 100 messages to get 1 reply. Is it any surprise that almost 90% of initial messages are less than 6 words long? Generic zero-effort garbage! "But there's so many users!!". Does anyone actually enjoy this charade?

In contrast, Wusoup does everything it can to **maximize real message reply rates**:

- Email addresses are **regularly re-verified**, preventing dormant disposable-email trash accounts.
- Fake or duplicate accounts are **strictly** and instantly **banned**.
- Unresponsive and low-quality accounts are **automatically hidden by default**.

Wusoup **respects your time** and won't lie to you to try keep you online. If there's no one good available right now, Wusoup will say so. **It's okay to go offline**. Have a walk. It's not okay to have to wade through infinite muck to find one good conversation - **you've got better things to do**.

So again: **quality, not quantity**.

### **Privacy**, anonymity

Wusoup doesn't tie you to your Facebook or Google identities, and its privacy policy (https://www.wusoup.com/help/privacy-policy) is short, and in plain English.

Share whatever info you'd like about yourself, or don't. Anonymity is fine, just don't lie about who you are (https://www.wusoup.com/help/rules).

Completely **nuke all your data at any time**. And no need to fight obnoxious defaults: privacy is the norm unless you say otherwise.

## Wusoup might be for you **if**

- You want to make **new friends** or **penpals**.
- You want **clean**, one-on-one, long-form **text chat**.
- You want to participate in Wusoup's mission (https://www.wusoup.com/help/mission).
- You don't mind (even embrace!) the idea of being held to community rules (https://www.wusoup.com/help/rules).

## Wusoup's probably **not** for you if

### You want a dating/hookup app

Members posting stuff that'd fit a dating/hookup app **will be banned**, simple. There's enough places online if you're looking for that kind of thing. Wusoup's a refuge for the rest of us.

### You want to filter who you see

Wusoup's about **spontaneity** and **surprise** - not micromanagement :-)

### You want video/room/group chats

Wusoup rocks **1-on-1 text chat** only, sorry. This is just the best way to get the kind of **substantial personal interactions** that Wusoup's all about. Also, words are nice - we like them here.

### You want a native mobile (iOS / Android) app

Wusoup's currently implemented as a **mobile web app only**. It's designed for use on all kinds of devices - including mobile phones, tablets, and desktops - but only in a **web browser**.

It works reasonably on mobiles this way, but native's of course nicer - and it's not native.

The reason for this is practical- Wusoup has only a single developer (https://www.wusoup.com/help/development-story) and I'd rather focus my effort on improving the core experience than on maintaining different native apps. (At least for now).

### Your idea of a quality message is 4 words long

What's wrong with a message like "heyyy", or "hi, how r u?". Quite a bit actually.

Aside from being dull af, this kind of generic zero-substance nonsense isn't going to lead to the kind of connection we're aiming for here.

These messages don't tell the other person anything about you, and they show that you've spent zero effort reading the person's profile.

If a bot from 2010 could provide a more stimulating conversation, there's a good chance you're going to just attract downvotes.

So please take advantage of Wusoup's high response rates by actually **putting some thought** into your content. You may be pleasantly surprised to see how effort pays off here.

### You're going to be creepy / try to hit on people

Honestly, you'll just get downvoted and banned. Also, I'll be disappointed in you. Don't think I'm kidding...

### You don't think funny hats are funny

ಠ_ಠ

---

# What's New?
URL: https://www.wusoup.com/help/news

# What's New?

[See what's new in Wusoup v3](/whats-new-in-v3)

[RSS feed](/help/rss.xml) | [Vote on upcoming stuff](https://trello.com/b/u3mUnmYp/wusoup)

> [Ping me](/peter) if you'd like to be part of the feedback Discord!

### 2026 September

* Smarter **recommended users**
* Send **animated GIFs** in chats!
* Richer **markdown formatting** in chats and profiles
* Cute new **generic avatars** 🤗

### 2026 August

- New **compact chats** list
- Add slower, async **Topic Tango** options
- Can now **refresh upcoming users**
- **Reduced data usage**, esp. on mobiles
- Added **emoji reactions**! 🫶
- **Faster loading** speed
- Audio notifications no longer **interrupt music**
- Can now **filter unread messages**
- Support more image shapes and sizes in chats
- Better **mobile chat** layout and keyboard handling
- Now "**stay logged in**" by default
- Fixed many UI issues on iOS
- **Chat anniversaries**! (Thanks to a Capybara 🙏)
- Can now **reset skips** in the preferences screen
- Automod improvements (keeping back the tide 'o filth)
- Users can now join/login via **Facebook**
- Lots more UI polish!

### 2026 July

- Can now see **previously blocked users** in your options screen
- Can now join/login via your **Google** or **Discord** account
- Way better landing page! ⭐️
- Better [community stats](https://www.wusoup.com/stats) page 📊
- Reduced noisy auto alerts from Wusoup guy 🙊
- Can now **send invites** again
- Can now **quote reply** specific messages in chats
- Can now **mute** individual users
- Modernized **email style**
- Lots more **UI polish**
- Brought back the **reputation bar**
- **Full-sized photo** view
- New **chat privacy** controls
- New **profile prompts** to help write a great profile
- Streamlined **community browsing**
- Can now specify **what languages** you're comfy chatting in
- Can now **search full chat history**, no limits
- Way more **automod improvements**
- Now highlight **related tags**
- Now **suggest tags** when editing your profile

### 2026 June

At least *1.5 donuts* (🍩½) worth of updates, lots of long-time prep finally paying off:

- **HUGE visual overhaul** - tons of big and small tweaks 💅
- **Dark mode** and themes 🕺 (heard some folks were waiting for this??) 🦇
- Real **device-level notifications** (even when Wusoup is closed) 📳
- New **split profile/chat** view (experimental!)
- Now keep **way more messages** for each chat
- Chats are now **kept in sync** better
- Can now send **audio messages** 🔈
- Can now **mute audio** notifications 🔇
- Can now add **image captions** in chats
- Can now **drag photos** into chats
- Can now **drag to reorder photos** on profile
- Now show **last message snippets** on dashboard
- Now enforce **unique usernames** ❄️
- Can now remove users from your chats list via their profile
- New **random avatars** for users without any pics
- Way smarter **automod** (faster flagging of dodgy accounts, fewer false positives)
- Smarter **fake email** detection
- Better **dev workflow** to help me build faster!
- **New/unread separator** to show where new/unread messages start in chats (welcome to the world of tomorrow! 🕺🤖)
- Increased max **photo upload size**
- Added uploaded **image confirmation** (stop mis-sends) 😅
- Warn when sending **generic messages** (fewer junk messages) ⛔️
- Now **sync dismissed message alerts** across tabs/devices 🗑️
- Hover over flags to see **country name** (mouse only) 🏴‍☠️
- Ping users to get **regular feedback** on Wusoup ⭐️
- Can now **click on your kudos** to see who awarded it and when
- Can now **load more** chats in the chats list
- Can now **search** in the chats list
- Can now **clean up** stale chats from the chats list
- Much better **onboarding experience**
- Simplified Community Rules (https://www.wusoup.com/help/rules)
- More to come (month is still going, and I'm still approximately alive...)

### 2026 May

- Finally **back to work**!
- Better **funnel analytics** (prep for future promotion work)
- Groundwork for future stuff

### 2025 November - 2026 April

Unfortunately needed to pause development for some unexpected Life stuff 🙏

### 2025 October

- Topic Tango (https://www.wusoup.com/help/topic-tango) now available (more topics coming later)!
- Explain why **unavailable users** might not be available
- First groundwork for future dark mode, etc.
- Reduced **data usage**
- Now **hide leaderboard positions** until users have exchanges some words
- Can now see your own "**more about you**" text in empty chats

### 2025 September

- Chats list
	- Don't **auto remove unavailable chats** (less confusing if users remove these manually)
	- Increase **max number of chats**
	- Warn about **hidden chats** when you have more than the max number

- User browser
	- Be smarter about when/not to show the **same users again** when browsing

- Other stuff
	- Several **automod** improvements

### 2025 August

- Use **less data**, better performance especially on mobiles
- Chats
	- Can now send **images** in chats 🐙 (need >= "good" community rating)
	- Chat input now **floats** when you scroll down 👻
	- Smoother UI (less janky on ~~old~~ tired devices)
	- Never hide button to send message

- User browser
	- Added **next user** animation 🍿
	- Fixed missing **online now** dot

- Profiles
	- Fixed issue with text being incorrectly lowercased 🫣
	- Can now upload more **image types** (anything your browser can convert to a JPEG)

### 2025 July

- User browser
	- **Prioritise online users**
	- **Faster loading** of next user
	- Add **online indicator** for upcoming users
	- Can now **reset skipped users**

- Chats
	- Now auto save **draft messages**
	- **Smarter chats list**: better at choosing who to show
	- Can now **filter and sort** chats list
	- Support chat ("Wusoup guy") now behaves like other chats in your chats list
	- You can now **pin** up to 50 users (up from 20). If you try to pin more, it'll auto unpin the user least recently active.

- Algorithm
	- Smarter **matching**: better prioritize users based on shared interests
	- Smarter **message alerts**: don't alert about low-quality messages
	- Smarter **automod**: catch more sketchy behaviour, faster

- Misc
	- Use **less data** on mobiles
	- Regularly **re-verify email addresses** to help cull dead/unresponsive accounts

### 2025 June

- **User browser**: separate "**rated users**" and "**quarantine zone**" areas
- **User browser**: show thumbnails for upcoming users
- "**New**" and "**online**" user counts now way more accurate
- *Big* improvements to the algorithm that chooses which users to show when browsing, and in what order
- Dropped "**serendipity mode**" live chat feature, plan to replace it with something much cooler in an upcoming release
- Profiles clearly indicate whose turn it is to message ("your turn to reply", etc)
- Lots of minor bug fixes and backend improvements
- Lots of groundwork for future stuff

### 2025 May

- Removed progress bars for community reputation (these were maybe placing too much emphasis on ratings, and making downvotes look overly severe)
- Fixed issue preventing users from viewing the profile of someone that blocked them
- Removed default headline and "about me" text from profiles
- Users without at least a username and headline set will now be hidden by default
- More background improvements

### 2025 April

- Profiles now show **country flags**
- Profiles now show when users **joined Wusoup**
- Displayed community reputation is now approximate (e.g. ">80% positive")
- Significant improvements to automod speed and accuracy
- More background improvements

### 2025 March

- Major background improvements to support upcoming stuff

### 2025 February

- Community ratings (https://www.wusoup.com/help/reputation) have been rebalanced, some users may now have a **higher rating** for the same votes
- Karma (https://www.wusoup.com/help/karma) levels have been rebalanced. Most users will now have a **higher level** though leaderboard positions should be unchanged
- Kudo (https://www.wusoup.com/help/kudos) rewards are now earned predictably, **every 5 karma levels**
- Karma details screen reworked, simplified
- Karma details screen now says when the next rewards are due
- Kudos screen now says how many words are needed when you need to "chat more"
- Increased max number of profile images from 8 to 12
- Bill Murray and Jennifer Lawrence are finally gone 🤫
- Help system's burger menu button is now more obvious on small mobiles
- Various UI improvements, esp. for mobiles
- Landing page and onboarding tweaks
- Fixed a couple bugs with image popups
- Personal dropdown menu on Chats screen now more obvious
- Misc help portal (https://www.wusoup.com/help) improvements

### 2025 January

The first batch of user-facing v3 improvements is now available for use by **everyone**:

- New reputation (https://www.wusoup.com/help/reputation) system (ability to upvote, downvote users)
- New kudos (https://www.wusoup.com/help/kudos) system (award public compliments to awesome users)
- New help portal (https://www.wusoup.com/help) (clarified mission (https://www.wusoup.com/help/mission), Community Rules (https://www.wusoup.com/help/rules), and much more!)
- Improved karma (https://www.wusoup.com/help/karma) systems (clearer formula, updated in realtime, progress bar)
- Improved user reporting (https://www.wusoup.com/help/reputation) (get updated on review, earn karma)

See the short video below for more info, and please let me know (https://www.wusoup.com/help/contact) what you think! 🙏

[▶ First new features go live](https://youtu.be/l96cdo1Pmi8)

### 2024 December

The first batch of v3 improvements is now available for testing by Wusoup's Advisory Team (https://www.wusoup.com/help/advisory-team):

- New reputation (https://www.wusoup.com/help/reputation) system (ability to upvote, downvote users)
- Improved karma (https://www.wusoup.com/help/karma) systems (clearer formula, updated in realtime, progress bar)
- Improved user reporting (https://www.wusoup.com/help/reputation) (get updated on review, earn karma)
- Migrated to an entirely **new chat backend** for better performance (to support more users), and to support a number of upcoming features

[▶ First new features go live](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFSXOIB1SNY)

### 2024 September

Officially announced that I've started work on Wusoup version 3! 🎉

[▶ Wusoup v3 announcement](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrtCQsAbsI8) 

---

# The Mission
URL: https://www.wusoup.com/help/mission

# The Mission
## Manifesto of an Internet Refuge

Today we are more networked than any other time in history, and more *divided*. Toxicity leaks from every corner- hostility, pessimism, and paranoia (often justified).

