quicky (wrong syntax?)

["orangeted" <orangeted@...>]

What is wrong with this code snippet?

loop = true;
while loop == true do

    user_input = io.stdin:read '*1';
    
    if user_input ~= "q" then

        loop = false;   

    else

        print ("Invalid input, try again");

    end;
   
end;

I get the error msg: "bad argument #1 to 'read' (invalid format)"

thanks