Amazon responds to queries, blames a 'glitch'

As readers continue to try to figure out what happened in Amazon's database so that the sales rankings of certain books and not others disappeared -- which caused some to be omitted from search results on the site -- it seems that Amazon is doing much the same thing.

Responding to our initial post, Amazon Director of Corporate Communications Patty Smith e-mailed Jacket Copy. "There was a glitch with our sales rank feature that is in the process of being fixed," she wrote. "We're working to correct the problem as quickly as possible."

We wanted to know more. We asked for further explanation of the glitch, which has removed the rankings of gay-themed books such as Paul Monette's "Becoming A Man," Virginia Woolf's "Orlando," and others.

And I asked Patty Smith this:

From a layperson's perspective, this glitch does seem to have affected certain types of books more heavily than others. In fact, only one of the top 10 books in your Gay & Lesbian section continues to have a sales ranking (the Kindle version of "The Picture of Dorian Gray"). No other section is similarly affected. Can you comment on that?

The reply:

Unfortunately, I'm not able to comment further.  We're working to resolve the issue, but I don't have any further information.

Perhaps we'll learn more Monday.

-- Carolyn Kellogg

Comments

[Cally Beck]

It sounds as though they're saying that it's a glitch's fault for GLBT material getting hit so hard, which honestly, I buy because it seems like all "adult" material got de-ranked, and they went gay deals with sexuality is adult. rape (even how to prevent it!) deals with sexuality is adult.

What the "glitch" theory doesn't explain is the policy of deranking "adult" books in the first place (which is blatant censorship), or why violent books don't seem to be a part of the algorithms at all.

Still awaiting an explanation that reduces my fury,
Cally

[Julia Sullivan]

it seems like all "adult" material got de-ranked

Porn star Ron Jeremy's raunchy autobiography is still ranked. A scholarly bio of Ellen DeGeneres is de-ranked.

Mein Kampf is still ranked. Heather Has Two Mommies is de-ranked.

This is no glitch.

[Stars]

After Jeff Bezos pimped the Kindle all over The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, I think maybe he should get himself back on the show and explain what they were thinking.

Glitch, my eye.

[Daniel Haran]

The "glitch" also affects books on sex and disability:
http://lisybabe.blogspot.com/2009/04/amazonfail.html

[Lev Raphael]

So many ironies here.

My 19th book is a memoir called My Germany. It charts the histories of my Holocaust survivor parents and my own complex relationship over the years with Germany real and imagined.

There's some gay content because I talk about how all this was woven together with my sexual identity, but it's not remotely an "adult" book:

http://www.levraphael.com/mygermany.html

So if people on amazon are looking for Holocaust-related memoirs, or books by or about the Second Generation (children of survivors), my book won't show up. Ghettoized by Amazon. What a feeling.

[gtpeach]

You know, Mark Probst made an inquiry. The response he got didn't sound like a glitch. It is as follows:

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.

Best regards,
Ashlyn D
Member Services
Amazon.com Advantage

[James Buchanan]

Well, and glitches don't send emails days ahead of the mass de-ranking to author/publishers like Mark Probst explaining the new "policy" http://markprobst.livejournal.com/15293.html

[eric]

Ms mad Cally,
Censorship? Can you still buy these books? Sure you can, don't be so melodramatic. Anyhow, I'm for more "glitches" like these. Someone at Amazon has a conscience. Well, actually, we all do: http://tinyurl.com/AfterDeathThenWhat

[Yovonne]

I have a feeling that the only glitch is between someone's ears at Amazon corporate HQ. We'll see tomorrow if they fix it, or at least do a better job of explaining and then make honest efforts to actually fix the 'glitch'.

[Charlene]

Eric, don't be stupid. Your ability to FIND these books is being censored. Go try Amazon's search to find a book by these authors: it WON'T SHOW UP.

If that's not censorship, what is?

[Joe The Plumber]

Hey Eric, take your religious sales pitch elsewhere. It's not appropriate and you're not going to get converts. (But trolls like you couldn't convert a touchdown.)

[Michelle Anderson]

"Glitch" could mean someone did something stupid. There are adult heterosexual romance books that still have their sales rank, while LGBT books with no sexual content lost sales rank.