Everyone has an agenda, every interaction is somehow a means to some ulterior end. Bots, scams, lies, and propaganda have become the norm.

We judge each other by the labels we ourselves keep. Divisiveness is the default, and disagreement intolerable. You're with me or against me. Everything is zero-sum, and discourse is a waste of time. If you don't agree with me, you're evil, stupid, or both.

It's a cold way to live, cynicism breeding cynicism. And it *isn't good*. We can and *must* do better!

Wusoup is an experiment in something different. A shot in the dark, a hill to die (or thrive) on. It's an attempt to **re-experience a small part of an old half-remembered internet** full of wonder, possibility, and silliness.

An internet filled with hobbyist homepages, and weird passionate people from the far corners. A place for sincerity, and surprises. For serendipity. For friendliness and *fun*. Creativity free from corporate interests, us-or-them politicised bullshit, and engagement (often rage) bait. Free from labels and the perverse incentives of algorithmically curated insular feeds and filtering.

It's the smallest thing imaginable - **a safe place to talk one-on-one with strangers on the internet**. A niche members-only community, and throwback to a different time and mindset. A place to meet people you wouldn't otherwise meet.

People like you, and people *totally different* from you.

It's a safe place to learn about others, their life, their experiences, their worldview, their dreams, their fears. It's a place for empathy and understanding, for bridges and friendship. To connect, **human-to-human**.

It's a place to welcome diverse new-comers with friendliness, genuine curiosity, and respect. To provide each other with compassion in a complex and uncertain world. To provide each other with guidance, goodwill, and **fellowship**.

A small haven free from the toxicity and sleaze, from ads, from tracking, from hidden destructive incentives. Where we value substance over superficiality, and **real inclusiveness** (including differences of opinion!).

Where we hold each other accountable to the community rules (https://www.wusoup.com/help/rules) that we believe we're each capable of. Where we **make an effort**.

Wusoup is a passion project created and run transparently by one real (and clearly sane) [person](https://www.taoensso.com) that's been working on it (https://www.wusoup.com/help/development-story) for 18+ years. There's no other owners, investors, or influences pulling strings. Much of its tech is [open source](https://www.taoensso.com).

The goal isn't maximum growth, or even maximum engagement. Your time and attention are precious. The goal here is **maximum meaning**. Human connection isn't quick, and it isn't easy. But it's worth doing, it's worth trying.

If that sounds like your kind of place, you can [start chatting on Wusoup](https://www.wusoup.com/) - it's free, and there's no app to download.

\- Peter Taoussanis ("The Wusoup guy" (https://www.wusoup.com/help/development-story))

---

# Community Rules
URL: https://www.wusoup.com/help/rules

# Community Rules

Wusoup is a small, **high-trust** chat community for friendship and meaningful connection. Its mission: to be an internet refuge (https://www.wusoup.com/help/mission).

Wusoup's community rules are **strictly enforced**. They're here to protect an unusual level of **trust**, **openness**, and **meaningful connection**.

These rules won't be to everyone's taste, and *that's okay* - Wusoup isn't trying to appeal to everyone, and isn't afraid to challenge its community to embody its mission (https://www.wusoup.com/help/mission).

If you're here in good faith, you probably don't need to worry. Connect sincerely, be kind, make an effort, and you'll be fine. If you're here for dating, sexual content, spam, abuse, fakery, or lazy copy-paste messages, this isn't the place.

Happy with all that? You can [join Wusoup here](https://www.wusoup.com/).

> Quick version (tldr)
>
> - **Adults only:** you must be at least **19 years old** to use Wusoup.
> - **No dating or sexual content:** Wusoup is **NOT** a dating site, and dating content **will get you banned**.
> - **Be kind and respectful:** no aggressive, hateful, degrading, threatening, or creepy behaviour.
> - **Be real:** be yourself or be anonymous, but don't lie about who you are. No spam, bots, fake accounts, or multiple accounts.
> - **No political content on profiles:** this is a place to connect, not pick a fight.
> - **Make an effort:** generic, zero-effort messages and profiles are unwelcome here.
>
> The account and anti-abuse rules below also cover solicitation, other platforms, personal details, disposable email, and karma/kudos gaming.

Wusoup's rules are enforced by me (Peter (https://www.wusoup.com/help/development-story)), an auto moderator (automod), and most importantly be **the community itself** through reports (https://www.wusoup.com/help/reputation). (Separately, members also rate (https://www.wusoup.com/help/reputation) each other - that's about whether they'd recommend someone, not about the rules.) The point isn't to define an exact punishment for each misstep: context matters, and good faith is taken seriously. Deliberate abuse, dating/sexual content, spam, deception, and repeated bad behaviour may lead to warnings, suspension, or banning.

> Don't like these rules?
>
> Wusoup is an experiment to see if it's possible to create a **safe space free of toxicity** and of the exhausting crap so common on and off the internet everywhere today.
>
> It's a place intended for a **niche audience** aligned with a very specific mission (https://www.wusoup.com/help/mission). The mission *won't appeal* to everyone, and _that's okay_! There are a million other communities *without* such strict rules.
>
> If you don't want a taco, you don't go to a taco stand 😊
>
> So an appeal to you: if you aren't 100% on board with what Wusoup's about, **please respect the members of this community** and let them have their space - there's _so few_ places like this for them to go.
>
> Thank you!! 🙏
>
> \- Peter Taoussanis ("The Wusoup guy" (https://www.wusoup.com/help/development-story))

## Core rules

### Adults only

You must be at least **19 years old**.

I know this sucks, but there's no exceptions - sorry!! 🙏

> Motivation and details
>
> There are *many* communities that allow younger folks, but this is unfortunately **not** one of them. Wusoup is strictly for **adults 19 and over ONLY**.
>
> I know this seems arbitrary or unfair, and I really (sincerely) am sorry about the restriction. But this community is a 1-person operation (https://www.wusoup.com/help/development-story) and allowing younger folks on here would mean safety/legal risks and moderation needs that I honestly just can't afford. Allowing any children would put the whole community at risk.
>
> If you are under 19, please **do not attempt to join** - you **will be banned**.

### No dating or sexual content

No flirting, sexting, hookups or nudes. Wusoup is **NOT** a dating site and dating content **WILL** get you banned.

This isn't Tinder. Wusoup is a refuge for those of us that want something *different*. Wusoup has a **no tolerance** policy against **ANY** kind of sexual or dating content, including "harmless flirting", and engaging in dating/sexual talk **initiated by others**!

Your **relationship status** and **sexual orientation** are not relevant for your profile!! Including this info makes it look like you're trying to skirt this rule, so it will just lead to your account getting flagged.

> Motivation and details
>
> There's nothing inherently wrong with dating or sexual content, but:
>
> - When you allow even a *little* dating or sexual content, **all interactions** get dragged in that direction. You attract a very particular kind of crowd, everyone's on the look-out for ulterior motives, and *all* other kinds of connection get trampled.
>
> - There are already **innumerable** other communities for that stuff!
>
> Wusoup's goal is fundamentally different. It aims to be a place:
>
> - Clean and safe for humans of *all kinds* to connect **without ulterior motives**.
> - To learn about each others' lives, beliefs, and dreams.
> - To build understanding and **bridge differences**, to find inspiration, to share joy.
>
> This is NOT a community for dating, and it's NOT one of the innumerable bullshit dating apps that claim to be "not for dating" and then go on to promote dating at every turn.
>
> Dating content **will get you banned**, and members are **actively encouraged** to report folks breaking this rule. Members actually **earn karma** by helping keep the community clean.
>
> All of the following are **strictly prohibited**:
>
> - Flirting, and sexual comments or compliments. No, you're not "just being friendly".
> - Asking for nudes, hookups, or sexting - *even if the other person initiated*!
> - Any profile content that'd typically be found on a dating app, including "single" tags, tags about your sexual orientation or preferences, suggestive photographs or text content, mirror/topless/duckface selfies, etc. You're more than your relationship status, sexual identity, or figure - focus on all the *other* stuff that makes you you!
>
> But isn't this stifling? THOUGHT POLICE ANYONE!?
>
> So here's the thing: drawing precise lines in the sand is actually really difficult. Wusoup's mission isn't to squash freedom of expression.
>
> But let's face reality: if you try to allow a "little bit of flirting", there's going to be an army of assholes that try to push the line and ruin the space for everyone.
>
> So the deal is - *this stuff just isn't allowed here*. Is that a bit stifling? **Yes**, and that's okay. It's a conscious trade-off to help prevent Wusoup from degenerating into yet another internet cesspool.
>
> Not everyone will be on board with this, and **that's okay**. Wusoup isn't for them, but the other 12 of us looking for respite from the "hEY bby u so beutiful mmm".
>
> Hah! But what about nude art? WHY DO YOU HATE ART!?
>
> Look, the Wusoup community is ultimately in control of what is and isn't allowed. Everyone here is an adult, and can use common sense to judge what is and isn't in line with the intentions behind this rule.
>
> Just beware that if you're trying to skirt the line, there's a good chance you end up tripping over it and getting banned. People aren't stupid, they can tell the difference between someone being genuine, and a troll trying to justify their nonsense.

### Be kind and respectful

No aggressive, hateful, degrading, threatening, or creepy behaviour.

Wusoup is a place to learn about each other, to connect, and to **offer kindness**. **Respectful disagreement** is totally okay (even encouraged), but please **be courteous**.

Most people are doing their best to negotiate a complex world, and ultimately have **good intentions**. We start with respect here.

> Motivation and details
>
> You will meet people on Wusoup different from you, and with **different opinions**. That's part of the idea! This isn't meant to be an echo chamber.
>
> Feel free to disagree with folks here, and to talk things out. That's constructive, even when it's difficult. Just **be respectful**. Insulting people, threatening them, or swearing at them - that's *not okay*.
>
> We will not judge nor condemn one another. It's okay to believe that someone's *completely* wrong about something important, but be nice. We challenge ourselves to reach beyond our bubbles and preconceptions. To **pursue understanding** and to try **build bridges** in good faith and **with patience** and **self-reflection**.
>
> We accept that real life is complex, and issues often more nuanced than they first seem. We may be wrong about things that we feel sure about. We may change our minds. That's part of life, and it's okay (even commendable). **Talking helps us figure things out**.
>
> If a conversation with someone has become consistently unconstructive (contrast: uncomfortable) and you really can't see any way to build a bridge - consider downvoting (https://www.wusoup.com/help/reputation), blocking (https://www.wusoup.com/help/blocking), or reporting (https://www.wusoup.com/help/reputation) them if appropriate, then *move on* - don't take the bait and let things turn hateful!
>
> Even if you believe that someone is *obviously wrong* about something important - will it convince them to turn to insults or condemnation? Or is that likely to cause them to double-down?
>
> People are weird, and we can be emotional about the things we believe. Changing minds often takes both exposure to new ideas *and time*. Maybe your discussion planted a seed. Don't undo that for the temporary satisfaction of slinging insults!
>
> So please start by **assuming good faith** and by **offering respect**. You won't always be rewarded for doing that, but my hope is that you may be rewarded more often than you expect. And wouldn't that be a worthwhile surprise?

