Android App Developer goes off the reservation...

[Pliablemoose]

http://andevuni.wordpress.com/

Hi! My name is Rich.
I have written more than 18 Android apps, including Port Scandroid and aBTC, the Android BitTorrent client, and the official ‘This American Life’ application.
I make my living off of making Android applications.
I released an app called Rapid Download! which would search and download from filehosting sites like RapidShare (a service which can be done less conveniently using Google’s own search engine). It cost 2.99, 3728 downloads and positive reviews.
Without any warning or notification, the application was removed. I only noticed when I went to check my sales and noticed I had not made any money for the previous week and a half.
When I contacted Google (through a web form which didn’t work the first few times I tried it), I was able to inquire about my situation. All I received was an automated reply with no useful information.
I tried the form again, and received another automated reply. The third time I tried, I received an actual reply, though it contained no specific information and threatened me, saying that if I violated the rules again, my account would be deactivated and all of my applications would be removed from the Market. This would mean that I wouldn’t have any source of income and wouldn’t be able to make my rent payments.
This kind of treatment is unacceptable. Since I began developing Android applications two years ago, Google has collected over $14,000 in “service fees” as part of their 30% tax on all sales – and the only service they have ever provided me is a threatening letter.
Google needs to know that this kind of treatment of developers on their platform will NOT be tolerated by developers or by Android customers!
Please, support the Android Developers union and lets make Android great together!
Thank you,
Rich

Interesting....

 

[SAWYER]

That is a battle he will lose

 

[purbeast0]

i had an app pulled from the market as well for copyright infringement, and when i followed the exact steps with google to kind of "counter-act" the accusation (removing the copywritten images in a new version).

first i emailed them to see what i had to do. after about a week i got an email with a link on the steps to follow, which included filling out forms and faxing them over a letter. was a pain in the ass but i wanted my app back in the store.

2 weeks later heard nothing back.

i even contacted them via phone after searching google for like 30 minutes and finding this phone # they had listed to resolve these issues. of course, when i called, it said the line get's extra busy and to leave a message. and after the beep to leave a message, it told me the mailbox was full and i could not leave a message.

tried the following day a couple times, same thing. next day after that, same thing.

like a week later i got an email from google replying to an email i had sent a long time ago telling me that there is no way that i could get my app back online as the same app with the same app id, so i would have to upload a whole new app.

finally i said screw it and just uploaded the updated app as a totally new App. in the description i told people who had previously purchased it they could email me their order # and I'll gladly email them the updated app for free since they had already purchased it. i had also added 2 new features to it so it was more than just removing images.

like 4 days later i got an email from google telling me that they had received my fax and they were reviewing the case. i was pretty pissed at this point because i had already sold like 200 or so copies of the app, so if it went back to the old app id, now those people were screwed.

well needless to say i never heard anything back from google.

so i feel this guy's pain.

 

[Red Storm]

i had an app pulled from the market as well for copyright infringement, and when i followed the exact steps with google to kind of "counter-act" the accusation (removing the copywritten images in a new version).

first i emailed them to see what i had to do. after about a week i got an email with a link on the steps to follow, which included filling out forms and faxing them over a letter. was a pain in the ass but i wanted my app back in the store.

2 weeks later heard nothing back.

i even contacted them via phone after searching google for like 30 minutes and finding this phone # they had listed to resolve these issues. of course, when i called, it said the line get's extra busy and to leave a message. and after the beep to leave a message, it told me the mailbox was full and i could not leave a message.

tried the following day a couple times, same thing. next day after that, same thing.

like a week later i got an email from google replying to an email i had sent a long time ago telling me that there is no way that i could get my app back online as the same app with the same app id, so i would have to upload a whole new app.

finally i said screw it and just uploaded the updated app as a totally new App. in the description i told people who had previously purchased it they could email me their order # and I'll gladly email them the updated app for free since they had already purchased it. i had also added 2 new features to it so it was more than just removing images.

like 4 days later i got an email from google telling me that they had received my fax and they were reviewing the case. i was pretty pissed at this point because i had already sold like 200 or so copies of the app, so if it went back to the old app id, now those people were screwed.

well needless to say i never heard anything back from google.

so i feel this guy's pain.

What was your app?

 

[purbeast0]

What was your app?

super street fighter 4 guide.

just put out my marvel vs capcom 3 guide 2 days ago as well, this time with 100% user created images heh.

 

[Red Storm]

super street fighter 4 guide.

just put out my marvel vs capcom 3 guide 2 days ago as well, this time with 100% user created images heh.

A guide? Why would people spend money on that? I mean I'm sure there are people out there who will as you've had sales, but you can find all that stuff free online.

 

[purbeast0]

A guide? Why would people spend money on that? I mean I'm sure there are people out there who will as you've had sales, but you can find all that stuff free online.

yea which is not very convenient at all when you need to look something up real quick or have no network connection.

i also have data in there that is hard to find online (frame and move data) and a notes section, which allows you to take notes down on a character by character basis and stores em permanently.

hard copy strategy guides are still a huge market and they sell for $20 a piece typically (B&M, can find em online for like $12 or $15 easily).

 

[abaez]

Did you guys see the app? It's basically a pirating download app to get files, music, and porn from rapidshare/megashare etc. What an idiot.

 

[speg]

and the only service they have ever provided me is a threatening letter.

Haha, that's rich. I guess they're not responsible for creating the entire platform he is now living off?

 

[gorcorps]

Did you guys see the app? It's basically a pirating download app to get files, music, and porn from rapidshare/megashare etc. What an idiot.

Well, that's not entirely true... it's just a downloader for those services and it's not the dev's fault people post nefarious things on there. However, that's the same logic the torrent sites use to try and claim innocense. "Torrents aren't illegal, it's not OUR fault our users are using them that way". They all know exactly what people will use them for.

The point isn't really the removal of the app though, it's the service Google fails to provide when trying to fix things and find answers. It's a very sloppy way of doing things and it will drive people away from Android if they don't make it easier to deal with.

 

[abaez]

http://www.androlib.com/android.application.org-ale-rapiddownload-qmxFC.aspx

He is specifically advertising that you can download music, porn, and movies. It's one thing to say "this is a search engine' it's another to say you can use this to commit infringement. I can recall a couple of sites getting busted for saying they can be used specifically to grab movies awhile back. So his whole original argument is completely pointless.

I agree on the support issue though.

 

[zerocool84]

http://www.androlib.com/android.application.org-ale-rapiddownload-qmxFC.aspx

He is specifically advertising that you can download music, porn, and movies. It's one thing to say "this is a search engine' it's another to say you can use this to commit infringement. I can recall a couple of sites getting busted for saying they can be used specifically to grab movies awhile back. So his whole original argument is completely pointless.

I agree on the support issue though.

Yea there's a difference between being open and just outright stealing. I'm not a fan of stealing.

 

[Patranus]

Did you guys see the app? It's basically a pirating download app to get files, music, and porn from rapidshare/megashare etc. What an idiot.

You mean like Googles own Google Search?

 

[zerocool84]

You mean like Googles own Google Search?

lol search engines are NOT even the same thing but ok. You don't see Microsoft advertising you can download mp3's and movies do you?

 

[Red Storm]

You mean like Googles own Google Search?

lol, that wasn't even a good attempt.

It's one thing to provide an app that can search, it's an entirely different thing to say "Use this to search for and download movies and music for free!"

 

[Markbnj]

His screenshot even shows copyrighted music being downloaded. Haha, should have called his company NewFreeMoneyApps.

 

[dguy6789]

I always find it amusing when pirates who think they are clever try to steal things and then get all angry when they get called out on it.