Terms of Service | MyPickyFork

Eligibility

The Site is intended for users who are at least 18 years old, or the age of majority in their jurisdiction if higher. By using the Site, you represent that you meet this requirement and have the legal capacity to enter into these Terms. Optional paid contribution tiers require a valid payment method and are processed by Stripe; you must be authorized to use that payment method.

The Site is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. See our Privacy Policy for more information.

What MyPickyFork is

MyPickyFork publishes independent, opinion-based restaurant reviews written by our operators. Reviews reflect personal judgment using a fixed seven-category scoring rubric described on the Site. Reviews are editorial content and opinions, not guarantees, inspections, certifications, or professional advice about food safety, health, nutrition, allergens, or business performance.

Restaurant conditions, menus, prices, staffing, ownership, and food quality can change after a visit. You should use your own judgment before dining or spending money at any restaurant mentioned on the Site.

Editorial independence

Scores, verdicts, and written content are not for sale and are not negotiable.
Restaurants cannot pay for coverage, favorable treatment, score changes, or removal of a published review.
Optional reader contributions may fund a visit but do not influence the score, verdict, or writing. Funded visits are disclosed on the published review using the standard disclosure language on the Site.
When a review involves a reader contribution or comp, we require at least one independent paid visit before publishing, as described in our Method page.
Before publishing a negative review (final score below 6.0), we visit the restaurant at least twice on separate occasions, as described on the Site.

Submissions

You may submit a restaurant for review through the Site’s submission form or by email to [email protected]. When you submit, you represent and warrant that:

The information you provide is accurate to the best of your knowledge.
You are not the restaurant, its owner, employee, agent, or anyone acting on its behalf.
You have checked all three required consent boxes on the submission form (independence, non-negotiable score, and disclosure of contributions), or you expressly agree to the same statements if submitting by email.
Your submission is not false, misleading, harassing, defamatory, or submitted for an improper purpose (including attempting to influence editorial outcomes or harm a competitor).

Submitting a restaurant does not create a contract for a review, visit date, score, publication, or any particular outcome. We decide what to visit, when to visit, whether to publish, and how to score, in our sole editorial discretion, consistent with our published ethics and queue rules.

By submitting information, you grant Intelliquinte a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use, store, reproduce, and process that information to operate the submission queue, plan visits, communicate with you about your submission, and (if we choose) write and publish a review. You retain ownership of your original submission text; we own our reviews, scores, photos taken by our operators, and Site content.

Contribution tiers and payments

The Site offers an optional free Standard tier and optional paid tiers processed through Stripe Checkout. As of the last updated date above, paid tiers include:

Priority — $15.00 (USD), intended to move your submission ahead in the queue with a target review within about 60 days.
Full meal — $37.50 (USD), intended to cover a full meal cost with a target review within about 30 days and priority placement on the Site.
Custom — a reader-chosen amount between $5.00 and $200.00 (USD), shown at checkout, with queue priority that scales with the contribution amount.

Amounts, tier labels, and target timelines on the Site are subject to change; the price shown at Stripe Checkout is the amount you authorize. Target timelines are goals, not guarantees, and may vary based on geography, restaurant availability, safety, and editorial judgment.

Contributions are intended to cover meal cost only, not the review outcome, score, or verdict.
Priority and Full meal are fixed-price tiers. They are not typically refunded after a completed visit. Any amount remaining after a reasonable meal cost may be retained as fair compensation for time, travel, and writing.
Custom tier: if your chosen amount clearly exceeds a reasonable meal cost at that restaurant for the review visit, the excess is refunded after the visit (usually via Stripe to your original payment method).
If a restaurant closes or becomes unreachable before a review can be published, eligible paid contributions are refunded in full.
Contributions are not accepted from the restaurant itself or anyone affiliated with it.
Completing Stripe Checkout authorizes a one-time charge for the selected tier. If you cancel checkout or do not complete payment, no charge is made; a submission record may still exist with a pending payment status.
Once a contribution has been applied to a completed review visit, it is generally not refundable except as described above (Custom overpayment or closure/unreachability before publication).

Refund requests: email [email protected] with your name, submission email, restaurant name, and payment date. Approved refunds are processed through Stripe to the original payment method when possible. Chargebacks or payment disputes should be raised with us first so we can resolve them directly.

