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New York, 8:55 AM
Thu Nov 26
45 posts in the last 24 hours

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  • posts about #conficker more →

    Amazon.com Says 'Embarrassing' Error, Not Hacker, Censored 57,310 Gay Books

    Conficker Worm Spams People Too Stupid to Download Antivirus Software
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    Dsmvwl  Admin  Promote to frontpage Approve user Ban user ×
    Image of limber limber
    04/14/09

    In reply to Amazon.com Says 'Embarrassing' Error, Not Hacker, Censored 57,310 Gay Books
    Only a very tiny percentage of the population has any idea what algorithmic engines are like to design and operate, and I'm one of them. Having looked at the ban/unban pattern, I find Amazon's explanation of a catalog error as totally plausible.


    I believe them, that this is a categorization error, especially your man from France -- I once outsourced a medical classification system, and when I got it back the New Delhi-based team had classified homosexuality as "a mental illness of the genital area". This is one node, mind you, buried in about seventy pages of medical jargon, intended for Western content. I caught it before we launched it, but I can only imagine what would've happened if that team had been working on tagging rather than creating the classification structure. And when I'd gone looking for the tags, at first glance it would've just read "Homosexuality".


    Considering all this blew up on Easter weekend, when everyone would've been away from any logs, I'm not surprised PR didn't have an immediate answer for the masses. Discovering the glitch is one thing; crawling through the enormous Amazon taxonomy to find what's throwing it? That's a nightmare.

     Reply
    limber was starred limber was unstarred
    Image of ljnd2 ljnd2
    04/14/09

    @limber: I was with you right up till the end - I used to do taxonomy work for BN.com. I know how this happened, in the same way you do. But I disagree with the PR. Even if you haven't unraveled what's going on, for something like this you don't wait to solve the problem to make a statement. You say, "We think we know how this happened, but it's extremely complicated and it'll take us a while to get to the bottom of it. That said, it was NOT any sort of executive decision, it is NOT a policy decision, and we're very very sorry that we messed up." You make it clear, in other words, that you understand that whole categories of books don't suppress themselves. And that untangling the mess is going to take a while.
     Reply
    ljnd2 was starred ljnd2 was unstarred
    Image of limber limber
    04/14/09

    @ljnd2: That's fair, yeah -- things would have been a lot better with specific language to try and still the waters. I don't know much about the art of PR, and frankly people have been so worked up, I'm not sure they'd've listened -- they're out there calling for scalps, arranging boycotts, demanding discounts and donations. PR could've done a much better job, I'm just not sure how effective it would've been.
     Reply
    limber was starred limber was unstarred
    Image of iplaudius iplaudius
    04/13/09

    In reply to Amazon.com Says 'Embarrassing' Error, Not Hacker, Censored 57,310 Gay Books
    I guess one unanswered question is whether the Conficker network was in fact used by Weev. It would be interesting if he were involved in Conficker.
     Reply
    iplaudius was starred iplaudius was unstarred
    Image of theMoJo theMoJo
    04/13/09

    In reply to Amazon.com Says 'Embarrassing' Error, Not Hacker, Censored 57,310 Gay Books
    Way to make a big deal out of nothing, really. I've read a lot complaining and criticizing Amazon's response and handling of the situation, but I really don't see anything they've done as particularly craptastic.
     Reply
    theMoJo was starred theMoJo was unstarred
    Image of apocalypse-nowish apocalypse-nowish
    04/13/09

    @theMoJo: You should see it over at Jezebel. There are about ten pages worth of outrage over all of this. And in a week who is really going to care?
     Reply
    apocalypse-nowish was starred apocalypse-nowish was unstarred
    Image of hatey hatey
    04/13/09

    @apocalypse-nowish: OMG. There are ten pages of outrage about EVERYTHING at Jezebel.
     Reply
    hatey was starred hatey was unstarred
    Image of MincnglyWhrdL'mer MincnglyWhrdL'mer
    04/13/09

    @hatey: one can only wonder how they get anything else done...


    thought. jezehellers are bots?

     Reply
    MincnglyWhrdL'mer was starred MincnglyWhrdL'mer was unstarred
    Image of limber limber
    04/14/09

    @theMoJo: It really, really is a big deal out of nothing. I have no damn idea why a simple tagging error is being hyped as a civil rights catastrophe.


    Logic takes a holiday.

