Amazon and "Adult Content" (#amazonfail)
Amazon have removed all books with "adult material" from the rankings. This includes books with LGBT characters, erotic scenes and sexuality of the disabled.
What does this mean? Amazon rankings affect the appearance of books in the search engine, the bestseller lists and the "books recommended for you" section. If "homosexuality" is entered into Amazon.co.uk search, the top two books are "Can Homosexuality Be Healed?" and "A Parent's Guide To Preventing Homosexuality".
Amazon is officially calling this a "glitch", but Customer Services e-mails state:
"In consideration of our entire customer base, we exclude "adult" material from appearing in some searches and best seller lists. Since these lists are generated using sales ranks, adult materials must also be excluded from that feature."
If you want to do something, call Amazon customer services (0800 496 1081) or e-mail from the website (here). There is also a petition.
Original links here, here and here
What does this mean? Amazon rankings affect the appearance of books in the search engine, the bestseller lists and the "books recommended for you" section. If "homosexuality" is entered into Amazon.co.uk search, the top two books are "Can Homosexuality Be Healed?" and "A Parent's Guide To Preventing Homosexuality".
Amazon is officially calling this a "glitch", but Customer Services e-mails state:
"In consideration of our entire customer base, we exclude "adult" material from appearing in some searches and best seller lists. Since these lists are generated using sales ranks, adult materials must also be excluded from that feature."
If you want to do something, call Amazon customer services (0800 496 1081) or e-mail from the website (here). There is also a petition.
Original links here, here and here