I half-agree. Maybe three-quarters? I would prefer that Apple let applications be distributed outside their app store; the mechanisms are all in place for them to be able to still have tools to stop genuinely bad actors this way (e.g., only allow signed applications to be side-loaded, so even if apps can't be yanked from a store, the developer certificate can still be revoked).

But even if they did that (which I rate as "unlikely but not as impossible as many others think"), there's a big problem with them being inconsistent and even capricious in rules enforcement coupled with badly communicating when issues arise. While that's a huge problem as long as they're effectively the only game in town for app distribution, it would... still be a huge problem even if that weren't true, because the chances are they would still far and away be the biggest app store.