WTF, Amazon?!
In case you have not already heard about the AmazonFail: Amazon seems to be removing the sales figures and rankings (resulting in a new definition of Amazon Rank) from books it deems "adult".
"In consideration of our entire customer base," they said, "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."
This apparently includes "Heather Has Two Mommies" but not, say, "Playboy: Redheads" which even has a handy "look inside" link in case you want to check out a nude or two before you buy. (PS: Link is NOT SFW.) I clicked 'surprise me' and got a shot of a lovely redheaded naked woman. I wasn't really surprised.
Stephen Fry’s autobiography Moab Is My Washpot has lost its paperback rank but not its hardback rank.
Main difference I can spot, aside from thickness of cover? One’s list of categories includes “Gay & Lesbian > Biographies & Memoirs > Gay” and “Gay & Lesbian > Literature & Fiction > Fiction > Gay”, and one does not. Three guesses which is which, and you don’t need the first two.
Links and such:
http://markprobst.livejournal.com/15293.html <-- has the reply from Amazon quoted above
http://community.livejournal.com/meta_writer/11560.html <-- links to many, many posts on the matter -- chronologically!
http://dearauthor.com/wordpress/2009/04/12/amazon-censors-its-rankings-search-results-to-protect-us-against-glbt-books/
http://www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com/index.php/weblog/comments/amazon-rank/
Twitter: #amazonfail
ETA: Just to be clear, I don't particularly think they should be removing sales rankings from things like the Playboy books either -- it's just a good example of the contrast.
"In consideration of our entire customer base," they said, "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."
This apparently includes "Heather Has Two Mommies" but not, say, "Playboy: Redheads" which even has a handy "look inside" link in case you want to check out a nude or two before you buy. (PS: Link is NOT SFW.) I clicked 'surprise me' and got a shot of a lovely redheaded naked woman. I wasn't really surprised.
Stephen Fry’s autobiography Moab Is My Washpot has lost its paperback rank but not its hardback rank.
Main difference I can spot, aside from thickness of cover? One’s list of categories includes “Gay & Lesbian > Biographies & Memoirs > Gay” and “Gay & Lesbian > Literature & Fiction > Fiction > Gay”, and one does not. Three guesses which is which, and you don’t need the first two.
Links and such:
http://markprobst.livejournal.com/15293.html <-- has the reply from Amazon quoted above
http://community.livejournal.com/meta_writer/11560.html <-- links to many, many posts on the matter -- chronologically!
http://dearauthor.com/wordpress/2009/04/12/amazon-censors-its-rankings-search-results-to-protect-us-against-glbt-books/
http://www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com/index.php/weblog/comments/amazon-rank/
Twitter: #amazonfail
ETA: Just to be clear, I don't particularly think they should be removing sales rankings from things like the Playboy books either -- it's just a good example of the contrast.