In an extremely rare move, an Apple executive has publicly commented on the App Store approval process as it relates to a controversial dictionary application.
Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice-president of worldwide marketing, emailed John Gruber of Daring Fireball to comment on the approval process of Ninjawords, Gruber said in a blog post on Thursday. Ninjawords is a dictionary application initially rejected from the App Store because it supplied the definition of several dirty words, and Gruber publicised the rejection in a blog on Tuesday.
In the email, quoted by Gruber, Schiller blamed the snafu on poor timing, saying Apple never directly censored the application. He said Apple felt the application deserved a 17+ rating, which was not formally available as an option until parental controls were released along with the iPhone 3.0 software in June.
Ninjawords draws on Wiktionary.com for its definitions, Schiller said, which means it offers a broader range of words than the Oxford English Dictionary includes.
"Apple rejected the initial submission of Ninjawords for this reason, provided the Ninjawords developer with information about some of the vulgar terms, and suggested to the developer that they resubmit the application for approval once parental controls were implemented on the iPhone," Schiller told Gruber via email.
Phil Crosby of Matchstick, the developer of Ninjawords, was not mollified by Apple's reasoning.
"Apple may slap a 17+ rating on our app and wash their hands, saying 'you're not required to censor your app', but at the same time, they're putting a great deal of pressure on us to do so. Who wants to be the only illicit dictionary on the App Store?" asked Crosby.
Crosby and Gruber noted that several other dictionaries in the App Store contain language that some may find objectionable, yet are not required to carry the equivalent of an '18' movie rating.
Gruber credited Apple with waking up to the reality that at some point, the App Store approval process went off the rails.
"That Schiller was willing to respond in such detail and length, on the record, is the first proof I've seen that Apple's leadership is trying to make the course correction that many of us see as necessary for the long-term success of the platform. The improvement I consider most important is a significant focus on fairness, consistency and common sense in the App Store review process," he wrote.