If the only trigger for some of these books losing their ranking was "LGBT"...that is not simply a "glitch" but deliberately categorizing LGBT books as adult.

If the trigger was "homosexual" then "Preventing Homosexuality" would have lost it's sales rank. A book that surely discusses gay sexuality, but doesn't call us "gay" or "lgbt"...but "homosexual"

[Cat Faber]

There's a suggestion on livejournal that it may be some hate group reporting books dealing with gayness in any way (the feminism is a new one on me, but I can picture these going together in that sort of mind) to Amazon as objectionable adult content. If Amazon has some automated way of withdrawing material that enough people flag as objectionable from the rankings, that could be kicking in without human supervision.

Check it out here: http://tehdely.livejournal.com/88823.html

I was really mad at Amazon at first, but now I'm going to hold off until I hear a bit more from them about what happened. If this *was* some sort of coordinated fundy attack, then Amazon needs to protect its flagging system better, but I'm not mad at them.

[Matt]

I just spent $70 on some gay titles I'd been meaning to get for some time from Powell's Books.

No trouble finding them in the search results on that company's site.

[GEAH]

Hilarious.

A company named after a band of lesbians has banned gay publications.

[TarotByArwen]

Glitch my behind. Glitches don't send out customer service letters about "adult" content. This has been documented since at least February. It just got hot today. #amazonfail from Twitter is very enlightening.

[RogueTess]

Hah. A glitch since February?
http://www.craigspoplife.blogspot.com/2009/04/is-amazon-homophobic.html

[Darren G. Burton]

It's not just gay and lesbian books being targeted. Many genres are being affected. I have four books on Amazon that lost their sales rankings on Friday, and my books are books on dating advice for straight people. Nothing adult, nothing sexual, nothing controversial. Just self-help advice books.

[Xenu]

It's called the Amazon "homophobic glitch."

[Waiyde Palmer]

Hardly a glitch~a formulated bug or virus launched by outside forces or internally, conspiracy buffs will opine on that issue for days-but I am man of reason who KNOWS homophobia when its waved like a red flag in front of my face. UNTIL an adequate explanation is forthcoming I have deleted my Amazon account.

[FreeThinker]

Maybe they just are offended by the "literature" that the leftist Times seems intent to inquire about. If they were burning something virtuous or noble, I have no doubt Ms. Kellog would be chanting with the chorus, but apparently the "glitch" has struck a nerve with the PC police. Good riddance LAT.

[Melanie]

It's not only about gay and lesbian authors-many feminist books and/or books about women's issues have been de-listed. The last book that I just did a search for was "Loose Girl: A Tale of Promiscuity", an important memoir of the trails and tribulations of a girl growing up as she was exploited and overcame a sexual addition. The book is not obscene in any way. Another book that comes to mind is the feminist book "Full Frontal Feminism" by Valenti-delisted.

This is totally unacceptable.

If people don't want to buy adult books, don't buy them. But people need access to many human sexuality books that have been delisted that may teach about safe sex, etc.

[James P]

A 'glitch'? I don't think a glitch makes an anti-gay book the first title that comes up when you do a book search using the term 'homosexuality'. It takes much more than that. It takes a prejudiced agenda and will.

[Paul Watson]

Expecting us to believe this is a "glitch" is just another insult. If it was a glitch (for example, based on industry-standard BISAC codes used to subject-code books) then the anti-gay books about homosexuality would have been similarly affected.

There are two possibilities for how this happened. Either someone at Amazon (with or without the permission of the CEO) has changed the ranking system or an external party - such as an anti-gay hate group - has found a way to hack/game Amazon into de-listing all these books.

[Christine Beatty]

There is a second, more nefarious part to this story: using Amazon's search function in Books for "homosexuality" gives first priority returns to anti-LGBT titles. The first page is most ANTI-gay books with the #1 being: "A Parent's Guide to Preventing Homosexuality" coauthoered by homophobe Joseph Nicolosi.

I have written Amazon to tell them if they do not remove this bias I will not only start shopping Barnes & Noble, I will cancel my Amazon.com Mastercard. I've spent $10K+ at Amazon the last couple of years, but they won't see another dime.