Community Guidelines

Last updated: May 1, 2026

TopDishy works because critics and eaters trust each other's reviews, photos, and rankings. These guidelines summarize what we expect from everyone who posts here. They sit alongside our Terms of Service — the Terms are the legal agreement; this page is the practical version.

What we welcome

• Honest reviews of dishes you actually ate.
• Photos you took yourself of the dish you're reviewing.
• Critic guides that help others decide where to eat.
• Constructive disagreement — different palates lead to different rankings.

What we don't allow

We remove content and may suspend or terminate accounts that post the following. Reports from other users are reviewed by humans, typically within 24 hours.

• Harassment, bullying, or threats directed at any individual, including critics, business owners, or other users.
• Hate speech or discriminatory content targeting people based on race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, disability, sex, gender identity, or sexual orientation.
• Sexual content, including suggestive imagery in dish photos.
• Violent or graphic content unrelated to food preparation.
• Illegal content or activity, including content depicting or enabling the sexual exploitation of minors. Suspected CSAM is reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC).
• Spam: repetitive posts, off-topic promotions, link farms, fake review campaigns, or coordinated inauthentic behavior.
• Fake reviews or photos: reviewing a dish you didn't actually eat, posting stock photos as your own, or impersonating another person.
• Ranking manipulation: paying for rankings, coordinating to up-rank or down-rank a restaurant, or using multiple accounts to inflate one critic's influence.
• Doxxing or sharing private information about others without their consent.

How to report

Use the “⋯” menu on any review, critic profile, or feed post — the menu contains a Report option. You can also block a user from their profile to hide their content from your feeds, search, and dish pages. Blocking is mutual: a blocked user also won't see your content.

What happens after a report

Every report is reviewed by a human moderator. Outcomes include: leaving the content up (no violation), removing the content, or suspending the account. We don't notify the reporter individually about the outcome, but we do act. Severe or repeat violations result in account termination.

Appeals

If your content was removed or your account suspended and you believe it was a mistake, contact us at [email protected]. Include your username and a brief description of what was removed.

Contact

Questions about these guidelines: [email protected].