Nobody said it was easy ([info]copperbadge) wrote,
2009-04-12 12:56:00
As a person with a brain, the fact that Amazon.com is stripping sales rankings (and thus killing publicity) from gay and lesbian literature is offensive. As a writer, it is insulting. As a writer who is in the process of publishing a book about gay men, it's annoying on a business level.

http://community.livejournal.com/meta_writer/11369.html

Amazon sez:

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.

Sales rankings on erotica have also been pulled. Apparently "adult" material doesn't include non-erotica romance and literature aimed at heterosexuals, however, as their rankings have not been stripped. Way to be, Amazon.

This hits every anger nerve I have, including the one where I AM NOT YOUR BABYSITTER and it is not my responsibility to protect YOUR CHILD or YOUR DELICATE SENSIBILITIES from the internet.

Apparently some books may not be showing up if you search for them in Amazon's search (I can't confirm this, as I managed to find The Filly just fine). There is a list of the books with their ranks pulled here. They include not just new literature but classics like The Rubyfruit Jungle.

I strongly suggest that if you read slash online, support equality in the arts, dislike censorship, or, you know, think gay people are people, you follow this link to Amazon's support page (you will need to log in):

https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/contact-us/general-questions.html?ie=UTF8&type=email

and notify them that you will not be giving them your business, as they are engaging in discriminatory practices. There is an excellent letter here. This is the one I sent:

In consideration of the rights of the LGBT community, I will no longer be supporting your business. You have targeted gay and lesbian literature in stripping sales rankings from books you have deemed "adult". Since heterosexual literature of the same type has not had its sales rankings tampered with, you are engaging in discrimination.

If you do not understand why you are receiving this letter, please consult http://community.livejournal.com/meta_writer/11369.html. If you wish to retain my business, reverse this decision.

ETA: There is a petition here as well.

ETA II: Please feel free to reproduce this, link to it, or link to any of the URLs posted, on your own journal.

SON OF ETA II: Thanks [info]ecaterin for this news: Smart Bitches, Trashy Books is running a Google Bomb. They say:

I’ve created a page with the definition for “amazon rank.” LINK TO http://www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com/amazonrank with “Amazon Rank” as the anchor text. The link should look like this:

Amazon Rank

ETA III, THE EDITING: [info]strange_selkie reminds us that Amazon's CTO has a twitter: @werner . I don't know what to do with that info because I don't tweet, but all you twitheads surely will :)

ETA IV, HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU: [info]bare_bear informs me that The LA Times is bloggin' about it.
Tags: amazonfail

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[info]the_sea_to

April 12 2009, 17:59:24 UTC 3 years ago

Thank you Copperbadge!

[info]aunty_marion

April 12 2009, 18:05:35 UTC 3 years ago

[info]erastes has just posted a link to a petition here, too.

[info]copperbadge

April 12 2009, 18:09:49 UTC 3 years ago

Thanks! Added to the post :)

[info]acid_mousie

April 12 2009, 18:05:50 UTC 3 years ago

ta. i figured if even a third of your followers and lurkers email them that'd make a difference.

[info]copperbadge

April 12 2009, 18:10:17 UTC 3 years ago

I hope that those who don't email will link, or vice versa, and that people will do both!

[info]laughingacademy

April 12 2009, 18:05:57 UTC 3 years ago

What I want to know is, who the hell is picking the titles to be sent into Coventry? The Well of Loneliness doesn’t get a ranking but The Lesbian Kama Sutra does?

[info]acid_mousie

April 12 2009, 18:07:59 UTC 3 years ago

exactly. my 80 year old grandmother had the well of loneliness.

[info]copperbadge

3 years ago

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[info]evilstorm

3 years ago

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[info]darksideofstorm

April 12 2009, 18:07:48 UTC 3 years ago

I'm almost tempted to get an account purely for the purpose of firing off a scathing letter and immediately withdrawing my business.

Epic fail, Amazon.

[info]lanning

April 12 2009, 18:09:08 UTC 3 years ago

Thank you for the excellent post! This just in...in an apparent effort to prove just how idiotic they are, Amazon has now removed the ranking from Heather Has Two Mommies, which, as we all know, is just chock-full of explicit "adult" material. I'll retire to Bedlam.

