4 ms·

Two men kissing is an act of love not pornography. Having said that, Apple has a right to (IMHO) censor these derivative works, it's their platform, take it or

Two men kissing is an act of love not pornography. Having said that, Apple has a right to (IMHO) censor these derivative works, it's their platform, take it or leave it. If they wanted to censor the original text I would have a problem with that as it would, in some ways, be an attempt to rewrite history through the prism of corporate sensitivities. It would be better for them to not publish the text.

GiraffeNecktie 16y ago
No it is NOT their platform! If I buy it, it belongs to ME. They do, however, own the store and it just so happens that they've rigged the phone to prevent customers from obtaining software anywhere else. That's why my next phone will be anything but Apple.
- michael_dorfman 16y ago
  No it is NOT their platform! If I buy it, it belongs to ME. Umm, not really. They do, however, own the store and it just so happens that they've rigged the phone to prevent customers from obtaining software anywhere else. See? That's what "owning the platform" means.
tjmaxal 16y ago
Two NAKED men kissing The point here is that it is nudity.
- barrkel 16y ago
  Nudity isn't porn either, nor does all porn involve nudity, but this point seems lost on many.
  - sambeau 16y ago
    Men stoking each other's penises is porn, however.
    - GiraffeNecktie 16y ago
      Uh. No. It's called sex.
      - sambeau 16y ago
        Pictures of men stoking each other's penises is porn, however.
        GiraffeNecktie 16y ago
        Uh. No. Or at least not any more so than than a picture of a woman stroking a man's penis (or a man touching a woman for that matter) If it's a drawn or painted image (as it was in this case) it's probably art. If it's a written description it's probably literature. If it's on porntube, it's porn.
        sambeau 16y ago
        Pictures of men or women stroking each other's genitals is porn, however.
        sambeau 16y ago
        There was pornography before there was the internet, young fellow. Once there were special 'cinemas' and printed pictures in 'magazines'. And, before the advent of photography there were etchings. Most of it was purely for titillation rather than artistic pleasure. ---key-------- cinema = youtube-in-a-building photography = jpegs-on-paper magazines = non-electric-ipad hope that helps
sambeau 16y ago
Did you even look at the pictures in the article? It shows two naked men having sex in various ways - one kneeling while removing the other's underwear, in another scene they are sitting on a chair stroking each others penises. I have nothing against men having sex or pictures of men having sex. However, I cannot think of many main-stream shops that would stock such pictures - even most book shops would consider this pornographic. I would rather my children didn't have to confront this yet, too. At least let them wait until they are sexual. It is completely reasonable for Apple to reject this from THEIR shop.
- jrockway 16y ago
  I would rather my children didn't have to confront this yet, too. Won't someone please think of the adults? You have to be over 17 to buy the app anyway, and parental controls let you explicitly block this sort of app. Plus, if your kids want to see naked men having sex, well... let me tell you about this little thing called the Internet. It's directly accessible in the "safari" app, and it contains porn. Oh so much porn. Anyway, I am tired of "for the children". It's not for the children, it's for the prudes.
  - sambeau 16y ago
    I do see you your point. And I don't disagree. I also don't think that this graphic novel is offensive - it looks interesting, well written and well drawn. It is certainly art, not porn. However I can't see how Apple can curate for quality without also curating for taste. To run a store like this no doubt means employing hundreds of young testers and a bunch of draconian policies. To get them to understand the subtlety between art and porn (or good porn and bad porn) is no doubt asking too much. To do it in a way that will not enrage prudes, governments, religious types, anyone who wants to bash Apple for any other reason etc is something else entirely. To set up a good 18+ store in this way will be nigh-on impossible without either dropping all rules (and therefore all quality) or risking the wrath of the moral majority. Having the occasional piece of genuine art rejected to walk this fine line is no doubt seen as a reasonable compromise. I hope that Apple can fix this - but I'm not sure they will be able.

GiraffeNecktie 16y ago

No it is NOT their platform! If I buy it, it belongs to ME. They do, however, own the store and it just so happens that they've rigged the phone to prevent customers from obtaining software anywhere else. That's why my next phone will be anything but Apple.

michael_dorfman 16y ago
No it is NOT their platform! If I buy it, it belongs to ME. Umm, not really. They do, however, own the store and it just so happens that they've rigged the phone to prevent customers from obtaining software anywhere else. See? That's what "owning the platform" means.

tjmaxal 16y ago

Two NAKED men kissing The point here is that it is nudity.

barrkel 16y ago
Nudity isn't porn either, nor does all porn involve nudity, but this point seems lost on many.
- sambeau 16y ago
  Men stoking each other's penises is porn, however.
  - GiraffeNecktie 16y ago
    Uh. No. It's called sex.
    - sambeau 16y ago
      Pictures of men stoking each other's penises is porn, however.
      - GiraffeNecktie 16y ago
        Uh. No. Or at least not any more so than than a picture of a woman stroking a man's penis (or a man touching a woman for that matter) If it's a drawn or painted image (as it was in this case) it's probably art. If it's a written description it's probably literature. If it's on porntube, it's porn.
        sambeau 16y ago
        Pictures of men or women stroking each other's genitals is porn, however.
        sambeau 16y ago
        There was pornography before there was the internet, young fellow. Once there were special 'cinemas' and printed pictures in 'magazines'. And, before the advent of photography there were etchings. Most of it was purely for titillation rather than artistic pleasure. ---key-------- cinema = youtube-in-a-building photography = jpegs-on-paper magazines = non-electric-ipad hope that helps

sambeau 16y ago

Did you even look at the pictures in the article? It shows two naked men having sex in various ways - one kneeling while removing the other's underwear, in another scene they are sitting on a chair stroking each others penises. I have nothing against men having sex or pictures of men having sex. However, I cannot think of many main-stream shops that would stock such pictures - even most book shops would consider this pornographic. I would rather my children didn't have to confront this yet, too. At least let them wait until they are sexual. It is completely reasonable for Apple to reject this from THEIR shop.

jrockway 16y ago
I would rather my children didn't have to confront this yet, too. Won't someone please think of the adults? You have to be over 17 to buy the app anyway, and parental controls let you explicitly block this sort of app. Plus, if your kids want to see naked men having sex, well... let me tell you about this little thing called the Internet. It's directly accessible in the "safari" app, and it contains porn. Oh so much porn. Anyway, I am tired of "for the children". It's not for the children, it's for the prudes.
- sambeau 16y ago
  I do see you your point. And I don't disagree. I also don't think that this graphic novel is offensive - it looks interesting, well written and well drawn. It is certainly art, not porn. However I can't see how Apple can curate for quality without also curating for taste. To run a store like this no doubt means employing hundreds of young testers and a bunch of draconian policies. To get them to understand the subtlety between art and porn (or good porn and bad porn) is no doubt asking too much. To do it in a way that will not enrage prudes, governments, religious types, anyone who wants to bash Apple for any other reason etc is something else entirely. To set up a good 18+ store in this way will be nigh-on impossible without either dropping all rules (and therefore all quality) or risking the wrath of the moral majority. Having the occasional piece of genuine art rejected to walk this fine line is no doubt seen as a reasonable compromise. I hope that Apple can fix this - but I'm not sure they will be able.