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A comment on Rampant Abuse of Push Notifications Is Ruining Them For All Developers. Parent comment

Re:Rampant Abuse of Push Notifications Is Ruining Them For A... by notatoad on Monday November 12, 2012 @08:22PM (#4775757)
The basic need for support and bug tracking is a hard problem to solve, because users are stupid. If apple puts a bug tracker on the app store, any moderately popular app is going to end up with a huge mess of 'durrr... it doens't work' and 'hey developer your a fukhead' type comments. Even in the open source world, where the user base is generally more competent and savvy, the bug tracker is never front and centre on any of their websites - you've got to go looking for it and create an account, and most of the big projects still have a problem with useless bug reports.

Bug reports from the general public are simply not of any value. And building a support forum into the app store creates an expectation of support, which for most $1 apps is an unrealistic expectation. The developer has a facility to communicate with the users: the release notes on updates. The users shouldn't get a facility to communicate with the developer, unless the developer wishes to provide that facility outside the app store.

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Re:Rampant Abuse of Push Notifications Is Ruining Them For A... by gurkendoktor on Tuesday November 13, 2012 @12:35AM (#4776611)
I mostly look at paid apps in both the (German) iOS and Mac App Stores, and I find the reviews to be surprisingly good. I often read them, see bugs described by clearly smart people, and feel good about making a buying decision. For everything worth more than $10+, I actually find Mac App Store reviews to be more helpful than the fluffy crap that bloggers love to write.

It would be a great first step if developers could at least opt in to an easy feedback channel.

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