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Apple has threatened to remove Amphetamine from the App Store

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Re: Apple has threatened to remove Amphetamine from the App Store

#171

Post by eecc »

xiphias2 wrote: post #147
sschueller wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, how will this ever fix a corrupt system if you play by their rules? This is why it keeps getting worse and worse. People just comply!

You change it by going for the weakest point in a peaceful way under the radar. I believe it's Bitcoin, which is a silent, non-violent libertarian protest against the whole central banking system that produces huge powers, but I know that I am in the minority.

Well, I can’t help questioning the “non-violent” part: it takes incredible amounts of energy to maintain that is quite literally taken away from other - possibly more helpful at social scale - purposes.

Re: Apple has threatened to remove Amphetamine from the App Store

#173

Post by pflats »

karaterobot wrote: post #125
mmaunder wrote: post #23

You’re angry. I’ve felt this in a trademark lawsuit. You think the world should get behind you and change the corrupt system. My advice is to immediately rebrand as gracefully and effectively as possible and use all that activist energy to effect the transition. They kind of have a point which doesn’t make them right, but they hold all the cards and you will lose this one and regret the wasted bandwidth.

They don't have a point based on the wording of their own rule, because amphetamines are not a class of controlled substances. They don't have a point based on basic common sense either, because this application isn't telling people to use amphetamines. It's a metaphor.

To add a little detail to what others said, amphetamine and its salts are explicitly a Schedule II controlled substance in the US.

https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/21cfr/cfr/1308/1308_12.ht...

Re: Apple has threatened to remove Amphetamine from the App Store

#174

Post by ganstyles »

valuearb wrote: post #62
riffic wrote: post #9

You're not going to win against Apple. Change your app's name.

There is still an appeals process, change it after you exhaust that.

Strategically I would say don't bother, personally. Just change the name.

Re: Apple has threatened to remove Amphetamine from the App Store

#177

Post by pydry »

mhh__ wrote: post #24
paozac wrote: post #2

That's very silly. The times are ready for a new job title: software product namer, to make sure a name won't offend anyone or violate trademarks and store guidelines.

Honestly the real enemy (if people are genuinely offended I tend to side with them) is people being offended on behalf of other people.

You're assuming that this is actually the reason. It smells to me like the real reason they kicked it off the platform has fuck all to do with the name, but feigning "wokeness" serves as a decent cover for a variety of evils.

Re: Apple has threatened to remove Amphetamine from the App Store

#178

Post by t-writescode »

eurasiantiger wrote: post #164

The post conflates methylphenidate-based stimulant medications (Concerta, Focalin, Ritalin, Metadate, Methylin) with true amphetamine-based medications (Adderall, Dexedrine). Related, the former are not amphetamine derivatives, which is a common misnomer.

It's so common of a misnomer, in fact, that I know what the app does!

Re: Apple has threatened to remove Amphetamine from the App Store

#179

Post by throwaway09223 »

gregdoesit wrote: post #115

Lawyers will be lawyers. I assume this request from Apple’s side originates from on of the legal teams, who are paid to pre-emotive ensure Apple won’t be sued. I have a story that makes me relate from Microsoft/Skype. A few months after Microsoft acquired Skype, a JIRA ticket was opened by one of the compliance teams at Microsoft with a simple request. Remove the mooning emoji from Skype [1], as it could be considere…

This is a failure of management, as is your skype example.

Balancing the risk of litigation against risk to the product is management's job. In both of these cases the risk is somewhere between minimal and non-existent.

Big companies tend to have bad management. There are entire libraries of books analyzing why this is the case but the short story is "risk aversion." Employees are incentivized to save their own skin and avoid conflict at work over improving the product.

Sometimes public outcry can create a new risk and change the direction of management.

Re: Apple has threatened to remove Amphetamine from the App Store

#180

Post by bserge »

Spivak wrote: post #83
mmaunder wrote: post #23

You’re angry. I’ve felt this in a trademark lawsuit. You think the world should get behind you and change the corrupt system. My advice is to immediately rebrand as gracefully and effectively as possible and use all that activist energy to effect the transition. They kind of have a point which doesn’t make them right, but they hold all the cards and you will lose this one and regret the wasted bandwidth.

Yeah, I’m sure this rule is applied inconsistently but that doesn’t mean you don’t have to pay your speeding ticket just because everyone speeds. This app associates itself with the recreational use of amphetamines in much the same vein as candy cigarettes. Is the rule kinda stupid? Yep. Is it ultimately a cultural thing? Yep. But it’s Apple’s sandbox and you’re playing in it. There’s always going to be issues of whe…

Yeah, the real lesson here is stop giving Apple et al control. You play on their ground, they own you. It's getting really hard to do these days, sadly.

Rename it to "AppToKeepMacAwake" heh

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