Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Baby Shaker App Outrage - ABC Front Page Story
- Thread starter gibbz
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Interesting point. I think the issue for most people is that it's a crying baby. Fairly or unfairly, babies and children get put into a separate category from adults regarding how it is acceptable to portray them.
Make an app where you shake Hitler to silence him: tasteless but probably not offensive. Make an app where you shake babies to silence them: quite offensive to most people.
You may not like it, but it's real and it's visceral for many people. It's always hard to draw distinct lines among shades of gray. Shaking babies is pretty clear-cut for most people though. Philosophically it may be hard to justify, but from a practical point of view it exists. At least for most Americans.
I think posting that stuff to the web might be a crime, so I would imagine an app would test the same legal waters. Further, the iPhone has unfiltered internet as far as I have been informed, so anyone one can search for that info through the phone's webbrowser should it be available.
I think for the sake of argument you have stepped beyond what is morrally grey into the world of what is actually a crime. Shaking a real baby is a crime, shaking a cartoon one is not. Sick but not a crime. Then again, how many first person shooter apps are there? Shooting someone is a crime too.
I dont think that there should be a line, but I dont huff and puff about Apple not selling certain things in THEIR OWN STORE. Does anyone freak out at walmart that they can't buy sex toys there?
You're kind of missing the point, though. The free market is alive and well; if you don't like the app store's offerings, you are free to purchase "baby shaker" from any other person who offers it. The free market means that government leaves the market alone; it doesn't mean that merchants aren't free to pick and choose what they will sell.
And this goes double for censorship. It's only censorship when the government prohibits something; the app store deciding not to sell a product isn't censorship anymore than McDonald's no longer offering the McRib is censorship. And the ACLU only sues when the government is involved; it doesn't sue private companies for their business decisions.
You have got to be kidding me. This entire world is overly politically correct, and it's very annoying. Some things I can understand being censored, but this? Come on! It's NOT a real baby, so just get over it.
Oh my god people, get a grip. The app looks like it was a harmless, pointless novelty app. "no babies were harmed in the building of this code." I get that some people (maybe most people) don't think it's funny, but is there nothing else in this world to get upset about? I think it is kind of funny, though I wouldn't buy it.
Of course, it is not censorship since Apple is a private company -- But it brings up a point. Does everything have to be sanitized to be non-offensive to everybody? Why can't there be an "Adult" section of the app store for the apps Apple considers to be tasteless and/or too violent or sexual in nature? If they can tie the rest of their stores to IPs and credit card numbers, just require the Apple ID to have a credit card number on file for age verification, and make someone enter the password to access the Adult section of the site.
I am not saying those types of apps should be comingled with all the other apps, but what would be the harm in Apple creating an Adult section? I hope they eventually do it.
Of course, it is not censorship since Apple is a private company -- But it brings up a point. Does everything have to be sanitized to be non-offensive to everybody? Why can't there be an "Adult" section of the app store for the apps Apple considers to be tasteless and/or too violent or sexual in nature? If they can tie the rest of their stores to IPs and credit card numbers, just require the Apple ID to have a credit card number on file for age verification, and make someone enter the password to access the Adult section of the site.
I am not saying those types of apps should be comingled with all the other apps, but what would be the harm in Apple creating an Adult section? I hope they eventually do it.
This would be true if a developer could sell the application themselves.
However just because have a product, and want to sell it at WalMart, even if Walmart is the only place I culd sell it, doesn't make it against a free market for WalMart to refuse to sell my product for me.
It's a free market in that APPLE sells these applications, and gives Developers a cut. If Apple doesn't want to sell them, than that is a business decision of Apples, and is thus driven by free market.
It's a business decision to keep the App store a classy environment, in hopes that that will make them more money in the long run than selling ****** content for $.99 in hopes that a few thousand will sell and Apple can take a few $100 bills to the bank.
What sucks about the entire system is not that Apple actually refuses to sell some things, as every business does that, but that it happens to be the ONLY avenue for some developers to sell their work.
Possibly because not everyone knows that shaking a baby can kill them. Perhaps you didn't know?
SBS(Shaking Baby Syndrom) is often fatal and can cause severe brain damage, resulting in lifelong disability. Estimated death rates (mortality) among infants with SBS range from 15 to 38%; the median is 2025%.[2] Up to half of deaths related to child abuse are reportedly due to shaken baby syndrome.[5] Nonfatal consequences of SBS include varying degrees of visual impairment (including blindness), motor impairment (e.g. cerebral palsy) and cognitive impairments.
But not everyone knows this, nor is it obvious. You don't want to teach people that shaking a baby to make it be quiet is the way to handle a situation. Usually before becoming a parent one picks up on these things, however there are many people who handle babies (like young babysitters) who may not know this, but may also not think to do it...unless they just played a game where it worked
If you find the idea of shaking a baby repugnant, then why would you buy an app that simulates it? Everybody was born with the ability to ignore things, so why is it so often unused?
Ridiculous public outrage and uproar at things that they aren't forced into shouldn't be allowed to dictate the actions of others.
Ridiculous public outrage and uproar at things that they aren't forced into shouldn't be allowed to dictate the actions of others.
Possibly because not everyone knows that shaking a baby can kill them. Perhaps you didn't know?
