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Apple removes "Gay Cure" app from iTunes

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Re: Apple removes "Gay Cure" app from iTunes

#51

Post by bad_user »

officemonkey wrote: post #38
bad_user wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The term is subjective, yes, but an app that promises a Gay Cure is by definition offensive, no matter what definition of "offensive" you choose -- it's also medically dangerous, since gayness is not really a disease. So if Apple pretends that it's doing this approval for the betterment of the App Store, like a Shepard blocking out impure apps from its garden, then they'd better make sure Gay Cure apps are out, other…

Smoking is medically dangerous. Should Apple ban iSmokeit and other apps that facilitate smoking?

Smokers also know that smoking is dangerous.

Banning apps like iSmokeit would be like imposing your morality on the rest of the world, even if there are well-behaved smokers out there that only smoke in their own private space.

On the other hand apps that help you quit smoking are OK, since smoking IS bad for you in the long-run and dependency on smoking IS a treatable vice.

Re: Apple removes "Gay Cure" app from iTunes

#52

Post by CaptainZapp »

stretchwithme wrote: post #30
CaptainZapp wrote: post #11

This app may or may not be offensive. Personally (being straight) I find the idea of a "gay cure app" or "gay cure seminars" or "gay cure exorcism" despicable and repulsive. That said, I don't believe an app shall be removed because it may be deemed offensive (by whatever standards). Or as Voltaire put it: "I may disagree with what you have to say, but I shall defend to the death your right to say it."

except that this is a privately owned app store. I defend Apple's right to exercise its property rights. But not to the death. I'm busy that week.

I'm not claiming that Apple does not have the right to curate their property as they see fit.

I, on the other hand - apart from not buying their products - have the right to observe that Apple Inc represents a bunch of unprincipled hypocrits.

I hope this helps.

Re: Apple removes "Gay Cure" app from iTunes

#53

Post by bad_user »

Tyrannosaurs wrote: post #40
bad_user wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The term is subjective, yes, but an app that promises a Gay Cure is by definition offensive, no matter what definition of "offensive" you choose -- it's also medically dangerous, since gayness is not really a disease. So if Apple pretends that it's doing this approval for the betterment of the App Store, like a Shepard blocking out impure apps from its garden, then they'd better make sure Gay Cure apps are out, other…

> The term is subjective, yes, but an app that promises a Gay Cure is by definition offensive By your definition - it had thousands of downloads and the organisation that produced it has thousands of members who clearly do not find it offensive and that likely extends to tens or hundreds of thousands of evangelicals (if not millions). That's how subjective works.

I'm pretty sure there are thousands if not hundreds of thousands of people in the world that still think Niggers are an inferior race or that Jews are the rats that will bring this world to annihilation or that believe Xenu, the dictator of the "Galactic Confederacy", really exists and he's going to be back one day.

Any treatment / cure that is advertised as such (without BIG BOLD letters of warning) should be approved or banned by relevant organizations -- there's precedent for it, like Scientology's E-meters being required to be marked as a "religious device".

By my definition "offensive" is a notion or device that's used to spread hate or shame versus other people's condition, people which are really harmless for society as a whole -- since gayness is not really a disease.

Re: Apple removes "Gay Cure" app from iTunes

#55

Post by mediacrisis »

tosiabunio wrote: post #24
davvid wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It wasn't hurting anyone by being there I have to respectfully disagree. I'm glad they got rid of this stupid app. It's simply hate sugar-coated with psuedo-science. Apple made the right decision. "app store removes questionable content" -- How is this news? It's not like the app store is known for being a "free" or "open" platform in the first place.

> It's simply hate sugar-coated with psuedo-science. Apple made the right decision. Shouldn't Apple remove all astrology apps then?

Vague blanket statements about possible future endeavors != hate.

Re: Apple removes "Gay Cure" app from iTunes

#56

Post by gradschool »

timdorr wrote: post #9
rflrob wrote: post #2

I really don't know how good the "offensive to large groups of people" standard is. If there were a Qur'an app, might not a large group of (racist, xenophobic) people find the idea of a book dictated by an angel to be offensive? Fortunately, Apple is a corporation and need not concern itself with being as exactingly fair as the federal government.

Create some litmus test apps, then. Put up a "Christian Cure" and "Muslim Cure" app and see if they get taken down or rejected. It would be interesting to see the results.

Not that interesting because they'd be obvious trolls. How about an app that purports to give support and counseling people who are questioning their sexuality, in two versions, with one for straight people who think they might be turning gay, and the other for gay people who think they might be turning straight? If one of them is denounced as homophobic and the other is approved, you could be on to something.

Re: Apple removes "Gay Cure" app from iTunes

#57

Post by spindritf »

Alex3917 wrote: post #46
sigzero wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except there are thousands of people that would say it isn't fraudulent. I am not defending it, but "offensive" here is subjective.

If they can present peer reviewed evidence of its efficacy then it should stay, otherwise they shouldn't be allowed to make false medical claims.

What about an app "curing shyness"? Would you expect a peer reviewed evidence of its efficacy?

IMVHO that's a ridiculous standard for a lifestyle app.

Re: Apple removes "Gay Cure" app from iTunes

#58

Post by gte910h »

Alex3917 wrote: post #46
sigzero wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except there are thousands of people that would say it isn't fraudulent. I am not defending it, but "offensive" here is subjective.

If they can present peer reviewed evidence of its efficacy then it should stay, otherwise they shouldn't be allowed to make false medical claims.

So you're saying bye bye hypnotism apps too?

And bye bye business books?

I think the app is absurd, but I think the call for apple to censor it is wrong.

Re: Apple removes "Gay Cure" app from iTunes

#59

Post by Alex3917 »

spindritf wrote: post #57
Alex3917 wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If they can present peer reviewed evidence of its efficacy then it should stay, otherwise they shouldn't be allowed to make false medical claims.

What about an app "curing shyness"? Would you expect a peer reviewed evidence of its efficacy? IMVHO that's a ridiculous standard for a lifestyle app.

I'm only arguing in favor of applying this standard of curation to apps that provide medical advice, I wouldn't currently apply the same standard to other industries.

This is as much for social signaling reasons as anything else. For whatever reason, the medical industry is responsible for more spam and hucksterism than all other industries combined, so if you don't curate what people are providing then the entire app store loses it's value and credibility really fast.

Re: Apple removes "Gay Cure" app from iTunes

#60

Post by Tyrannosaurs »

bad_user wrote: post #53
Tyrannosaurs wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The term is subjective, yes, but an app that promises a Gay Cure is by definition offensive By your definition - it had thousands of downloads and the organisation that produced it has thousands of members who clearly do not find it offensive and that likely extends to tens or hundreds of thousands of evangelicals (if not millions). That's how subjective works.

I'm pretty sure there are thousands if not hundreds of thousands of people in the world that still think Niggers are an inferior race or that Jews are the rats that will bring this world to annihilation or that believe Xenu, the dictator of the "Galactic Confederacy", really exists and he's going to be back one day. Any treatment / cure that is advertised as such (without BIG BOLD letters of warning) should be approv…

Don't be me wrong, I agree with your views - these are things I find offensive too, I'm just picking up the idea that something can be subjective and by definition offensive.

That's contradictory - if it's offensive by definition, there is no room for interpretation by the subject and therefore it can not be subjective.

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