Amazon.com Fail!

[such_heights]

Via rydra_wong:

About two days ago, gay and lesbian books started to lose their Amazon sales rankings on their profile pages. Each Amazon product gets a sales ranking after at least one sale, which affects where the book will appear in some searches, bestseller lists, etc.

markprobst emails in and gets this response:

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.

[source: here]

Hmm. Okay. Trouble is, Amazon's version of 'adult' seems to be anything that's either categorised as 'erotica' or 'gay/lesbian', leaving gaping discrepencies in what has and hasn't been spirited away. To wit, via rwday:

Sarah Waters' Tipping the Velvet? Adult. No rankings.

Alan Moore's Lost Girls? Not adult. Ranking. (This is an adult graphic novel. Trust me on this one.)

Mark Probst's The Filly, a YA novel dealing with gay themes? Adult. No ranking.

Rosemary Rogers' Sweet Savage Love, Kathleen Woodiwiss' The Wolf and the Dove, Bertrice Small's Skye O'Malley? Explicit heterosexual romances. Not adult. Ranking.

Alex Beecroft's False Colours and Erastes' Transgressions? Explicit gay romances. Adult. No ranking.

Nookii: The Grownup Game for Playful Couples? Not adult. Ranking.

The Dildo Master DVD? Not adult. Ranking.

Realistic White Boy Vibrating Dildo. Not adult. Ranking.

[source: here]

There's an updating links collection going on here, a stream of Twitters here and a list of affected authors is being collated here.

So far, amazon.co.uk and other branches don't seem to have enacted the same changes. I'll edit if I find out otherwise.

(I really would try and stay up to the minute on this today, but I've got to finish my springtime_gen entry, so help me. *runs back to writing*)

ETA: Targeted books now include children's lit (Heather Has Two Mommies) and anything dealing with 'alternative' sexuality, like books with sex tips for people with disabilities. Playboy remains unharmed, while titles such as -- oh god, I can hardly type this without weeping TEARS OF RAGE -- Yes Means Yes: Visions of Female Sexual Power and A World Without Rape are ushered away from the public eye.

Also, word on the street is that .co.uk's been affected too, I'm off to investigate.

ETA2: Yep, as the list here continues to grow (STEPHEN FRY, GUYS), UK listings are most certainly there, though weirdly not in any sort of consistent fashion. What the hell is going on?!

ETA3: Amazon Rank.

ETA4: Wait, this happened back in February? WTF.

ETA5: (oh hell oh hell this fic will never get written!) Here's an example of what the direct impact of Amazon's shenanigans is - the top two results on amazon.co.uk for 'homosexuality' are now Can Homosexuality be Healed? and A Parent's Guide to Preventing Homosexuality - and .com is even worse.

ETA6: !!! The Amazon Rank link is already the second result on Google. Internet, ilu sometimes.

ETA7: LA Times covers the story. #amazonfail is the top trending topic on Twitter, Amazon Rank is the top search result on Google, holy hell.

ETA8: I'll be poking through the amazonfail tag on delicious. In the meantime, off to sleep for me! New post tomorrow, probably.

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this post on Dreamwidth

Comments

[maidmarian158.livejournal.com]

This is so incredibly offensive. I just finished writing a complaint to Amazon - I hope they get flooded...

[such_heights]

I imagine momentum will build up over the next week - Sunday, and Easter and a bank holiday over here on top, mean things are going to be quiet today. That will change.

In the meantime, GAH. What a load of nonsense.

[spacefragments.livejournal.com]

let's hear it for double standards!

Realistic White Boy Vibrating Dildo. Not adult. Ranking.

but, but... gays and lesbians might buy it!!! O NOES

[such_heights]

I know, right? Good grief, this is so completely ridiculous.

[glass-icarus.livejournal.com]

GOOD FUCKING GRIEF, WHAT THE HELL?

also, Bertrice Small = "not adult"... AHAHAHA, UM. as someone who was traumatized by her books as a pre-teen (someone dropped one of them on the floor near the fantasy section when i was 12 or so and, not having seen the cover, i picked it up thinking it might be about dragons. D: D: D:), I OBJECT TO THIS CATEGORIZATION.

[such_heights]

I DO NOT HAVE A CLUE. D:

Ahahah, oh god - haven't read it, but I can imagine! Het romance novels is often rather terrifying. *also has trauma*

I really can't decide - are things getting failier, or are we just paying more attention? Either way, DO NOT WANT.

[glass-icarus.livejournal.com]

to be fair, in retrospect, the book wasn't as terribly written as a lot of erotica that's out there. however, that fact does not erase the reading trauma OR the even-more-traumatizing fact that a 60-year-old (or thereabouts) woman came by a few minutes later and picked it up... and then stood by the circulation desk discussing it while i was checking my books out. D:!

[such_heights]

Hahaha, poor wee you! *pets*

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

Because, y'know, God FORBID gay/lesbian teens might want to read stories about kids going through what they're going through.

My sons have a book called "Everywhere Babies" that subtly depicts homosexual couples caring for babies. Should that be declared "adult", too?

And I don't have issues with the explicit stuff being adult... as long as the het explicit stuff is, too.

Stupid people.

[such_heights]

I KNOW. But instead it is reinforced, once again, by a major media outlet, that their lives are inappropriate for a general audience. *SIGH*

I hear Heather Has Two Mommies has gone now, so I'm guessing that'd be a yes!

Honestly, re. the adult stuff in general - I think marking it as such as one thing, but tweaking your system such that it doesn't appear in the bestseller list is really not cool.

