I came across the above-linked article regarding 10 iPhone apps that were rejected by Apple. The article tends to focus on the developers’ frustrations, and rightfully so. These developers went to the expense and effort of developing iPhone applications only to find that the concept would never play with the Apple crowd. The biggest frustration seems to come from the fact that Apple is anything but transparent when it comes to giving guidelines as to what will and won’t be acceptable, which reminded me of the documentary, This Film is Not Yet Rated.

Every single complaint the developers make about Apple sounds like filmmakers explaining their frustrations in dealing with the Motion Picture Association of America’s ratings board. While I am often the first to say negative things about the MPAA, I understand why they exist and appreciate the difficulty of the task before them. That said, I think their lack of transparency has been the greatest obstacle to remaining relevant as standards of what is and is not appropriate evolve.

Let me put it in these terms. In the 1950’s, the Comics Code Authority was founded in order to approve or disapprove of the content of comic books. Depending on the individual sales outlet, this essentially meant that comics which were not “code-approved” could not be sold as comicbooks. This is why MAD magazine is published in a magazine-sized format. The Code hung around for decades and even survived refusing to approve several issues of Amazing Spider-Man which contained a story where a supporting cast member developed a drug addiction. Even though drugs were portrayed in a negative light, the Authority refused to budge when it came to changing their policy on protagonists using drugs. After the story arc won awards and national recognition, they changed their minds.

Cut to about 10 years ago and you see that the Comics Code had basically become a joke in the comics community. Thanks to the direct market (comicbook stores), where comics that weren’t code-approved could be sold with a warning, the CCA became archaic and meaningless. Ultimately, Marvel Comics decided to drop the code-approval from all of their comics and publish them with a self-imposed code. DC eventually followed suit (though quietly so no one would think they did it just because Marvel did it).

I say all this because I think Apple is being ridiculous. When it comes to selling applications, Apple should have no problem either creating a category specifically for content that might be considered offensive and/or publishing a list of rules that would make it possible for developers to know what they’re getting into. They also need to be willing to consider flexing the rules. The rejected app that makes the least sense to me is one where the player controls a figure bouncing on a trampoline in the Oval Office and popping balloons. This app was rejected because you could choose John McCain, Hillary Clinton, or Barack Obama as your avatar. I understand not wanting to be a party to seeing political figures demeaned, but can anyone seriously look at this and tell me they’re offended?