back to article Pair of complete tits sorry for pervy app

The developers behind an app called 'Titstare' have apologised for any and all offences caused by the software. Titstare went viral yesterday, in the worst possible way, after it was demonstrated at Tech Crunch's Disrupt conference. The app's functionality, such as it is, offers users the chance to take photos of themselves …

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  1. jake Silver badge

    Idiots.

    'nuff said.

    1. ItsNotMe
      Mushroom

      Re: Idiots.

      So I guess there are 15 (& counting) clowns (down voters) with single digit IQs who think this sophomoric app would have been worthwhile? Grow up.

      How pathetic.

      1. Cubical Drone

        Re: Idiots.

        Proud to be 16. I mean really, what these guys did was not that bright, but I think the moral universe can find much bigger fish to fry.

      2. Ian Michael Gumby

        Re: Idiots.

        Sorry, but "There's an App for that!" has long been a joke's punchline.

        I think had these guys done this as a criticism of the app world and the idea that you can create a silly app and make ton's of money... I would have given them a thumbs up.

        As it is... it would have been more mature for them to actually not show if their original app failed to be ready on time...

      3. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Idiots. @ItsNotMe

        "So I guess there are 15 (& counting) clowns (down voters) with single digit IQs who think this sophomoric app would have been worthwhile? Grow up."

        Keep guessing, Mekon.

        1. Shagbag

          Re: Idiots. @ItsNotMe

          A few fugly feminazis aren't going to halt centuries of male evolution. Guys like looking at tits, ass and vag. Always have. Always will.

          1. lotus49

            Re: Idiots. @ItsNotMe

            "Centuries"?

            You have a poor grasp of evolutionary history.

            You remind me of a women I heard on Radio 4 once referring to the oldest profession (using those words) as "going back to the dawn of time, even back to Victorian times".

  2. Cliff

    Pair of tits

    Just closer to home.

  3. Nigel Brown

    Ohhh

    "The app's functionality, such as it is, offers users the chance to take photos of themselves gawking at women's breasts."

    Like a camera you mean?

    1. teebie

      Re: Ohhh

      I've read a couple of outraged articles about the presentation, and this article has come the closest to explaining what it is.

      Presumably it shows a somewhat titilating picture on the screen, and uses the mirror camera to show you what your face is like?

  4. Natalie Gritpants

    You should only apologize for behaviour you can control

    Otherwise it makes the apology insincere. Men stare at breasts instinctively just like I stare at well filled trousers. No point in apologizing since we will continue as long as we breathe.

    1. jonathan1

      Re: You should only apologize for behaviour you can control

      That is an extremely level headed and rational comment...on in the internet.....my mind is blown.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: You should only apologize for behaviour you can control

      How about designing an app to capture the stare ? You think that might fall into the classes of behaviour that can be controlled ?

    3. marcyd

      Re: You should only apologize for behaviour you can control

      Oh not that old cliche again. Men can't control their sex drive, it's up to women to dress modestly. Yawn.

      1. Phil O'Sophical Silver badge

        Re: You should only apologize for behaviour you can control

        dress modestly

        How would that help anyway? A pair of breasts nestling behind a sweater can be far more erotic than if they were just swinging around in the breeze.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: You should only apologize for behaviour you can control

          >...A pair of breasts nestling behind a sweater can be far more erotic than if they were just swinging around in the breeze.

          I would like to submit myself as a control for the research to refute or back up this wild allegation...

        2. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: You should only apologize for behaviour you can control

          My favourite-est-ever tea shirts.

          One, on a splendidly buxom lady, said, No Packing, No Padding, Just Tits

          The other, on another splendidly buxom and very tall lady, a colleague this time, is the better known upwards arrow with the words I'm up here. She told me she wore it for her manager.

          1. jake Silver badge

            Re: Tee-shirts (was: Re: You should only apologize for behaviour you can control)

            1) Two pictures of King Tut's death mask. Caption: Don't touch my Tuts!