### No political content on profiles

This is a place to connect, not pick a fight. Share your hobbies and dreams, not your political team's labels.

Every damn thing has to be politicized lately - it's exhausting and divisive. So Wusoup doesn't allow political content _on profiles_.

Feel free to discuss politics in messages, just keep it respectful.

> Motivation and details
>
> Political labels offer no context or nuance, and tend to just act as rage bait - causing people to close up, and make assumptions about who you are and what you believe.
>
> That's **exclusionary**, and counter to the intention of this community: to **embrace differences of opinion**, to connect with each other on a human level, and to challenge ourselves to look **beyond our presumptions and prejudices**.
>
> You're more than your labels. Lead with that stuff.
>
> Wusoup intentionally encourages connections between *unexpected people*: people from different places, with different life experiences, with different values or world views.
>
> This community is **not** intended to be a monoculture, it's intended to be **a rich cross-section of people** - in all their complexity, contradictions, and imperfection! We're all a little nuts in our own way.
>
> This is a place to **tolerate differences**, including notably **differences of opinion**.
>
> In everyday life we don't walk around with labels above our heads - "relationship status X", "sexual orientation Y", "religion Z", "political affiliation Q", whatever.
>
> That's not natural, and it's not healthy! People are *more* than 2-dimensional labels, and trying to squeeze them into labelled echo chambers **creates perverse incentives and outcomes** - both personally, and for society.
>
> Just because someone's a Democrat or Republican or Intergalactic Toad, doesn't inherently mean they're evil/stupid/smelly. If we stop talking to each other, and stop seeing each other as human - *where does that lead*?
>
> We can choose to see only the worst in those around us, or those different from us. Or we can choose to see the **fundamental commonalities in everyone**, existing for a blink on this little speck of dust floating around in space.
>
> Wusoup believes that the vast majority of people are **trying their best** and generally have good intentions. And even when it seems like they believe something insane, that's not a reason to tell them to shut up or to try shut them out. That's the time to bring them in for a cup of tea, and to **try learn about and understand each other**.
>
> Yes, this is difficult. And that's also why it's **worth doing**. Wusoup trusts its members to **see the value in this**.
>
> We need to keep talking, and we need to **decide** to look for the common humanity in others. The alternative is *not good*.

### Be real

Be yourself or be anonymous, but don't lie about who you are.

Wusoup is a place **to be genuine**. Please **don't pretend to be someone you're not**. Use of bots or AI *will* get you banned.

> Motivation and details
>
> Genuine connection demands **sincerity**, so be yourself or be anonymous - but don't lead people to believe that you're someone that you're not.
>
> People here are asked to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, a rare and fragile opportunity worth nurturing!
>
> So please no pretending to be other members, celebrities (parody or not), or AI-generated folks. If you want to roleplay, please make that *super* clear.

### Make an effort

Respect the community's time. Generic, zero-effort messages and profiles are unwelcome here.

Lazy, low-effort content wastes everyone's time, and doesn't enable the kind of **meaningful connection** that Wusoup is about. This place isn't a *distraction* from life, it's an opportunity for the kind of increasingly rare connection that **makes life better**.

Users are expected to **put in some effort** by:

- Setting up a **proper profile**, and writing at least a little about themselves.
- Avoiding 3-word or generic copy-paste/AI messages. "hi" or "m/f?" isn't an invitation to connect, it's a red flag that you've found yourself in the wrong place.

Low-effort participation will usually get you downvoted (https://www.wusoup.com/help/reputation) rather than banned. It becomes more serious when it crosses into spam, harassment, fake/AI karma farming, or another deliberate attempt to game the community.

> Motivation and details
>
> What's wrong with just saying "hi"? Unfortunately it takes **zero effort** which means:
>
> 1. The recipient can't tell if you've even **read their profile** (and frankly, they'll assume you haven't if the best thing you can think to say is "hi").
> 2. The recipient can't tell if you're just spamming 200 different users with the same generic message.
> 3. You're putting ALL the onus on the recipient to actually **start a conversation**! Now the recipient needs to think of something to say, otherwise we end up with the infamous: "hi", "hi", \<silence> exchange ^^
>
> Wusoup is a community for folks that aren't afraid to spend a few minutes **reading a profile** before writing. And that aren't afraid to **use their words**!
>
> You don't need to be a poet, but if you're hoping to actually connect with another human - it helps to show that you're sincere about that by taking a moment to really _see_ people and to compose a greeting that recognises their unique presence.

> More info
> - How to start great chats (https://www.wusoup.com/help/messaging)
> - How to create a great profile (https://www.wusoup.com/help/your-profile)
> - How downvoting works (https://www.wusoup.com/help/reputation)

## Account and anti-abuse rules

### Don't spam or solicit

This is **not a place to market, sell, or solicit**.

> Motivation and details
>
> This is a place for real people to connect, not do guerrilla marketing.
>
> So please: no trying to find a job/client, ask for donations, or promote your Instagram, YouTube channel, or cryptocurrency/NFT.
>
> **If** you've established a relationship with someone and it happens as **a natural part of getting to know each other** - then feel free to share links to other platforms, social media accounts, and projects / channels / products of yours.
>
> But beware: if your motive is actually to fish for channel followers or money and you're chatting to people under pretence - most folks won't fall for that kind of BS. You're not being clever, you're being an asshole - and you're going to get banned. This isn't the place for "guerrilla marketing", please take it elsewhere.

### Don't pressure people onto other platforms or for personal details

People are here because they *want* to be here, and they share the details they *want* to share.

Don't pressure people to move to Instagram, Snap, WhatsApp, Telegram, or anywhere else. Don't pressure people to share details they aren't comfortable sharing.

> Motivation and details
>
> If folks wanted to be on Instagram, Snap, or anywhere else - that's where they'd be.
>
> These kinds of solicitations are almost always a transparent attempt to get around other rules, so they're seen as scammy, spammy, or pushy.
>
> If someone's hidden their age, gender, or location - it's because they wanted it hidden. Sending someone "m/f?" is no more than spam.
>
> **If** you've established a relationship with someone and it happens as **a natural part of getting to know each other** - then feel free to share links to other platforms.
>
> But beware that this is an easy way to get reported (https://www.wusoup.com/help/reputation) if you're making people uncomfortable.

### Don't create multiple accounts

Multiple accounts will be interpreted as spam, or an attempt to circumvent a ban.

> Motivation and details
>
> If you think that something may be wrong with your account, please contact me (https://www.wusoup.com/help/contact) to ask! Trying to "fix" the problem yourself by creating another account is a quick way to get all your accounts **permanently banned**.

### Don't use disposable email addresses

Disposable email addresses will be interpreted as spam, or an attempt to circumvent a ban.

> Motivation and details
>
> Disposable email addresses are used almost exclusively by spam or trash accounts, and are often used by folks trying to circumvent a ban (not allowed) or to create multiple accounts (not allowed).
>
> Even when not ill-intentioned, these accounts don't see message notifications so tend to just go dormant and waste everyone's time.
>
> So Wusoup will **regularly verify email address ownership**, and any accounts failing (re)verification will be suspended to prevent abuse and noise.

### No fake karma farming

Sending fake/spammy/AI messages to try to game Wusoup's karma (https://www.wusoup.com/help/karma) or kudos (https://www.wusoup.com/help/kudos) systems isn't allowed. Gaming will be auto-detected, and the resulting karma/kudos cancelled. Repeated attempts may lead to banning.

> Motivation and details
>
> Wusoup's about *authenticity*, and trying to game its systems for fake internet points is not in keeping with the spirit of the site. It also spoils the fun!
>
> When you see kudos on someone else's profile, isn't it nice to know that they're real - and took time and effort to earn?

---

# Contact
URL: https://www.wusoup.com/help/contact

# Contact

You can reach me (Peter Taoussanis, Wusoup's author) for questions, feedback, or whatever.

## If you're a Wusoup member

Please [write to me on Wusoup](https://www.wusoup.com/peter). This is way more convenient for me than email, so I'm a lot more likely to be able to respond or respond quickly.

Notes:

- Messages to the [Wusoup support account](https://www.wusoup.com/peter) go **directly to me** (Peter) only.
- **I read every message**, usually within 24 hours.
- I **can't always reply** to every message!

Tips:

1. If you have a question, **please ask it right away**. If just you message me "Hi", I don't know what you need! The clearer you can make your question, the more likely you'll be to get a useful answer quickly.

2. Please don't write me to report folks breaking the Community Rules (https://www.wusoup.com/help/rules). Instead, please use the report (https://www.wusoup.com/help/reputation) feature. This makes it easier for me to investigate, and allows me to award you with karma (https://www.wusoup.com/help/karma) for a helpful report!

3. I don't generally know Wusoup users by their (user)name. If you'd like to mention another user, please include the **browser URL** you see when viewing that user. This'll include their unique Wusoup user id number.

## If you are NOT a Wusoup member

Please write me an email at: `peter@wusoup.com`.

Note that it can take a while for me to reply to emails, and I might not be able to reply to all of them! 🙏

---

# Development Story
URL: https://www.wusoup.com/help/development-story

# Development Story

Hi folks! 👋

My name's Peter Taoussanis, and I'm the author and maintainer of Wusoup. Which is another way of saying that I'm the person to blame when something's broken or dumb.

I'm an [actual human](https://www.taoensso.com). Wusoup is operated through my tiny one-person company, Taoensso LLC - no employees, no investors, no ads.

Not much common sense either, so that's fun.

I started working on the project in 2008, around the time the MCU kicked off with Iron Man and a controversial casting choice in Downey Jr.

Taught myself how to build a Wusoup.
[Launched version 1 on Reddit in 2011](https://www.reddit.com/r/promos/comments/fq9at/hey_reddit_i_was_lonely_and_decided_to_do/).

Had to take a break for family reasons.
[Launched version 2 on Reddit in 2015](https://www.reddit.com/r/promos/comments/3hgyy8/hey_reddit_i_was_lonely_and_decided_to_do/).

Had to take a break for financial reasons.
And now **back in late 2024** to start on version 3 (https://www.wusoup.com/help/news)!

So, like, clearly a sensible life plan.

Why do this to myself?

Because I *really* want something like Wusoup to exist, and no one else seems to be trying.

This is a mission (https://www.wusoup.com/help/mission) for me, and I think that it's **more important today than ever**.

The internet has become a cesspool, and division is rampant. If you trust your feeds, half the world thinks you're awful and is out to get you. The future is doomed, and people are basically shit.

Good grief! I don't think that's accurate at all, I think it's BS.

People are not shit, they're mostly good - even when they disagree with one another. Most people are trying their best, care about their family and friends, and want to see the world better for their kids. We all make sense of things through our experiences and the ideas to which we're exposed.

Life is complicated, and we're all living on the same little spinning ball of dirt. We need to talk to each other, and treat each other with kindness and curiosity.

Will it solve all the world's problems tomorrow if we do that? No.
But if we're _not_ talking, and _not_ trying to build understanding - then I think we're definitely harming our odds.

Can we at least start by showing one another empathy? I think so. And Wusoup's an experiment in doing that.

A little chat app that tries to incentivise goodwill.

One silly person's stubborn attempt to try build **friendship among strangers**, and kindness in the void. Wouldn't that be cool? Isn't that worth trying?

## Links

- [My homepage](https://www.taoensso.com)
- [My open source](https://www.taoensso.com)
- [My X account](https://www.taoensso.com/x)
- [My YouTube channel](https://www.youtube.com/@ptaoussanis)

## Nostalgia

A little taste of Wusoup v2, ca. 2015 - the Pinboard, The Waves, and a suspiciously familiar "Wusoup guy":

At some point I might try to put together a proper visual history of Wusoup over the years. I have a _lot_ of screenshots going all the way back to ~2008. Please ping if you're actually interested in this.

