“..Wobble iBoobs is not rated, and the classic first person shooter, Doom, is rated 12+. However, e-book reader Eucalyptus is rated 17+ because you can search the Internet and access the Kama Sutra.”  Really?  And now an app called ‘Cannabis’ (which helps you find legal pot stores) gets through.  Now I’m fine with this app, but its just crazy how arbitrary the Apple store is.  We can have soft porn, and we have an unrestricted web browser, but Nooo to Eucalyptus because of … Kama Sutra??

‘But’, you say, ‘we have a rating system’!  Yes we do, and I’ve been asking for this for a long time, and I think it has made things better.. well a little better. The ranking system is still messed up.   From TechCrunch..

‘When you go to submit your app through iTunes Connect, one of the steps takes you to a ratings matrix that you must fill out. This contains 10 questions listed under “Apple Content Descriptions”. …’

You fill out ten questions and based on how you answer it, you get a rating from 4+ to 17+ to ‘No rating’. (The numbers refer to the users age).   But its not that simple.  Follow this link to TC and read the full article.  Its a bit long, but I think MG Siegler did a good job talking about the process.

How iPhone App Store Ratings Work. Hint: They Don’t.

I do have hope however. I think Apple is slowly getting this sorted out mostly because of all the public pressure.  As long as we keep the pressure up, it will continue to improve ….  I hope.