Amazon Fail!!

[Jane]

Here are some websites, it's all over the web and in the news. Amazon.com re-listed all the positive LGBT books, so that any gay content is adult, even if there is no sexual content in the book. It's making bestsellers, not appear on their bestseller list. They claim it's a glitch, but it's a pretty specific glitch. Also Amazon responses to authors inquring about the change, imply that the change is due to policy of adult content. Please pass this on and sign the pettion below. Thank you!


www.change.org/actions/view/tell_amazon_to_stop_discriminating_against_lgbt_books

www.lgf.org.uk/news/1070/590/Amazon-fail-LGBT-customers/

here is what you get when you search books for homosexuality...
www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_b_0_4?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=homosexuality&sprefix=homo

[David Price]

Since the subject's bounced around a lot there's been a bunch of people looking at what could have happened-

tehdely.livejournal.com/88823.html
blog.seattlepi.com/amazon/archives/166329.asp

Most interestingly that last one claims that it was at its heart a translation error- somebody over in France saw what they thought was a glitch in the Amazon nodes for "Adult" (which they often use for erotica) and "fixed" it. Since the nodes were universal, it hit the American side too. Then nobody at Amazon noticed and followed it up by bad explanations and knee-jerk reactions.

Hanlon's razor - "Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity."

[Jane]

abcnews.go.com/m/screen?id=7327241

There is also this story in which makes a good argument for the whole hacker theory.

I have a peep, who know a high mucky muck at amazon, and they forward info and are going to tell me, about the info they receive.

What I think the real problem is, is that some books had their rating removed for months. In the link posted you hear the account of Craig Seymour, who tried in vain on his own to get it fixed, and it took getting his publisher involved to get it fixed. I mean people couldn't even find his book, by searching for the title.

If it was a glitch, or they were hacked, then I think it's time for personal, individual apologies to the authors. What I mean by that is the ones like Craig Seymour, who's complaints were ignored, get a letters of apology. Also that amazon make a big statement in which they say they are sorry, and if some french dude, or any dude who is responsible, for the "glitch" something needs to happen their.

I know right now, that twitter is in an uproar about all of this. In this day and age companies can't sit back and say it was "just a glitch" cause people aren't necessarily going to accept that. If they don't do something soon, they are probably going to lose costumers. I know I won't be buying anything from them until respect is paid to the authors that were disrespected.

Hacker, glitch, intentional, which way, it's still unclear.