---

# Your Profile
URL: https://www.wusoup.com/help/your-profile

# Your Profile

Your profile is where other people decide whether they can imagine having a real conversation with you.

It doesn't need to be polished or impressive. It just needs to feel like there's an actual person there: curious, specific, and willing to use their words.

People are **far** more likely to say hi (or reply to messages) when your profile gives them something human to respond to. Empty/low-effort profiles are likely to attract downvotes (https://www.wusoup.com/help/reputation), reduced visibility, or both.

## What to include

A good first pass includes:

- A username and basic profile details.
- A few specific tags for interests, hobbies, or favourite conversation topics.
- A short headline that gives people a quick sense of your personality.
- A proper intro with a few conversation starters.
- At least one photo, if you're comfortable sharing one.

The goal isn't to document your whole life. It's to give people a few good doors into a conversation.

## How to create a great profile

### Tags

Tags work best when they're **specific**.

Good tags are things that a real person could ask you about:

- "old maps"
- "forest walks"
- "weird movies"
- "learning Spanish"
- "terrible chess"

Generic tags like "music", "books", "fun", or "chat" don't say much. They can make your profile feel like a placeholder, which is exactly the kind of thing that gets downvoted (https://www.wusoup.com/help/reputation) here.

### Headline

Your headline is a tiny invitation. Try something short, warm, and a little distinctive:

- What have you been thinking about lately?
- What's a small thing you find strangely delightful?
- How would a friend describe you in one sentence?
- What's the most "you" sentence you could write?

Don't worry about sounding clever. Sincere beats polished.

### Intro

Your intro is the part that gives people enough to work with.

Useful prompts:

- What gets you excited about life?
- What's something you're trying to learn or understand?
- What's a question you enjoy asking people?
- What's a meaningful pursuit in your life right now?
- What's a funny, odd, or surprisingly formative thing that happened to you?

Write like you're opening a door, not filing a report. A few concrete details are better than a long list of labels.

## What to avoid

- It's okay to have a religion, but this isn't the place to preach.
- It's okay to be into crypto, but this isn't the place to advertise.
- It's okay to have political beliefs, but political content isn't allowed on profiles (https://www.wusoup.com/help/rules).
- It's okay to have whatever sexual orientation or relationship status, but this isn't the place to broadcast it. That information usually isn't needed for friendship, and can make it look like you're trying to skirt the no dating/sexual content (https://www.wusoup.com/help/rules) rule.
- Avoid zero-effort, copy-paste, or AI-generated profile text. Wusoup is for real people trying to connect with real people.
- Avoid overtly divisive content unless you have a very good reason to lead with it. Even when something isn't strictly against the rules, it can still undermine Wusoup's mission of connecting folks on a human level.

Labels form only a small part of our identity and experience of being human. And a label that means one thing to you might mean something different to someone else. The goal is to get people talking before they've already formed opinions about each other that may or may not be accurate.

## Photos

Photos help people feel like there's a real human behind the profile. They don't need to be fancy.

Please avoid photos that look like dating-app bait: suggestive poses, mirror selfies, shirtless photos, or anything designed mainly to attract sexual attention. That stuff sends the wrong signal here and may get you reported (https://www.wusoup.com/help/reputation).

## Visibility and privacy

Your profile options let you decide who can see you. You can also separately limit who can see each of your photos.

If you're taking a break, you can disable your account rather than deleting your account.

## How to **disable** your account

See the **Disable your account** section on your [account options](https://www.wusoup.com/wz/opts/account) screen.

Disabling your account means no one can see your profile or write to you, and you can't write anyone else.

Your login details will continue to work as usual, and you can re-enable your account any time.

## How to **delete** your account

See the **Delete all your data on Wusoup** section on your [account options](https://www.wusoup.com/wz/opts) screen:

---

# Browsing The Community
URL: https://www.wusoup.com/help/browsing

# Browsing The Community

The Browse screen helps you find people you might want to write to.

Wusoup isn't trying to show you an infinite slot machine of faces. It's trying to help you find a few people worth actually talking to.

## How browsing order works

Browsing order changes over time, but may consider things like:

- Whether the user is active/recently online.
- Whether you share interests or profile tags.
- Whether the user has a positive community reputation (https://www.wusoup.com/help/reputation).
- Whether you've already seen, skipped, pinned, blocked, or chatted with them.
- Whether the user has enough profile content to give others something to respond to.

The exact ordering isn't meant to be a game to optimize. It's meant to keep the community feeling alive, fair, and worth your time.

## Skipping users

Skipping someone just means "not now / not for me". It's not a downvote, and it doesn't hurt them.

Skipped users may not show up again for a while. That's intentional: if you skip someone, Wusoup assumes you probably want to see other people next.

If you skipped too aggressively, you may be able to **reset skipped users** from the browsing controls.

## How to browse well

Slow down. Read profiles. Don't machine-gun through people like this is Tinder with better grammar.

A good rhythm:

1. Read enough of the profile to get a real sense of the person.
2. Pin (https://www.wusoup.com/help/pinning) them if you might want to come back later.
3. Write only when you have something specific and friendly to say.
4. Skip if there's no obvious fit, no guilt required.

And if someone's profile is low-effort, creepy, aggressive, or otherwise poorly aligned with Wusoup, use reputation tools (https://www.wusoup.com/help/reputation) appropriately.

---

# Chats
URL: https://www.wusoup.com/help/chats

# Chats

The Chats screen shows a list of your active chats on Wusoup!

By default these are sorted by **most recent message**:

You can change the **sort order**, show only pinned (https://www.wusoup.com/help/pinning) chats, or filter by whose turn it is to write:

## Searching your chats list

Use the **...** menu to show search.

Search can help you quickly find chats by username, profile text, tags, or recent message text.

## Loading more chats

Wusoup shows your most relevant chats first.

Use **Load more** at the bottom of your chats list to show additional older chats.

## Removing from your chats list

You generally want to try keep your chats list short, to make it easy to **see the folks you're actively chatting with**.

Feel free to use **Remove from your chats list** for chats that are no longer relevant:

This isn't the same as blocking (https://www.wusoup.com/help/blocking). If you get a new message in a chat you've removed from your chats list, the whole chat **will show up** again.

## Removing stale chats

Use the **...** menu to remove stale chats. Wusoup will suggest long-dormant chats that can be safely removed from your chats list.

- You'll get a chance to confirm before anything is removed.
- Removed chats will reappear if the user messages you again.

---

# Messaging
URL: https://www.wusoup.com/help/messaging

# Messaging

Messaging is the heart of Wusoup. The goal isn't to send as many messages as possible, it's to start a few chats that are actually worth having.

## How to start great chats

The best first messages are simple, specific, and human:

- Read the person's profile first.
- Mention something specific that caught your attention.
- Share a little of your own related experience.
- Ask a question that would be easy and interesting to answer.

You don't need to write an essay. A few thoughtful sentences are usually enough to show that you're actually trying to connect.

For example, instead of:

> hi

Try something more like:

> Hey, I noticed you're into old sci-fi and hiking. Strong combo. Have you read any Ursula Le Guin? I'm always looking for books that make me want to go stare at trees and think big thoughts.

Not poetry. Not wizardry. Just evidence that you're a real person who read another real person's profile.

## What to avoid

Short/generic messages are likely to attract downvotes (https://www.wusoup.com/help/reputation), especially if you send the same kind of thing to many people.

Avoid:

- "hi", "hey", "wyd", "m/f?", or other zero-context messages.
- Copy-paste/AI openers that could have been sent to anyone.
- Asking for age, gender, location, photos, socials, or other personal details someone chose not to share.
- Trying to move people off Wusoup right away.
- Flirting, sexual comments, or anything that nudges the chat toward dating.

Pressure for personal details or other platforms may cross into serious rule-breaking territory (https://www.wusoup.com/help/rules). Dating/sexual content definitely does.

If Wusoup warns that your message seems too generic, please take the hint: add context, warmth, and evidence that you read the profile.

## Whose turn is it to write?

Wusoup keeps track of **who last sent a message** in each chat:

- Chats with a **blue circle** are waiting on a reply **from you**.
- Chats with a **green circle** are waiting on a reply **from your chat partner**.

So there's no need to mark chats as "unread" to remember to come back to them, just look for the **chats in blue circles**.

When you open a chat with new messages, Wusoup also marks where the new/unread messages start.

## Why is no one replying?

Some chats just won't take off, and that's okay. People get busy, lose energy, or aren't sure what to say.

But if you're often not getting replies, a few things are worth checking:

- Is your profile too empty for people to know what to ask you about?
- Are your first messages too short or generic?
- Are you writing to people who don't seem like an obvious fit?
- Are you asking questions that feel too personal too soon?
- Are you accidentally giving off dating-app energy?

Wusoup is meant to reward effort, warmth, and patience. Slow down, write fewer better messages, and give people something real to respond to.

See also how to create a great profile (https://www.wusoup.com/help/your-profile).

## How long are messages stored?

For technical and privacy reasons, Wusoup keeps only a limited recent history for each chat. Newer history loads in pages, and older messages are automatically and permanently deleted once a chat grows past its storage limit.

And there's a useful **private notes feature** that you can use for jotting down something important someone tells you that you want to make sure to remember, etc.

**Update**: I'm considering adding exportable chat histories if there's community interest (https://www.wusoup.com/help/contact).

---

# Karma
URL: https://www.wusoup.com/help/karma

# Karma

You earn karma on Wusoup whenever you **contribute to the community** by:

- Starting chats
- Sending messages
- Helping rate (https://www.wusoup.com/help/reputation) the users they meet
- Helping report (https://www.wusoup.com/help/reputation) users breaking the Community Rules (https://www.wusoup.com/help/rules)
- Helping welcome new members
- Inviting (https://www.wusoup.com/help/invites) quality users

As you earn karma over time you'll reach new **karma levels**, e.g.:

And every *5* karma levels earns you a **reward**: **+1** kudo (https://www.wusoup.com/help/kudos) to award.

Think of karma as "XP" (experience points) in tabletop or computer or role-playing games. It's there for a bit of fun, and to encourage positive community-minded behaviour.

> Kudos cap
> You can't hold more than 2 kudos to award at once, so there's an incentive to award them when you have them!

## Karma leaderboard

Wusoup's **top 2000 users** by karma are listed on a private leaderboard (high score table), visible only to other users on the list.

## Karma hall of fame

Some high-karma milestones may also be celebrated privately when you reach them. This is mostly for fun: a small nod to folks who've spent real time helping keep Wusoup useful, kind, and active.

---

# Reputation
URL: https://www.wusoup.com/help/reputation

# Reputation

All Wusoup members are asked to please help protect Wusoup's mission (https://www.wusoup.com/help/mission) by:

- Reporting users that might be breaking the Community Rules (https://www.wusoup.com/help/rules)
- Recommending (or not) the users they meet

## Reporting users

If you see someone breaking Wusoup's Community Rules (https://www.wusoup.com/help/rules) or that you think _might be_ breaking them - please use the **Report user** link on their profile! 🙏

This'll open a popup where you tick what seems to be the problem, and add any comments (you can cancel). You can then choose to:

- **Report and block** - report them, and block (https://www.wusoup.com/help/blocking) them so you don't see them again.
- **Report without blocking** - just report them, nothing else changes.

When you report someone - **nothing bad will automatically happen to them**! It just brings them to my attention so that I can manually investigate.

If they *are* breaking rules, I'll handle the situation appropriately:

- Accidental, minor, and first-time violations will generally get a **friendly warning** from me.
- Intentional, serious, and repeat violations may lead to a temporary **account suspension** or **permanent ban**.

Once I've investigated a report you made, I'll send you a message to let you know.

You will earn karma (https://www.wusoup.com/help/karma) for each helpful user report you submit.

## Community ratings

Each member has a community rating, determined by how many other members would recommend them (👍) or wouldn't (👎), e.g.:

New users will have an **unknown** rating until they've received at least 5-10 votes.

Votes from highly-rated users have a bigger impact, and votes decay over time if the relevant users no longer interact.