     Reply
    limber was starred limber was unstarred
    Image of Dave Nattriss Dave Nattriss
    04/13/09

    In reply to Amazon.com Says 'Embarrassing' Error, Not Hacker, Censored 57,310 Gay Books
    Owen (the author of this article) - you really need to fix the headline. It was not 57,310 gay books, just 57,310 books. Please read the statement that you've quoted!
     Reply
    Dave Nattriss was starred Dave Nattriss was unstarred
    Image of phlox✔ phlox✔
    04/13/09

    @Dave Nattriss: Yeah Owen, they were books that just happened to be gay. Being gay is just a small, yet integral part of those books.
     Reply
    phlox✔ was starred phlox✔ was unstarred
    Image of Worst Spelling Ever Worst Spelling Ever
    04/13/09

    @phlox✔: Books that are bisexual just can't decide which part of the Dewey Decimal System they like.
     Reply
    Worst Spelling Ever was starred Worst Spelling Ever was unstarred
    Image of MincnglyWhrdL'mer MincnglyWhrdL'mer
    04/13/09

    @Worst Spelling Ever: they keep going from (kinsey) one to six?
     Reply
    MincnglyWhrdL'mer was starred MincnglyWhrdL'mer was unstarred
    Image of Gena Radcliffe Gena Radcliffe
    04/13/09

    In reply to Amazon.com Says 'Embarrassing' Error, Not Hacker, Censored 57,310 Gay Books
    It's interesting that people seem to want to believe this is Amazon revealing a never before exhibited secret homophobia, rather than trolling or sabotage from a third party just wanting to create trouble.
     Reply
    Gena Radcliffe was starred Gena Radcliffe was unstarred
    Image of limber limber
    04/14/09

    @Gena Radcliffe: Righteous and outraged activism is fun, apparently.


    Occam's Razor loses again.

     Reply
    limber was starred limber was unstarred
    Image of cdmunch cdmunch
    04/13/09

    In reply to Amazon.com Says 'Embarrassing' Error, Not Hacker, Censored 57,310 Gay Books
    I think it's adorable that all you butt pirates and twitterers still read books.
     Reply
    cdmunch was starred cdmunch was unstarred
    Image of Worst Spelling Ever Worst Spelling Ever
    04/13/09

    @cdmunch: Mom. What did I tell you about that? Now go make us some muffins.
     Reply
    Worst Spelling Ever was starred Worst Spelling Ever was unstarred
    Image of cdmunch cdmunch
    04/13/09

    @Worst Spelling Ever: I don't wear chartreuse and I don't keep a bottle of vodka behind the living room couch so I AINT YOUR MOMMA. Now, when you going to get a job in an office and find a nice girl your age and make your real momma proud?
     Reply
    cdmunch was starred cdmunch was unstarred
    Image of Worst Spelling Ever Worst Spelling Ever
    04/13/09

    @cdmunch: NevAH! I am going to leech off society until I have sucked it dry. *winks at Ryan Tate*
     Reply
    Worst Spelling Ever was starred Worst Spelling Ever was unstarred
    Image of cdmunch cdmunch
    04/13/09

    @Worst Spelling Ever: Are you implying that you're having immortal relations with Ryan Tate? I'm sure I'd be disgusted if I saw photographic evidence of such acts.


    @secretagentman: You are a filthy filthy dirty man.

     Reply
    cdmunch was starred cdmunch was unstarred
    Image of mmstk101 mmstk101
    04/13/09

    @cdmunch: Immortal relations? That would be quite a feat.


    @secretagentman: Nice!

     Reply
    mmstk101 was starred mmstk101 was unstarred
    Image of iplaudius iplaudius
    04/13/09

    @cdmunch: I prefer the term anal marauder.
     Reply
    iplaudius was starred iplaudius was unstarred
    Image of MincnglyWhrdL'mer MincnglyWhrdL'mer
    04/13/09

    @iplaudius: that's rump ranger to you, mister.
     Reply
    MincnglyWhrdL'mer was starred MincnglyWhrdL'mer was unstarred
    Image of iplaudius iplaudius
    04/14/09

    @The Boulevard of Broken Queens: Hey stranger! I never heard that one before. Ass bandit. Tee hee.
     Reply
    iplaudius was starred iplaudius was unstarred
    Image of cdmunch cdmunch
    04/14/09

    @iplaudius: You boys get awfully frisky at night.
     Reply
    cdmunch was starred cdmunch was unstarred
    Image of Wrapitup Wrapitup
    04/14/09

    @The Boulevard of Broken Queens: Beg pardon sir, but I believe you're referring to glute gougers.
     Reply
    Wrapitup was starred Wrapitup was unstarred
    Image of iplaudius iplaudius
    04/14/09

