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Apple has locked me out of my developer account

rambo.codes

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Re: Apple has locked me out of my developer account

#111

Post by fetus8 »

jrockway wrote: post #104
atonse wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Said it better than I could've – there are some pretty obvious reasons why Rambo's account could've been suspended, the clear violation of NDAs being the main one, with him publishing information about unreleased products. I'm honestly kind of surprised they let him keep his Developer account all this time. My bigger issue here is the complete lack of transparency or visibility into the process. It's this kind of stu…

Apple is banning journalists from submitting apps to the App Store because they don't like the coverage they're getting? That is worrying.

That's not what's happening. Rambo is known for reverse engineering Apple beta's and pulling information regarding unreleased products and then publishing that info via 9to5mac. As many other people in this thread have mentioned, it likely violates the terms of the Apple Developer Agreement.

Re: Apple has locked me out of my developer account

#112

Post by izacus »

s_dev wrote: post #101
hnarn wrote: post #49

It feels like I'm living in a bizarre world where this event is being parsed by so many people as "Apple can't lock any account they want, force them to apologize!", when what people should be saying is "Wow, monolithic software pipelines controlled by a corporation sure are bad and this is just one of many entirely predictable consequences"

If he broke Apples ToS then fair enough terminate the account however it isn't clear this is what happened. If Apple terminates an account they should be obliged to provide a reason as to why the account is being terminated, otherwise it's a clear cut refund of the $100 for the dev account at the very least.

Except that terminated account now also means that he and other people aren't allowed to run his code on their own hardware at home.

Re: Apple has locked me out of my developer account

#113

Post by nixpulvis »

JohnFen wrote: post #63

The risk of this sort of thing is why I have never, and will never, develop for platforms that I need a "developer account" or the approval of the company for. It's far too dangerous to allow any company to be in a position where they can flip a switch (intentionally or not) and turn your business off.

Exactly! Especially for developers of cross platform software, it's bad enough having to emulate or find hardware, now what they need a plethora of developer accounts too?

Re: Apple has locked me out of my developer account

#114

Post by dkonofalski »

sanxiyn wrote: post #73
dkonofalski wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is that vindictive? It's true. What is the press going to do to help with an approval? That almost always should be a last resort.

Since it sometimes does help, "it never helps" is false. Lying is usually considered a bad manner.

Except it doesn't. In nearly every case where a decision by Apple was reversed, it was internal communications with the affected party that led to the resolution. I would love a source that said that bad-mouthing Apple to the media resulted in the outcome they wanted.

Re: Apple has locked me out of my developer account

#115

Post by deogeo »

SlowRobotAhead wrote: post #67
rgovostes wrote: post #39

> I’m just an indie developer trying to make good products. Apple should separate Rambo's software development from his reporting rather than retaliate against him, if that is indeed what is happening, but it is a little disingenuous for him to make the above claim. Rambo reverse engineers Apple products and publishes findings on 9to5Mac.com, in particular future product references that have slipped prematurely into…

I imagine he crossed some terms of service with obvious legal clarity... so, I guess I’m not sure Apple should separate his “official” and “unofficial” actions. IDK. Maybe I’m just big into personal responsibility and knowing that you shouldn’t bite the hand that feeds you. He did a thing, and now pays a price. I guess I don’t see a lot of gray area. Could you make the argument that Apple’s walled garden has issues,…

Lets not conflate 'personal responsibility' with slavishly obeying terms of one-sided contracts. Neither is it the 'hand that feeds you'. 'The hand that has placed itself in control of your market' is more apt.

Re: Apple has locked me out of my developer account

#116

Post by rmsaksida »

rgovostes wrote: post #39

> I’m just an indie developer trying to make good products. Apple should separate Rambo's software development from his reporting rather than retaliate against him, if that is indeed what is happening, but it is a little disingenuous for him to make the above claim. Rambo reverse engineers Apple products and publishes findings on 9to5Mac.com, in particular future product references that have slipped prematurely into…

Even if that's all true, and even if Apple has good reasons to lock his account, why not just tell him the reason? I don't understand why tech companies have this passive aggressive attitude when users violate their rules of witholding information and giving some vague canned responses when asked about what's going on. Just tell him what happened in detail.

