protected function prepareText(&$text) {

        // check if it is a string
        if (!is_string($text)) {

            // it is not, raise a flag
            return false;
        }

        // trim any front or ending spaces
        $text = trim($text);

        // if there is no text, no need to continue
        if (strlen($text) == 0) {

            // there is not text, raise a flag
            return false;
        }

        return true;
    }