### When to upvote

**Please upvote** (👍 recommend) users that you'd be happy to see more of here:

- Have put **effort** into their profile and/or messages.
- Are positive, kind, or otherwise well-aligned with Wusoup's mission (https://www.wusoup.com/help/mission).

You will earn karma (https://www.wusoup.com/help/karma) for each user you upvote or downvote.

### When to downvote

**Please downvote** (👎 don't recommend) users that you wouldn't recommend for friendly chats:

- Have put **little/no effort** into their profile and/or messages.
- Are aggressive, rude, or otherwise poorly aligned with Wusoup's mission (https://www.wusoup.com/help/mission).

Think someone might be **breaking the rules**? Please report them instead (or as well) - that's what actually brings them to my attention.

You will earn karma (https://www.wusoup.com/help/karma) for each user you upvote or downvote.

### The motivation for ratings

Wusoup's ratings are _not_ intended to be a popularity contest, or a way for users to punish those they disagree with or even personally dislike.

Wusoup believes that diversity of life experience and **diversity of opinion** are valuable. Social bubbles and echo chambers aren't healthy - it's important to be exposed to different kinds of people, and to different ideas. And it's important to feel safe to have meaningful (https://www.wusoup.com/help/mission) conversations - those _most_ likely to be challenging.

We accept the challenge here. Not with naivety, but out of conviction that *it matters*.

Disagreement is allowed, even encouraged - so long as it's respectful (https://www.wusoup.com/help/mission).

So what are the community ratings for? They're a simple question: *would you recommend this member for friendly chats?* Ratings are a reminder that we do challenge ourselves (https://www.wusoup.com/help/mission) to maintain high standards of civility and respect, and to treat this community as more than a mindless, low-effort distraction. Breaking the Community Rules (https://www.wusoup.com/help/rules) is a separate matter - that's what reporting is for.

Wusoup's ratings are not intended to *stifle* individuality, genuineness, or disagreement - but exactly the opposite. They're there to help sustain the *minimal level of trust* needed to *safely explore these* in an environment that's traditionally super low-trust (anonymous internet chat).

There *are* downsides to having ratings, including:

1. People might _feel pressure_ to somehow perform, or to not "be themselves".
2. People might _feel judged_, possibly even unwelcome.
3. People might _feel judgmental_, being asked to evaluate others.
4. People might _feel worried_ that they'll be unfairly evaluated, or punished for somehow being different.

These concerns are real, and justified! There are unavoidable trade-offs with any such voting system.

The hope is that the benefits (far) outweigh the costs. And I _do_ sincerely believe that with the right culture and design - we can absolutely achieve that.

For more info see Wusoup's mission (https://www.wusoup.com/help/mission), Community Rules (https://www.wusoup.com/help/rules), and further questions below.

### What happens if you are downvoted

It's not the end of the world!:

1. Getting a poor rating may be *more difficult* than you expect.
2. Getting a poor rating might be *less detrimental* than you expect.

For **(1)**, Wusoup's community ratings are calculated with the expectation that:

- A non-trivial proportion of votes will be intentionally or unintentionally misused.
- Even the highest quality users *will* attract some non-trivial proportion of downvotes, again for justified or unjustified reasons.

So perfection is *not expected*, nor realistic. Especially since we're specifically trying to encourage meaningful (https://www.wusoup.com/help/mission) discussion and even respectful disagreement (https://www.wusoup.com/help/mission).

As for **(2)**, having a "divisive" or even "poor" rating does not prevent you from participating in the community. So long as you haven't outright broken the Community Rules (https://www.wusoup.com/help/rules), your account remains fully functional.

The downside to having a poor rating is that your profile might have _reduced visibility_. Some (not all!) users may choose to filter their experience and see only users with an established and/or consistently positive community rating.

Conversely, users that enjoy debating or engaging in challenging conversations might even *seek out* more divisive or controversial profiles! Not everyone is looking for the same thing, and Wusoup isn't intended to be an echo chamber.

> WARNING re: multiple accounts
> Please **do not** create a new account to try reset your community rating, that's against the Community Rules (https://www.wusoup.com/help/rules) and may lead to permanent banning.
>
> If you believe there might be a problem with your rating, please contact me (https://www.wusoup.com/help/contact) instead.

### How to avoid downvotes

If you're consistently attracting a **large proportion** of downvotes, it might be worth reviewing Wusoup's mission (https://www.wusoup.com/help/mission) and Community Rules (https://www.wusoup.com/help/rules).

Some common things to check:

- Have you **put effort** into your profile and messages? Sparse profiles and short/generic messages are likely to attract downvotes.

- Are you posting **controversial content** to your profile, or engaging in **controversial debates**? These are *not* against the rules (if done respectfully (https://www.wusoup.com/help/mission)), but are of course more likely to attract downvotes.

Note that Wusoup makes a distinction between **breaking the rules** and **being downvoted**.

And it makes a distinction between:

- Users that are **divisive** (get along with some but not others).
- Users that are **universally** downvoted (get along with no one).

The first category might for example include folks that like to debate or post controversial content. If that's you, then a **divisive** rating might be appropriate and nothing to worry about.

Again, not everyone needs to get along - this isn't meant to be a monoculture!

See also how to create a great profile (https://www.wusoup.com/help/your-profile).

### What happens if you're unfairly downvoted?

Basically, this isn't something that you should need to worry about. Wusoup's community ratings are calculated with the expectations that:

1. Not everyone will get along, and that's okay.
2. Some proportion of users will unknowingly or even maliciously misuse up/down votes.

A few details:

- Ratings from poorly-rated users don't count much.
- Ratings from banned users don't count at all.
- All ratings decay over time unless you continue interacting with the rater. In practice this means that positive ratings tend to linger, while negative ratings tend to fade.

---

# Kudos
URL: https://www.wusoup.com/help/kudos

# Kudos

Kudos are a way to celebrate exemplary (https://www.wusoup.com/help/how-to-help) community members - folks that have gone the extra mile in _being awesome_. They're **public compliments**, selected from a list of character qualities that we especially value in community members.

Kudos are **rare**, and so meaningful to give and to get.

## Earning kudos to award

You'll earn **+1 kudo** to award every *5* karma (https://www.wusoup.com/help/karma) levels.

You can award these kudos to friends, to publicly celebrate their awesomeness.

Note that kudos are **intentionally rare**!! They're meant to be scarce to make them meaningful to get, to give, and to see on someone's profile.

> Kudos cap
> You can't hold more than 2 kudos to award at once, so there's an incentive to award them when you have them!

## Awarding kudos

To award public kudos to someone, you will need:

1. To have at least 1 kudo **to award**. (See earning kudos to award).
2. To have **exchanged enough words** with the intended recipient, with *both* of you having contributed a decent share of them.
3. To have waited **48 hours** since you last awarded that same person.

You can also award a maximum of **3 kudos to any one person**.

The reasons for these limits are:

- To encourage folks to not give all their kudos to one person.
- To help ensure that kudos only go to people that really earned them through consistent *long-term* good behaviour.

The word requirement grows with each kudo you award the same person, so a 2nd or 3rd kudo takes a much longer shared history than the 1st.

Kudos are really rare, it's important to not award them too casually!

> Privacy
> If Alice awards the "Kind" kudo to Bob:
> - Bob will know that Alice awarded him the "Kind" kudo.
> - Everyone *else* will know only that *someone* awarded him the "Kind" kudo (they won't know that it was Alice).

## Revoking kudos

It's possible to undo (revoke) kudos that you've already awarded to someone. But please note that you **don't get the kudos back** to award to someone else!

Kudos act as an endorsement for the awarded user, so revocation is an option for the (hopefully rare!) cases where you only realise later that the user actually shouldn't be endorsed. E.g. the user initially seemed awesome, but later turned out to be a creep.

Revocation is *not* intended to allow you to shuffle kudos around.

Of course if you've made some sort of mistake, or an awarded user has unexpectedly asked you to revoke an award - just ping me (https://www.wusoup.com/help/contact) and I'll help you out.

## Being awarded kudos

When someone awards you a kudo, you'll see a notice on your dashboard letting you know what you were awarded **and by whom**.

If for some reason you'd rather _not_ have the award, you can ask the awarder or me (https://www.wusoup.com/help/contact) to revoke it.

## Possible kudos

The following 18 kudos are available:

| Kudo               | Description                                       |
| ------------------ | ------------------------------------------------- |
| Attentive          | Engaged, responsive, courteous                    |
| Conversationalist  | Articulate, chatty, engaging                      |
| Creative           | Imaginative, original, artistic                   |
| Deep               | Philosophical, spiritual, open to meaningful talk |
| Empathetic         | Compassionate, understanding, emotionally aware   |
| Friendly           | Welcoming, approachable, warm                     |
| Inspiring          | Motivating, uplifting                             |
| Kind               | Considerate, thoughtful, generous                 |
| Open-minded        | Unbiased, non-judgemental                         |
| Playful            | Light-hearted, energetic, joyful                  |
| Positive           | Optimistic, encouraging, cheerful                 |
| Reliable           | Trustworthy, dependable, loyal                    |
| Respectful debater | Civil, receptive, non-hostile                     |
| Sincere            | Honest, candid, wholehearted                      |
| Supportive         | Encouraging, caring, patient                      |
| Thought-provoking  | Engaging, contemplative, challenging              |
| Wise               | Insightful, knowledgeable, sound judgement        |
| Witty              | Clever, amusing, funny                            |

Rumour has it there may also be some other *hidden kudos* \<jazz hands>.

---

# Pinning
URL: https://www.wusoup.com/help/pinning

# Pinning

Pinning is a lightweight way to keep track of people you want to come back to.

It's useful when:

- You're having a good chat (https://www.wusoup.com/help/messaging) and don't want it to disappear into old activity.
- You found someone interesting while browsing (https://www.wusoup.com/help/browsing), but want to write later.
- You want a small set of people to stay easy to find.
- You're using **pinned-only** profile visibility and want specific people to be able to see/message you.

Pinning is mostly for **your own organization**. It isn't a match, promise, endorsement, or requirement that the other person pin you back.

## What pinning does

Pinned users are easier to find from your dashboard / chats workflow. Wusoup also reserves some room for pinned users, so they don't fall away just because there are newer or noisier chats.

If your profile visibility is set to **Only users you've pinned**, then only your pinned users can see or message you. This can be useful when you want to stay in touch with existing Wusoup friends without being open to everyone new.

You can unpin someone any time from their profile or chat controls.

## When to unpin

Unpin someone when:

- You're no longer actively chatting.
- You pinned them as a reminder and don't need the reminder anymore.
- You want to make room for someone else.
- You don't want them included in your pinned-only visibility list.

Unpinning isn't the same as blocking (https://www.wusoup.com/help/blocking). It just removes that special "keep track of this person" marker.

## Why is there a pin limit?

Scarcity! You can currently pin up to **50 users**. If you try to pin more, Wusoup may make room by unpinning the least recently active pinned user.

The limit is intentional. It helps provide a certain "use-it-or-lose-it" incentive.

We're here to **talk** to one another, not collect pinned profiles like baseball cards.

Think of it like social fibre - the limit helps keep things moving, and encourages people to actually write each other instead of just thinking "maybe one day".

---

# Topic Tango
URL: https://www.wusoup.com/help/topic-tango

# Topic Tango

Topic Tango is a fun 1-on-1 **social game** you can play on Wusoup to help **break the ice** and **get to know someone better** 🕺

It helps you and your Tango (chat) partner **choose topics for discussion or (friendly!) debate**.

It's **low-stress**: most topics are very light, and a live Tango never lands you on a topic you didn't pick 🫶

### Step 1 - invite someone

Hit the **Tango button** on someone's profile, choose a pace, and send your invite:

They **must be online** and they'll only be notified if they're **currently looking at your profile**, so this is best to do when you're already chatting. (The exception is **✉️ Anytime** pace, see below - those can be sent any time!)

Your partner will see a **subtle notification** on their side:

If they accept (hit their button too), the **Tango starts**!