[info]copperbadge

April 12 2009, 18:11:05 UTC 3 years ago

BWAHAHAHAHAHA. Omg, yeah, of course, I remember all the porn in Heather Has Two Mommies.

MASSIVE FULL BODY EYEROLL.

[info]acid_mousie

April 12 2009, 18:10:03 UTC 3 years ago

oh ironies of ironies, i can't remember my amazon password.

[info]forest_rose

April 12 2009, 18:11:39 UTC 3 years ago

Well linked, Sam. I shall duly write, and sign, and link.

[info]glass_icarus

April 12 2009, 18:14:58 UTC 3 years ago

thank you, Sam! :) will be signing that petition pronto.

[info]bare_bear

April 12 2009, 18:15:46 UTC 3 years ago

Wow, that's absolute crap! God, I wish I had ordered things from them in the past just so that my pulling my support would actually mean something. I will definately not be shopping though them if they go through with this.

This is so stupid. Way to encourage ignorance and discrimination, Amazon.

Thanks for passing on the message.

[info]sabra_n

April 12 2009, 18:15:51 UTC 3 years ago

I'm hoping this is just some bigoted middle manager in charge of the rankings system or something and not a company-wide philosophy, because wow would the latter be stupid as well as prejudiced.

[info]madripoor_rose

April 12 2009, 18:16:17 UTC 3 years ago

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

I sent a letter, but since I don't have an account with them/Never buy anything online, I don't know if they'll give it any weight.

Still. Better to light a flamethrower than curse the darkness, and all that.

[info]copperbadge

April 12 2009, 18:16:58 UTC 3 years ago

Well, at least they know they've lost a potential customer. EVERYONE who tells them off helps, whether they're a longtime patron or a never-purchased.

[info]bare_bear

3 years ago

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[info]copperbadge

3 years ago

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[info]bare_bear

3 years ago

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[info]lls_mutant

April 12 2009, 18:17:38 UTC 3 years ago

This hits every anger nerve I have, including the one where I AM NOT YOUR BABYSITTER and it is not my responsibility to protect YOUR CHILD or YOUR DELICATE SENSIBILITIES from the internet.

As a mom, I find this policy of theirs HIGHLY offensive, for two reasons.

1.) I'M Mom. Which means -I- check what my boys will be ordering on line. (Right now, they're 3 and 1. They don't order much.)

2.) If one of my boys ends up questioning his sexuality, or has a friend going through that experience, for God's sake I want them to easily have some resources at hand. I'll be as helpful and supportive as possible, but sometimes you need something from outside the family, y'know? They don't need to be reading explicit porn at 12, but if they wanted to read "The Filly" or "At Swim Two Boys" or whatever, I'd want them to be able to find it no trouble.

::head desk::

[info]copperbadge

April 12 2009, 18:22:37 UTC 3 years ago

Exactly. I am fully behind the belief that parents should be the ones to supervise their children's activities, and that as much as possible should be made available so that the PARENTS can choose. I will always step in to protect a child being abused, if I see it happening, but people who think it's my job to protect their kids intellectually should, you know, not have kids.

[info]eac

3 years ago

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...and 2 more comments... from [info]evilstorm, [info]hugh_mannity Expand

[info]alicit

April 12 2009, 18:22:16 UTC 3 years ago

Does anyone here know if they are doing anything similar on amazon.co.uk? I wouldn't even know where to look.

[info]copperbadge

April 12 2009, 18:23:37 UTC 3 years ago

Good question. Given it's all one company, I'd hazard that they are, but one never knows. If you can find a book tagged "gay", click the tag and see how many of the books under that tag have no sales rank.

[info]somnolentblue

3 years ago

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[info]penguin_attie

April 12 2009, 18:22:23 UTC 3 years ago

Okay, um, I was trying to see if this was the case on amazon France or Germany too (since I shop at these two) but, 1) what is sales rank and 2) where can I see if it's been pulled?

[info]copperbadge

April 12 2009, 18:27:36 UTC 3 years ago

Sales rank is how well the book sells -- you can find it under "Product Details" on the sales page for a given book. If you look at Product Details and "Sales Rank" is not there, it doesn't have one.

[info]penguin_attie

3 years ago

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[info]kayleigh_jane

3 years ago

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[info]prairie_city

April 12 2009, 18:23:19 UTC 3 years ago

Epic fail, Amazon, goddamnit. I just got over four-hundred dollars in accumulated birthday gift certificates to Amazon, which means they've already gotten that much money on my behalf, and I can't get it back.

