Creators of rejected App Store comic book appeal for rating system
After its 'Murderdrome' comic book was rejected by Apple's iPhone App Store, Infurious Comics this week appealed to Web site visitors support its request to Apple for a rating system similar to one already used on iTunes.
The App Store turned down the comic book earlier this week, claiming that it violated a section of an SDK agreement which states: "Applications must not contain any obscene, pornographic, offensive or defamatory content or materials of any kind (text, graphics, images, photographs, etc.) or other content or materials that in Apple's reasonable judgment may be found objectionable by iPhone or iPod touch users."
On the Infurious Web site, however, comic strip co-creator Paul Jason Holden has been suggesting inconsistency between the App Store and iTunes, arguing that iTunes currently allows user downloads of R-rated films that included South Park, Reservoir Dogs, and Two Smoking Barrels, for example.
"Here at Infurious, we would love to work with Apple to ensure a content rating system can be put in place to allow material that is no more offensive than many of the R-rated films available to download on iTunes," Holden wrote on his company's blog Monday. "Please leave a comment committing your support to us -- we'll forward all of these to Apple, so that we can ensure that not only Murderdrome, but that any comic submitted to Apple doesn't fall foul of the same censorship."
When BetaNews visited the site early Friday evening, Infurious had received more than 130 user comments on its site, mostly supporting its cause.
Though the Infurious Web site continues to run early episodes, the Murderdrome project has been placed on temporary hold, according to Holden. Instead, it's now focusing on other titles "which will be more Apple friendly," he said, in a Q&A with TechRadar UK, also cited by Infurious.
"Longer term, I'm hoping Apple will see the very public need for some sort of ratings system and we can bring Murderdrome to everyone who's clamoring for it!"