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This is a deeply weak argument, I’m sorry. Apple famously told people to stop making fart apps just because it didn’t like them
— nilay patel (@reckless) January 12, 2022
I’m not saying charging $10/week should be disallowed. I’m say it should be looked at. Same for fake reviews. Apple doesn’t need to “solve” fake reviews. Just investigate top grossing apps for fake reviews.
— John Gruber (@gruber) January 11, 2022
Wordle is a Pandemic parable https://t.co/iYLddSeR2x
— ?Sydette Cosmic Dreaded Gorgon ?? (@Blackamazon) January 12, 2022
An honest suggestion may be: "Apple can just use common sense to say this app functionality isn't worth $10/week." In theory, sure. But that kind of moderation opens the door to so many potential issues as Apple would be in the business of dictating industry pricing dynamics.
— Neil Cybart (@neilcybart) January 11, 2022
Just a general good job team to @waxpancake @cabel and all the others who put enough focus on the despicable Wordle clones (stealing name and design — not talking about the game idea) so that they’ve been removed from the App Store. https://t.co/yh3aTLOthM
— Christina Warren (@film_girl) January 12, 2022
15 years after the iPhone was announced, the fact that the App Store is both a walled garden AND a wild west is one of the great disappointments of this whole era. https://t.co/9C56zlO5Ug
— Harry McCracken (@harrymccracken) January 11, 2022
Looks like the guy who made the Wordle clone phone app has locked his account down.
— Mike Dunford (@questauthority) January 11, 2022
I wonder why.
This guy shamelessly cloned Wordle (name and all) as an F2P iOS game with in-app purchases and is bragging about how well it's doing and how he'll get away with it because Josh Wardle didn't trademark it. So gross. pic.twitter.com/kIs8BypuRA
— Andy Baio (@waxpancake) January 11, 2022
I still think Apple (or someone) should revive the web app directory… https://t.co/sC9E8qUKBj pic.twitter.com/De3SUKejyA
— Parker Ortolani (@ParkerOrtolani) January 12, 2022
yes twitter, I am absolutely sure that I want to tell this morally bankrupt asshole who stole wordle and put it on app store without even the decency to change the name to absolutely fuck off pic.twitter.com/b1We6iK4v8
— Rami Ismail (رامي) (@tha_rami) January 11, 2022
That's ironic because I'm now literally giddy to hopefully walk the creator of Wordle through the App Store takedown process
— Cabel (@cabel) January 11, 2022
All's well that ends well???♂️ ...but how did Apple not have the foresight to see/prevent this in the first place? (esp. as their own guidelines prohibit clones/ripoffs).
— patrick wardle (@patrickwardle) January 12, 2022
Yet again highlights how ineffective the App Store is as a gatekeeper (...we know it's really about control☠️) https://t.co/ilrBt9md0D
There was no trademark filed on Wordle. It’s a hell of a judgement call for an App Store to reject everything with the same name as anything else that exists with no legal registration. In cases like this, they rely on trademark violation reports (same as Facebook, twitter)
— Benjamin O'Connor (@notamateurhour) January 12, 2022
This goes back to my initial tweet to John. If someone is upset with devs charging big $$ for weekly subs, that's an issue that would involve Apple wading into dictating what devs can't & can charge. As for fake reviews, that's an industry problem. A wac-a-mole type of situation.
— Neil Cybart (@neilcybart) January 11, 2022
There are six, count them six, Wordle apps in the App Store, and none is by the original maker. I’d leave a one-star review but can’t even look at the reviews (or maybe none of the paid-for ratings left a review).
— Charles Arthur (@charlesarthur) January 11, 2022
Back in 2014 I worked on a webapp for NYT’s 7 Minute Workout. Very rewarding project, but who knows how many people ended up using one of the many crappy rip off App Store apps instead (some even directly ripped the NYT illustrations!) https://t.co/k4UwoGyClV
— Alastair Coote (@_alastair) January 12, 2022
@gruber Easier said than done. Apple likely doesn't want to move down path of dictating what developers can and can't charge based on "fairness." Regulatory implications at play. As for fake reviews, that's a problem that no one on the web has been able to solve AMZN, GOOG, etc.
