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I fear App Review is getting too powerful (2015) [pdf]

judiciary.house.gov

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Re: I fear App Review is getting too powerful (2015) [pdf]

#31

Post by slg »

headmelted wrote: post #19

I mean, there’s a point to be made about how much monopoly power Apple holds, and it’s now clear these questions weren’t asked until now because lawmakers were really sweet on the maker of their shiny iPhone - but this letter ain’t it. The author is grovelling to the point of it being honestly pitiful. The amount of derogatory references to the web and Android also make it really hard for me not to question the motiv…

>there’s a point to be made about how much monopoly power Apple holds

>If anything, the lesson to be learned here is that if your business depends exclusively on another company for its survival then it’s not your business.

The problem is that these two ideas shouldn't coexist. If Apple does have monopoly powers then mobile app developers have no choice but to base their business's survival on the whims of Apple. Once a company reaches a near monopoly, both the laws and obligations regarding how that company must operate change.

Re: I fear App Review is getting too powerful (2015) [pdf]

#32

Post by renewiltord »

ROARosen wrote: post #21
headmelted wrote: post #19

I mean, there’s a point to be made about how much monopoly power Apple holds, and it’s now clear these questions weren’t asked until now because lawmakers were really sweet on the maker of their shiny iPhone - but this letter ain’t it. The author is grovelling to the point of it being honestly pitiful. The amount of derogatory references to the web and Android also make it really hard for me not to question the motiv…

>The amount of derogatory references to the web and Android also make it really hard for me not to question the motivation behind this letter. The way the letter writer feels a need to keep on praising Apple and their vision and how everything]else is not worth anything make me nauseous.

tl;dr: Only haters and lovers write you. Everyone else is indifferent. You don't care about the haters, only the lovers.

Well, that's what makes his letter interesting. There are a hundred and one people who don't like your product. There are all the undecided people and non-promoter users who won't write you about things about your product. And then there are the super-fans.

You can win over the undecided and the non-promoter users, you have the super-fans, and it'll take a lot of work to get the people who don't like you to like you, so you spend your time on the first two categories.

Given that only the last two write you, and you don't care about the last, it makes sense for the super-fans to make it clear that they're super-fans. And if a super-fan is telling you you're making things hard for them, you care.

Re: I fear App Review is getting too powerful (2015) [pdf]

#33

Post by Miraste »

MattGaiser wrote: post #30

How did we get from the attitude that web apps will be everything and native is backward to spending a lot of time concerned with App/Play Store monopolies? I guess my question is, why do native apps suddenly matter so much?

At least on iOS, native apps matter because Apple suffocated web apps by blocking a lot of functionality (APIs, PWA support).

Re: I fear App Review is getting too powerful (2015) [pdf]

#35

Post by CobrastanJorji »

headmelted wrote: post #19

I mean, there’s a point to be made about how much monopoly power Apple holds, and it’s now clear these questions weren’t asked until now because lawmakers were really sweet on the maker of their shiny iPhone - but this letter ain’t it. The author is grovelling to the point of it being honestly pitiful. The amount of derogatory references to the web and Android also make it really hard for me not to question the motiv…

Your point, that nobody should make iOS apps as a business because that puts them in a lousy situation, is fair but not actionable. Sure, it's a risky proposition, but there are something like 20 million registered iOS app developers out there, and so we've moved well beyond whether this was a good decision on their part. Now we have to figure out how to make society work well for these 20 million people.

Re: I fear App Review is getting too powerful (2015) [pdf]

#36

Post by domador »

mhafez17 wrote: post #29

Wow. I am the author of this email. I have no idea how it resurfaced after 5 years, I was only made aware of this when a friend emailed me the HN link. The sad thing is it was not just my company which was targeted, but Apple removed this entire product category. We never knew the real reason why, or if it was bigger than just a random app reviewer trying to apply Apple policy, until May 2019. That's when Bloomberg i…

Bummer! So, what platform(s) are you developing for nowadays?

Re: I fear App Review is getting too powerful (2015) [pdf]

#37

Post by overeater »

mhafez17 wrote: post #29

Wow. I am the author of this email. I have no idea how it resurfaced after 5 years, I was only made aware of this when a friend emailed me the HN link. The sad thing is it was not just my company which was targeted, but Apple removed this entire product category. We never knew the real reason why, or if it was bigger than just a random app reviewer trying to apply Apple policy, until May 2019. That's when Bloomberg i…

My sympathies. That's a really sad story. I don't know if it's any consolation that it was at least discussed among the executives.

I don't know why you originally eschewed the web. I've developed on closed platforms in the past: Facebook (when Facebook games like Farmville and Mafia Wars were crazy hot), Silverlight, OpenSocial, Twitter, and now Google Apps Script. My work is always worthless in 2-3 years, and what I "learned" about that platform is useless.

Now when I develop for a platform, my mindset is only if it's temporary, and if I will be okay if this is shut down in a year.

Re: I fear App Review is getting too powerful (2015) [pdf]

#38

Post by surround »

mhafez17 wrote: post #29

Wow. I am the author of this email. I have no idea how it resurfaced after 5 years, I was only made aware of this when a friend emailed me the HN link. The sad thing is it was not just my company which was targeted, but Apple removed this entire product category. We never knew the real reason why, or if it was bigger than just a random app reviewer trying to apply Apple policy, until May 2019. That's when Bloomberg i…

Can I ask what your app was/did?

Re: I fear App Review is getting too powerful (2015) [pdf]

#39

Post by gruez »

headmelted wrote: post #19

I mean, there’s a point to be made about how much monopoly power Apple holds, and it’s now clear these questions weren’t asked until now because lawmakers were really sweet on the maker of their shiny iPhone - but this letter ain’t it. The author is grovelling to the point of it being honestly pitiful. The amount of derogatory references to the web and Android also make it really hard for me not to question the motiv…

>got his deal reduced by 25% or so by Steve Jobs in person - after accepting it and flying out to Cupertino just because Jobs could and he wanted to make a point.

make a point... to whom? The guy selling? He's already selling. He gave in. What more do you want?

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