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Amazon and GLBT-themed Works.
Amazon Rank.
So, yesterday the news spread that "Amazon removes rankings from books with homosexual characters, including from a YA book, because they don't wish to include "adult" content in their rankings out of respect to the range of their membership." Also, books on issues affecting disabled people, and feminist books, both fiction and nonfiction. The latest news I have seen is that Amazon claims this is a glitch;![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
rydra_wong, always a great source of information, responds to that excuseexplanation. When I looked up "homosexual" as a search term about ten minutes ago, the results I got were nearly identical to kshandra's screenshot here.
I have to admit, I kind of... sighed and groaned when I saw this, rather than being shocked. The culture wars continue apace, and because I wouldn't be surprised if some 'Family Values' group tagged an important ear at Amazon, this explanation makes some sense to me (it's also pretty snide; I find it informative, I'm not endorsing it wholeheartedly). So, we'll let Amazon know that LGBT does not necessarily equal pornography, and we'll see what happens.
To be honest... maybe I'm in a Pollyannaish mood, but what surprised me was the breadth of the topic's sweep across my friendslist; I got a telescoped view after a whole day offline, but I was reminded of the speed with which news can spread online.
ETA For my own notes: an example of the letters Amazon is sending out about this. By now I feel sorry for them rather than scornful.
So, yesterday the news spread that "Amazon removes rankings from books with homosexual characters, including from a YA book, because they don't wish to include "adult" content in their rankings out of respect to the range of their membership." Also, books on issues affecting disabled people, and feminist books, both fiction and nonfiction. The latest news I have seen is that Amazon claims this is a glitch;
rydra_wong, always a great source of information, responds to that kshandra's screenshot here. I have to admit, I kind of... sighed and groaned when I saw this, rather than being shocked. The culture wars continue apace, and because I wouldn't be surprised if some 'Family Values' group tagged an important ear at Amazon, this explanation makes some sense to me (it's also pretty snide; I find it informative, I'm not endorsing it wholeheartedly). So, we'll let Amazon know that LGBT does not necessarily equal pornography, and we'll see what happens.
To be honest... maybe I'm in a Pollyannaish mood, but what surprised me was the breadth of the topic's sweep across my friendslist; I got a telescoped view after a whole day offline, but I was reminded of the speed with which news can spread online.
ETA For my own notes: an example of the letters Amazon is sending out about this. By now I feel sorry for them rather than scornful.