The Amazon failboat
Several people on the flist pointed it out, starting with sansa1970 over here. There's also meta_writer's post, The List of Deranked products and the orginal post that started it all.
Basically, books with LGBT themes, some romances and other stuff with adult content are no longer searchable on Amazon and their sales rank has been removed so they won't ever appear on bestseller lists.
However, we still have Playboy (and frickin' sex toys) showing up.
Considering I grew up in a country where books were banned and censored (and most likely still are) and Amazon was the#1 online site I went to, to look up books et all for OVER TEN YEARS, this is just, GOD.
How is this even legal, especially if it targets LGBT? And if its ALL adult material, wow, way to go and shoot yourself in the foot, Amazon - I've gotten used to buying my stuff with 'adult content' online and not locally. I can't imagine how they could even consider doing this, business-wise
If you've used Amazon for purchases in the past, do consider contacting them:
Amazon exec customer service email: ecr@amazon.com
Customer service tel: 1-800-201-7575.
Contact button: Email // Phone
While a lot of calls can make a lot of noise, for a company as big as Amazon, sending emails would leave a bigger mark since it can be logged, forwarded and so on. Please consider taking a moment to drop them a line.
And since there are many alternative stores for buying books (furiosity lists some here) and other products, if censorship pisses you off, you might as well take your business elsewhere.
Linkage
Amazon responds and claims its a glitch.
(original link here but traffic overloaded the site for now)
I think this twitter says it best:
Ha! Didn't know "glitches" sent out policy revision emails to customers.
And from this blog:
This is not a "glitch". Emails were sent out to the first victims of this new policy more than 2 months ago that stated that it was a policy change. They were all LGBT authors - many of whom had no, or ridiculously little, "adult" content in their books.
Basically, books with LGBT themes, some romances and other stuff with adult content are no longer searchable on Amazon and their sales rank has been removed so they won't ever appear on bestseller lists.
However, we still have Playboy (and frickin' sex toys) showing up.
Considering I grew up in a country where books were banned and censored (and most likely still are) and Amazon was the#1 online site I went to, to look up books et all for OVER TEN YEARS, this is just, GOD.
How is this even legal, especially if it targets LGBT? And if its ALL adult material, wow, way to go and shoot yourself in the foot, Amazon - I've gotten used to buying my stuff with 'adult content' online and not locally. I can't imagine how they could even consider doing this, business-wise
If you've used Amazon for purchases in the past, do consider contacting them:
Amazon exec customer service email: ecr@amazon.com
Customer service tel: 1-800-201-7575.
Contact button: Email // Phone
While a lot of calls can make a lot of noise, for a company as big as Amazon, sending emails would leave a bigger mark since it can be logged, forwarded and so on. Please consider taking a moment to drop them a line.
And since there are many alternative stores for buying books (furiosity lists some here) and other products, if censorship pisses you off, you might as well take your business elsewhere.
Linkage
- Sign the Petition
- Companies against LGBT
- Amazon Rank + Google bombing
- #amazonfail
dozens new twitters appear every minute ^o^ - A Call to Boycott Amazon
- Icerocket's blog search results for amazon gay and amazon GLBT
- Timeline of sorts...
- #Amazonfail and the politics of anti-corporate cyberactivism
---> favorite bit: Will sales of LGBT books skyrocket as a consequence? - De-Amazon your Kindle
- It's hit the national news stream? LA Times article
- Book sellers that AREN'T Amazon
- Open Letter to Amazon Regarding Recent Policy Changes
- Gay & Lesbian fiction @ B&N ♥
- Searching google news finds 13 articles on amazonfail...so far
- Article post @ jezebel
- From this twitter: "THE ANARCHIST COOKBOOK is ranked; JOY OF SEX is unranked.Amazon would rather you make napalm than get laid."
- From this twitter: "Just called amazon...the person said they're fixing 'the problem' and it will be corrected soon"
- Did the censoring really begin two months ago?
- A new theory
Amazon responds and claims its a glitch.
(original link here but traffic overloaded the site for now)
I think this twitter says it best:
Ha! Didn't know "glitches" sent out policy revision emails to customers.
And from this blog:
This is not a "glitch". Emails were sent out to the first victims of this new policy more than 2 months ago that stated that it was a policy change. They were all LGBT authors - many of whom had no, or ridiculously little, "adult" content in their books.