Amazon in their infinite wisdom decide to censor their own content /S

[Muse]

I'm reading the reviews on a product I just shopped and ultimately bought and saw a very helpful review and decided to add a comment. But where was the "Comment" button? Where oh where is my Comment button? I figure there may be some lurking feature gismo, whatever, and do a search and come up with this in a thread:
- - - -
Dear seller,

You are receiving this email because you recently left a comment on a review.

While reviews and feedback are important to our customers and sellers, the comments feature on customer reviews was rarely used. As a result, we are retiring this feature on December 16, 2020.

We are committed to your continued success and will innovate and develop other opportunities for you to connect with customers.

Thank you.

Amazon Services
- - - -
Dang!!! Amazon review comments were one of their greatest features. You didn't get that ANYWHERE else. WTF are these guys thinking?????

 

[Muse]

Whoa! The mofos have hidden the comments that were already made!

Goddamn!

 

[BoomerD]

I was going to leave a review for some Sony wireless headphones I bought. Nope...can't do it.

Amazon has noticed unusual reviewing activity on this product. Due to this activity, we have limited this product to verified purchase reviews.

You'd think that since I bought them from Amazon...I'd qualify as a verified purchaser and be allowed to post a review, but apparently not.

 

[Jeeebus]

Ah yes, the fundamental language of our First Amendment:

"Amazon.com shall make no policy...abridging freedom of speech."

 

[Motostu]

They can do what they want, but that seems like a BS excuse. I read the comments regularly, and sometimes add my own.

 

[MrSquished]

They are shutting down all reviews or just comments on initial reviews?

 

[Captante]

I've already made it my policy to only buy from Amazon directly for any item over approx $20 due to shaky at best "marketplace" sellers which have reduced them to "sub-Ebay" reliability levels.

Much more of this type of nonsense and I will stop buying anything expensive from Amazon at all under any circumstances. (just like I did with ebay a LONG time ago)

 

[Muse]

Ah yes, the fundamental language of our First Amendment:

"Amazon.com shall make no policy...abridging freedom of speech."

Seriously, I was thinking. Couldn't they be brought to court over this? For years and years they solicit input from the public, maintain it in a database and freely display it to everybody. Much work by you, me, Joe Blow and Sally Highheels. Then someone says, eh, we're doing away with all that. Nobody can see any of it. Isn't that unconscionable? If I were the judge I'd at least say "show what's been done."

 

[Muse]

They are shutting down all reviews or just comments on initial reviews?

That AFAICT.

I think they're going to get a lot of blowback on this. Might not stick. If I can find a way to make my voice heard I will. Well, I am here, but I want Amazon to hear me.

 

[nakedfrog]

They are shutting down all reviews or just comments on initial reviews?

Just comments on reviews.
Yeah, it's kinda lame, but I can see why it's not worth the headache for them, I'd bet mostly only the kind of geeks that post on an ancient tech forum's off topic section would be the ones to make comments on reviews/read them (I know I did sometimes).

 

[nakedfrog]

Seriously, I was thinking. Couldn't they be brought to court over this? For years and years they solicit input from the public, maintain it in a database and freely display it to everybody. Much work by you, me, Joe Blow and Sally Highheels. Then someone says, eh, we're doing away with all that. Nobody can see any of it. Isn't that unconscionable? If I were the judge I'd at least say "show what's been done."

Uh, yeah, you could bring them to court, they'd whip out the terms and conditions you agreed to, and the case would be over and you'd be out all the bucks for the shyster that agreed to take your case, knowing that you'd lose.

 

[Muse]

Just comments on reviews.
Yeah, it's kinda lame, but I can see why it's not worth the headache for them, I'd bet mostly only the kind of geeks that post on an ancient tech forum's off topic section would be the ones to make comments on reviews/read them (I know I did sometimes).

Some of the discussions in the Comments were extensive and incredibly informative. For instance, just last week I read the comments on a negative review of Michael Bloomfield 4 disk collection "From His Head to His Heart to His Hands," and it included several comments from the maker of the DVD documentary included, many comments from fans. It was fantastic and gave me lots of ideas, ideas I made purchases off of. I looked yesterday and no comments were to be found. It's just horrible what they did there. Those comments really set Amazon apart, put them head and shoulders above other online commerce sites and they go and wipe it away with a stupid lame bullshit excuse. What their real reason is, I can't fathom right now.

 

[Muse]

Uh, yeah, you could bring them to court, they'd whip out the terms and conditions you agreed to, and the case would be over and you'd be out all the bucks for the shyster that agreed to take your case, knowing that you'd lose.

You may be entirely right, but neither you nor I have read the fine print.

 

[Jeeebus]

Seriously, I was thinking. Couldn't they be brought to court over this?

Serious answer: "no."