Payment processing is provided by Stripe, Inc. Your use of Stripe Checkout is also subject to Stripe’s terms and privacy policy. Intelliquinte is not a bank or money transmitter; Stripe handles card processing.

Intellectual property

The Site, its design, branding, rubric, and published reviews (including text, scores, and photographs taken by our operators during visits) are owned by Intelliquinte or its licensors and are protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws.

You may not copy, scrape, mirror, republish, frame, or commercially exploit Site content without our prior written permission, except that you may share links to individual published reviews for personal, non-commercial purposes with attribution and a link to the original page on the Site.

Acceptable use

You agree not to:

Violate any applicable law or third-party rights.
Submit false, misleading, or harassing information.
Attempt to interfere with the Site, submission flow, checkout, APIs, or database (including automated abuse, credential stuffing, or denial-of-service activity).
Use automated means to scrape or overload the Site without our written permission.
Misrepresent your relationship to a restaurant or attempt to pay for editorial influence.
Reverse engineer or attempt to extract source code or non-public credentials from the Site.

Disclaimers

THE SITE AND ALL REVIEWS ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE.” TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, INTELLIQUINTE DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SITE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE, OR THAT REVIEWS WILL BE COMPLETE, CURRENT, OR SUITABLE FOR YOUR PURPOSE.

Limitation of liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, INTELLIQUINTE AND ITS MEMBERS, MANAGERS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AND OPERATORS WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, REVENUE, DATA, OR GOODWILL, ARISING FROM OR RELATED TO YOUR USE OF THE SITE OR RELIANCE ON ANY REVIEW, WHETHER BASED ON WARRANTY, CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY, EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, OUR TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ANY CLAIM ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE SITE OR THESE TERMS WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) THE TOTAL AMOUNT YOU PAID TO US THROUGH THE SITE IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS BEFORE THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM OR (B) FIFTY U.S. DOLLARS ($50.00).

Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations or exclusions; in those jurisdictions, our liability is limited to the maximum extent permitted by law.

Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Intelliquinte and its members, managers, officers, employees, and operators from and against any claims, damages, losses, liabilities, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising from or related to (a) your use of the Site, (b) your submission or payment, (c) your violation of these Terms, or (d) your violation of any law or third-party rights, including any claim that information you submitted was false, misleading, or submitted on behalf of a restaurant.

Dispute resolution

Before filing a claim, you agree to contact us at [email protected] and allow at least thirty (30) days for us to try to resolve the dispute informally.

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of North Carolina, United States, without regard to conflict-of-law rules that would require applying another jurisdiction’s laws. Except where prohibited by law, you agree that exclusive jurisdiction for any dispute not resolved informally lies in the state or federal courts located in Wake County, North Carolina, and you consent to personal jurisdiction and venue in those courts.

General

Changes. We may update these Terms from time to time. The “Last updated” date above will change when we do. Material changes will be posted on this page. Continued use of the Site after an update constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.
Severability. If any provision of these Terms is held invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in full force and effect.
Entire agreement. These Terms and the Privacy Policy are the entire agreement between you and Intelliquinte regarding the Site and supersede prior agreements on that subject.
No waiver. Our failure to enforce any provision is not a waiver of our right to do so later.
Assignment. You may not assign these Terms without our consent. We may assign these Terms in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets.

MyPickyFork is a brand operated by Intelliquinte L.L.C., alongside other independent projects. The best-known sibling project is Dear Nobody (dearnobody.org) — an anonymous letter and confession platform with its own ethics, moderation, and privacy architecture.

These Terms apply only to MyPickyFork. Dear Nobody, Intelliquinte’s corporate site (corp.intelliquinte.com), and any other Intelliquinte property are separate services governed by their own terms and policies. Using them is not a substitute for reading these Terms, and using MyPickyFork is not a substitute for reading theirs.

Restaurant submissions, payments, and reviews on MyPickyFork are not combined with Dear Nobody letter content. The products serve different purposes and maintain separate data flows.

Contact

Intelliquinte L.L.C. (MyPickyFork)
Raleigh, North Carolina, United States
Legal: [email protected]
Submissions & refunds: [email protected]

These Terms are written to match how the Site operates. They are not a substitute for advice from your own attorney.