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Amazon.com Pierces Reviewer Anonymity

Posted by michael on from the genie-let-out-of-bottle dept.

theodp writes "Amazon reviewers who anonymously posted book reviews or signed their critiques only as 'a reader from (fill in the city)' lost their anonymity this week when their identities were revealed on Amazon's site. Among those named were prominent authors who posted glowing five-star reviews of their own work. The weeklong glitch, which Amazon fixed after outed reviewers complained, provided a rare glimpse at how writers and readers are wielding the online reviews as a tool to promote or pan books when they think no one is watching. An Amazon spokeswoman told the NY Times the problem was 'an unfortunate error.'"

32 of 333 comments (clear)

  1. Hmm... by Raindance · · Score: 4, Funny

    "theodp" is probably the NY Times journalist who wrote this article about astroturfing-- astroturfing his article here on slashdot. ;)

    1. Re:Hmm... by orthogonal · · Score: 4, Funny

      That's a great write up. You should add it to Wikipedia's Astroturfing entry.

      Hey, thanks!

      Ok, I added it, with the caveat that's it's rough and less stiff than my usual form for Wikipedia entries.

      Now watch as some mod comes along, sees the prior post with the Wikipedia astroturfing url, and mods me as a plagiarist. ;)

      --
      Opinions on the Twiddler2 hand-held keyboard?
  2. Let's just hope... for our sakes... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Slashdot never suffers a glitch when it comes to Anonymous Cowards like me.

    1. Re:