Community Guidelines

My Cuppa Coffee | Last updated: 11 May 2026

Our philosophy

My Cuppa Coffee exists to help people find cafés they’ll love and to help independent cafés build loyal communities. Honest, thoughtful reviews are at the heart of that mission.

These guidelines apply to everyone on the Platform: Cuppa Lovers writing reviews and Café Owners responding to them.

For reviewers

Write reviews that help

The best reviews help other Cuppa Lovers decide whether a café is right for them. Share what you experienced: the coffee, the atmosphere, the service, the food, the value. Be specific. “Great coffee” is nice; “their single origin Ethiopian was bright and fruity, exactly what I look for” is useful.

Be honest and fair

Rate your genuine experience. If you had a bad day, that’s worth sharing. If you had a great one, share that too. Just be honest about what happened. One bad visit doesn’t define a café, and one great visit might not either.

Keep it respectful

Critique the experience, not the people. “The service was slow and my order was wrong” is fair feedback. Personal attacks, name-calling, or abusive language directed at staff are not acceptable.

What’s not allowed

The following content will be removed, and repeated violations may result in account suspension or termination:

Fake or misleading reviews

• Reviews of cafés you have not visited
• Reviews written in exchange for payment, discounts, or incentives
• Reviews posted by café owners about their own café (or a competitor’s)
• Reviews posted from multiple accounts by the same person

Harmful content

• Threats of violence or intimidation
• Hate speech, discrimination, or harassment based on race, gender, sexuality, religion, disability, or any protected attribute
• Doxxing or sharing personal information about staff or other customers
• Defamatory statements (false statements of fact presented as truth)

Irrelevant content

• Spam, advertising, or promotional material
• Content unrelated to the café experience
• Links to external websites
• Political statements or campaigns unrelated to the café

Illegal content

• Content that violates Australian law
• Encouragement of illegal activity
• Copyright-infringing material

For café owners

Responding to reviews

On eligible subscription tiers, you can respond to reviews. Responses are visible to all users and reflect on your brand.

Do:

• Thank reviewers for their feedback, whether positive or negative
• Address specific concerns raised in the review
• Explain what you’ve done or plan to do to address issues
• Keep responses professional and constructive

Don’t:

• Threaten or intimidate reviewers
• Use abusive or aggressive language
• Dispute facts without providing your perspective calmly
• Copy-paste the same response to every review

What you must never do

• Offer payment, discounts, free items, or any incentive for reviews or for removing reviews
• Ask or pressure customers to leave positive reviews
• Create fake reviews of your own café or negative reviews of competitors
• Report negative reviews as inappropriate simply because they are negative (report only genuine violations of these guidelines)
• Threaten legal action against reviewers for expressing honest opinions

Reporting and moderation

How to report

If you see content that violates these guidelines, use the “Report” button on the review. Include the reason for your report. We review all reports within 48 hours.

Our moderation process

When a review is reported:

1. We review the content against these guidelines
2. If it violates the guidelines, we remove it and notify the reviewer
3. If it doesn’t violate the guidelines, the report is dismissed
4. We may contact the reviewer for clarification before making a decision

Our moderation decisions are final, though you may appeal by contacting mycuppacoffeeau@gmail.com with additional context.

Consequences for violations

• First violation: Content removed, warning issued
• Second violation: Content removed, formal notice
• Third violation: Account suspended (temporary or permanent, depending on severity)
• Severe violations (threats, hate speech, fraud): Immediate account termination

MCC’s role

MCC is a platform. We provide the tools for reviews and responses but are not the author or publisher of user content. We moderate content based on these guidelines and applicable law, but we do not pre-screen every review.

We are not responsible for the accuracy of reviews. Differences of opinion and subjective experiences are inherent to the review process and are not grounds for removal.

Questions

Contact us at mycuppacoffeeau@gmail.com with questions about these guidelines.