AmazonFAIL: Late to the party, but I brought links

I step away from my laptop for two days to eat ham and chocolate, and wake to find a shitstorm (where shitstorm=500+ tweets) brewing on Twitter regarding #amazonfail. Basically, it appears that Amazon has taken steps to de-list and de-rank books with “adult” themes, which has affected titles related to LGBT, sexuality, sex education, erotica, feminism, sex and disabillity, and even classic literature (Lady Chatterley’s Lover? Giovanni’s Room? Really?!).

Many people are outraged, including the authors who are losing sales and the marginalized communities they wrote for that are being targeted. So far, Amazon has responded that it was a glitch. Here are some of the best articles I’ve read today on the Amazon Fail controversy.

Is this book (or its author) too gay for an Amazon? Heather Corinna’s post on Amazon discussing the implications for already marginalized groups if certain books become harder or impossible to find.

Amazon.com anti-GLBT “Glitch” Infuriates Web 2.0 Denizens The Darklady summarizes the Amazon FAIL, and covers the power of Twitter, the lack of a competent response from Amazon, and what books have been targeted in the mass de-listings.

AmazonFAIL: How Online Social Tools Can Wreak Havoc … Deanna Zandt looks at the tech side of the controversy, including how social media tools like Twitter were used to raise awareness, and how it’s possible that the de-listings are the result of a “distributed attack” rather than an Amazon policy change.

I’m interested to see how Amazon will respond over the next few days. I loath any steps taken to deny people access to books of whatever content, so if this is not in fact a result of a “glitch” or an algorithm error or something, I hope the outrage and activism continues.