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Comment by mikeash | Hacker News Reader

Which engineers maintain the private API scanner? What mailing list do they hang out on?

I've been in the community a long time and I have no idea about either one. They are effectively anonymous and uncontactable as far as I know.

Publicly attacking Apple is actually the only way I know to actually start the conversation. If you know a better way then I would sincerely like to hear it, but you need to provide specifics, not just assumptions that it must be possible.

Response to your edit: give me specifics. Yes, I know about those mailing lists. They are useless for this. None of those host anyone who has anything to do with App Store review. Give me an exact email address or a contact form or a phone number or something that you know actually goes to the right people here, or admit that you don't know how. Insisting that it must be possible without saying how when others with more experience are saying that it is not is just embarrassing.

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You work at Plausible Labs, right? Have you noticed the class prefix they're using?

https://github.com/JaviSoto/iOS7-Runtime-Headers/tree/master...

I really hope they don't decide that the framework needs its own crash reporter class...

Oh lord. Thank you for the heads up.

Why would you expect anyone in that position to expose themselves publicly? Although they could give useful feedback, it wouldn't be in their interest to deal with these issues outside of a formal process. Unless of course it's in their job title to handle developer relations. Even then it'd be more setting up coordination and less anything technical.

Granted without knowing what exactly that process could be accessed or what it is, I agree that you need to do something to "start the conversation." However, attacking is unlikely to achieve the results you want. This is especially true considering the imbalance in your relationship with Apple. I've worked a number of years in enterprise software and for large enterprises. You have to learn how to bring attention to issues and escalate them constructively and professionally. You also learn that you don't always get what you want.

Do the blog posts but be aware of the tone. Use the mailing lists. Get others to raise their voice and show that it isn't an isolated incident.

In the meantime, since the issue is out there and details are known, workarounds need to be figured out that can be implemented. Short-term, there should be things that can be done by app developers. Longer-term, a solution probably needs to be put in place in the project that will address the needs of both app developers and Apple. (Apple dropping use of the project may be a possibility but I don't see that as a win for anyone.)

Also realize that an app developer "losing an entire afternoon" is minor in the grand scheme of things. However inconvenient it may be to be that developer, unless it's an absolute show-stopper, any reaction or solution will take time if one is implemented at all.

The developer who lost an afternoon was me, not Jon. I'm pretty sure the community is used to me having an overly dramatic tweet about everything that annoys me by now. It is minor, and you're right: it'll probably result in no action required from anyone come Monday.

Where did I say that I expect anything?

Past experience with Apple shows that this sort of public attack is the only way that's at all effective to get some sort of fix.

You say that we have to learn how to bring attention to issues. We have, and this is the result. I don't understand why that's so hard to believe.

Once again, if you think you have a better way, I'm all ears, but I need specific suggestions, not useless vague advice to talk to them, as if nobody ever thought of that or tried it before.

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