While everyone else was unwrapping gifts, I was unwrapping a rejection notification from App Store Connect.
Guideline 2.3.2 - Performance - Accurate Metadata.
The reviewer’s note was brief but stinging: "It is not clear to the user that purchasing is required to unlock this feature."
I stared at my iPhone screen, sitting in the dark of my living room. I hadn't slept properly in three days. My workout rings were empty zeros. I had spent hours crafting what I thought was an elegant, non-intrusive onboarding flow. I called it "implied." I called it "subtle." I called it "respectful of the user."
Apple called it "hiding."
Person holding phone in dark room
The Subtlety of Ghosting
That word drilled into me. Hidden.
I sat there, feeling incredibly clumsy. It reminded me of something a psychologist once said: "The essence of 'hot and cold' behavior is simply not caring... or it's avoidance at the start of a relationship."
I realized my "design philosophy" was just a mirror of my own avoidance. I didn't want to talk about money because I was afraid the user would leave. Just like in relationships, we often don't express our needs because we're afraid the other person will be annoyed.
We think we're being polite. We think we're being "chill." But all that "subtlety" eventually calcifies into a barrier. It becomes a guessing game. And when people get tired of guessing, they leave.
Implicit demands create explicit distance.
The Courage Amplifier
This realization hit me hard. It’s exactly why I built LiveMarquee in the first place.
I’ve always been the person who stays quiet. Who avoids the conflict. Who hopes you’ll just "get it" without me having to say it. But I’ve learned the hard way that silence is rarely interpreted as safety—it’s interpreted as indifference.
I needed a tool that forced me to be clear.
LiveMarquee isn't just a scrolling text app. It’s not just a digital banner. It’s a Courage Amplifier for cowards like me.
Neon sign glowing in the dark
It helps me take the things I’m too scared to whisper and turns them into full-screen, high-contrast, scrolling neon lights.
To (truly) practice this philosophy of clarity, I realized visualize my fear. LiveMarquee does exactly that. It takes the internal monologue and makes it external. It stops the guessing game.
It says: "This is what I am thinking. Right here. In bright lights."
A Human Moment
I decided not to fix the code tonight. The rejection can wait. The bug fixes can wait.
I put on my coat and walked to the nearest coffee shop. The sun was just starting to break through the winter grey, hitting the window in that sharp, clear way it does in December.
I opened LiveMarquee. I set the background to a deep Christmas Red. I typed: "MERRY CHRISTMAS".
I held my phone up against the window, capturing the scrolling text and the sunlight together using the Moments Capture feature.
Coffee shop window with sunlight
It was clear. It was bright. It was undeniable.
Love is like a bill: it only counts when it's clearly delivered. Don't wait for the people you love to send you a rejection letter.
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