#amazonfail

Image by John Coulthart



The Twitter and blog world is abuzz with news of Amazon's removal of rankings to books with "adult" themes, including books with gay and lesbian themes but also books such as "The Joy of Sex." The ranking system does not mean that books are unavailable but that they do not show up in a search for bestsellers. MetaWriter includes a comprehensive list of the books affected.

A question from self-published author Mark R. Probst, who noticed that his book had lost its ranking elicited this reply:

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.

Amazon has since identified the problem as a "glitch" and is working to reinstate books that have been removed. Simon Bisson, blogging at Technology, Books, and Other Neat Stuff explains why it might be a nightmare for Amazon to fix.

In the latest news, a hacker is claiming responsibility for the removal of the tags, according to "Why It Makes Sense That a Hacker's Behind Amazon's Big Gay Outrage," an online article on ValleyWag. If this is indeed true, a few lines of code have created an incredible stir. According to the article, another programmer has debunked the myth.

In the meantime, questions are being raised about the consequences of having such a huge company have within its power the ability to decide which books should be ranked and which are deemed somehow dangerous to society.

It will be interesting to see how this drama unfolds.

Links to the buzz:

#amazonfail on Twitter
IT World
LA Times
CNET News
Jezebel.com
Publisher's Weekly
Booksquare.com who writes an open letter to Amazon
Entertainment Weekly News Briefs
Ubonchat.com, a collection of links
John Coultart who provides an interesting timeline to date
Edrants.Com

While the world waits to see the outcome of this drama, why not take the "Banned Book Challenge" with the Pelham Public Library. The challenge runs until June 30.

Honest Belief and Free Speech

The Globe and Mail reports on a judgement made by the Supreme Court of Canada concerning free speech.

The Supreme Court ruled 9-0 that Rafe Mair, a Vancouver radio broadcaster and WIC Radio Ltd. are not guilty of libel in a suit brought over comments denouncing Kari Simpson's book-banning stand. The court found that Mair did not defame Simpson, who claims to be an advocate of Christian values. Simpson's public support of the Surrey school board's banning of three book depicting same-sex parents was criticized by Mair in such a way that he compared her views to attitudes of Nazi Germany and the Ku Klux Klan. Mr. Mair said that Ms. Simpson's views on the book banning,

...took me back to my childhood, when with my parents, we would listen to bigots who with increasing shrillness would harangue the crowds. For Kari's 'homosexual,' one could easily substitute 'Jew.' I could see Governor Wallace - in my mind's eye I could see Governor Wallace of Alabama standing on the steps of a schoolhouse shouting to the crowds that no Negroes would get into Alabama schools as long as he was governor. It could have been blacks last Thursday night just as easily as gays.

The court set terms for what it determined was "honest belief" -- whether an honest person would hold the same belief or opinion. This frees the media from living in fear of a libel suit whenever provocative issues are raised. The legal test to determine "honest belief" includes:

• The comment must be on a matter of public interest.


• It must be based on fact.


• Although it can include inferences of fact, the comment must be recognizable as comment.


• It must be capable of satisfying the question: Could any person honestly express that opinion on the proved facts?

Judge Binnie commented,

We live in a free country, where people have as much right to express outrageous and ridiculous opinions as moderate ones. In much modern media, personalities such as Rafe Mair are as much entertainers as journalists.

Judge Binnie also made room for satirists and cartoonists who create caricatures of points of view. "Their function is not so much to advance public debate, as it is to exercise a democratic right to poke fun at those who huff and puff in the public arena. This is well understood by the public to be their function."

Read the full judgement.

More Controversy

J.K. Rowling is sure to create more controversy over the Harry Potter series because of an interview on her take on the Christian themes found in her book and a recent revelation that she considers Dumbledore gay. Read the whole transcript at The Leaky Cauldron.