What was I *just* talking about?!
I have no idea how long this will be news - eventually Amazon will settle on an official explanation ($5 says "homophobic gremlins in the server") and offer appologies and it will all be fixed and we'll stop grumbling.
But for now: What The Fuck, Amazon??!!
AP: Amazon 'glitch' removes sales rank from gay books
More indepth: Amazon Rank
Amazon is slowly responding with denials of intentional wrongdoing.
In the meantime bloggers are taking action by Google Bombing the phrase "Amazon Rank" with this alternate definition:
amazon rank
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): amazon ranked
1. To censor and exclude on the basis of adult content in literature (except for Playboy, Penthouse, dogfighting and graphic novels depicting incest orgies).
2. To make changes based on inconsistent applications of standards, logic and common sense.
Etymology: from 12 April 2009 removal of sales rank figures from books on Amazon.com containing sexual, erotic, romantic, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered or queer content, rendering them impossible to find through basic search functions at the top of Amazon.com's website. Titles stripped of their sales rankings include "Bastard Out of Carolina," "Lady Chatterly's Lover," prominent romance novels, GLBTQ fiction novels, YA books, and narratives about gay people.
Example of usage: "I tried to do a report on Lady Chatterly's Lover for English Lit, but my teacher amazon ranked me and I got an F on grounds that it was obscene."
But for now: What The Fuck, Amazon??!!
AP: Amazon 'glitch' removes sales rank from gay books
More indepth: Amazon Rank
Amazon is slowly responding with denials of intentional wrongdoing.
In the meantime bloggers are taking action by Google Bombing the phrase "Amazon Rank" with this alternate definition:
amazon rank
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): amazon ranked
1. To censor and exclude on the basis of adult content in literature (except for Playboy, Penthouse, dogfighting and graphic novels depicting incest orgies).
2. To make changes based on inconsistent applications of standards, logic and common sense.
Etymology: from 12 April 2009 removal of sales rank figures from books on Amazon.com containing sexual, erotic, romantic, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered or queer content, rendering them impossible to find through basic search functions at the top of Amazon.com's website. Titles stripped of their sales rankings include "Bastard Out of Carolina," "Lady Chatterly's Lover," prominent romance novels, GLBTQ fiction novels, YA books, and narratives about gay people.
Example of usage: "I tried to do a report on Lady Chatterly's Lover for English Lit, but my teacher amazon ranked me and I got an F on grounds that it was obscene."