            2) In bold caps: STOP STARING AT MY TITS! In lower-case: fondle them.

            The first belonged to my sister when she was about 14. She meant it, having a brown belt at the time and being somewhat boy-shy. The second belonged to a colleague when I was in my mid twenties. The third time she wore it to work, I asked her if she was for real in her advertising ... She responded, in a rather surprised voice, that nobody had ever called her on it. I've been married to her for almost thirty years :-)

      2. Ben Tasker

        Re: You should only apologize for behaviour you can control

        @marcyd

        You might like to think about the fact that it's not just men objectifying women, it happens the other way around too (diet coke adverts anyone?).

        The sex drive is a base instinct, there's not really much anyone can do to stop the thoughts that arise, what we can control is some of the actions. Not all are voluntary though, and a gaze slipping down the body is probably one of those (sometimes).

        If I wear tight trousers, there's a good chance it's going to attract attention, if that bothers me then I should wear looser trousers. Those areas of our bodies attract attention, it's not about whether we should have to do it - an adult would/should recognise that their attire might attract attention, if they're not comfortable with that then a change of attire is needed.

        It's a completely different story when some idiot tries to cross the line into taking some sort of unwanted action though (whether verbal or physical).

        1. Don Jefe
          Joke

          Re: You should only apologize for behaviour you can control

          I've taken to wearing a codpiece. Brings in the stares even with baggy trousers.

          1. Darryl

            Re: You should only apologize for behaviour you can control

            My favourite is still the woman who wears a low-cut top and a push-up bra, then looks outraged if you happen to sneak a look in the direction of her chest

            1. Ben Tasker

              Re: You should only apologize for behaviour you can control

              @Darryl

              The one I always find odd is when there's been an application of glitter - you know, a naturally eye-catching substance - and then there's upset because the glitter caught your eye.

              I'm all for people being treated with respect (male or female) but if you do something that's naturally eye-catching, then you can't complain when people's eyes wander.

              Though there is a big difference between your eyes wandering and gawping (with optional dribble). The latter is generally less acceptable

              1. Concrete Cowboy
                Paris Hilton

                Re: You should only apologize for behaviour you can control

                The problem is actually that some women do dress in provacative fashion for the express purpose of attracting attention. They just don't want YOUR attention.

    4. oiseau

      Re: You should only apologize for behaviour you can control

      "Men stare at breasts instinctively ... "

      Quite so ...

      No matter how hard I tried, never been able to avoid it.

      Can't apologise for instinct.

    5. cordwainer 1

      Re: You should only apologize for behaviour you can control

      I don't think there's any reason for men to apologize for automatically staring at breasts, or any other feature....as long as they are not so crass as to stare for long periods of time, or while simultaneously making crude comments. Discourtesy is never acceptable, and overt, offensive behavior IS in fact controllable, and should be apologized for. I agree, though, that male or female, no human being can help being attracted to certain visual stimuli, nor should they have to apologize for being attracted...so long as their attraction doesn't affect the object being observed.

      However, men (and women, to be balanced) CAN control whether or not they program/code a breast-gazing app, considering such behavior is obviously not instinctive, or autonomic, or even learned. It was simply a stupid, ill-considered non-joke. And, sorry, but huge numbers of women ARE getting really, really weary of being treated as brainless objects and inferior human beings, and having such things shoved in their faces in public forums.

      More to the point: While Batts and Boulton certainly have every right to present whatever they wish (I'm a firm believer in freedom of speech, regardless of my feelings about what's conveyed)....

      Their fitness to run a startup, and wisely use investors' money, IS nonetheless a valid question if their judgment and organization skills are so poor they (1) failed to complete their alleged "initial idea" presentation in time (missed a professional deadline) and (2) decided a "last minute mock-up" of an adolescent concept was in any way an acceptable or professional substitute for a real presentation.

      That behavior was, again, easily controllable. And based on their antics, I'd sure as hell want to go over their business plan with a fine tooth comb before investing in any venture they initiated.