[builtofsorrow.livejournal.com]

-seethes- This makes me want to storm Amazon US headquarters and beat some people with books. Very, very heavy books.

[such_heights]

*nod* Preferably hardback versions of things like Heather Has Two Mommies and Sarah Waters' entire output.

[builtofsorrow.livejournal.com]

Exactly. Have written e-mail & signed petition. I saw a tweet saying it seems to be affecting amazon.co.uk now too. D: Makes me furious that less than twelve hours ago, I spent nearly $80+ on Amazon on books for my cousin's baby.

[such_heights]

Oh no, bad timing! I'm in the habit of browsing/buying from them pretty frequently, but apparently they do not want my business any more.

[woldy]

There's an online petition against the policy here.

This approach of presuming that all GLBTQ content is obscene & putting the burden of proof on others to show that it isn't used to be taken by Canada customs but was struck down by the Canadian Supreme Court in 2000. The 2002 film "Little Sisters v Big Brother" covers this legal battle over censorship. Seems like Amazon.com could do with acquainting themselves with that judgement.

[such_heights]

Signed, thank you!

And cheers for those other links as well, I'll read up on that. I could have sworn we were getting past this tomfoolery now. APPARENTLY NOT. D:

[woldy]

It's sad that I wasn't even terribly surprised reading about this because of the customs case & continued problems with censorship in supposedly-liberal Canada (where same-sex marriage is legal, unlike most of the states and, technically, the UK). *sigh*

[such_heights]

:/ Gah, yes. Nowhere really seems to get it right!

[dharmavati.livejournal.com]

That is so riduculous! Thanks for the heads up. :/

[such_heights]

You're welcome - especially unpleasant coming from such a major company that I've frequented many a time. That's looking unlikely now!

[dharmavati.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I use their site a lot to buy textbooks and everything and I'm just disappointed in them now.

[such_heights]

Depending on the next few days' developments, I'm going to need to start researching alternatives.

[dharmavati.livejournal.com]

I agree and I'll have to hunt around more, I guess. The more I hear about what books were deranked and what books were not (e.g. "A Parent's Guide to Preventing Homosexuality"), it really does not look like a blanket deranking at all and is a lot more systematic in having a particularly homophobic agenda when considering books in the sales rank exclusions. It's pissing me off so much.

[elsane.livejournal.com]

oh my god, this is unbelievably offensive. I'll get infuriated as soon as I manage to pick my jaw up off the floor. !

signed the petition. Hope to hell it does some good.

[such_heights]

I hope so too! I can't quite believe they've actually screwed up this badly.

[verasteine.livejournal.com]

Word. This is too disturbing to put into words.

[such_heights]

UGH. On the other hand, I haven't seen that icon in ages, and I do love it. :D

[verasteine.livejournal.com]

I strive to have icons appropriate to any situation. And it explains my interest in the situation and the lengths I'm willing to go to :).

<-< This is appropriate to explain my rage at the situation.

[such_heights]

I approve! :D

Man, I miss my 100+ icons. This is really the only one I've got right now, otherwise imagine Ianto+Tosh with guns, perhaps.

[verasteine.livejournal.com]

Honestly, mine were gifted to me. Before that, I was stuck with 15 spaces and never had the right one for the occasion. Couldn't have afforded it w/o the gift, so... I kinda cheat :).

[fauxkaren.livejournal.com]

Smart Bitches, Trashy Books are expressing their feelings on the matter. (http://www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com/index.php/weblog/comments/amazon-rank/)

Amazon Rank (http://www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com/amazonrank/)

[such_heights]

Hahaha, excellent!

[gorgeousnerd]

I've read both Tipping the Velvet and Lost Girls. Not only is Tipping the Velvet way less explicit, but Lost Girls has queer content. I DON'T GET IT.

Let's hope they fix this fast. I don't want to not like Amazon.

[such_heights]

THIS IS SO BIZARRE.

I'd really find it inconvenient to boycott them entirely, but unless they reverse this completely, apologetically and very very swiftly, I can't do anything else.

[gorgeousnerd]

It's really tough because places like Amazon have forced out queer and independent booksellers; I only have one bookstore in town, and it's having problems. But even so, I'm boycotting Amazon until this is fixed, period.

[laenij.livejournal.com]

This makes both my head and my heart hurt. I just. yeah.

[such_heights]

Basically. :(

[saint-claws.livejournal.com]

That is really disgusting. It makes me wonder who runs Amazon and what their religious agenda is.

[such_heights]

Either that, or how incompetent they are to make it so easy for someone else to push things through.

[i-am-zan.livejournal.com]

sharing the links here (http://i-am-zan.livejournal.com/89003.html) to your post if that is ok, in case you want me to edit anything. I'm not very good with words. Just spreading the word if that's ok! Thank you for sharing with us!

[such_heights]

That's absolutely fine.

[cetacea.livejournal.com]

I just got this e-mail in response to a complaint I sent in, and it sounds like lots of other people are getting it, too:

"Thanks for contacting us. We recently discovered a glitch in our systems and it's being fixed."

It's been mentioned a lot in supporting comments of tehdely's trolling theory (http://tehdely.livejournal.com/88823.html) post.

[such_heights]

I suspect this is a whole new definition of glitch, by which we mean, glitch in people's brains. I'll be interested to see if they come up with a better explanation soon.

[cetacea.livejournal.com]

Yes, usually "glitches" do not specifically target marginalized groups.