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Amazon censors rankings of LGBT-related books (hat tip: ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
compasspoints) and subsequent post on Amazon
#amazonfail
Amazon releases statement about "glitch" to Publisher's Weekly; glitch theory is quickly debunked
tehdely theorizes that either a fundie wingnut group has targeted Amazon, or someone else is pretending like Amazon could be (bantown theory)
Dear Author:
3. If you search “homosexual” on Amazon.com, your first search result is “A Parent’s Guide to Preventing Homosexuality.” This is because other books with the term homosexual have had their sales rank stripped. The previous algorithm is supposed to show the top selling books in the search result. If the book has no sales rank then it won’t appear in the search results.
4. If you write exclusively books with erotic content (or content tagged erotic regardless of actual content), you may not exist in a front page search. See screen cap here (Lucinda Betts) and here (Jackie Barbosa) and here (Amie Stuart).
[...]
Why is this is a big deal?
It’s not because customers put any stock into the Amazon Ranking number. It’s that the Amazon Rank affects a books’ visibility on the bestseller list, on the “If you Like ___, you might like __ feature” and so forth. It is akin to the bookstore removing the books from the shelves and requiring you to go to the Customer Service desk and ask for the book or author specifically. Visibility is a huge factor in sales and anyone who doesn’t believe that is kidding themselves.
Author Craig Seymour had this problem dating back in February, even though it seems the bulk of this massive ban seems to have started on Easter.
Now there's tons of coverage
Some of the banned books:
Michel Foucault's History of Sexuality, Vol. 1
Virginia Woolf's Orlando
James Baldwin's, Giovanni's Room, Annie Proulx's Brokeback Mountain
E. M. Forster's Maurice,
Jeanette Winterson's Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit
Various, I Do: an anthology in support of marriage equality
Kate Bornstein's Hello Cruel World, Milk: A Pictorial History of Harvey Milk,
Dan Savage's The Kid: What Happened After My Boyfriend and I Decided to Go Get Pregnant,
Jessica Valenti & Jaclyn Friedman, The Ultimate Guide to Sex and Disability: For All of Us Who Live with Disabilities, Chronic Pain and Illness
Jessica Valenti's Full Frontal Feminism: A Young Woman's Guide to Why Feminism Matters,
Toni Weschler's Cycle Savvy: The Smart Teen's Guide to the Mysteries of Her Body
compasspoints) and subsequent post on Amazon#amazonfail
Amazon releases statement about "glitch" to Publisher's Weekly; glitch theory is quickly debunked
tehdely theorizes that either a fundie wingnut group has targeted Amazon, or someone else is pretending like Amazon could be (bantown theory)Dear Author:
3. If you search “homosexual” on Amazon.com, your first search result is “A Parent’s Guide to Preventing Homosexuality.” This is because other books with the term homosexual have had their sales rank stripped. The previous algorithm is supposed to show the top selling books in the search result. If the book has no sales rank then it won’t appear in the search results.
4. If you write exclusively books with erotic content (or content tagged erotic regardless of actual content), you may not exist in a front page search. See screen cap here (Lucinda Betts) and here (Jackie Barbosa) and here (Amie Stuart).
[...]
Why is this is a big deal?
It’s not because customers put any stock into the Amazon Ranking number. It’s that the Amazon Rank affects a books’ visibility on the bestseller list, on the “If you Like ___, you might like __ feature” and so forth. It is akin to the bookstore removing the books from the shelves and requiring you to go to the Customer Service desk and ask for the book or author specifically. Visibility is a huge factor in sales and anyone who doesn’t believe that is kidding themselves.
Author Craig Seymour had this problem dating back in February, even though it seems the bulk of this massive ban seems to have started on Easter.
Now there's tons of coverage
Some of the banned books:
Michel Foucault's History of Sexuality, Vol. 1
Virginia Woolf's Orlando
James Baldwin's, Giovanni's Room, Annie Proulx's Brokeback Mountain
E. M. Forster's Maurice,
Jeanette Winterson's Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit
Various, I Do: an anthology in support of marriage equality
Kate Bornstein's Hello Cruel World, Milk: A Pictorial History of Harvey Milk,
Dan Savage's The Kid: What Happened After My Boyfriend and I Decided to Go Get Pregnant,
Jessica Valenti & Jaclyn Friedman, The Ultimate Guide to Sex and Disability: For All of Us Who Live with Disabilities, Chronic Pain and Illness
Jessica Valenti's Full Frontal Feminism: A Young Woman's Guide to Why Feminism Matters,
Toni Weschler's Cycle Savvy: The Smart Teen's Guide to the Mysteries of Her Body
