#amazonfail
Apr. 12th, 2009 04:44 pmVia summertea:
Amazon.com removes sales rankings from print books tagged GLBT. Also books with BDSM themes and (explicit) heterosexual erotica.
This matters not just because it distorts figures to make already marginalized groups look even smaller, but because unranked books won't show up on front-page search results.
List of affected books.
Affected works of classic literature include: Tipping the Velvet, Maurice, The Well of Loneliness, The Charioteer.
Affected works of nonfiction include: The Dictionary of Homophobia, Who's Who in Gay and Lesbian History, Unfriendly Fire: How the Gay Ban Undermines the Military and Weakens America.
Affected self-help books include: My Husband is Gay, The Way Out, Hello Cruel World: 101 Alternatives to Suicide for Teens, Freaks and Other Outlaws.
Though really it shouldn't matter whether a book is classic or not, nonfiction or not, explicit or not, A SUICIDE PREVENTION MANUAL or not. Suppression is suppression; manipulating sales data for political reasons is manipulating sales data for political reasons.
( three scenarios )
EDIT: ALTERNATE THEORY: trolls are responsible.
EDIT2: Statement from Amazon.
Amazon.com removes sales rankings from print books tagged GLBT. Also books with BDSM themes and (explicit) heterosexual erotica.
This matters not just because it distorts figures to make already marginalized groups look even smaller, but because unranked books won't show up on front-page search results.
List of affected books.
Affected works of classic literature include: Tipping the Velvet, Maurice, The Well of Loneliness, The Charioteer.
Affected works of nonfiction include: The Dictionary of Homophobia, Who's Who in Gay and Lesbian History, Unfriendly Fire: How the Gay Ban Undermines the Military and Weakens America.
Affected self-help books include: My Husband is Gay, The Way Out, Hello Cruel World: 101 Alternatives to Suicide for Teens, Freaks and Other Outlaws.
Though really it shouldn't matter whether a book is classic or not, nonfiction or not, explicit or not, A SUICIDE PREVENTION MANUAL or not. Suppression is suppression; manipulating sales data for political reasons is manipulating sales data for political reasons.
( three scenarios )
EDIT: ALTERNATE THEORY: trolls are responsible.
EDIT2: Statement from Amazon.