[Macworld]

Post your comments for Murderdrome comic refused entry into the App Store here

[sheilanolan]

Nanny Apple strikes again. This is going to make me want it even more if it finally gets through just to see what all the fuss was about. I guess this could be great for Infurious in the long run!

[ibeetle]

So retailers do not get a say in what they sell?

Why not complain to Toys R Us that they should carry adult toys along side children's toys?
Why not tell Boarders to put Barley Legal (an adult magazine that uses 18-21 year old models to create the illusion of child pornography) in the children's section?

If a record store does not carry obscenity laced, misogynistic rap music that is their business model. You do not like it? Do not shop there.

[benzab]

I am very pleased to hear that Apple has enough of a sense of morality to use discretion on what they sell. Go Apple!

[cnjartist]

@ibeetle - In most cases your arguement is true, however in this case you're a little off in one aspect: for iPhone apps, the App Store is the only place to shop. Correct me if I'm wrong but Apple does not allow 3rd parties to sell apps for the iPhone outside the App Store. If somebody develops an application for the iPhone and they wish to make it assesable to the public (either for free or as a paid application) it must be posted to the App Store.

Now, Apple does have every legal right to restrict what gets posted to the App Store since they own the store, but that does not mean it's the correct thing to do based on content, especially when they allow other mature content like R rated movies, adult themes TV shows (like some of the offerings from HBO & Showtime) and music with explicit lyrics.

It does not make sense to restrict one but not the others based on content, unless the content is so explicit that were it a movie, tv show, or musical recording, it would have been resricted anyway.

[Olu]

It's a slippery slope IMHO. I could understand the need/desire to keep porn off the iPhone, but no violent content? So none of the games have violent themes in them? When Force Unleashed is released for the iPhone, will that also get pulled because you're killing storm troopers with your lightsaber? I get plenty of violent and disturbing images from Mobile News, should that be banned too?
I think the addition of a rating system is a great idea. Let the consumer choose the content for the iPhone. By limiting content as they have, developers will be hesitant to spend the time to develop apps for the iPhone. The video of this application shows some really nice ideas, especially to a comic book fan like me. I could easily see some of the bigger comicbook companies jumping on this framework to distribute their works.

[maxeverde]

Umm Apple has had a rating system for games and other apps on the app store since day 1. Search for "r u drunk" in iTunes for an example, and also open iTunes preferences to parental and notice theres an option to restrict games to (4, 9, 12, or 17)
Message was edited by: maxeverde

[chewygoat]

The AppStore already has a ratings system for games. The ratings are 4/9/12/17. To see what they mean, click on the rating for any game and you'll see the list of ratings and what they mean/imply. Games rated 17 actually require you to be 17 years or older to purchase the game. The other ratings are suggestions, not hard and fast. Presumably the 17 rating might be applied to, say, some future Grand Theft Auto type game. So, if there's a 17+ category for games, why not for comics and other apps? It seems like they should just apply ratings to all apps, or at least to comics.

[maxeverde]

chewygoat, while the ratings are suggested to be for games, I wouldn't consider this a game but it has a rating, and it could certainly apply to comics. I wonder if the rating is chosen by the author, and since this app wasn't given a rating they denied it.

[danielchow]

i think it's good that Apple is monitoring the content of what is sold, but in fairness to the developers, i think a rating system similar to the other departments of iTunes would be useful. such a system would help the consumers make educated decisions before making a purchase.
speaking of educated decisions, i think too many of the users' reviews in iTunes are a waste of bandwidth. often the reviews are based on other users' comments, or based on nothing but the product's snippet (the song or movie's 30-second preview, an application's description, icon appearance, or it's national origin).
sadly, some so-called reviews are racists comments. i wish Apple would place as much effort into eliminating irrelevant, and sometimes racist comments as they have with monitoring what type of applications may be sold in its iTunes app store.

[PRoth]

Anyone ever notice that if you do something that goes against "popular" opinion, along with the assertions and condemnations comes an inkling of a solution. Ahhh, a rating system. Bravo!
Correct me if I'm wrong, but it isn't Apple that decides the ratings on the other iTunes content like music, TV shows and movies. But for iPod Touch and iPhone – a platform in and of itself – you've got a whole new way of dealing with developers/distributors, etc.
I've said it before and I'll say it again... Apple has become stretched too thin. They've admittedly done too much, too soon with too few resources. Now, we just have to wait a bit for them to clean up their act.

[PRoth]

Ohh one more thing. I couldn't find The Running Man movie on iTunes either. But the soundtrack's there... and it's CLEAN!

[Olu]

maxeverde said:

Umm Apple has had a rating system for games and other apps on the app store since day 1. Search for "r u drunk" in iTunes for an example, and also open iTunes preferences to parental and notice theres an option to restrict games to (4, 9, 12, or 17)

Message was edited by: maxeverde

Never noticed the rating system before. I guess I stick to the 'cleaner' applications. Of course an app called r u drunk to test how drunk you are(can anyone say legal nightmare) is okay, but a comic with blood and guts is not. (and yes I know there are disclaimers on this app, but things like that have fallen through before)

[kboone34]

Sorry to go off topic, but could you share with me how to achieve the "Grey" box that highlights the quoted text you are responding to?