How not to do business

[Undertoad]

One of the more interesting lessons in having a place like this, is finding that you have to host people, discussions, projects, etc. that you may not only have no interest in, but that you actively hate, or fear, or what have you.

Now I'm a long-time libertarianish freedom person, and I believe you can pretty much do whatever you want to, and it's very hard to squick me. So personally, I think I'm a good choice to host something like this. I'm not going to go crazy and take the site down in a fit of pique when somebody posts the worst they can think of to post. As long as it's correctly labeled NSFW for those people who need or want to avoid such stuff. Who cares, right?

This week we have two items which tell us that not everybody is so happy to take on the real world in this way.

First, Apple banned any level of porn in iPhone apps, unless you were Sports Illustrated or Playboy. Despite having developed parental controls to indicate apps that kids shouldn't see, Apple was unhappy with the mix of apps they were getting, and decided to ban some of them in order not to offend some of their buyers.

Before the complete ban, Apple was previewing images to decide which ones were OK. Here (NSFW) a strip poker app author shows which images Apple found objectionable, and which were OK.

Now, yesterday, Citibank blocked the bank account of a well-funded web startup that specializes in a gay male audience. The startup had attracted over a half million dollars from such investors as the Washington Post Company.

I have previously heard hints of Citibank being the world's suckiest of all banks, from ex workers who curse its name.

These lame attempts at molding the culture are going to bite these companies squarely on the ass. Mark my words.