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Demo data. Every shop and review in this build is fictional, so you can click through the product.

Open Chair

Our promise

Reviews businesses can't buy, hide, or bury.

What a business cannot do

  • Pay Open Chair, or a reviewer, to rise in the directory or in a review list.
  • Hide a review, mark it private, or have it shown only to people who filter for it.
  • Edit someone else's words, delete a review, or reorder reviews.
  • Have a review removed because it is negative, because the owner disagrees, or because the business asked.

An owner who has claimed the shop can post a public reply and can flag a review. The flag waits in a moderator queue. The review stays visible.

When a review can come down

These reasons are about the review's fitness, not its star rating. A moderator must write a note. Both appear on the removal log.

  • Fake or incentivized

    The review is not from a real visit, or someone paid or rewarded it.

  • Abusive or harassing

    Insults, slurs, or threats, rather than a description of the visit.

  • Personal information

    A private phone number, home address, or other personal details.

  • Off-topic

    The review is not about a visit to this business.

  • Clearly false

    The claim is contradicted by evidence. An unflattering opinion is not enough.

Verified visits

Proof is a photo or a counter QR code. Moderators approve it. The badge is a label, not a rank. Reviews with proof still waiting, or proof that was rejected, remain on the page so a shop cannot bury them by disputing the receipt.

The avatar, later

At 10 verified reviews, a shop page unlocks a source file of quotes taken only from published, verified reviews. A future voice will have to speak from that file. The business cannot edit it. This version does not generate speech. If verified reviews fall back under 10, the unlock closes.

The FTC review rule

In 2024 the U.S. Federal Trade Commission adopted a rule on consumer reviews and testimonials, 16 CFR Part 465. In plain language, it targets fake reviews, paid reviews that are not disclosed, and suppression of honest reviews. Open Chair's product rules are written to line up with that: no buying rank, no hiding, and a public record when something comes down. This page is the product policy. It is not legal advice.

This build is a demo

Nick Orton is building Open Chair from Provo, Utah. Every business in the seeded directory is fictional. Do not treat a demo review as a statement about a real shop. The rules above are what the software enforces, including in the tests.