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I'm certain that nearly everyone who read this has heard of "amazonfail" by now. If not -- click here for Making Light's take on the issue.
I'd agree with PNH that it's likely that this is less an Evil Plot on amazon's part than a Big Institutional Screw-Up that will be rectified as the powers-that-be at amazon see the gleam of pitchfork tines in torchlight while the internet hordes clamber up their hill howling in outrage. But just to make certain: I'd suggest sending a message to amazon customer service complaining about this apparent anti-gay policy (I've done so, with the note that until I see a public apology and explanation and the books in question have their sales rankings restored, I will not be spending another penny on the site), and/or sign the on-line petition protesting this move on amazon's part. I've done both...
Oh, and until this is resolved, please DO NOT buy any of my books from amazon. Go to B&N's website or your local bookstore instead...
It'll be interesting to see how amazon explains this...
ETA: An LJ user claims he is responsible for all this by writing a script that gamed the system: http://community.livejournal.com/brutal_honesty/3168992.html
ETAA: A refutation of the above: http://bryant.livejournal.com/672165.html
ETAAA: A quote from the Wall Street Journal's site: "UPDATE: Neil Giuliano, president of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, says in a statement: “GLAAD has reached out to Amazon.com and they indicate this was an error, so we expect to start seeing evidence of its correction immediately, and any loss of visibility of gay-themed books as a result of this error will be made right by Amazon … When people learn about the lives of gay and transgender people and the common ground we share, the culture changes and advances. It is so important that stories about the lives of our community are available, and that companies like Amazon promote these titles in an equal fashion.”"
*****
A semi-interesting aside: I note that "fail" has now replaced "gate" as the word used (in combination with another) to indicate a public failure and scandal of monumental proportions... "Gate" had a long run since the original "Watergate" scandal broke, but it's over now...
I'd agree with PNH that it's likely that this is less an Evil Plot on amazon's part than a Big Institutional Screw-Up that will be rectified as the powers-that-be at amazon see the gleam of pitchfork tines in torchlight while the internet hordes clamber up their hill howling in outrage. But just to make certain: I'd suggest sending a message to amazon customer service complaining about this apparent anti-gay policy (I've done so, with the note that until I see a public apology and explanation and the books in question have their sales rankings restored, I will not be spending another penny on the site), and/or sign the on-line petition protesting this move on amazon's part. I've done both...
Oh, and until this is resolved, please DO NOT buy any of my books from amazon. Go to B&N's website or your local bookstore instead...
It'll be interesting to see how amazon explains this...
ETA: An LJ user claims he is responsible for all this by writing a script that gamed the system: http://community.livejournal.com/brutal_honesty/3168992.html
ETAA: A refutation of the above: http://bryant.livejournal.com/672165.html
ETAAA: A quote from the Wall Street Journal's site: "UPDATE: Neil Giuliano, president of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, says in a statement: “GLAAD has reached out to Amazon.com and they indicate this was an error, so we expect to start seeing evidence of its correction immediately, and any loss of visibility of gay-themed books as a result of this error will be made right by Amazon … When people learn about the lives of gay and transgender people and the common ground we share, the culture changes and advances. It is so important that stories about the lives of our community are available, and that companies like Amazon promote these titles in an equal fashion.”"
*****
A semi-interesting aside: I note that "fail" has now replaced "gate" as the word used (in combination with another) to indicate a public failure and scandal of monumental proportions... "Gate" had a long run since the original "Watergate" scandal broke, but it's over now...
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I think that "fail" is different from "gate." "Gates" seem to be scandals of corruption, while "fails" are being used for scandals of bigotry. This may be incorrect; I'm just going off of my sense of things (which is often whack).