### Step 2 - agree on a topic

You'll both get 40 seconds (at the default **⏱️ Classic** pace) to **choose a topic you like** from a list:

- If you **both agree on the topic** you'll move on to **Step 3**
- Otherwise you'll get **new topic options**
- There's **zero pressure** to choose a topic you don't like! Feel free to choose "None of these" ✌️

> Spice
> Some advanced topics may be **spicy** (🌶️) or **extra spicy** (🌶️🌶️). You generally only want to choose these with **partners you trust**, and please remember Wusoup's strict rules around respectful debate (https://www.wusoup.com/help/rules)! 🙏

### Step 3 - respond

You now both get a minute (at **⏱️ Classic** pace) to **write an initial response** to the chosen topic:

Hit **Ready to discuss** whenever you're done 🎸

### Step 4 - discuss!

Once you're both ready, your **responses will be shared** in your Wusoup chat - and you're free to **discuss or debate** as long as you like!

The topics and initial "responses" are only there to help get things started 😊

If/when you're in the mood for **another topic**, just hit the Tango button again:

## Pace

Prefer more (or less!) time? Hitting the **Tango button** opens a picker where you choose your invite's pace:

- **⚡ Blitz**: 20s to choose, 30s to answer - for quick-fire fun
- **⏱️ Classic**: 40s to choose, 60s to answer - the default
- **🐢 Relaxed**: 90s to choose, 2½ min to answer
- **🧘 No timers**: take your time - you're both still playing live
- **✉️ Anytime**: no timers AND your partner **doesn't need to be online**!

Your invite **shows its pace**, so your partner always knows what they're agreeing to.

### ✉️ Anytime Tango

An Anytime Tango works like a **sealed envelope**: you pick a topic and write your response right away, and your partner gets the **topic only** in your chat. Your response stays **sealed** until they write theirs - then **both reveal together**!

- Your partner can answer **whenever they like**. Envelopes expire after ~2 weeks **without sharing** the sealed response - you'll both get a reminder in chat a few days before
- Either of you can **cancel or decline** a pending envelope at any time
- You and a partner can only have **one Tango at a time** between you
- The sender **picks the topic**; the recipient can decline

## Tips

- It's good etiquette to **ask first** if you want to Tango with someone! This also helps make sure that they're **looking at your profile** and can see the Tango notification.

- In a live Tango, both partners must **agree to a topic**! Part of the fun is trying to anticipate what your partner might choose. (✉️ Anytime is different: the sender picks, the recipient can decline.)

- Avoid **spicy topics** unless you've already built up trust with someone. Go slowly, it's not a race!

- Topics **you choose often** will come up more often, though not right away.

- Topics **the community chooses often** will also come up more often.

- Timed Tangos **require your attention**, they're not meant for multi-tasking. If you leave a timed Tango, the **Tango will end**. (**✉️ Anytime** Tangos survive navigation, that's their whole point!)

## Motivation

A common problem on Wusoup is that people really _want_ to connect with others, but they just don't know how. Or they struggle to get a chat beyond the superficial stage.

Keeping up an interesting chat (especially one that gets below the surface) takes skill, patience, a proficient partner, and often luck.

My hope is for Topic Tango to provide a fun + low-stress way to help make this easier for more people.

A live Tango is a **double consent** game: both partners opt in to play, and both opt in to the topic. ✉️ Anytime is a sealed letter: you pick the topic and write first; they can answer or decline. Either way, nothing is shared until **both** of you have written.

All topics are carefully written to help folks **connect while having fun**. There's 3 categories / difficulty levels:

- **Easy**: these are generally optimistic, funny, silly, etc. They make great openers, or any time you feel like a pick-me-up.
- **Spicy**: these are thought-provoking, sometimes a little challenging. They can help prompt deeper discussions.
- **Extra spicy**: these are advanced topics to help really get beneath the surface for folks that enjoy a more rigorous debate.

As always, feedback (https://www.wusoup.com/help/contact) very welcome! 🙏 - Peter

---

# Invites
URL: https://www.wusoup.com/help/invites

# Invites

Anyone aged 19 or older can [join Wusoup](https://www.wusoup.com/) without an invite. Invites are an optional way for existing members to help friends find Wusoup and vouch for them.

By sharing an invite with someone, you **vouch for them**:

- You'll be connected automatically when they join.
- You'll inherit karma based on their community standing.
- If they break the Community Rules (https://www.wusoup.com/help/rules), it can affect your karma too.

The idea is to encourage members to be discerning with who they invite, and maybe check in with the person _before_ inviting them - to see if they're on board with Wusoup's unusual mission (https://www.wusoup.com/help/mission).

## Giving invites

Open **Invite a friend** from your profile menu to get a single-use invite link, then share it with your friend. Each link lasts for about 60 days.

Your email address must be verified before you can create invite links. To prevent abuse, the number of links you can create is rate-limited.

---

# Blocking
URL: https://www.wusoup.com/help/blocking

# Blocking

If someone is bothering you but not explicitly breaking the Community Rules (https://www.wusoup.com/help/rules), you can downvote (https://www.wusoup.com/help/reputation) and/or **block** them.

When you block someone:

- The chat is **removed from your chats list**, and anything they write will **never reach you** - no chat updates, notifications, or email alerts.
- Their **profile will be hidden** from you while browsing the community.
- You will **appear offline** to them.
- Blocking also counts as a **"don't recommend"** rating (https://www.wusoup.com/help/reputation).

> Blocking doesn't prevent messages
> Blocking someone **does not** prevent them from seeing *your* profile or from writing you. They won't know they've been blocked. To them it'll just seem like you've **gone quiet** - their messages stay unread, and you appear offline. This is usually best to discourage possible escalation (creating additional accounts, etc.).

> Notes
> - Blocking automatically unpins and unmutes the user. Unblocking restores neither.
> - If you have browser windows open on their profile or chat, these won't automatically be closed - but no new messages from them will arrive there either.

## How to unblock someone

Your blocked-users list is in your options screen, under **Preferences**. You can **unblock directly from the list**, or from the user's profile via the **"…" (user actions)** menu.

---

# Banning
URL: https://www.wusoup.com/help/banning

# Banning

Users found **repeatedly** and **intentionally** breaking Wusoup's Community Rules (https://www.wusoup.com/help/rules) *will* be permanently banned.

I know this is harsh, but Wusoup's rules are clear, individually motivated at length, and (I believe) all pretty reasonable. They're there to protect Wusoup's specific and unusual mission (https://www.wusoup.com/help/mission) - and I think they're worth the tradeoffs.

Ultimately it's up to folks to decide if they want to join a place like this or not. It's totally okay if the answer is no, but for the sake of everyone else who _does_ want to have a clean space - Wusoup's rules are enforced pretty strictly.

## Can you be banned for being downvoted?

No, only for breaking the Community Rules (https://www.wusoup.com/help/rules).

## Can you be banned for the wrong opinion/belief?

Nope. Just make sure that you've read and understood the Community Rules around kindness and respect (https://www.wusoup.com/help/rules).

This is a community that supports (even encourages) free speech and diversity of ideas. But we also expect members to treat each other with respect. It's possible to disagree or debate without vitriol. I know that's rare today (online and elsewhere), but that's also why I think it matters. We need spaces where people can explore ideas.

## What if you're unfairly banned?

Most banning on Wusoup is automatic, but I (Peter) also manually review each automated ban to confirm that it wasn't an error. The automated false-positive rate is already pretty good (<2%), but basically zero once you include the manual review.

Established users will always be **explicitly warned** before being banned.

If you think something's gone wrong, or you want to ask to be unbanned - just ping me (https://www.wusoup.com/help/contact). You can always log in and message me, even if you are banned.

## Can you be unbanned?

Depends what you've been banned for. If there was an honest mistake/misunderstanding, or if you can genuinely tell me you won't break the rules again - just ping me (https://www.wusoup.com/help/contact). You can always log in and message me, even if you are banned.

The point of banning is to protect the community, not to be punitive. Seriously, I'm not unreasonable about this - folks acting in good faith and that want to contribute to the community are super welcome.

## Can you just create another account?

**No**, that in itself is against the Community Rules (https://www.wusoup.com/help/rules) because it's the first thing that every trashy account does that's just here trying to spam, scam, or sext.

Duplicate accounts will be detected, and you'll lose your opportunity to just ping me (https://www.wusoup.com/help/contact) like a reasonable person and get your original account restored.

## Someone told you they were unfairly banned

For user privacy reasons, I obviously can't share any details on if/why a particular account may have been banned

Unfortunately that means that there's unavoidably a certain level of trust that I need to ask from everyone on this.

If someone's told you that they're being unfairly persecuted, there's a couple possible explanations:

1. What they're saying is entirely accurate, and I'm deliberately/knowingly being a dick.
2. What they're saying isn't entirely accurate, and in fact they've been repeatedly and knowingly getting up to sketchy stuff and ignoring warnings.

There's of course no way to exclude (1), but I'd also encourage you to consider incentives. If someone's *not* knowingly and repeatedly breaking rules - why would I be incentivized to ban them? I want the best for Wusoup, and I'd love it to grow.

Banning's generally a last resort once it's clear that someone's genuinely not willing to participate in the community in good faith.

---

# FAQ
URL: https://www.wusoup.com/help/faq

# FAQ

## Basics

### So what's a Wusoup? Be honest.

Wusoup's a thing I made (https://www.wusoup.com/help/development-story) to help **cool people meet other cool people online**. It's old-school **1-on-1 text chat** with strict community rules (https://www.wusoup.com/help/rules) and unusual reputation (https://www.wusoup.com/help/reputation) and karma (https://www.wusoup.com/help/karma) systems to keep the place clean, and to incentivize kind and friendly behaviour.

It's on a mission (https://www.wusoup.com/help/mission). It's weird. I think it's pretty cool.

### 5 words: tell me why I want Wusoup. Go!

It's about the people. Falafel (I had a free word).

### Another chat app? _Really?_

I'm so sorry. If it helps, this one's actually quite unusual. I'm pretty lazy, so wouldn't have made this if I could have avoided it. But I wanted something like Wusoup, and no one else seemed to be working on the problem - so here we are.

### Why no dating or flirting?

Because Wusoup is trying to protect something fragile: a place where people can talk without wondering if every friendly message has an ulterior motive.

There's nothing inherently wrong with dating, flirting, or sexual expression. There are just already **innumerable** places for that stuff, and Wusoup isn't one of them.

When you allow even a little dating energy into a space like this, it tends to pull everything in that direction. People start performing, testing boundaries, second-guessing each other, and bracing for nonsense. The quiet, sincere, friendship-shaped thing gets trampled.

So Wusoup draws a bright line: no dating, no flirting, no sexting, no hookup fishing, no suggestive profile content, no "just being friendly" comments about someone's body.

Is that strict? Yup. Consciously so. The point is to make room for a different kind of connection: curiosity, kindness, conversation, friendship, and the rare relief of not having to keep your guard up every five seconds.

For the detailed rule, see No dating or sexual content (https://www.wusoup.com/help/rules). For the broader reason Wusoup exists, see the mission (https://www.wusoup.com/help/mission).

### Is it free?

Wusoup is free to join and use. I may later add some fun benefits for supporters (https://www.wusoup.com/help/how-to-help).

There's also no ads, and never will be.

The idea is to try make something that's legitimately meaningful and **brings joy to people's lives**. If I can genuinely achieve that, then I believe that some proportion of those people will be happy to help support the site's continued existence.

As a lone developer (https://www.wusoup.com/help/development-story) my costs are low, and I'm happy to keep low ambitions ^^

### Why no filtering by age / gender / etc.?

I understand why people are inclined to want this - but filtering encourages exclusion and stifles the sense of **openness, exploration, and surprise** that I'm hoping to achieve (https://www.wusoup.com/help/mission) here. When you give people the ability to filter, they tend (naturally) to see things in an objective-oriented way - and that tends to shape their relationship with Wusoup and its community in subtle and not-so-subtle ways.

I like that people in the RealWorld™ don't walk around with labels floating above their heads. Saying hi to a stranger on the street involves some uncertainty, and I think that's part of the excitement - not something to try eliminate.

