Summary

Gruber retracts the first article in 24 years of writing Daring Fireball, having wrongly accused Apple of a bogus App Store rejection. The rejected app, submitted under the name 'Asterly,' was in fact a genuine astrology app complete with tarot cards — exactly what the developer Terry Godier denied in both his public post and private iMessage correspondence with Gruber. Gruber was misled by a developer he trusted and admired, and he reviewed a draft of the article with Godier beforehand, receiving no correction. The situation is further complicated by evidence that Godier's subsequent web app may have borrowed heavily from an existing open-source project with the same name.

Key Insight

Even a meticulous, experienced journalist can be badly misled by a trusted source, and the only honorable response is full public accountability — not a quiet edit.

Spicy Quotes (click to share)

• 7

  To the best of my recollection, this is the first post I've retracted in the 24 years I've been writing Daring Fireball. I hope it's the last.

• 3

  The grounds of Apple's original App Store rejection of the app, and the rejection's upholding by the App Review Board, were correct.

• 5

  My disdain for astrology is so utter, and my esteem for Godier's previous work so high, that it simply never occurred to me that he might have actually made and submitted to the App Store an astrology app.

• 6

  He offered not a word of caution, only gratitude for my drawing attention to the matter.

• 4

  Obviously it was I who was mistaken. This article is my correction.

• 2

  What I publish is my responsibility, and I apologize for the error.

• 7

  I apologize to the reviewers at the App Store whose competence (if not literacy) I besmirched.

Tone

accountable, self-critical, rueful