Monday, April 13th, 2009 09:16 am

amazonfail - the homophobic glitch? really?

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To recap the glorious adventure of this weekend: many, many books and novels, both fiction and not, were delisted and in some cases moved from a top level search on amazon under the idea that anything GLBT is also to be considered adult, along with a sampling of general erotica.

[But not Playboy! Yes, we can still get thirty years of centerfolds for our kids! Thank God.]

Amazon Possibly Using Category Metadata to Filter Rankings at Dear Author has an explanation--with spreadsheets!--on what metadata is and how it might have been used during this "glitch".

And right. Amazon Rank in a continued quest for internetz justice via the googlebomb.
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From: (Anonymous) Date: 2009-04-13 02:41 pm (UTC)
Well, I feel all safer and protected!

Never mind that I've been an adult for over 20 years, I really want coeporate America to put the needs of neglectful parents ahead of mine...

In conclusion: Abebooks. I can recommend it highly and if everyone moves their business over to other online publishers, a few months from now we'll be able to laugh about it and wonder whatever happened to Amazon. Jeff Bezos, who's that?
ext_3762: girl reading outside in sunshine (Default)

From: [identity profile] harborshore.livejournal.com Date: 2009-04-13 02:54 pm (UTC)
ABE Books were bought by Amazon in December of 2008. I KNOW. I'd recommend Powell's, also, [livejournal.com profile] rydra_wong's first post on this has recs for sellers in comments.

From: (Anonymous) Date: 2009-04-13 03:09 pm (UTC)
Thanks for the information, I'll have to readjust my strategy!

From: [identity profile] hollyxu.livejournal.com Date: 2009-04-13 03:16 pm (UTC)
How likely is the 3rd party interference theory, do you think? This filtering system seems to be pretty in-house.

The changes don't seem to have been implemented (http://www.amazon.ca/s/ref=nb_ss_gw_0_6?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=homosexuality&x=0&y=0&sprefix=homose) over at amazon.ca, for which I am a little bit grateful.

Still not buying anything until I hear an explanation, though. And it better be truthful. (Ha.)

From: [identity profile] seperis.livejournal.com Date: 2009-04-13 03:18 pm (UTC)
How likely is the 3rd party interference theory, do you think? This filtering system seems to be pretty in-house.

I--don't know. I'm not willing to rule it out, but since this started as early as february with the deranking of GLBT authors, I'm just not seeing how it could be a glitch.

Then again, I'm actually completely stunned amazon did something this utterly and transparently wrong in the stupidest possible way, so. *helpless*

From: (Anonymous) Date: 2009-04-13 03:32 pm (UTC)
Link snagged from somebody on Twitter: http://community.livejournal.com/brutal_honesty/3168992.html

I don't know whether it's true, but it's there.

From: [identity profile] seperis.livejournal.com Date: 2009-04-13 03:34 pm (UTC)
Huh. I just was IM'ed this link as well.

From: (Anonymous) Date: 2009-04-13 03:40 pm (UTC)
I wish I knew whether to believe it - not that the lovely anecdote about heroin doesn't give it that little extra ring of authenticity, of course.

From: [identity profile] seperis.livejournal.com Date: 2009-04-13 03:45 pm (UTC)
It's more that some (not all) heterosexual erotica that is metadata'ed to erotica also got hit at the same time.

From: [identity profile] hollyxu.livejournal.com Date: 2009-04-13 03:47 pm (UTC)
He could totally be trying to grab attention, though. (Admittedly the details are a nice touch. But if I learned anything on lj, it's Never trust a troll.)

I'm holding off 'til we get more info.

From: [identity profile] seperis.livejournal.com Date: 2009-04-13 03:48 pm (UTC)
it would have helped if he'd mentioned he also went after anything in the erotica category at the same time, as those were delisted as well.
risha: Illustration for "Naptime" by Martha Wilson (Default)

From: [personal profile] risha Date: 2009-04-13 05:46 pm (UTC)
He's also a known troll - weev was featured in the NYT's piece from awhile ago.

From: [identity profile] hollyxu.livejournal.com Date: 2009-04-13 03:39 pm (UTC)
*headtable*

Damned trolls.

Sorry but

From: (Anonymous) Date: 2009-04-13 03:47 pm (UTC)
That doesn't explain what the Amazon reps said about delisting adult books when that Craig guy asked back in February or when Mark Probst asked a few days ago...

That is a possible explanation I guess, but sort of contradicted by Amazon's previous and current reaction on the matter.

From: [identity profile] hollyxu.livejournal.com Date: 2009-04-13 03:50 pm (UTC)
Clarification, sorry: It could be a troll grabbing for attention (thus muddling the issue further), or it could be true.

Either way, it does not endear me to the act of trolling.

From: (Anonymous) Date: 2009-04-13 04:37 pm (UTC)
Yes, it does appear that it is a troll grabbing for attention after all: http://bryant.livejournal.com/672165.html

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