Eliot Van Buskirk:

A TUAW reader first pointed out that a number of threads mentioning the search term “consumer reports” had disappeared from discussions.apple.com, replaced by a note asking the user to log in to the site, after which the relevant discussions still are not viewable. However, Microsoft’s Bing search engine cached those pages before Apple removed them, so they’re still visible for the curious.

The big issue here is not that Apple is covering up the fact that there is a problem with the antenna, rather that they are hiding the fact that Consumer Reports will not recommend the phone. Who cares? Consumer Reports is irrelevant to any good testing and has not been a stalwart recommendation service for anyone under 40 for the past decade.

Why then is Apple removing posts citing Consumer Reports? Simple they don’t want bad press on their website just as your company would not allow bad press on its website. The issue isn’t the antenna, the issue is marketing. Apple will let you complain all day about any problem you want, just don’t link to articles talking crap about their products.

Apple is in the majority in this thinking, and they are maintaining their private forum. If you want to bitch and link to Consumer Reports go get a GeoCities ((remember those)) page – just don’t do it in Apple’s playground is all that Apple is trying to say.