### Why no group/room chats?

There's something special/important about the one-on-one form that gets lost in the noise of a room or group chat. And since there's already a bunch of good apps/services that do the group/room thing well, it seemed reasonable to focus on really **perfecting the one-on-one form**.

### Can I send images in chats?

Yes, if you have a "good" community reputation (https://www.wusoup.com/help/reputation) or better.

Image sending is gated because it creates obvious abuse risks. Please keep images aligned with Wusoup's Community Rules (https://www.wusoup.com/help/rules).

You know, for pics of really good pottery. Or whatever it is that people send each other that isn't smut.

### Dude, your Wusoup's broken. \<thing> doesn't work.

Sorry! Wusoup's a 1-man project (https://www.wusoup.com/help/development-story) and there's bound to be issues and imperfections, especially while I'm working on new ideas.

I'm consciously prioritizing **experimentation over polish** to get feedback sooner. Polish will come once the community and I have settled on exactly how we want all this to work.

In the meantime, please do let me know (https://www.wusoup.com/help/contact)! You might be experiencing something I'm not aware of, and even if I'm already aware - it can be helpful to know what issues are most affecting folks.

### Why no native mobile (iOS / Android) app?

Just practical limitations, sorry! Wusoup's a 1-man project (https://www.wusoup.com/help/development-story), so I need to prioritize tasks carefully.

A survey I ran showed that most members are decently(ish) satisfied with how Wusoup runs on **mobile web browsers**, so I'm focused first on improvements to the core stuff like community quality and growth.

Once the core stuff is as good as it can be, I may revisit the idea of native apps if there's community interest (https://www.wusoup.com/help/contact).

### Can I be a moderator?

This isn't something currently possible on Wusoup, though it's on the cards for later if there's community interest (https://www.wusoup.com/help/contact).

In the meantime, a metaphysical thought: in a sense, you already are! Wusoup's community reputation (https://www.wusoup.com/help/reputation) system means that everyone gets a say in what kind of content is/isn't welcome.

## Privacy

### Why do you want my email address?

Wusoup uses your email address as your **private username** for logging in. It won't be shared with other users, or anyone else. I'm not a fan of social logins \<rant redacted>, and an email address makes for a good username since it's unique, easy to remember, and useful as a password recovery mechanism.

Your email address will also be used for **message notifications**, but these aren't spammy and can be turned off with _one click_. They're there to be useful, not bug you or sell you something.

**Important**: to help prevent folks from trying to get around Wusoup's Community Rules (https://www.wusoup.com/help/rules) by creating multiple accounts, Wusoup **doesn't allow disposable email addresses** - you'll be occasionally asked to **log in by email** which won't be possible with a disposable address.

### What are you doing to protect my privacy?

I take this seriously:

- Passwords are **securely hashed** using [scrypt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scrypt). So even if Wusoup's database were somehow stolen, your password would remain secret.
- Wusoup runs over [HTTPS](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Https) with [Strict Transport Security](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTP_Strict_Transport_Security) and [Perfect Forward Secrecy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfect_forward_secrecy), protecting your data from eavesdropping.
- Measures are in place to prevent [cross-site scripting](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-site_scripting) and similar attacks.
- Wusoup's **servers are in Germany**, and subject to Europe's (generally decent) [data protection laws](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Data_Protection_Regulation).

See Wusoup's privacy policy (https://www.wusoup.com/help/privacy-policy) for more info.

### Do I have to use my Real Name™?

Nope. If you prefer _NarwhalRaiderPope62_, go for it. **You choose your level of anonymity**. Just make sure you **don't lie** and claim to be someone that you're not, that's against the Community Rules (https://www.wusoup.com/help/rules) and may get you banned.

### Are you going to spam me?

On pain of Reddit retribution: absolutely, positively **NOT** - Peter (peter@wusoup.com). I hate spam with gusto. Gusto.

I don't share your email address with anyone, and any relevant notification emails all include a 1-click link to opt-out with immediate effect.

Wusoup's totally okay with people leaving, and pissing people off with spam isn't in any way aligned with what I'm trying to do here.

### How long do my messages stay around?

Each chat keeps a limited recent history to help you remember what you were chatting about. Older messages are automatically and **permanently deleted** once a chat grows past its storage limit.

### Are messages encrypted?

Not currently, though I've already laid some [groundwork](https://github.com/taoensso/tempel) for a possible future update if there's community interest (https://www.wusoup.com/help/contact).

### Are you going to sell to EvilCo and give them all my data?

Hah! Like anyone would want to buy this ^^

Anyway, I'm clearly (https://www.wusoup.com/help/development-story) not doing this to sell out or for money - I'm doing it because I believe in the mission (https://www.wusoup.com/help/mission) and want something like this to exist.

Still, you don't need to take my word for it. Thankfully, many (most?) major legal jurisdictions today (including notably the EEA under [GDPR](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Data_Protection_Regulation)) provide users with the right to be informed of a transfer of data ownership, and the right to have their private data deleted on request.

## Fun nonsense

### Who made Wusoup? Who's answering these questions? Where are you? Are you my father?

Hi, I'm Peter! I'm from South Africa, currently living in Berlin. I like to make things (like Wusoup, which is a kind of a thing). I'm [on Wusoup](https://www.wusoup.com/wz/user/8) and [X](https://x.com/ptaoussanis), and I have a [homepage](https://www.taoensso.com) like it's 1999.

See Wusoup's development story (https://www.wusoup.com/help/development-story) for more (sordid) info.

### Wasn't there another Wusoup a few years ago? Is this a glitch in the Matrix?

There [was](https://www.reddit.com/comments/3hgyy8/hey_reddit_i_was_lonely_and_decided_to_do/) indeed! Good memory. I ran a small prototype a "few" years back that I ended up shelving due to a combination of burnout and family issues. This is the un-shelving, as it were. I.e.: **Wusoup's back, baby!** 

This is a from-the-ground-up rewrite taking what I learned from ~~v1~~ v2 and some of my experiences since then. Will this reboot be more like Nolan's Batman, or Lee's Oldboy? Super Street Fighter II, or Duke Nukem Forever? Will Peter finally succeed, or will fate intervene and deny him his Wusoup win for a second time? What dark secret is Beatrice di Folco Portinari hiding? Who is the man with the wooden foot? Why did the old hag lie to Stephen about the TumTum tree? The answers to these questions and more - coming up (slowly).

### What programming language is Wusoup written in?

Wusoup's 100% all-[Clojure](https://www.clojure.org/)-goodness on the JVM. I've released a lot of the architectural goodies as [open source](https://www.taoensso.com). [Redis](https://redis.io/) also deserves a special mention- Wusoup wouldn't have been possible without it. Not too incidentally, [Rich Hickey](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rich_Hickey) (Clojure) and [Salvatore Sanfilippo](https://antirez.com/latest/0) (Redis) are both major inspirations to me and absolutely worth checking out if you have any interest in this stuff.

### How long did all this take? Are you, like, nutso?

Pretty much nutso. I've been working on Wusoup in different forms on-and-off now since 2008. Had logged well over 16k hours on the project last I checked, and that was... that was a while ago. I'm so tired and broke and lonely, oh god... what have I done with my life?

### How is babby formed?

Is this meme still a thing in ~~2022~~ ~~2023~~ ~~2024~~ ~~2025~~ 2026, or am I just showing my age / irrelevance?

---

# How to Help
URL: https://www.wusoup.com/help/how-to-help

# How to Help

Wusoup is created and run by 1 tired dude (https://www.wusoup.com/help/development-story), so any help is definitely very very much appreciated. 🙏

## Set an example

Most fundamentally, you can help Wusoup by **being an excellent human**! If Wusoup's an awesome place, it's because of the awesome people that make up its community.

So be exemplary, set an example! Put something meaningful on your profile. Start chats, be friendly, share a warm welcome with folks new to the community. Upvote (https://www.wusoup.com/help/reputation) the users you'd recommend. Downvote (https://www.wusoup.com/help/reputation) the ones you wouldn't. Report (https://www.wusoup.com/help/reputation) that sketchy fellow clearly trying to market his NFT.

Be the dude/tte that helps **make their community better** little by little.

Wusoup's unusual in its ability to reflect the values that its members hold. Everyone has a voice in this. Please use yours, it'll help make/keep the place something special.

## Word of mouth

I've got no money for marketing, and (unfortunately) no skill or propensity for marketing.

So my strategy is basically this: try make the thing good enough that people will (hopefully) naturally want to talk about it.

Efficient? No. Stupid? Probably. But far be it from me to shy away from being stupid. Headlong, I say! Tally ho.

Anyway, the point being: if anyone new comes to Wusoup, it's probably via word-of-mouth. So please do consider telling folks about it if you think it's cool.

### Invite friends

You can also wave an invite (https://www.wusoup.com/help/invites) in front of someone. This can help them find Wusoup, and may potentially earn you sweet karma (https://www.wusoup.com/help/karma). Because while life's not all about the points, why *not* score some points along the way - right? Mmm karma points.

## Financial support

Folks that are in a position to help contribute financially are of course welcome to!

Financial support helps cover my hosting costs, and helps me dedicate more time to running Wusoup and to improving it. (Thank you!! 🙏🙏)

Supporter options aren't ready yet, but I'm planning to offer some sponsorship options via [Ko-fi](https://ko-fi.com/) and maybe [Patreon](https://www.patreon.com) later. I want to hold off until I'm happier with the overall quality of the site.

---

# Positive Feedback
URL: https://www.wusoup.com/help/positive-feedback

# Positive Feedback

Over the years I've been lucky to get a *lot* of encouragement from Wusoup users.

These words have meant the world to me, and helped carry me through the tougher parts of development (https://www.wusoup.com/help/development-story).

In the spirit of optimism/gratitude, and to try give readers an external (non-Peter) view on what Wusoup's about - I'm including some of my favourite feedback below.

These are all 100% legit btw, though you'll unfortunately need to take my word for it.

---

> > This is honestly the FIRST friend-making site that didn't get over taken by creepy dudes asking to marry me online. WuSoup is freaking amazing! I've spent years trying to find people who actually like talking and WuSoup brings it all together. Ahhh yissssssss.

> > I just wanted to say how much I love this website! I don't have any platonic relationships irl and this helps me to connect with people from all sorts of places. Thank you! - Madi

> > I've found some interesting people on here, and also interesting hair as well. Seriously. A lot of people here have great hair.” - Leaf

> > I like wusoup a lot. There aren’t that many users active (although the user base is slowly growing), but all of them know that that the site is focused on casual talking and making friends. I myself made a couple friends I regularly talk with on the site. - Daniella

> > I was looking for a place to make friends, and Wusoup claimed to be that place, so I joined. Similar networks are usually hit and miss, but it's been great so far, and so have the people. A+ would recommend. - Kay

> > So far I've been on here a day and this is by far the best experience I've had online. Ever. Period. (and you can quote me on that) - ArrJayBee

> > Wusoup is pretty rad. I've gotten the chance to tell a lot of people about the transformers. - Tori

> > Hanging out on Wusoup always leaves me feeling inspired in some way - meeting interesting people from different places, getting cool recommendations for books & films, and chatting about deep stuff with new friends is all-in-all pretty awesome.
>
> Definitely a pick-me-up! It's amazing to see so many great people (and NO tools!) in a single online space. Happy to be a part of this supportive community. - Kim

> > it's nice to have a website community where you can happily talk to guys without worrying about being chatted up: everyone is here for friendship and generally fun conversation as opposed to looking for hookups or dirty pictures.
>
> The algorithm that shows you if other people have downvoted the person you're talking to is great because you get a sense of who is likely to actually be a nice person instead of a bit creepy or antagonistic or anything like that. The entire time I've been on here (since there were maybe 100 people signed up), I've never been chatted up or asked for a nude or anything like that once.
>
> I've never had bad conversations; obviously some have fizzled out, but I haven't had any actual negative experiences! I think this website is great, and thank you for making it and working so hard on it :)

> > Wusoup is a beautiful magical garden of wonder in the shit show that is the general internet!! - Laura

> > Dear Peter,
>
> Thank you for making a website where ACTUAL conversations are a thing!! ! am so grateful!! I love the layout. It's very early web in a good way. My only recommendation would be this - changing chat colours for easier visibility/customisation. <3
>
> Thank you again for even reading this.

