For anyone unaware, the name of the app is a play on a swear word. "EskomSePush" is an intentional play on the phrase "Eskom Se Poes". Eskom being the power utility that provides electricity to South Africa, and has been woefully inadequate at doing so.
Wonder if Google is aware of that and has been getting lots of "reports" by genuine users that are offended by this? And this weird "technicality" is just a cover for why they really got banned/taken down.
They have a one-hit wonder that they're trying to ride the wave on. So instead of sticking to the functionality they had (notifications/schedule/etc) which was perfect for users, they decided to add a "comments section" it seems for people to vent their frustrations. So no sympathy from me, despite Google being in the wrong here.
Herman Maritz, the author, has stated that they were overwhelmed with app users that complained to them when there were normal unplanned power outages or when Eskom deviated from the planned load shedding schedules. The chat feature was a way for user of close proximity to confirm a power outage with each other [1]. I wouldn't call it a 'comments section'.
I didn't say I dislike them. I'm just saying they don't get sympathy from me regarding this "User Generated Content" feature that is now being targeted by Google. They should have known this feature would be a place for people to vent in ugly ways rather than to discuss or offer advice. And South Africa right now is a hotbed of civil discontent, especially between different racial/cultural groups.
See here for a meaning of the word Poes in Afrikaans. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/poes#Afrikaans
Wonder if Google is aware of that and has been getting lots of "reports" by genuine users that are offended by this? And this weird "technicality" is just a cover for why they really got banned/taken down.
They have a one-hit wonder that they're trying to ride the wave on. So instead of sticking to the functionality they had (notifications/schedule/etc) which was perfect for users, they decided to add a "comments section" it seems for people to vent their frustrations. So no sympathy from me, despite Google being in the wrong here.