Phase.org

I'll assume, for now, that you've been following the #amazonfail fiasco, as I don't have time right now to explain what happened. For now, I just need somewhere to post the following observations:

Amazon still have a lot to explain, and seem to think that if they (finally) issue a big apology, everyone will be so impressed with it that they won't need to give any more answers.

But we still don't know:

- If there's a real "No adult content" policy, or some variant thereof.

- Which state, nation or market they are implementing this for; it *seems* to be one at least as "conservative" as the christian right, and I wonder if it's an arab or asian market. Or possibly China?

- At what level this policy decision was made

- What criteria they are using to select "bad books" (both the "moral" criteria and the technical parameters to which they seem to match so badly)

- What form of crack their book taxonomy system is based on, anyway

- Quite how this big a technical fuck-up (presuming it really is a localised policy change that escaped into the wider world) happened

- How long this policy has been going on for

- Why it took them so long to respond coherently (and of course whether the "most official" response is any more true than the rest)

- How long it took them to work out what was wrong themselves, assuming they even have

When they explain that, preferably on the front page of Amazon.com, it *may* be time to say #sorryamazon instead of #amazonfail, but I very much doubt it.