— Neil Cybart (@neilcybart) January 11, 2022
All that talk about needing control over the store to protect people from scams and Apple couldn’t stop these jerks from stealing dude’s game with the same name https://t.co/fRlv5tHMVk
— nilay patel (@reckless) January 12, 2022
You can fix content moderation problems with money or the occasional brand damage, and it turns out the brand damage doesn’t matter if there’s nowhere else to go
— nilay patel (@reckless) January 12, 2022
That kind of detail seems relevant to add to your thread, no? This is not a random new app where the developer is trying to milk App Store search. Is the developer relying on goodwill (i.e. positive PR that he obtained in the past) to pass off the app as something else now? Maybe
— Neil Cybart (@neilcybart) January 11, 2022
My wife a couple days ago: "I downloaded that Wordle app the NYT wrote about but it's kinda weird."
— Jeremy C. Owens (@jowens510) January 12, 2022
Me: "Delete that." https://t.co/xnUnbI22Fq
Wordle is a fascinating example of how you can get punished by App Stores for building web first instead of a native app.
— Owen Williams ⚡ (@ow) January 11, 2022
If someone (like this) decides to rip your idea and use the name in the store, you don’t have any recourse except…making your own app. https://t.co/AAl44ySJ2h
crazy what seven months can do pic.twitter.com/7ThkXGaBXg
— cale g weissman (@caleweissman) January 11, 2022
Amazing how Wordle is recreating the entire “indie games” half decade in two weeks https://t.co/jGQ0o0fjjK
— Joe Bernstein (@Bernstein) January 12, 2022
Update: “Wordle - The App” is no longer available on the App Store: pic.twitter.com/zQ6VC56a9M
— Kosta Eleftheriou (@keleftheriou) January 12, 2022
I wrote about Wordle clones and how app stores can punish developers for using the open web rather than building a native app https://t.co/mDmQf3v6Vo
— Owen Williams ⚡ (@ow) January 12, 2022
Any Wordle app you find on the App Store is a ripoff. The real one is free and playable in a browser here: https://t.co/54i3MwB0j4 https://t.co/OJbVMRtLgK
— Anthony Carboni (@acarboni) January 11, 2022
The guy who stole Wordle is bad and should be ashamed, sure. But Apple’s entire thing is that central control and review of every app will prevent things like this, and this shit just waltzed right through. It’s pretty embarrassing, actually!
— nilay patel (@reckless) January 12, 2022
Really glad to see Apple step in here and maintain integrity of the App Store. https://t.co/muqJujAZjC
— Majd Taby (@jtaby) January 12, 2022
I guess as long as Apple get it cut of subscription fees it's ok. Good news is they will share it with the ripoff developer who is kind of proud of his work on Twitter. https://t.co/jEBl4H7VNz
— Michael Gartenberg (@Gartenberg) January 12, 2022
Watching people get mad at the blatant Wordle clone rocketing up the App Store charts, expecting Apple to do literally anything about it: pic.twitter.com/IaigTipahN
— Eli Hodapp ? (@hodapp) January 11, 2022
Apple following the exact same pattern as Facebook and Twitter and YouTube when it comes to content moderation: let other people repeatedly find the obvious problems for free since it’s not like anyone can leave the platform https://t.co/M6WNIhrodb
— nilay patel (@reckless) January 12, 2022
1/3 This Wordle clone situation is really giving me strong incentives to finally re-write my 2020 WP on the competitive responses to the emergence of superstar apps!https://t.co/8F59y9QTPV
— Daniel Ershov (@ershov_daniel) January 12, 2022
In addition to helping @powerlanguish issue a takedown notice to the developers of the (many!) App Store apps usurping his brand name, I wonder if he would accept assistance in asssembling an "official" Wordle app for iOS? @cabel @reneritchie
— Daniel Jalkut (@danielpunkass) January 11, 2022
I’d love to chat about this with the VP of App Store if given the opportunity.
