Call us gullible or optimistic, but after learning of Apple’s new channels of communication with developers, we genuinely believed that the days of ridiculous and non-sensical app rejections were behind us.
We were wrong.
DaringFireball gives us the low down on the trials and tribulations experienced by the developers of Ninjawords, an iPhone dictionary app that’s been censored by Apple, yet still comes with a 17+ rating. And if you’re trying to figure out why a censored app would even need a 17+ rating, then good luck, because we’re all out of ideas.
And if that wasn’t enough, Apple even forced the developers to remove words that have completely non-sexual connotations and are used in everyday conversations – words such as ass, snatch, and screw, for example.
It’s mind boggling that Apple subjects iPhone apps to such a high level of scrutiny when users can just as easily download explicit episodes of Oz (which features full frontal male nudity) and Sex and the City from iTunes whenever they want. Are Apple’s app reviewers so removed from reality, or perhaps running on so little sleep, that they’ve lost all semblance of common sense? Seriously, what the hell is going on over in Cupertino?
John Gruber of DF sums things up perfectly when he writes, “Apple requires you to be 17 years or older to purchase a censored dictionary that omits half the words Steve Jobs uses every day.”
DF has the full scoop on Ninjawords over here.
Tue, Aug 4, 2009
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