Amazon: Redefining Fail Since April 12, 2009
This post won't be updated any longer. The follow-up is HERE. The follow-up to the follow-up is HERE.
A GLITCH. Seriously? That explains everything. We also have LA Times' Carolyn Kellog on the 'Glitch'.
My left eyelid is twitching. This is not good. It's also moving along to a huge headache. -_-
_____________
Some interesting links, most all of them also contain further info and more links:
markprobst and the response from Amazon. Please read this one.
And sign the petition while you're at it.
asknosecrets: A timeline of the Fail and responses to it.
vashtan has compiled a list of books that have been AmazonRanked.
afterthree on Amazon and Homophobia
copperbadge posts.
bookshop on contacting the Amazon customer service.
Dear Author on the Fail.
Googlebombing the Fail via Smart Bitches, Trashy Books: Amazon Rank.
An Open Letter to Amazon, and a letter template by c_smith_author.
AmazonFail at Delicious.
#amazon fail and glitchmyass at twitter.
Neil Gaiman on AmazonFail on twitter. Also here.
ETA:
The Fail is also being brought up in the Amazon Forums now. Heh.
AfterEllen on the Fail.
Publishers Weekly reports on the 'Glitch'. The Associated Press picks up on the story. So do the National Post and CNet, UrbZen and Jezebel.
Amazon users are trying to re-increase visibility of the AmazonRanked books, and tagging them with AmazonFail; at the time of typing this, 885 titles have been tagged.
ETA II:
Craig Seymour, who experienced the same problem in February.
markprobst: Glitch or a lie?
copperbadge has some thoughts on the matter that I'd be very happy to see come true.
Lilith Saintcrow on why this is not a glitch.
Lisy Babe on how Amazon is also stripping some disabled and feminist literature of their sales ranks. Feministe has more on the same topic.
Wet Asphalt on how it's not adult content that gets you deranked.
Denver Internet Examiner's Mari Kurisato on the importance of sales ranks.
Dear Author has info on how metadata may have been used to filter out the books in question.
More on the matter by Gawker, SeattlePi, The Angry Black Woman, The Washington Post! and Lisa Gold, among others. If I listed everything I that's to be found, I'd never stop listing. I have 24 more tabs open and waiting to be looked through just now.
teh_dely posts a (to me) somewhat unlikely theory on how AmazonFail is a Bantown attack.
atara has a theory on customer service mess-ups that may explain a few things.
ETA III:
Acquanetta Ferguson has a roundup of some notable twitter responses to the whole mess.
sbisson delivers a possible explanation on why the fail hasn't been fixed yet.
joyful_molly posts about Amazon targeting GLBT textbooks and provides an overview on search results for 'homosexuality' on Amazon US, UK and Germany.
The Guardian has the story. So does Entertainment Weekly. Gulli and Futurezone/ORF.at also do (both in German).
Making Light on Amazon's very bad day, Church of the Customer on the Anatomy of the #AmazonFAIL customer revolt, author Heather Corinna blogs on Amazon, The Consumerist chimes in, Pandagon suspects a right-wing letter campaign as cause. stewardesswrites on Sales Ranks and Keyword Censorship, DailyKOS pipes in, and Facebook now has an AmazonFailGroup.
Amazon contact info as compiled from the above posts:
US Customer Service: 1-800-201-7575 or (866) 216-1072 or (206) 266-2335
UK Customer Service: 0800 496 1081
German Customer Service: 0800 2629663
Executive Customer Service: ecr@amazon.com
General help: connect-help@amazon.com (this goes to the publishing department, not customer service)
Other ways to get in touch: http://clicheideas.com/amazon.htm
Contact data of Amazon's CEO: Jeffrey Bezos, 1200 12th Avenue South, Seattle, Washington 98144-2734, Phone: 206-266-1000 Fax: 206-622-2405
Fax for Amazon's legal Department: 206-266-7010
Amazon on twitter
Amazon's CTO on twitter: @werner
Amazon's Board of Directors:
Thomas O. Ryder (914) 244-5782
William Gordon (650) 233-2750
Myrtle Potter (650) 225-1000
Alain Monie (206) 266-1000
L. John Doerr (650) 233-2750
Tom Alberg (206) 674-3000
Patricia Stonesifer (206) 709-3140
More contact info compiled by oulangi
Oh, and finally, cat macros has also joined the cause. I was wondering how long it'd take. I will not laugh, for this is srs bsns.
