It seems like it was just yesterday when word came that Apple had created an
"explicit" category for app submissions using iTunes Connect. Actually, it was only yesterday when many of us learned of the new category.
And what a difference a day makes.
After a brisk existence, the "explicit" category now seems to have been dropped. But since Apple is yet to comment at all on the "explicit" category debacle, this story has developed into a battle of allegations.
Some developers claim the "explicit" category appeared during the app submission process this week. Other devs say they've submitted apps throughout the week and the category in question never turned up once. And while several media outlets have "independently confirmed" the controversial category's existence, the fact remains that it's no longer to be found where others have previously "confirmed" the category to have appeared.
Apple, it seems, has gotten itself into a predicament over the rigorous cleansing of inappropriate content from the App Store. The removal of 5,000 titles from the App Store was praised by some and condemned by others. Now, it simply appears that Apple's attempt to aim for some middle ground may have backfired in the sense that many are confused about Apple's game plan moving forward. Although the App Store's stringent policies safeguarding against smut will all but certainly stay in place, scores of developers, are - at least in the short term - going to be operating in the dark with regard to "racy" apps they now have in development.
Until clear boundaries are set or a designated category is finally assigned for the appropriate-enough inappropriate apps, something tells me that more confusion and frustration than ever will litter the days of developers who are left to wonder if their work will be rejected or unceremoniously removed from the App Store.
02-25-2010, 01:31 PM
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