Terms of Use
These terms govern your use of BigForkSteering (the site). By accessing or using the site you accept these terms. If you do not accept them, do not use the site.
Editorial use
BigForkSteering publishes editorial reviews and a catalogue of free software downloads. All editorial content — reviews, ratings, descriptions, comparisons, recommendations — is provided for informational purposes. Editorial opinion reflects the editor’s assessment at the time of writing and is not professional advice. You are responsible for evaluating whether a program is suitable for your specific use case before installing it.
Software downloads
BigForkSteering does not host or distribute software. Download links on the site point to the official developer’s website or a clearly identified source mirror. The software you download is subject to the developer’s own license, terms and privacy policy, not ours. We do not warrant that any program is free of defects, malware, license restrictions, or compatibility issues with your hardware or operating system. You install and run any downloaded program at your own risk.
Accuracy of catalogue data
We work to keep version numbers, file sizes, license terms and platform information accurate against what developers currently ship, but we cannot guarantee real-time accuracy. Developers ship updates between our refresh cycles. If you spot an error or a discontinued link, please contact us and we will correct it.
Intellectual property
Editorial content on BigForkSteering — original reviews, ratings, comparisons, descriptions, photographs taken by our editor, the catalogue structure itself — is the copyright of BigForkSteering unless otherwise indicated. You may quote short excerpts for editorial, educational or critical purposes with attribution. Software names, logos, screenshots and trademarks belong to their respective owners and appear on the catalogue under fair-use editorial provisions. If you are a software vendor and want a logo or screenshot removed or corrected, contact us via DMCA.
Acceptable use
Do not use the site to scrape catalogue content at industrial scale, to launch denial-of-service attacks, to attempt to bypass technical access controls, to submit malicious content via any contact channel, or to misrepresent your identity in any submission. Automated bots may be rate-limited, challenged or blocked. Known SEO and AI crawlers are welcome at standard crawl rates.
Disclaimers
The site is provided "as is" and "as available" without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy, completeness, or non-infringement. We disclaim all warranties to the extent permitted by law.
Limitation of liability
To the maximum extent permitted by law, BigForkSteering, its editor and its operators will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive damages arising from your use of the site, downloaded software, or reliance on any editorial content. Our maximum aggregate liability for any claim is limited to one hundred Canadian dollars (CAD 100).
Affiliation disclaimer
BigForkSteering is an independent editorial publication. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the software vendors whose programs appear in the catalogue. Trademark mentions are nominative and editorial only. See also our disclaimer.
Governing law
These terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales (with UK GDPR observed), without regard to conflict-of-law principles. Any dispute arising from these terms or your use of the site is subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the the courts of England and Wales. The editorial office sits in United Kingdom.
Changes to these terms
We may update these terms; the current version is the one published on this page. Material changes will be noted with the "Last reviewed" date at the top of this page. Continued use after a change constitutes acceptance.
Contact
Questions about these terms: editorial@bigforksteering.org or via the contact form.
Common Questions About These Terms
What does it actually mean to use this site?
Using the site covers anything from reading a single review through to following an outbound link to a developer’s download page. The terms apply the moment a page loads in your browser. There is no account to create and nothing to sign, but the rules around acceptable use, intellectual property, and disclaimers still apply.
Am I bound by the terms if I am only browsing?
Yes. Continued use of the site, including casual browsing, counts as acceptance. If you disagree with anything in this document, the correct response is to close the tab. We do not require a click-through agreement because the site does not collect personal data or hold user accounts.
Are you responsible if a program I download turns out to be malicious?
No. BigForkSteering does not host installer files. Each listing links to the developer’s official page or another primary source, and the download itself happens between you and that third party. We check links during editorial review, but the safety, version, and bundled offers of any installer are the responsibility of the publisher. Run your own antivirus check before installing anything.
Can I republish your reviews or copy parts of the catalogue?
Short quotations with a clear attribution and a link back to the original page are fine, as is the standard practice for press reviews. Wholesale copying of articles, scraping the catalogue into another site, or reposting our descriptions as if they were your own is not permitted. For licensing requests beyond fair dealing, get in touch first.
What jurisdiction governs disputes?
The terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales (with UK GDPR observed). Any dispute that cannot be resolved by correspondence is subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the the courts of England and Wales. The editorial office sits in United Kingdom, but the legal framework chosen for the site is the standard one used across the UK for online publishers.