--- a/util/stanza.lua	Wed Mar 21 16:31:48 2018 +0100
+++ b/util/stanza.lua	Wed Mar 21 22:04:20 2018 +0000
@@ -111,9 +111,11 @@
 end
 
 function stanza_mt:text(text)
-	check_text(text, "text");
-	local last_add = self.last_add;
-	(last_add and last_add[#last_add] or self):add_direct_child(text);
+	if text ~= nil and text ~= "" then
+		check_text(text, "text");
+		local last_add = self.last_add;
+		(last_add and last_add[#last_add] or self):add_direct_child(text);
+	end
 	return self;
 end