 

[nakedfrog]

Some of the discussions in the Comments were extensive and incredibly informative. For instance, just last week I read the comments on a negative review of Michael Bloomfield 4 disk collection "From His Head to His Heart to His Hands," and it included several comments from the maker of the DVD documentary included, many comments from fans. It was fantastic and gave me lots of ideas, ideas I made purchases off of. I looked yesterday and no comments were to be found. It's just horrible what they did there. Those comments really set Amazon apart, put them head and shoulders above other online commerce sites and they go and wipe it away with a stupid lame bullshit excuse. What their real reason is, I can't fathom right now.

Many comments were stupid and/or inaccurate, much easier to do away with them entirely than be tasked with trying to moderate them, it was probably a very low value-add overall. I can assure you that based on my interaction with even the technical segment of society, people can barely be arsed to read a few sentences, let alone comments on reviews.

You may be entirely right, but neither you nor I have read the fine print.

I've seen enough similar ones to know it's probably got something along the lines of "anything you post on Amazon's website is up to the sole discretion of Amazon to use, the data is owned by Amazon, not you" blah blah blah.

 

[nakedfrog]

Serious answer: "no."

Oh, sure, Ernie Chambers can sue God, but Muse can't sue Amazon?

 

[Muse]

Many comments were stupid and/or inaccurate, much easier to do away with them entirely than be tasked with trying to moderate them, it was probably a very low value-add overall. I can assure you that based on my interaction with even the technical segment of society, people can barely be arsed to read a few sentences, let alone comments on reviews.

I've seen enough similar ones to know it's probably got something along the lines of "anything you post on Amazon's website is up to the sole discretion of Amazon to use, the data is owned by Amazon, not you" blah blah blah.

Well, fact is that many, in fact the great majority of reviews at Amazon are stupid and virtually worthless. The comments are by and large a lot better than the reviews! Someone who goes to the trouble to respond to a review with a comment has something on their mind concerning both the product and what someone else said about it. Most reviews are much less conscientious. Fact is also that Comments were relatively rare. When I spotted comments I usually read them. They always added some perspective, new dimension to an otherwise lacking review. Very often they added crucial info. They also added something you just don't see elsewhere, back and forth by customers and potential customers.

Now, Amazon has fallen back to the level of Ebay, Best Buy, Newegg, B&H, Walmart, Home Depot, etc. They were above the fray, but alas no more.

Many of the comments were by the manufacturer or seller in response to a customer's concerns and issues. WTF were they thinking scuttling that stuff???

 

[BoomerD]

Oh, sure, Ernie Chambers can sue God, but Muse can't sue Amazon?

Amazon has more money and power than God.

 

[Jeeebus]

Oh, sure, Ernie Chambers can sue God, but Muse can't sue Amazon?

I guess I answered the wrong question. He asked whether Amazon could be sued for violating free speech by removing comments. Sure - you can sue anyone for anything.

I was answering the more basic question of whether someone would have a legitimate claim and the answer there is a hard "no." As I alluded to above, he's framing this in ridiculous terms by bringing the concept of free speech into the mix. Amazon's policy changes in removing or preventing comments has nothing to do with free speech (at least, not as applied by the courts of this country).

 

[Muse]

I guess I answered the wrong question. He asked whether Amazon could be sued for violating free speech by removing comments. Sure - you can sue anyone for anything.

I was answering the more basic question of whether someone would have a legitimate claim and the answer there is a hard "no." As I alluded to above, he's framing this in ridiculous terms by bringing the concept of free speech into the mix. Amazon's policy changes in removing or preventing comments has nothing to do with free speech (at least, not as applied by the courts of this country).

I decided you have something there. Maybe free speech wasn't the right term. I just changed the thread title to cast it as censorship issue.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Perhaps the possibility of repealing the "safe harbor" provisions of Section 230, made this happen, since they couldn't realistically hire enough people cheap enough to go through their millions of comments and reviews, and remove any that might cast aspersions on a product, or person. Maybe this is not Amazon "being evil", but "complying with the law, that the evil Republicans hath wrought".

 

[Muse]

Perhaps the possibility of repealing the "safe harbor" provisions of Section 230, made this happen, since they couldn't realistically hire enough people cheap enough to go through their millions of comments and reviews, and remove any that might cast aspersions on a product, or person. Maybe this is not Amazon "being evil", but "complying with the law, that the evil Republicans hath wrought".

Interesting, good point!

Edit: However, having a lot of experience with both, I must say that the disparagement and attacks here are way way greater than just anything I remember seeing in Amazon reviews and comments. They're still gonna have people saying such and such product is out and out junk in the reviews. Amazon's statement says they'll continue expanding on communication between customers but I don't believe it. They just torpedoed their best feature in that regard. They blew it.

 

[snoopy7548]

OP, maybe you can escalate this all the way to Jeff Amazon.

 

[ultimatebob]

Bah... 2/3rds of Amazon reviews are fake anyway.

Most of the Chinese electronics manufacturers now have referral programs that will give you full refund on the product you bought if you give it a positive Amazon review. This lets them get around the "Verified Purchase" requirement for reviews.

 

[brianmanahan]

ATOT should turn off comments on threads