A few days ago I got an email from Google about a new ratings system they're implementing for Android apps. I had to fill out a questionnaire about my app so it could be assigned a rating. I did, and now in North America my app will be rated E for Everyone. I even got a "Rating Certificate" email from the IARC. But who is the IARC, I wondered? I've never heard of them. So I did a quick search for "IARC", and discovered that wow, there are a lot of IARCs! After the first few pages of results, I'd discovered:
- International Agency for Research on Cancer
- International Assisted Reproduction Center
- International Arctic Research Center
- International Aerial Robotics Competition
- International Accreditation and Recognition Council
- Indiana Association of Regional Councils
- Israeli Amateur Radio Club
At this point I gave up. None of them seemed like the one I was looking for. I went back to my "Rating Certificate" email and clicked on links until I discovered that this IARC is the International Age Rating Coalition. Mystery solved.
During my investigation, I came across the Acronym Attic site, which lists over 100 possible definitions of IARC. The two that piqued my interest the most were
- International Acid Rock Conference -- about environmental effects of mining in South America
- Illicit Antiquities Research Centre -- about the theft and traffic of archaeological items
The second one actually sounds really interesting (check out their newsletters here), but sadly the organization closed down in 2007.