      There are boundaries between "public" and "private" - between "personal" and "professional". Those incapable of recognizing where those boundaries lie need to learn the difference, and fast. Meaning if Batts and Boulton want their startup to succeed, they need to take this particular lesson to heart.

      1. Bernard M. Orwell

        Re: You should only apologize for behaviour you can control

        Gentlemen, I think you should all be aware that "allowing the gaze to slip" is technically Illegal in the UK. In fact, it counts as sexual harrassment and is considered by our Dear Home Secretary to be just as bad as physical and emotional abuse!

        Behold, the stupidity and bias of the law in all its splendor:

        http://www.safeworkers.co.uk/sexualharassmentwork.html

        "Non-verbal [Sexual Harrassment] - Looking or staring at a person’s body."

        Note well that it's not merely prolonged staring that counts but merely looking. Avert your gaze from all wimmin immediately or lose your job! Contemporary law demands that we change our natural behaviour, developed over hundreds of thousands of years today. Right now. In a single generation.

  5. Scott Pedigo
    Paris Hilton

    Change the Name and You've Got Yourself an App

    How about a description of how the app was supposed to work. I'm imagining that the app would have taken photos using both the front and rear facing cameras at the same time, pasting the two photos into a side-by-side presentation, with the gawking face on the left, and whatever the rear-facing camera was aiming at on the right. It could be anything, not just a pair of tits. So with a name change to something not involving body parts, it seems to me that it could be a perfectly legitimate app. It would be good for getting 'reaction shots', but instead of just seeing the face, you'd also see what the person was reacting to.

    Paris, because I'd have liked to have seen the expression on her former boyfriend's face.

  6. nsld
    Paris Hilton

    Good old feminist outrage. .

    The reality is if the ladies are going to wear low cut tops and other revealing clothes then they are doing it to be looked at.

    Not sure you need an app to record those moments but as Ms Gritpants points out, it swings both ways.

    It's always amused me that the same feminists who complain about this also complain the burka is repressive to women and they should not cover up. It's akin the impossible question "does my bum look big in this? "

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Good old feminist outrage. .

      It was a mother who complained. The mother of a 9 yr old girl who was there to present an app proposal.

      I'm sorta with the - what did you call this ? Oh yes, 'feminist outrage' - on this one.

      1. Steve 13

        Re: Good old feminist outrage. .

        Does being a mother provide special rights of complaint? Or had she for some reason taken her 9 year old daughter with her instead of sending her to school?

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Good old feminist outrage. .

          <sigh> there's always one. OK just for Steve. Being a parent, mother or father, doesn't imbue you with special rights. it does however, come with responsibilities, one of which is to speak up for your children when they are either unable or not confident enough to do so. Now some parents an be precious assholes I admit. A mother who takes her daughter to amtech conference so she can promoteman app is unlikely to be one of those.

          Now on that. I would assume she was on either school holidays or had been taken out of school to attend this event. You may not be aware that this is common and regrettably usually done for the purposes of a holiday, not to stand up in front of a crowd of (alleged) adults and propose an app concept,

          So not feminist outrage, simply disgust at a professional event sinking to the level of a frat house.

        2. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Good old feminist outrage. .

          "Does being a mother provide special rights of complaint?"

          Yes, ask mumsnet!

      2. rh587

        Re: Good old feminist outrage. .

        No, it was the father of a 9yo girl. So he's not even offended, he's assuming that IF he were female he would be offended, and is expressing his hypothetical righteous indignation on behalf of women. The fact that he was offended apparently means his opinion is worth more than the opinions of those who had a chuckle and passed it off as the silly thing it is, rather than trying to whore some media attention.

        " Jordan signed up for the hackathon to encourage his nine year old daughter, Alexandra to pursue her interest in technology. Currently taking online coding classes, she was present for both presentations.

        "I felt uncomfortable and I thought if I were a woman, I would have felt tremendously like this is not a group of people that are letting me in," Jordan told CNNMoney.

        Had both presentations been met with silence, Jordan said the impact would have been less severe.

