The geek news over the past few days has been full of the fact that Apple has decided to remove a whole bunch of "adult" applications from the App Store. Fare thee well, iBoobs et al.

Now, while I don't have an issue with this at all - cleaning the crap out of the App Store is just going to make it easier to find good stuff - I do have a problem with two aspects that stick out as wrong.

Firstly, it's inconsistent. They've removed all the kind of crappy adult apps (shake your phone and watch the girls boobs wobble), but have left the name brand stuff like Playboy (iTunes link: http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/playboy/id340150554?mt=8). Again, I don't have an issue with this, but surely it would be a simple matter to create an adult app category and be done with it?

Secondly (and this isn't technically an adult app issue, but does relate to random and inconsistent censorship of apps), how can some applications be refused submission for offensive content, and yet others can get away with both offensive content and an age rating of 4+? For example, have a look at the electronic version of Irvine Welsh's book, "Crime". (iTunes link: http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/irvine-welsh-crime/id327785710?mt=8)

An e-book reader application, such as the Kindle app (http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/kindle-for-iphone/id302584613?mt=8), Stanza (http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/stanza/id284956128?mt=8), or whatever, should be rated 4+ as it in and of itself does not contain anything offensive. The individual books, however, might contain material that is offensive. That content is outside the control of Apple, and up to the discretion of the e-book purchaser.

Let's examine the "Crime" app for a moment. This isn't an e-book reader, it's a dedicated application that contains a single book. That book contains a whole bunch of stuff that many people would consider offensive. And it is rated 4+, and Apple have approved that application for that age group.

A plea to Apple on behalf of the developers of the world: Let's get some clear guidelines in place, and then stick to them. Apply them equally to everyone. Don't change the rules on a whim. Let the adults buy adult content if they want to.

The developer community is what has enabled the iPhone to become the success that it is. Sure, it's a great device, and the interface really did set a new bar for everyone to aim to, but without the third party application support it would never have been the success that it now is.

For the record, I'm a big fan of Irvine Welsh, and have most of his work, which is why I can single this application out, 'cause I know how he writes. And love it. Go and buy his books, they're awesome. But not really suitable for a four-year-old.