SBS(Shaking Baby Syndrom) is often fatal and can cause severe brain damage, resulting in lifelong disability. Estimated death rates (mortality) among infants with SBS range from 15 to 38%; the median is 2025%.[2] Up to half of deaths related to child abuse are reportedly due to shaken baby syndrome.[5] Nonfatal consequences of SBS include varying degrees of visual impairment (including blindness), motor impairment (e.g. cerebral palsy) and cognitive impairments.
But not everyone knows this, nor is it obvious. You don't want to teach people that shaking a baby to make it be quiet is the way to handle a situation. Usually before becoming a parent one picks up on these things, however there are many people who handle babies (like young babysitters) who may not know this, but may also not think to do it...unless they just played a game where it worked
Anyone that honestly thinks shaking a baby is an effective or appropriate or even safe way to quiet a baby has no place taking after one.
I wouldnt trust my kid with someone lacking the maturity to distinguish a video game from taking care of a child.
I'm entire convinced that we as humans just love to find things to bitch and feign overblown outrage at.
This was to be expected. Even before the (unexpected?) success of the App Store, people were questioning if Apple would get swamped under the approval workload. Now, it obviously is struggling to cope.
So, it looks like they're taking the approach of getting apps through the process as quickly as possible; and taking them down if there's enough criticism/backlash.
Now it's unavailable, I wouldn't mind having the app myself!
So, it looks like they're taking the approach of getting apps through the process as quickly as possible; and taking them down if there's enough criticism/backlash.
Now it's unavailable, I wouldn't mind having the app myself!
Jailbreak, i hear shakebaby PRO will be out in a few days, with better graphics then ever!
Possibly because not everyone knows that shaking a baby can kill them. Perhaps you didn't know?
SBS(Shaking Baby Syndrom) is often fatal and can cause severe brain damage, resulting in lifelong disability. Estimated death rates (mortality) among infants with SBS range from 15 to 38%; the median is 2025%.[2] Up to half of deaths related to child abuse are reportedly due to shaken baby syndrome.[5] Nonfatal consequences of SBS include varying degrees of visual impairment (including blindness), motor impairment (e.g. cerebral palsy) and cognitive impairments.
But not everyone knows this, nor is it obvious. You don't want to teach people that shaking a baby to make it be quiet is the way to handle a situation. Usually before becoming a parent one picks up on these things, however there are many people who handle babies (like young babysitters) who may not know this, but may also not think to do it...unless they just played a game where it worked
^ This post can't be real.
This is a GAME where you shake a PHOTO of a baby. You might as well ban knives because some retards use them to kill others.
I agree. It's like TV shows and stuff, if you think the TV show is too much then don't watch it.
Wow. I do have a baby and didn't find this silly game THAT offensive at all. I mean, you've just got to relax. Babies ARE annyoing, aren't they? lol. There's no room for silly dark humor in this country any longer?
I wouldn't certainly try to go burn it if I were in the position. I fail to see what sort of actual harm the app could do, honestly. Is it promoting shaking babies? No way. Whoever gets that kind of message from it is just dangerous to begin with, with or without this application. I don't know why some people love to oversimplify human traits and dumb everything down like that. This really is not about something as grandiose as "freedom of speech" or such. It's about common sense, and extraordinary paranoia that some people seem to suffer.
What a stupid "outrage." There should be much better things for us to do.
I wouldn't certainly try to go burn it if I were in the position. I fail to see what sort of actual harm the app could do, honestly. Is it promoting shaking babies? No way. Whoever gets that kind of message from it is just dangerous to begin with, with or without this application. I don't know why some people love to oversimplify human traits and dumb everything down like that. This really is not about something as grandiose as "freedom of speech" or such. It's about common sense, and extraordinary paranoia that some people seem to suffer.
What a stupid "outrage." There should be much better things for us to do.
Amen!
And who in their right mind thinks this app was anything other than black humor?
Something to keep in mind regarding these types of apps...
If the app is not free then Apple "profits" from every sale, they take a 30% cut, even if the app in question sold only one time, that is 30c to Apple and they made money which doesn't really help put them in a good light.
The pros & cons of being the only legitimate store for your product... you control all the content, but should you screw up the anti crowd have a field day.
Alternately, in the more normal free market where anyone can sell a product for any system without the control of the company who makes the system the only person to take the fall is the company who makes the product.
Now, I am not suggesting that the 33c Apple made per sale of this app in any way covers all the costs Apple had in providing it etc, however, to the average person on the street they still view Apple as profiting from every sale which does nothing to help their reputation.
As the controller of the store & the only store... Apple is going to get negative press each & every time something slips through, regardless of it being accidental or intentional.
If the app is not free then Apple "profits" from every sale, they take a 30% cut, even if the app in question sold only one time, that is 30c to Apple and they made money which doesn't really help put them in a good light.
The pros & cons of being the only legitimate store for your product... you control all the content, but should you screw up the anti crowd have a field day.
Alternately, in the more normal free market where anyone can sell a product for any system without the control of the company who makes the system the only person to take the fall is the company who makes the product.
Now, I am not suggesting that the 33c Apple made per sale of this app in any way covers all the costs Apple had in providing it etc, however, to the average person on the street they still view Apple as profiting from every sale which does nothing to help their reputation.
As the controller of the store & the only store... Apple is going to get negative press each & every time something slips through, regardless of it being accidental or intentional.