swiped from all around

[veronica_rich]

(But the wording, I'll lift verbatim from venusinchains, since she works in books and otherwise seems like a trustworthy soul *G* ... plus, I've seen this going around on other LJs, including author alex_beecroft who is definitely affected. Also, I do apologize to my J/E friends; I'm not picking on you with my avatar - this is just the best one I have that seems to fit this business "device"):

Apparently, Amazon has started removing "rankings" (and other tracking info that helps customers find what's popular on their site?) from books featuring Gay and Lesbian content.

Their reasons?

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.

Hence, if you have further questions, kindly write back to us.

Best regards,

Ashlyn D
Member Services
Amazon.com Advantage

And yet, a number of the books affected contain only GLBT material - not "adult" material.

Please follow the links and spread the word.


The original post:

http://markprobst.livejournal.com/15293.html

The growing list of targeted products:

http://community.livejournal.com/meta_writer/11992.html

ETA: I know not everybody is crazy about m/m or f/f fiction or nonfiction - this includes potentially my f-list and anyone else who might hop by, since this isn't a locked post. MY point is not so much to protect gay rights in this instance (though I do generally) as it is to denounce censorship. Adults should be allowed to read whatever they want to read (barring, IMO, underage visual porn that exploits underage subjects), and all book rankings/sales/availability should be treated equally for customers to decide.

Comments

[x-pixel-x.livejournal.com]

Dear Amazon,
Wishing a plague of angry emails, lost sales and cat macros on your house. EPIC FAIL.
no love,
me

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

What I don't get is why other retailers aren't doing this as well. Or why Amazon is. It's not that I support it - I'm just curious why it hasn't spread like most contagions ...

(If you want to avoid fail, BTW, don't read today's fandomsecrets. You'll just tear out what hair you have.)

[x-pixel-x.livejournal.com]

The whole thing is sort of odd and unbelievable, it's not an action that I'd expect from something as big as Amazon when it doesn't appear that any other retailer is doing it. I cannot fathom how this all came about.

(Gah, now I'm curious...but I'm working on dreamwidth stuff so I'm distracted enough I think to avoid it.)