        "But when they're getting cheers," he said. "It's like the whole room's not with me on this." "

        That was probably because the whole room wasn't with him on that...

        Whilst it's moderately unfortunate that there were kids present, the fault really lies in the oversight of the organisers to adequately check what was going to be presented.

        The proper reaction from the (adult) females present is to go away and hack a cock-mash app that lets them compare men or something. Lets them poke fun at men, gives everyone a chuckle and gets the point over without resorting to rather childish mud-flinging in the media

        "Muuuuuuuuuum, man made an offensive joke"

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-IX69mjpcA

        1. Vladimir Plouzhnikov

          Re: Good old feminist outrage. .

          "It's like the whole room's not with me on this."

          Yeah, mate. The whole room was most definitely not with you on this.

    2. Shades
      Trollface

      Re: Good old feminist outrage. .

      nsld wrote:

      "as Ms Gritpants points out, it swings both ways."
      I would have thought that depends on how tight the trousers/pants are.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Pirate

        Re: Good old feminist outrage. . @Shades

        And some of them jingle, too.

      2. Paul Crawford Silver badge
        Trollface

        Re: Swings both ways

        Beat me to it. I was going to suggest a jockstrap

  7. Khaptain Silver badge
    Coat

    Ornithologists Unite

    This seems to be very unfair for those that love ogling at a pair of Great Tits or some Blue Tits in the winter time, or a pair of Coal Tits up in a the North of England.

    1. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge
      Happy

      Re: Ornithologists Unite

      Everyone loves to see a pair of great tits.

      Sadly though, when looking at 'specialist twitching magazines' what one often sees is the lesser known species of orange tits...

    2. Anonymous C0ward

      Re: Ornithologists Unite

      One wonders what would happen to an app that lists the local goings-on in a certain Austrian village.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Ornithologists Unite

        Do you mean the fucking blue tits?

  8. Boring Bob

    That's nature

    Here is a link to an image of the app, it looks harmless enough.

    http://money.cnn.com/2013/09/09/technology/social/titstare-app/

    Men in their 20's will always be overdosing on testosterone, thereby guaranteeing the continuation of the species. It is nature dear, you can only go so far with forcing people to hide their sexuality.

    1. spiny norman

      Re: That's nature

      And following that link, it was the 9 year-old girl's father who complained, having taken her to the conference to encourage her interest in technology. I think he had a point.

      These tech conferences need to decide whether they want to be a professional showcase for the best of the industry, or the tech equivalent of a boy scout camp.

      1. Khaptain Silver badge

        Re: That's nature

        You honestly want to be believe that taking a 9 year old girl to a tech conference will generate further interest in the tech field ? I am sure there are far more interesting things for 9 years olds to do than stand around bored shitless for hours waiting for an interesting field to crop up.

        By the way the web has a very large percentage of hardcore/softcore pornography websites, written by the same techies..... You might want to consider that for later....

        Think of the children, yeah right, don't take them to these kind of events. Whats next to much swearing in the football stands. Ballerinas whose clothing is too tight and show a little too much nipple at the ballet.

        1. marcyd

          Re: That's nature

          This is moronic. Fact is, tech needs to clean it's act up. And gaming too. Women want in, and they aren't going to be be fobbed off, abused and intimidated away just because a lot of men in this field are emotionally stunted, man-children.

          I think it's fantastic that this little girl is interested in programming, and I think it's appalling this pair of tits lowered the tone.

          Grow up.

          1. Khaptain Silver badge

            Re: That's nature

            As far as I remember tech is usually very clean, or would you like to brand everyone with the Shit Stick because a pair of minor technies had some fun.

            Nobody takes these kinds of things seriously, they are intentionally made to be funny and made to be a little tongue in cheek.

            Pray tell us how you protect that same little innoncent sweet 9 year from the Sex, Bad Language, Violence , Politics and general disarray that can be found on the Web, Movies, Television, Newspapers, on her iPhone/Android, splattered everwhere in publicity......

