(no subject)

[kcobweb]

Have you heard about the latest amazing Amazon fail?


Yes, I sent this.

I just read online about the new Amazon policy to hide so-called "adult" literature by removing sales rankings, especially on gay and lesbian materials. This is completely offensive on a number of levels. First of all, not all gay and lesbian materials are "adult" in the erotica sense, and many are appropriate for teens and a YA audience.

Secondly, I am an adult, and do have the right to read anything I want. I use Amazon because the search results are usually comprehensive and complete. Apparently, this is no longer the case, and therefore, I will no longer use Amazon to research (and buy) books - of any type - until I can be assured that I am able to see all the results, not just those that someone else has deemed "appropriate".

If you wish to create a search option that excludes "adult" materials, I suggest you allow those who want such a search to opt-in to a special search area, rather than hiding certain things from everyone.

Sincerely,

kcobweb

Comments

[boylawyer.livejournal.com]

The shocking thing is that they apparently didn't anticipate that this would be a problem with a significant segment of the population. What year are they living in, because it certainly isn't 2009...

[kcobweb.livejournal.com]

As I just read somewhere this morning, not only does this piss off the GLBT community, but also anyone who is somewhat interested in civil liberties and censorship. That's a *large* number of customers to piss off, in the midst of a recession especially.

[boylawyer.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah, exactly. I mean, in all honesty, the odds that I will ever read a book dealing primarily with GLBT issues rapidly approaches zero (unless one of my kids ends up being part of that community), but I am horrified and offended that they would knee-jerk include everything in that category as objectionable.

[kcobweb.livejournal.com]

Precisely. I *do* read those books sometimes, but that's not really even the point, you know?