Amazon: The Clock Is Ticking

A couple months or so ago I went to the Amazon Facebook page and left them a one star review. I'm not sure why I did it. I guess my frustrations regarding their "review policy" on their Kindle Forum Boards finally wore on me. Sometimes, you just have to say your peace, and get it out. Well, much to my surprise, I got a response from them, someone by the name of Chey. Check it out.

As you can see, I have yet to get another response.

As I have reported last month, Amazon Kindle Boards Alexa rankings have plummeted in recent months. Over 190,000 spots. That's a lot for a site such as theirs. Perhaps this is the reason why a few months ago, there was talk on the forum about Amazon considering to get rid of the forum. It could have just been idle talk on their part, you know, say you're thinking about taking the forum down and then word gets out and everybody starts to panic a little and people come back to the forum in hopes by participating more, they will reconsider. 

I also attributed their falling numbers to the fact that real readers don't want to risk having to deal with the bullies and trolls lurking on the forum. Just like with the Goodreads decline. It doesn't matter if you have 20 million members when only a few hundred thousand are participating.

These bullies/trolls are like cockroaches. Once they infest your house, it is hard to get rid of them, but if you act swiftly in the beginning, you have a good chance to clean house. Amazon and Goodreads failed to do that and instead, actually endorsed it. Once cockroaches get out of control, the only way to get rid of them is to take down the house, burn it. Burn it all. Then maybe rebuild. 

But the fault isn't just in the roaches, it's sits on the shoulders of those who looked the other way when they showed their little heads. When you operate with inconsistency in upholding your own rules, and ToS like Goodreads and Amazon, this is what eventually happens. When you don't have any morality to stand on, people are quick to notice. And when you constantly remove legitimate reviews and allow known fake reviews to stand, you send the wrong message to your customers. Such is the case with this next screenshot. A review written by one of the bullies/trolls that clearly violates Amazon Fora review policy by mentioning another book in the review yet, despite this review being flagged repeatedly, it remains as of this writing.

Here is a shot of their review policy.

Actual proof of why Amazon Kindle Forum Boards is failing.

So if when Amazon actually does decide to take down the Forum, it would be easy to blame the bullies/trolls. It would be a lot easier though to just blame those in charge for allowing the cockroaches to take over their house in the first place. After all, these roaches are filled with a nasty disease called hate. And let's face it, hate loses every time.

If Amazon doesn't learn this lesson, then how long before we see them pull the plug on Goodreads? I mean, the very same thing is happening there too. The clock is ticking.  

I'm Carroll Bryant .... and this is The Looking Glass.

Things We Learned Today:

* Cockroaches are bad

* Goodreads is on the clock

* Hate loses every time