> > all what you said about your website wasn't just nonsense

---

# Privacy Policy
URL: https://www.wusoup.com/help/privacy-policy

# Privacy Policy

Wusoup is operated by **Taoensso LLC**, a Wyoming limited liability company, with Peter Taoussanis as its owner and sole operator. Taoensso LLC is the controller of personal data processed by Wusoup.

Wusoup takes your privacy very seriously and complies with the EU's **General Data Protection Regulation ([GDPR](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Data_Protection_Regulation))**. The same level of privacy protection is offered to both EU and non-EU users.

I'd like this policy to be as **clear** and **fair** as possible - please let me know (https://www.wusoup.com/help/contact) if anything is unclear, or if you have any concerns!

## Cookies and tracking

Wusoup does **not** track you across the internet, and it does **not** embed third-party advertising or social tracking tools. Wusoup uses only **first-party** cookies for secure authentication, security, and a small number of interface preferences.

Authentication cookies are set during login or onboarding. Starting a Google, Discord, or Facebook login also sets a temporary security cookie that is deleted when the login finishes and expires automatically after 10 minutes. These cookies do not contain personal information or provider access tokens.

## Personal data stored

| What data                                   | When it's collected                 | Why it's collected                                                      | How it's stored, and for how long           | Comments                                                              |
| ------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Part** of your **IP address** (x.y.z.000) | Automatically when you visit Wusoup | Security: rate-limiting, and to help detect malicious requests          | On my (EU) server, for <30 days             | Doesn't directly identify you, but can identify your country and city |
| Your browser data (**user agent**)          | Automatically when you visit Wusoup | Analytics: so I know which devices to optimise for                      | On my server, for < 30 days                 | Doesn't directly identify you                                         |
| Your **email address**                      | When you choose to join Wusoup or allow a login provider to share it | Used for logging in (email links) and notifications (e.g. new messages) | On my server, until your account is deleted | Never shared with other users or used for marketing                    |
| Your **login provider account ID**          | When you choose Google, Discord, or Facebook login | Used to recognise your account on future provider logins | On my server, until disconnected or your account is deleted | Wusoup does not store provider access tokens |
| A **friend's email address** (+ optional note) | When you choose to invite a friend by email | To send them your one-time invitation, and show you whether they've joined | On my server, for < 60 days | Only ever used for that one invitation, never for marketing. If you're the friend: just ignore the email, or reply to it and I'll delete your address right away |

## Personal data shared

Wusoup does **not** sell personal data or share it for advertising, marketing, profiling, or tracking. The following service providers process limited personal data only as needed to operate Wusoup:

- **Hetzner Online GmbH** hosts Wusoup on a dedicated server in Germany. Wusoup account and service data are stored there.
- **Amazon Web Services, Inc.** provides transactional email delivery through Amazon Simple Email Service (SES). It receives the email address and email content needed to deliver messages such as login links and notifications.

These providers process data on Wusoup's behalf and are not permitted to use it for their own marketing.

If you choose Google, Discord, or Facebook login, your browser is redirected to that provider and the provider will learn that you chose to sign in to Wusoup. Wusoup requests only the minimum account details needed to authenticate you: a provider-specific account ID and your email address. Wusoup does not send your Wusoup profile, messages, contacts, or activity to the login provider.

## Requests from public authorities

For any request from a public authority seeking Wusoup user data, Taoensso LLC will:

- Review the request's legal basis, scope, and validity before responding.
- Challenge the request when there are reasonable grounds to consider it unlawful.
- Disclose only the minimum information legally required.
- Document the request, the response, the legal reasoning, and the people involved.

These safeguards apply to all Wusoup user data, including personal data received from login providers such as Facebook.

Wusoup allows you to decide what profile information to share with other Wusoup or internet users:

- Your email address will **never** be shared.
- Your chosen username **will** be shared, but may be anonymous.
- Your age and location (country, city) **may** be shared or hidden (you decide).
- Your uploaded profile photos **may** be shared with all active Wusoup members, or only users you've pinned (you decide).

Your profile options should make it clear what will be visible, and to whom. Please let me know (https://www.wusoup.com/help/contact) if anything is unclear!

## Message privacy

The messages you write on Wusoup are visible **only** to:

- The message recipient.
- Me (Peter Taoussanis, Wusoup's author).

I will review a user’s messages **only** when necessary to investigate potential violations of Wusoup’s Community Rules (https://www.wusoup.com/help/rules) or Terms of Use (https://www.wusoup.com/help/terms-of-use). In such cases, I will make every effort to view only the minimum number of messages required to complete the investigation.

In cases involving serious illegal activity (such as fraud, abuse, or child endangerment), I may report such activities to the appropriate law enforcement agencies.

## Analytics and community statistics

Your behaviour on Wusoup (e.g. logging in, starting chats, sending messages, opening help links from the UI) may be recorded for analytics and aggregate statistical purposes to help me understand community trends like engagement over time and the usage of certain features.

Aggregate community statistics may be shared publicly for fun, but will never personally identify any individual users.

You can see these aggregates on the [public community stats page](/stats).

## Account security

It is **solely your responsibility** to ensure that you keep private any credentials used to log in to your Wusoup account:

- If you have a Wusoup password: use a strong password (some minimums are enforced) and **keep your password private**.

- If you have **email login** enabled: use a strong email password and follow any other security recommendations from your email provider.

## Export or delete your data

You can permanently delete all your data on Wusoup at any time via your **account options** [here](https://www.wusoup.com/wz/opts/account).

If you ask Facebook to delete data associated with Wusoup through Facebook's **Apps and Websites** settings, Wusoup immediately deletes the Facebook-specific account ID used for login and returns a confirmation code. This disconnects Facebook login from your Wusoup account. To delete the entire Wusoup account and all its data, use the account-deletion link above.

To get an export of your data, just let me know (https://www.wusoup.com/help/contact). (I can also make this self-serve in future if there's interest).

Note that for privacy and technical reasons, Wusoup may store only your **most recent messages** from each chat - and **may regularly delete messages** from old inactive chats!

## Automatic data deletion

As a privacy measure, all your data (including messages) **may** be **automatically deleted** if you don't log in for more than **24 months**.

In this case, warning emails will be sent at 3 months, 1 month, and 48 hours before deletion. This behaviour is intended to cover cases like someone passing away, etc.

Also note that for privacy and technical reasons, Wusoup may store only your **most recent messages** from each chat - and **may regularly delete messages** from old inactive chats!

## Technical security measures

Wusoup is designed, built, and deployed following security best practices including:

- Forced [strong HTTPS](https://www.ssllabs.com/ssltest/analyze.html?d=www.wusoup.com) everywhere with [HSTS](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTP_Strict_Transport_Security) (preload).
- Single-tenant hardened server deployment with 2FA SSH access, hosted in Germany under EU data protection laws.
- Updated, mature server software including: NGINX, JVM, etc.
- Modern browser protections incl. anti CSRF/XSS, CSP, strict transport security, etc.
- [Scrypt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scrypt) key derivation to protect passwords and prevent brute-forcing.

---

# Terms of Use
URL: https://www.wusoup.com/help/terms-of-use

# Terms of Use

This Terms of Use Agreement (“Agreement”) governs your access to and use of:

- The Wusoup website (www.wusoup.com) and subdomains.
- The Wusoup web app and related services.

For this Agreement, these will be referred to as **Wusoup Services**.

Please carefully read both this Agreement and the accompanying Privacy Policy (https://www.wusoup.com/help/privacy-policy) before accessing or using any Wusoup Services.

## Introduction

Wusoup Services are operated by **Taoensso LLC**, a Wyoming limited liability company, with Peter Taoussanis as its owner and sole operator (referred to as **Wusoup**, **I**, **me**, or **my** for readability). The terms in this Agreement constitute the entire agreement between Wusoup and the user of any Wusoup Services (referred to as **you**, or **your**).

By accessing or using any Wusoup Services in any way, you agree to and are bound by both this Agreement and the accompanying Privacy Policy (https://www.wusoup.com/help/privacy-policy).

I reserve the right to amend this agreement or any parts thereof at any time and without notice, and your continued use of any Wusoup Services implies your acceptance of the Agreement as amended.

If any provision in this Agreement is deemed invalid, void, or for any reason unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue in full force without being impaired or invalidated in any way.

This Agreement shall be governed by and interpreted according to the laws of Germany. If you are accessing any Wusoup Services from outside of Germany, you are responsible for compliance with all local laws.

As a condition of using any Wusoup Services, you agree that any and all disputes and causes of action arising out of or connected with any Wusoup Services, shall be resolved through arbitration, with such arbitration to be held in Berlin, Germany.

All notices required under this agreement must be in writing and will be deemed properly delivered as follows:

1. **By email**: Upon the recipient’s acknowledgment of the email or upon receipt of an automated delivery confirmation.

2. **By certified or registered mail**: Upon delivery to the recipient, as evidenced by a return receipt.

## Eligibility

You must be **19 years of age or older** to visit or use any Wusoup Services in any manner. By using any Wusoup Service or accepting this Agreement, you represent and warrant to Wusoup that you are 19 years of age or older, and that you have the right, authority and capacity to agree to and abide by this Agreement. You also represent and warrant to Wusoup that you will use any Wusoup Services in a manner consistent with any and all applicable laws and regulations.

## Copyright and intellectual property rights

The contents of all Wusoup Services are Copyright 2008-2026 **Peter Taoussanis** and may not be copied or otherwise reproduced without my written permission. All rights, including all moral rights of Wusoup and my employees/agents, are reserved unless expressly granted.

My service marks, trademarks, registered trademarks and trade dress include, but are not limited to the "Wusoup" name, the Wusoup logo and mascot, and the distinctive Wusoup branding.

Fair use of my service marks and trademarks in advertising and promotion of my services and products requires proper acknowledgement. All other service marks and trademarks not owned by me or my affiliates that appear on any Wusoup Services are the property of their respective owners, who may or may not be affiliated with, connected to, or sponsored by me or my affiliates.

## Disclaimer and limitation of liability

All Wusoup Services are provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis, without any representations or warranties of any kind, whether express or implied. This includes, but is not limited to: warranties of title, non-infringement, merchantability, or fitness for a particular purpose, except for warranties that cannot be excluded under applicable law.

Neither I nor any of my directors, employees, affiliates, or agents shall be liable for any damages, losses, or liabilities of any kind arising from or related to the use or inability to use any Wusoup Services, regardless of the cause. This includes, but is not limited to, any violations of this Agreement or any actions related to personal information you upload to any Wusoup Services, or any invasion of a third party’s privacy.

## Security

Your accounts for all Wusoup Services are private and should only be used by you. You are solely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your password(s) for all Wusoup Services, and for all activities that occur under your account, whether authorized or not.

While I take every precaution to protect the personal information of my users and follow industry best practices wherever possible, no internet system is completely secure. Therefore, I cannot be held responsible for any information theft in the event of a security breach.

## External links

Wusoup Services may contain links to third-party websites or services that are not operated or controlled by me. Use of these links is at your own risk. You acknowledge that I am not responsible for, and will not be held liable for, the availability, content, or accuracy of these third-party sites or services.

## Commercial use

Wusoup Services are provided for personal use only and may not be used for any commercial purposes. Organizations, companies, and businesses are prohibited from using any Wusoup Services for any commercial or business-related activities.

## Termination

Your use of any Wusoup Services is granted with my permission, and I reserve the right, in my sole discretion, to terminate, suspend, or limit your access to all or part of any Wusoup Services at any time, with or without notice, for any reason, including but not limited to a breach of this Agreement.

Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, any fraudulent, abusive, or illegal activity, or any activity that negatively impacts the enjoyment of any Wusoup Services or the Internet for others, may result in the termination of your access to all or part of any Wusoup Services at my sole discretion. Additionally, I may refer such activities to the appropriate law enforcement agencies.