Hell of a decision. I suppose I'll just make sure I get my money's worth then, because I'll not be spending another dime there.

[info]copperbadge

April 12 2009, 18:25:13 UTC 3 years ago

Yeah, the money's already spent, and if they keep it AND the merch, that's no good.

My advice? Buy in lots of $25, the minimum you need for free shipping. That way every time you spend money there, they have to pay to ship it. Also, buy from third-party vendors who just use Amazon, that way at least most of the money doesn't go to them.

[info]prairie_city

3 years ago

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[info]maverick0324

3 years ago

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[info]prairie_city

3 years ago

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[info]e_mily

3 years ago

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[info]trialia

3 years ago

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[info]meran_flash

3 years ago

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[info]musicianatheart

3 years ago

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[info]acid_mousie

April 12 2009, 18:23:31 UTC 3 years ago

someone twittered graham linehan (father ted dude)with a link and i know that neil gaiman has loads of followers on twitter so hopefully that'll help too.

[info]kessie

April 12 2009, 18:25:14 UTC 3 years ago

Have sent a polite, yet pissed off email to support. I'm writing a book about a teen who happens to be a lesbian. This isn't exactly helpful.

[info]zanzando

April 12 2009, 18:25:53 UTC 3 years ago

Hi Sam!

It's valid to mention that the titles which had their rankings stripped also do not show up in direct search anymore. Either you have a direct link, or you have to Google them.
Looking at the growing list of books affected, there are plenty of decidedly non-adult titles. :(

[info]copperbadge

April 12 2009, 18:28:32 UTC 3 years ago

Thanks! I will add this to the post post-haste :)

[info]copperbadge

3 years ago

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[info]zanzando

3 years ago

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[info]copperbadge

3 years ago

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[info]zanzando

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[info]copperbadge

3 years ago

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[info]zanzando

3 years ago

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[info]acid_mousie

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[info]zanzando

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[info]zanzando

3 years ago

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[info]acid_mousie

3 years ago

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[info]annyrose

3 years ago

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[info]zanzando

3 years ago

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[info]annyrose

3 years ago

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[info]zanzando

3 years ago

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[info]copperbadge

3 years ago

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[info]purplevks

3 years ago

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[info]copperbadge

3 years ago

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3 years ago

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[info]annyrose

3 years ago

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[info]copperbadge

3 years ago

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[info]firesprite1105

April 12 2009, 18:30:17 UTC 3 years ago

Signed the petition, with some vitrolic commentary on the side. ;P

[info]foxtrot_pasta

April 12 2009, 18:33:24 UTC 3 years ago

I don't shop there much, and I'm not very eloquent, but I sent them an email. The more the merrier!

[info]clodia_risa

April 12 2009, 18:36:00 UTC 3 years ago

I sent a message saying that I won't be buying from them until they reverse the decision or the inevitable anti-discrimination lawsuit reverses it for them. I am also linking in my LJ.

[info]such_heights

April 12 2009, 18:36:32 UTC 3 years ago

Thanks, Sam - things like this always make me lose a little faith in greater humanity, but gain a lot in how great the internet can be sometimes. This is spreading so quickly on a holiday!

[info]copperbadge

April 12 2009, 18:38:47 UTC 3 years ago

It's nice to feel one is doing something :)

And it's an amazing coincidence, isn't it, that Amazon pulled this going into a holiday weekend. Just amazing. *eyeroll*

[info]emilyshka

April 12 2009, 18:38:22 UTC 3 years ago

Email sent. Amazon boycotted. Thanks for the info.

[info]keevacaereni

April 12 2009, 18:53:11 UTC 3 years ago

Signed, emailed and linking. I'm British, so I don't think this directly affects me, but damn does it make me angry.

What utter twat thought this up?

[info]msp_hacker

April 12 2009, 19:04:41 UTC 3 years ago

Amazon.co.uk is also removing rankings of GLBTQ books. So is Amazon.de and Amazon.ca, so it's world wide WTFery.

[info]keevacaereni

3 years ago

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[info]copperbadge

3 years ago

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[info]keevacaereni

3 years ago

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3 years ago

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3 years ago

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[info]such_heights

3 years ago

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[info]sismith42

3 years ago

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3 years ago

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