A GLITCH. Seriously? That explains everything. We also have LA Times' Carolyn Kellog on the 'Glitch'.
My left eyelid is twitching. This is not good. It's also moving along to a huge headache. -_-
_____________
Some interesting links, most all of them also contain further info and more links:
markprobst and the response from Amazon. Please read this one.
And sign the petition while you're at it.
asknosecrets: A timeline of the Fail and responses to it.
vashtan has compiled a list of books that have been AmazonRanked.
afterthree on Amazon and Homophobia
copperbadge posts.
bookshop on contacting the Amazon customer service.
Dear Author on the Fail.
Googlebombing the Fail via Smart Bitches, Trashy Books: Amazon Rank.
An Open Letter to Amazon, and a letter template by c_smith_author.
AmazonFail at Delicious.
#amazon fail and glitchmyass at twitter.
Neil Gaiman on AmazonFail on twitter. Also here.
ETA:
The Fail is also being brought up in the Amazon Forums now. Heh.
AfterEllen on the Fail.
Publishers Weekly reports on the 'Glitch'. The Associated Press picks up on the story. So do the National Post and CNet, UrbZen and Jezebel.
Amazon users are trying to re-increase visibility of the AmazonRanked books, and tagging them with AmazonFail; at the time of typing this, 885 titles have been tagged.
ETA II:
Craig Seymour, who experienced the same problem in February.
markprobst: Glitch or a lie?
copperbadge has some thoughts on the matter that I'd be very happy to see come true.
Lilith Saintcrow on why this is not a glitch.
Lisy Babe on how Amazon is also stripping some disabled and feminist literature of their sales ranks. Feministe has more on the same topic.
Wet Asphalt on how it's not adult content that gets you deranked.
Denver Internet Examiner's Mari Kurisato on the importance of sales ranks.
Dear Author has info on how metadata may have been used to filter out the books in question.
More on the matter by Gawker, SeattlePi, The Angry Black Woman, The Washington Post! and Lisa Gold, among others. If I listed everything I that's to be found, I'd never stop listing. I have 24 more tabs open and waiting to be looked through just now.
teh_dely posts a (to me) somewhat unlikely theory on how AmazonFail is a Bantown attack.
atara has a theory on customer service mess-ups that may explain a few things.
ETA III:
Acquanetta Ferguson has a roundup of some notable twitter responses to the whole mess.
sbisson delivers a possible explanation on why the fail hasn't been fixed yet.
joyful_molly posts about Amazon targeting GLBT textbooks and provides an overview on search results for 'homosexuality' on Amazon US, UK and Germany.
The Guardian has the story. So does Entertainment Weekly. Gulli and Futurezone/ORF.at also do (both in German).
Making Light on Amazon's very bad day, Church of the Customer on the Anatomy of the #AmazonFAIL customer revolt, author Heather Corinna blogs on Amazon, The Consumerist chimes in, Pandagon suspects a right-wing letter campaign as cause. stewardesswrites on Sales Ranks and Keyword Censorship, DailyKOS pipes in, and Facebook now has an AmazonFailGroup.
Amazon contact info as compiled from the above posts:
US Customer Service: 1-800-201-7575 or (866) 216-1072 or (206) 266-2335
UK Customer Service: 0800 496 1081
German Customer Service: 0800 2629663
Executive Customer Service: ecr@amazon.com
General help: connect-help@amazon.com (this goes to the publishing department, not customer service)
Other ways to get in touch: http://clicheideas.com/amazon.htm
Contact data of Amazon's CEO: Jeffrey Bezos, 1200 12th Avenue South, Seattle, Washington 98144-2734, Phone: 206-266-1000 Fax: 206-622-2405
Fax for Amazon's legal Department: 206-266-7010
Amazon on twitter
Amazon's CTO on twitter: @werner
Amazon's Board of Directors:
Thomas O. Ryder (914) 244-5782
William Gordon (650) 233-2750
Myrtle Potter (650) 225-1000
Alain Monie (206) 266-1000
L. John Doerr (650) 233-2750
Tom Alberg (206) 674-3000
Patricia Stonesifer (206) 709-3140
More contact info compiled by oulangi
Oh, and finally, cat macros has also joined the cause. I was wondering how long it'd take. I will not laugh, for this is srs bsns.