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Apple Has Removed Dash from the App Store

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Re: Apple Has Removed Dash from the App Store

#281

Post by KirinDave »

habitue wrote: post #268
Rotten194 wrote: post #259

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You act like there's a choice -- customers get apps through the app store, so that's where developers have to be if they want to eat.

Can we drop the whole "need to eat" language when talking about software development? We're talking about people with abundant opportunity to make tons of money. Tugging on the heartstrings with "they need to eat" or "feed their families" is preposterously over the top rhetoric.

It is not the case that all developers have easy access to abundant income. It is at least as wrong to assume that is true as to assume that they are living hand to mouth.

Re: Apple Has Removed Dash from the App Store

#282

Post by enraged_camel »

vbezhenar wrote: post #238
dandare wrote: post #234

I am annoyed by something else: today Apple stepped on the wrong toe, the community will cry foul and someone from Apple who reads HN will rush to salvage the situation. We have seen this pattern before (usually but not exclusively with Apple). But what about the thousands of small and nameless developers that were crushed by some script bug or killed by operator misclick? Who will ever help them?

Human support is supposed to help them. What I found unacceptable is "We are banning you and we won't tell you anything about it". This pattern is extremely common. And extremely frustrating. You can't put one in jail without telling why (and right to defend). In many developed countries you can't even fire a worker without a solid reason. It should be prohibited for companies to halt service someone without providin…

>>It should be prohibited for companies to halt service someone without providing a reasonable explanation.

What a terrible idea.

Re: Apple Has Removed Dash from the App Store

#283

Post by brianwawok »

fattire wrote: post #253
joemi wrote: post #241

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For what it's worth, both Amazon and Google can be the same way. (I've had to deal with such from both of them before.) That said, it's not always that way with them, and I suspect Apple is similar. We always hear about the rough encounters, but few people write about "I just had this issue, and it got cleared up immediately. The end."

You have other means to distribute your app w/Android, including self-distribution. It's an uphill climb to be sure, but there are apps who do that. Correct me if I'm wrong, but iOS doesn't offer that opportunity as sideloading and non-Apple markets are not possible unless you jailbreak your device

Can you name a single Android app that has even made 100k distributed via side loading? I can't.

Re: Apple Has Removed Dash from the App Store

#284

Post by KirinDave »

ensignavenger wrote: post #275
jeremyjh wrote: post #233

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They do not want to investigate. They do not care about pursuing matters with the authorities (unless there is major carnage). They just want to keep involvement low, close the case as quick as possible and move on. Fraud mitigation is a cost center.

Yes, customer service is a cost center- and cutting corners on the said customer service is exactly what previous commenters were complaining about- app store developers pay Apple n extraordinary amount of money, they should get better customer service in return.

I think maybe you're operating under a wrong idea here. iOS developers are not customers. They are not treated as customers nor considered as customers.

There really is no analogue to the relationship Apple has with iOS developers except perhaps, "Extremely bad contracting relationship." Apple has a lock on the perception that you need to publish on their platform to be serious about mobile dev. As such, they don't need to treat developers well unless there are very large corporate relationships to maintain (and while I assure you such things are in play, sadly I'd be in very big trouble for getting into specifics on any of them).

Apple's model is to convince developers that they're obligated to prop Apple's platform. It is not the stunning core iOS experience that drives people to the platform, nor the beautiful default app toolkit. It's the sweat and prowess of its developer community, and yet the power of the relationship is completely inverted.

While Google can be a faceless cancelmachine, my experience shipping a few apps now is that Google is actually really responsive once you get to the stage where you have a direct rep. Getting Apple to respond to my needs historically has been Game of Thrones level politics and a function of how connected our startup funding network was.

Re: Apple Has Removed Dash from the App Store

#285

Post by heartbreak »

izacus wrote: post #154
redial wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They still sell the iPhone 6S and the SE.

Well, I'm afraid you kinda missed my larger point due to a nitpick into an example. Please replace it with something else appropriate (physical keyboard? USB-C or microUSB port? whatever really) and argue about that :/

How about we just don't argue at all, because you're clearly misinformed if you think iTunes is the only way to get music on iOS. Or pretty much any of your other assertions.

Re: Apple Has Removed Dash from the App Store

#286

Post by fred256 »

coldcode wrote: post #276
projectileboy wrote: post #68

I wonder if Apple knows how many developers use Dash. They probably don't realize what a high-profile faux pas they're making.

In any large organization there are islands of mass stupidity. Apple is no different. I bet this ends with a mea culpa caused by the 1000 people at Apple who use the product who are now pissed. Note the review team operates in an airless void separate from the rest of the company on purpose; however those 1000 know where they sit.

It doesn't look like this was caused by the app review team, the whole developer account was canceled due to fraud reasons, which doesn't sound like something the app review team would be responsible for. But the rest of your comment stands.

Re: Apple Has Removed Dash from the App Store

#287

Post by 13of40 »

enraged_camel wrote: post #282
vbezhenar wrote: post #238

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Human support is supposed to help them. What I found unacceptable is "We are banning you and we won't tell you anything about it". This pattern is extremely common. And extremely frustrating. You can't put one in jail without telling why (and right to defend). In many developed countries you can't even fire a worker without a solid reason. It should be prohibited for companies to halt service someone without providin…

>>It should be prohibited for companies to halt service someone without providing a reasonable explanation. What a terrible idea.

Is it? I don't think the idea is that they can't stop service for whatever reason, but that they have to provide a reason. On the other hand, I guess it doesn't have any teeth if they can just say, "Because you smell funny plus it's Tuesday..."

Re: Apple Has Removed Dash from the App Store

#288

Post by qyv »

fattire wrote: post #265
Rotten194 wrote: post #259

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You act like there's a choice -- customers get apps through the app store, so that's where developers have to be if they want to eat.

The choice is that if you're going to develop software for sale to the public, you can choose to develop software for sale in another market which is not so restrictive and oppressive. Other platforms and marketplaces exist, and money can be made there. To contemplate the actual possibility of sweating for years building a business, slaving over software, creating marketing campaigns, and a brand and fighting to beat…

Just goes to show that selling App's in a walled ecosystem is NOT the exact same as building a software business. You lose so much control over your product, you essentially become commission-only contract software developers. Publishers have been pushing for this kind of control for a long time.

Re: Apple Has Removed Dash from the App Store

#289

Post by fred256 »

hellofunk wrote: post #71
hellofunk wrote: post #61

I hope we will see an update here or somewhere soon that provides more information on why it was removed.

Just noticed that Dash offers iOS docs. I wonder if Apple has a rule against charging a fee to provide their own documentation?

Presumably that would cause the app to be rejected due to not complying with the app review guidelines, not terminating the entire developer account for fraud.

Re: Apple Has Removed Dash from the App Store

#290

Post by paulddraper »

habitue wrote: post #268
Rotten194 wrote: post #259

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You act like there's a choice -- customers get apps through the app store, so that's where developers have to be if they want to eat.

Can we drop the whole "need to eat" language when talking about software development? We're talking about people with abundant opportunity to make tons of money. Tugging on the heartstrings with "they need to eat" or "feed their families" is preposterously over the top rhetoric.

I can't speak for you, but my family needs to eat.

Can I choose my opportunities? To some extent.

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