Haiku, as far as I can tell, is some sort of Japanese poetry.

There are many rules and traditions when writing formal haiku, but the advantage of bad haiku is that you don't really have to follow any of them. On this site, most people do 17 syllable haiku structured in a 5 / 7 / 5 form.

So, basically, if (so ba si cally if)
you can speak in syllables (u can speak in syl la bles)
you can write haiku. (u can write hai ku)

What this site is (and isn't):

The Bad Haiku site has been on the internet and accepting poetry since 1996. It is not a freeze peach zone. If you post stuff that intimidates, harasses, bullies anyone, it will be removed. If you post stuff that I don't like, it will also be removed. Just be good to people, punch up not down and don't be a tool. I've been moderating this mess for almost 30 years. I've been dealing with internet trolls for longer than some of you have been alive.

In this iteration of the site, the header grapic is a slice of a ukiyo-e painting by Uehara Konen (1878-1940). The image of Matsuo Bashō saying unhelpful things is by an unknown artist.

Bad Haiku is one of the longest running sites accepting user submissions on the internet. It has been featured in many newspapers and magazines over the years and has been included in the Library of Congress’ “September 11, Web Archive”:

Bad Haiku, a Web Site produced by Janis, is part of the Library of Congress September 11 Web Archive and preserves the web expressions of individuals, groups, the press and institutions in the United States and from around the world in the aftermath of the attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001.

If you have any problems with the site you can contact me. My name is .