Update: BarnacleJive

Michael (Admin) | Feb 4, 2009 Updates, Website Stuff

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If you read my post about the app formerly known as Explosive Diarrhea (now called Mega Fart) you know I was pretty pissed about the developer’s ad placement… ads at both top and bottom of the screen which, in most cases, is just tacky and not that big of a deal. The thing that got my panties in a wad was that the bottom ad totally looked like it was strategically placed to generate false ad clicks! And just in case you’re wondering, I actually wear boxers, not panties… today, anyway.

BarnacleJive Software just posted The World’s Longest Comment on the original post, and here are the parts that matter most:

I’d like to note that the Ad at the bottom of the fart apps has been removed. It was not my intention to “trick” users into clicking on the ad.

Almost immediately after the app became available the ad providing company, AdMob, contacted me directly and said the ad placement was in violation of their guidelines, and that they had stopped serving ads to my apps. If I wanted ads to appear I would have to remove the ad and submit an update.

So I quickly removed the ad and posted an update. The update excluding the lower ad has since been approved by Apple and AdMob, and I suggest you update if you have the app.

I admit that the ad placement was poor judgment, and I regret that that action has lead to an otherwise very reputable software development operation to be criticized because of it. BarnacleJive software primary sells educational and general lifestyle and utility apps. The paid apps have no ads.

The decision to boycott my entire body of work because a couple ad placements annoys you a little is wrong. Again, it was poor judgment to place an ad there, but accidental clicks cost the the user nothing but a couple seconds of wasted time. On the other hand, a boycott of my apps has the potential of really affecting what I have worked so hard to accomplish (stupid fart apps excluded), and is not fair.

Thanks to BarnacleJive for the update.

For the record, though… accidental clicks are no big deal only when they’re truly accidental. It’s when people start to profit from designing these “accidents” that I start to get agitated! BarnacleJive has stated that what they did was unintentional and we’ll leave it at that, but I’m just sayin’…


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