Imagewind was a nifty little WP7 app that pulled in images randomly off Twitter for your enjoyment, and even though it was up for download for two weeks, Microsoft has just killed it. Why did this happen? Since it randomly downloads images, there’s the potential for mature content to come through, something MS wanted filtered out, but isn’t possible. So they unpublished it:
Imagewind – app unpublish request
[..] While the images shown are dynamic, per your app’s disclaimer, a portion of the images’ content is too graphic for the app to be permissible in Marketplace. In order to be permissible, there would need to be a content filter before surfacing images since users are not querying a specific type of image and are rather pushed to them.Given this, we ask that you unpublish your app within one business day until you are able to modify your application to comply with the certification guidelines.[..]
Thank you for your understanding in the matter, and we will hope to see an updated version soon.
Windows Phone Marketplace Policy team
Because there’s no way for the app to filter out the inappropriate content, it’s going to get “unpublished.” Welcome to the world of the curated app store. This sort of thing is bound to happen, as people get a feel for what is and isn’t allowed by Microsoft.
[NeoWin, via MobileCrunch]
I have to say that I support Microsoft’s decision. Because people are just downright filthy, if not altogether evil, there are always pornographic or otherwise disgusting images abounding. It’s sheer stupidity to leave yourself open to the depravity of others because you want to “randomly” receive images. Nobody can make a case in favor of that. The basically promotes the digital equivalent of wandering around aimlessly and accepting whatever garbage want to throw at you. That’s really intelligent. It’s sad enough that most parents don’t actually parent their children, much less watch guard over what they do online. I imagine that Microsoft would accept such an app in the future if there were someway to filter content. Even then, it’s still a stupid concept.