            That same little girl will soon discover that their are far more things to be worried about that looking at a pair of clothed breasts.......

      2. heyrick Silver badge

        Re: That's nature

        @ spiny Norman: What, father should lie to the girl? It is going to be harder for her and when she fills out she'll get a bunch of proposals from fat dudes twice her she who are destined to never get laid. This neither excuses nor justifies what happened, however stupid frat boy apps will exist (or do we think girls enjoy fart apps?). It's a malady known as "being male". It is reality. A stupid reality, but reality none the less.

        1. Gav

          Re: That's nature

          Ahh, the old "that's just the way it is" argument. I think Bruce Hornsby wrote a song along those lines, except that was about excuses for racism.

          The issue here is not that a 9 year old girl would be "offended", which I doubt, that's just not how children's minds work. It is that she would leave the conference thinking "Well that industry is clearly just a bunch of silly men obsessed with looking at women's bodies. Not for girls like me then. It kind of makes me feel uncomfortable." That is the tragedy. That's what *I* find offensive.

          If grown men want to be stupid frat boys then let them go do it in stupid frats. Not at developers' conferences.

          1. Khaptain Silver badge

            Re: That's nature

            <quote>It is that she would leave the conference thinking "Well that industry is clearly just a bunch of silly men obsessed with looking at women's bodies. Not for girls like me then. It kind of makes me feel uncomfortable." That is the tragedy. That's what *I* find offensive.</quote>

            i would consider that as a purely "adult" frame of thought capable only from a mind mature enough to know what it was looking at. Not what I would expect from a pre-pubescent child, even one that was mentally capable of programming.

    2. Great Bu

      Re: That's nature

      So this guy us taking his 9 year old child along to this conference with the hope that she will enter a career in technology.

      A career which will mean she will have pretty much unfettered access to the internet.

      And he's worried that she will be offended by this 'TitStare' app.

      I forsee a steep learning curve ahead for her, I have had a quick look at the internet and to the untrained eye it does appear to be quite naked lung hammer heavy...............

    3. Cris E
      FAIL

      Re: That's nature

      Also looking at that link it shows that this was an Apple app shown at a TechCrunch conference. That is, an app that usually goes thru some serious vetting shown at a fairly mainstream conference rather than some pimply-faced basement gathering of teenaged wanna-be script kiddies. I'd look at that conference, see execs from Facebook, Yahoo and LinedIn and assume it would be professional enough to bring my daughter to. I'd expect to see grownups doing cool things that she'd like to aspire to.

      This is not how adults should act in a professional environment. To those who think differently, know that in the US this sort of thing would get you chewed up by HR in most major companies. Mostly anyone I've worked for in the past ten or fifteen years would not tolerate this in the least. Grow up.

  9. Longrod_von_Hugendong

    Plur-lease

    You couldnt pay for this type of marketing, seems they hit the spot to me...

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "Online reaction to their presentation quickly condemned the app as sexist."

    W O W. It's stupid comments like that that take the womens rights back a couple of decades.

    If staring at chebs is sexist, then Sid the sexiest I am!

    What a load of feminist bull! Ladies, men stare at tits! Get used to it! It's built into us men and is 100% normal and natural.

    1. Magnus_Pym

      Let me just fix that for you.

      What a load of feminist bull! Ladies, men LOOK at tits! Get used to it! It's built into us men and is 100%

      normal and natural.

      STARING at any part of anybody however is a bit intimidating. I guess it's a problem of degrees; what constitutes staring? I quick glance is unpreventable. 10 unblinking minutes at less than a metre is not really acceptable.

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    As a Brit living down under, I can tell you this is pretty typical of the sexiest, macho society Australia has, at least here in Perth. Seeing blokes lean out of car windows to wolf whistle at women is sort of like going back to 1980s Britain.

    I'm a man, and I have very little time for feminists, but even I find it all a bit embarrassing.

  12. Ian 55

    Nice idea, but wrong way round

    What would be more interesting is something to be carried by a woman that sees how many times the man talking to her looks at her breasts rather than her face.

