Suggestion - Pig icon offensive to Muslims

[HardyMacia]

Hi,

Can I share a small suggestion with you. I love your software and i love the way it functions. I am a registered user and have recommended the same to other iphone users. I have one small request. Can you please change the icon of the app from the piggy bank? As your app is now being used by people of all faiths/religions and backgrounds therefore I must let you know that the Pig is an offensive animal to Muslims. My apologies if this may have offended you but just to keep things neutral and to help develop a more diverse customer base, I suggest that if you could kindly change the image of your app Icon to something neutral so that other people can also use this wonderful app.

Regards

ahmed.

[Jax]

I like the piggybank, I think its cute and a lot more interesting than a generic icon. It is actually what initially drew me to Pocketmoney, because it stands out among all the other generic icons.

Ahmed, I'm curious to know what it is about a picture of a piggybank that could be construed as offensive? I can understand not eating a pig, or not wanting to keep one as a pet. But Pocketmoney's icon isn't a real pig, just a small stylised caricature. It doesn't even look much like a real pig. Most (or all?) real pigs have floppy ears

Please don't think I'm having a go or anything, I'm genuinely interested...

What generic picture would you suggest instead then? Dollar signs wouldn't do, since not every country uses dollars...

Jacqui.

[HardyMacia]

I've had requests for a non-pig version of PocketMoney on the Palm OS. It was easy to accommodate users on the Palm because I was in control of the purchasing and licensing. On the AppStore it is a little more difficult, I'm not going to change the default icon from the piggy bank. PocketMoney has used the piggy bank icon for 15 years, and has been used by all faiths/religions and backgrounds in over 80 countries, and I really like the piggy bank. I'd love to try to find a solution to accommodate as many customers as possible.

But, there are a couple solutions.

1. Add a new version of PocketMoney to the AppStore and call it "PocketMoney (no pig)". The issue with this is that users who bought PocketMoney will need to purchase "PocketMoney (no pig)" again. The biggest issue with doing this is that the sales numbers for PocketMoney will then be split between two versions which mean PocketMoney will drop in the ratings a little bit if users starting buying the pig/non-pig versions in equal amounts.

2. Apple has added Hebrew and Islamic language support to version 3.0 of the iPhone OS. If the user sets the language to Islamic, then I could change the piggy bank icon to something different. My issue with using the language for changing the icon is that there are muslims who don't read Islamic so this issue won't satisfy everyone.

Also, I'd be very interested to know what religion/faiths/cultures the piggy bank icon is an issue. I know some people of the Jewish and Muslim faiths can't eat pork since it is a considered a dirty animal.

- Hardy

[arafey76]

Dear Hardy,

Thanks for understanding and taking the time out to think about a possible solution. I know the matter may not be significant and may appear as being blown out of proportion but I honestly felt that it was something I should suggest considering that your money manager is by far the best one I could find on the app store and I have been using it successfully for the last six months or so. I for one wont mind purchasing the app again (provided its at a reasonable cost) to have a different icon as the app is on the first page of my app screen.

Dear Jax,

Thanks for your comments. I understand your confusion about the fuss on the icon but its something I cant really explain to you. All I can say is that as Hardy mentioned, the Pig is considered a filthy animal in our religion and is best known for feeding on its own excrements. Since we have grown up with this understanding and dislike of this animal, we dont find it cute or likable in any way or form be in animated as in Porky pig, or as Babe the "lovable" pig or even seeing animal planet footage about people eating, sleeping, hugging, kissing, feeding pigs. But despite our dislike, we dont ban these programs, or stop people from their choice to affliate themselves with these creatures and eventhough piggy banks are simply caricatures, but like I said to Hardy, its an app that I use a lot and I have would prefer seeing another icon or startup screen that the image of a piggy bank. If that cant be done, then it cant be done. If I can get a choice by paying a bit more then I should be able to exercise my choice by paying shouldnt I?

I hope you can now appreciate to a certain aspect my view on that. I know you werent having a go with me but I thought a detailed understanding may help in your understanding that its a different culture and different value system that we follow. All that is normally requested that you keep as much as open mind about things that bother us and we do about things that may bother you.