Re: Apple has locked me out of my developer account

#117

Post by dkonofalski »

jon889 wrote: post #77
dkonofalski wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So he violated the developer agreements and now is complaining that his developer account is suspended? How is that Apple's fault? Considering the suspension emails and other info are automated, it's likely that he missed them or they went into his spam somehow.

Even if they did warn him by automated email, when he finally got through to them it would be much more professional to say that he broke the agreement and that's the reason than string him along

I agree with that statement but I don't think they're stringing him along. We only have his side of the story and, based on previous instances of similar behavior, that story is likely incredibly biased, flawed, and not reflective of what's actually happening.

In this case, there may even be a lawsuit involved so it's not as simple as a customer service rep telling them "you've been banned".

Re: Apple has locked me out of my developer account

#118

Post by saagarjha »

sanxiyn wrote: post #52
dewey wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Presumably in violation of the developer program's NDA. Even if that seems likely doing all that without a "real" full locking of the account and an email seems kind of odd.

Shadowbanning is an effective technique, so it can be intentional.

Shadowbanning people who have a wide reach on other platforms doesn’t usually work all that well, as this instance shows.

Re: Apple has locked me out of my developer account

#119

Post by TylerE »

rmsaksida wrote: post #116
rgovostes wrote: post #39

> I’m just an indie developer trying to make good products. Apple should separate Rambo's software development from his reporting rather than retaliate against him, if that is indeed what is happening, but it is a little disingenuous for him to make the above claim. Rambo reverse engineers Apple products and publishes findings on 9to5Mac.com, in particular future product references that have slipped prematurely into…

Even if that's all true, and even if Apple has good reasons to lock his account, why not just tell him the reason? I don't understand why tech companies have this passive aggressive attitude when users violate their rules of witholding information and giving some vague canned responses when asked about what's going on. Just tell him what happened in detail.

Because that’s opsec 101. If you tell a bad actor how you caught them, you’re just telling them how to do better (sneakier) next time.

Re: Apple has locked me out of my developer account

#120

Post by FussyZeus »

mortenjorck wrote: post #92
atonse wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Said it better than I could've – there are some pretty obvious reasons why Rambo's account could've been suspended, the clear violation of NDAs being the main one, with him publishing information about unreleased products. I'm honestly kind of surprised they let him keep his Developer account all this time. My bigger issue here is the complete lack of transparency or visibility into the process. It's this kind of stu…

> My bigger issue here is the complete lack of transparency or visibility into the process. This is indeed the core of the problem. If Apple provided a clear citation, e.g. “the following protected information was shared under your name at this URL on this date, which violates section xyz of your developer agreement,” it would still be unfortunate, but it would be miles ahead of Apple’s maddening “for more informatio…

This is impossible at scale and a waste of a companies' time. Apple doesn't care if your account is reinstated. Odds are (just like the author here) you know exactly why your account is suspended. If you honestly don't, then you didn't do your due diligence in signing up.

And, even if they cited whatever part of whatever agreement, it would just be onto the next excuse. It's a bottomless pit of arguing that solves nothing.

It's the same reason reddit moderators don't answer when you ask why you got banned. Either you know why and you're just trying to weasel out of it, or you don't know why and you're a bad contributor in general, or you don't know why and don't care and just want back in. And the answer to all three is no. Why? Because who cares about you? You're one of millions. You're one infinitesimal speck in a deluge of others, all providing similar things but who are following the rules. You are not special. You are replaceable. After you're gone, 5 other developers will take your place, paying their dues, and following the rules, and you won't be missed.

Nobody's app idea is so fucking star spangled awesome as to make them above the rules. You wanna play in Apple's sandbox? Cool, they're happy to have you. Do it right. And if you don't, they'll boot you out. Simple as.

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