— Rene Ritchie (@reneritchie) January 11, 2022
I have spoken with Apple, Google, and YouTube engineers about false bans vs. active scams and it’s not an easy problem to solve at massive, moving scale. They basically work the middle.
(Imagine if moving a web app from Safari to your home screen was a simple, intuitive process, well supported and often promoted by Apple as a Sweet Solution for indie developers who don't want or need to use the App Store to distribute their apps.) https://t.co/mtxemMh7qR
— Dieter Bohn (@backlon) January 12, 2022
If Apple and Google were *actually* allowing proper competition, you’d be able to register a PWA/web app in their stores if you choose that route instead of a native app.
— Owen Williams ⚡ (@ow) January 11, 2022
But uh, that doesn’t help build their walled gardens so we get…this
I’ve talked to people at Apple, Google, and YouTube about this stuff. Handling UGC at massive scale is not a solved problem. They basically try to navigate the biggest middle they can between false bans and active scams, constantly battling well-funded bad actors
— Rene Ritchie (@reneritchie) January 11, 2022
It’s amazing Apple let the App Store get this bad while under antitrust scrutiny and holding up “consumer protection” as the alibi for blocking all competing stores on iOS. It’s a disgrace to everyone in the tech industry. https://t.co/cZjkrVhOY8
— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) January 11, 2022
First digital video game was Spacewar!
— Jeff Grubb (@JeffGrubb) January 11, 2022
Second and third games were Galaxy Game and Computer Space, both were clones of Spacewar.
When it went from video game to video game(s), it was with clones. That's how much it is in gaming's DNA. https://t.co/ZyGpws3KPo
Of sites like the @verge weren't all over this, would Apple have noticed on their own? Or cared?https://t.co/r7AYgZuBbL
— Michael Gartenberg (@Gartenberg) January 12, 2022
“The situation is a little embarrassing for Apple, which has often cited its high standards and App Review process as a reason it should be allowed to keep control over which apps run on iPhones and iPads.” https://t.co/72SQYlVFYh
— Kosta Eleftheriou (@keleftheriou) January 12, 2022
As long as there is a void of an official app in the App Store(s), it's going to be irresistible to scammers to try to seize on the opportunity to steal the name.
— Daniel Jalkut (@danielpunkass) January 11, 2022
How is a 520$/year app not a scam? The point isn’t that this is illegal, but if Apple wants the App Store to be a little curated so that users can trust the apps that are in it, 10$/week apps shouldn’t be allowed. Nobody would willingly pay 520$ a year for this app.
— Félix Lapalme (@lap_felix) January 11, 2022
I'm aware. The app received a lot of positive press over the years.
— Neil Cybart (@neilcybart) January 11, 2022
(I'm still not entirely sure what that has to do with the app being called a scam in 2022 though.)
Developer behind Wordle App Store clone admits he 'crossed a line' https://t.co/NZcPIxtfZx
— iMore (@iMore) January 12, 2022
Wordle clones get a swift taste of the App Store’s ban hammer https://t.co/pVXJvI1Lc5 by @killianbell pic.twitter.com/j6CigMOOYM
— Cult of Mac (@cultofmac) January 12, 2022
I got to talk to Wordle creator @powerlanguish with @ingridlunden for @TechCrunch!
— amanda silberling (@asilbwrites) January 12, 2022
"I think people have an appetite for things that transparently don’t want anything from you. I think people quite like it that way, you know?" https://t.co/ljqjeZreZy
"With Wordle, actually, I kind of deliberately did what you’re not meant to do if growth is your goal. And bizarrely, I think, those things have led to growth."https://t.co/E0YlyaoWr2
— Taylor Soper (@Taylor_Soper) January 12, 2022
I looked into what legal recourse there might be for Wordle clones and the answer is, simply, not much... https://t.co/5VHwy2J1Jo
— Kyle Orland (@KyleOrl) January 12, 2022