    1. Gonebirdin
      Joke

      Re: Nice idea, but wrong way round

      Women have a face?!

      1. ukgnome
        Coat

        Re: Nice idea, but wrong way round

        Women have a face?!

        Apparently they have two, one on each boob...

  13. Ross K Silver badge
    Devil

    Those Guys....

    ...were lucky that 'Dongle-gate' fuckwit Adria Richards wasn't there.

    She would have called for their castration, or something along those lines.

  14. Miek
    Linux

    So what if there were children present, what difference does that make? Were there naked women exposing their breasts on stage? Or is it just that two men went on stage and used the word 'tit' ? Was this story originally published on Mumsnet or something ?

  15. MatsSvensson

    AirStare

    This infringes on my invention "AirStare" that makes it possible to take pictures of yourself string at nothing, since it can also be used to take pictures of yourself staring at something.

    Granted that function is only available in the "advanced" settings, but i think I'm entitled to at least 20% of the revenues of all picture taking software now.

    But don't take my word for it, just ask the US patent-office.

  16. NomNomNom

    I remember channel 4 having an app called kiddie stare

  17. Terry 6 Silver badge

    PR

    As already noted: Publicity stunt.

    Wouldn't be surprised to learn they wrote the initial complaint posts themselves.

  18. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Sounds to me like he was worried about having brought a child into a non-child-friendly environment and chose instead to paint his concerns as some good old offence by proxy instead of admitting that maybe he should make sure something is child-safe before bringing a child into it.

    That said the organisers ought to have done the same before allowing a child to come in. Someone must have known that there would be tit jokes and cock jokes in the presentation.

  19. CADmonkey

    Any comments here from actual, proven, fertile people (ie parents)?

    If my kid asks me a serious question I do my utmost to give her an honest response.

    Children don't care about 'how things are' or 'have always been'. If something's obviously not right or fair they'll ask why.

    I wonder what response the howling commentards above would offer to an unblinking enquiring mind such as this?

    1. Swarthy

      Re: Any comments here from actual, proven, fertile people (ie parents)?

      As a parent, (actual, proven, fertile person) and as a Register reader (IE Geek, techie, and proud) I have to say that it's a bit of a conundrum. I love The Register's Bootnotes. I have written applications and given them names like TOSS-R or the Virtual Pen 1.5 (there was no 1.0).

      Explaining the sophomoric antics of these two.. well, I would have laughed, first.

      Then I would have explained to the sprog that some people are jerks, some people are stupid. It would be more difficult to explain the whole "staring at breasts" concept than it would be to explain that some people are just "naughty".

      I would not have been up in arms, this isn't a kids' show; but neither is it a 21+ show. But there is worse on prime-time TV and almost any movie.

      If one of my podlings witnessed this and asked about the impropriety, I would explain that intelligence does not bequeath couth. And re-iterate that in all walks of life there are people you probably don't want to associate with, and not to judge an entire community on the actions of a few.

      tl;dr: It's up to you to parent your kids, it's not the worst out there, and how you explain it will determine their reaction.

  20. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    This seems like an utterly pointless app. A total waste of time. But I also don't think it's worth complaining about. Unless the complaint is that it's bad/pointless. I'm sick of moral outrage and people shouting "hey that offends me what will you do about it?".

  21. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    What did you expect?

    What did you expect from app makers and users? Duh!

  22. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    There were children present!

    Who, of course, didn't even know what tits are, or that men stare about them, and never ever joke about such things themselves. Oh no.

  23. david 12 Silver badge

    Something missing from the article

    I understand // from the comments // that there was a blokey/undergraduate atmosphere at the event. It is implied // in the comments // that there was a blokey/undergraduate aspect to the presentation.

    The comments make sense off the complaint. Even if you don't agree, even if you think the complaint was unjustified, at least you understand what the complain was about, // from reading the comments //

    which is to say that reading the article did NOT give me a sense of what the complaint was about.

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