Interesting comments flying around at a book called Courting Trouble. I very much like MK's idea of drafting a letter that all can copy and email to Amazon. I am all for that.
As far as that GROSSLY offensive email sent to Barbara, that needs to be reported. Barbara, if you could copy the email headers and either post them here or send them to me via email I can find the sender's IP address from the headers and use a WHOIS search engine to tell me who the provider is. An abuse email contact is usually provided -- then send the entire hate email to that address including all the headers. They will be able to find out who sent the email and shut him/her down. I would also recommend sending it to spam@uce.gov. Don't know if they'd jump on that or not, but you never know.
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8 comments:
I've already done all of that.
Good job.
Barbara,
I just read the email that was sent to you and it makes me sick, sick sick. I really wish I knew someone personally at Amazon so they can take this seriously.
I am seriously perturbed at the on-goings under the comments, regardless of it is under Harriet or another reviewer.
What ever happened to reviewing for the fun of it? I can't understand why it has become so rabid. And I think it is pathetic if this Grady guy has a group to give him positive votes. Does he really think some big shot publisher or magazine/newspaper will give him a job from all the positive votes he gets?
Lately some people I have been talking to think the reviews at Amazon are a joke and these jack*sses who post disturbing comments are send horrible emails are making a laughstock of Amazon.
I really don't know of anyone who takes the reviews at Amazon seriously. No one. They're notoriously unreliable, and are just as likely to be posted by friends and family of the author as by a non-reading "reviewer" like Harriet.
Possibly the only reason the reader review section still exists is because of the controversy. Perhaps Amazon feels that anything that gets people to a book's purchasing page is ok. It would certainly explain why people like HK, Grady, FTF and others are allowed to continue, unchecked.
Deborah Hern wrote:
> I really don't know of anyone
> who takes the reviews at Amazon
> seriously. No one.
I disagree. People like you and me, being amazon frequenters as it were, have gradually wised up to the tricks possible on this site. But a regular -- i.e. occasional, visitor doesn't know any of it. I'm sure that overall these reviews have a beneficial effect on sales. There's a piece of formal research on that (there's a link to it somewhere in the right pane here).
Deborah, I too disagree. I don't give a rat's behind about the "top reviewers" but I have found many wonderful reads I might have never found without the help of the everyday Amazon reviewer. There are several who constantly walk the same path of books I do (always see them reviewing the same books I have) and I have taken the time to look at their reviews, and have found many a great read that way. I would hate to loose that.
You know, from an Average Joe Reader perspective, you're absolutely right. These faux reviews are misleading to the average, occasional Amazon user.
I guess I too often look at things from the 'other side,' which would be reviewers, etc. Mention HK and there's eyerolling and disgust.
But, you're right that for someone who doesn't know any better, she's a shill at best, a liar at worst.
Seems like a shill must be a liar (among other things) :-)
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