    @cdmunch: Me? I’m all talk and 100% heterotextual to boot.
     Reply
    iplaudius was starred iplaudius was unstarred
    Image of Colonel Mustard Colonel Mustard
    04/13/09

    In reply to Amazon.com Says 'Embarrassing' Error, Not Hacker, Censored 57,310 Gay Books
    No, it was me in the lounge with the monkey wrench!
     Reply
    Colonel Mustard was starred Colonel Mustard was unstarred
    Image of MissPeacock MissPeacock
    04/13/09

    @Colonel Mustard: Pardon me, but it was I, in the Billiard Room (you know, where the balls are) with the lead pipe (phallus).
     Reply
    MissPeacock was starred MissPeacock was unstarred
    Image of pureblarney pureblarney
    04/14/09

    @MissPeacock: Clearly the gheys are to be found in the ballroom. I call shenanigans. Big, penis-shaped shenanigans.
     Reply
    pureblarney was starred pureblarney was unstarred
    Image of MincnglyWhrdL'mer MincnglyWhrdL'mer
    04/10/09

    In reply to Conficker Worm Spams People Too Stupid to Download Antivirus Software
    I'm sorry, but that is completely f*ing hysterical in it's lameness - love it
     Reply
    MincnglyWhrdL'mer was starred MincnglyWhrdL'mer was unstarred
    Image of Niko Bellic Niko Bellic
    04/09/09

    In reply to Conficker Worm Spams People Too Stupid to Download Antivirus Software
    Whatever happened to hacking into systems in order to impress girls?


    That futile tactic was apparently abandoned in favor of a proven one: money is the only thing that impresses the girls. The kind of girls that losers who hack into systems deem worthy of impressing, I must add.

     Reply
    Niko Bellic was starred Niko Bellic was unstarred
    Image of lobstr lobstr
    04/09/09

    In reply to Conficker Worm Spams People Too Stupid to Download Antivirus Software
    It's so worth pulling up Leslie Stahl's incredulous newbie reactions during her interview with Symantek's CEO, where she actually uses the word "OWN" in a PWN- kinda way while trying to explain to the oldes that clicking on .exe attachments is a no-no... hilarious shit..
     Reply
    lobstr was starred lobstr was unstarred
    Image of iplaudius iplaudius
    04/09/09

    In reply to Conficker Worm Spams People Too Stupid to Download Antivirus Software
    Huh, 50 bucks is actually pretty cheap as far as paid ficken goes. I was hoping the virus would cause the computer repeat an audio loop of Heidi Klum saying, Sie sind congefickt! Sie sind congefickt! Sie sind congefickt!
     Reply
    iplaudius was starred iplaudius was unstarred
    Image of BullfightsOnAcid BullfightsOnAcid
    04/09/09

    In reply to Conficker Worm Spams People Too Stupid to Download Antivirus Software
    Wasn't this the plot to Superman III?
     Reply
    BullfightsOnAcid was starred BullfightsOnAcid was unstarred
    Image of Awesome X Awesome X
    04/09/09

    In reply to Conficker Worm Spams People Too Stupid to Download Antivirus Software
    That's so lame. I want James Bond villain action, damn it! At least the pirates are attempting to do hardcore evil. The hackers couldn't like, I don't know, use these computers to commandeer a laser satellite that would target random cities until their demands of $1 gazillion dollars were met? Maybe send out some type of like pulse or some shit through our cell phones that would set our pants on fire. Damn, this stealing credit card info shit is so weak.
     Reply
    Awesome X was starred Awesome X was unstarred
    Image of Lycosidae Lycosidae
    04/09/09

    @Awesome X: How's this work for you? [news.cnet.com]
     Reply
    Lycosidae was starred Lycosidae was unstarred
    Image of Phyllis Nefler Phyllis Nefler
    04/09/09

    In reply to Conficker Worm Spams People Too Stupid to Download Antivirus Software
    Somebody Facebook Morley Safer and let him know!!!!!1!
     Reply
    Phyllis Nefler was starred Phyllis Nefler was unstarred
    Image of BadUncle BadUncle
    04/09/09

    In reply to Conficker Worm Spams People Too Stupid to Download Antivirus Software
    Whatever happened to hacking into systems in order to impress girls?


    Oh, yeah, O-tho. Girls are always impressed by superior geeking skills. As they say at clubs, "Code pops - panties drop."

     Reply
    BadUncle was starred BadUncle was unstarred
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