Regards

Ahmed

[HardyMacia]

Would a wallet work for an icon?

wallet-normal.png (4.63 KiB) Viewed 2433 times

wallet-512.png (288.84 KiB) Viewed 2416 times

[romad]

Would a wallet work for an icon?

wallet-normal.png

Hmm, if it is a pig-skin wallet then the Islamists would STILL be offended; if it is a calf-skin wallet, then the Hindis will be be offended; if it is man-made material then the environmentalists will be offended.

Hardy, I think this is a no-win situation as usually happens when one tries to please EVERYBODY. Basically, IMO, if they have a problem with a little picture, then that is THEIR problem, not anyone else's.

BTW, the reason for the aversion to pork goes back to Trichinoses coming from it. Modern knowledge and procedures has pretty much eliminated that problem.

I LIKE the current icon and don't want it changed.

[HardyMacia]

Romad,

LOL, let's say the wallet is made out of duct tape.

The current icon is not changing for PocketMoney. The piggy bank has been with PocketMoney for 15 years.

My plan is to have a "PocketMoney - no pig" version for sale on the AppStore and that version will have the non-pig icon.

Hardy

[judas]

I personally wouldn't have two applications, UNLESS the request for them is big enough it would justify the extra effort and the non-monetary implications: confusion among normal (Piggy) costumers, less popularity in app store, etc.

If you decide to have another app and change the Piggy icon I think the concept of a Money Box should be kept. The Piggy Bank is the definite MoneyBox, but I think a good designer could easily translate the concept into something nice.

@ahmed: thanks for taking the time and explaining to us what the pig could mean to people in other cultures.

[HardyMacia]

Ahmed,

I think I came up with a solution for you, but I want to check with you first before I implement it.

My idea is to create a free app that has a non-pig icon that launches PocketMoney in non-pig mode so you'll never see the pig on the password screen, or anywhere else I might have a pig showing.

The only issue with this solution is that you will still need the full version of PocketMoney installed on your iPhone, but what you can do it put it on a page in your Home screen (app launcher) that you rarely use. Then the PM Launcher app will be your main interaction with PM and you'll never see the pig.

Do you think that would work okay for you and others who might have religious/cultural issues over pigs? They'd still have a pig in their iPhone, but they'd never have to see it.

This will require minimal work on my end, and I wouldn't have to update multiple copies of PocketMoney on each update, nor would the download counts and ranking be affected by splitting PM into two version.

Hardy

[JohnJ80]

can't you just make the icon a preference? Like have two installed and you get to pick one - the wallet or the pig.

J.

[HardyMacia]

can't you just make the icon a preference? Like have two installed and you get to pick one - the wallet or the pig.

Nope. The icon can't be changed on 3rd party apps on the iPhone. If it was the Mac, then it would be as simple as replace the icon.png file with whatever just like you suggest, but iPhone is sandboxed and nothing inside the actual PocketMoney.app bundle can be changed.

Hardy

[JohnJ80]

Then just leave it. Piggy banks have been around for centuries without causing significant issues.

J.

[HardyMacia]

I submitted "PocketMoney-Launcher" to the AppStore. It is a free app that has the wallet for the icon, and will launch PocketMoney in a no-piggy mode so the password screen won't display the piggy bank image. You can then move the PocketMoney icon to a home page you rarely user and put the PocketMoney Launcher icon on your main page or in your launch bar.

It will take a week or so for Apple to approve it. Although I can envision Apple reviewers having issues with an application that does nothing but launches another applications, so we'll see how it goes.

- Hardy

[HardyMacia]

Dear Catamount Software,

We've reviewed your application PocketMoney Launcher 1.0 and we have determined that this application contains minimal user functionality and will not be appropriate for the App Store.

If you would like to share it with friends and family, we recommend you review the Ad Hoc method on the Distribution tab of the iPhone Developer Portal for details on distributing this application among a small group of people of your choosing or if you believe that you can add additional user functionality to PocketMoney Launcher 1.0 we encourage you to do so and resubmit it for review.

Regards,
iPhone Developer Program
****************************

[redtel]

At least you tried Hardy.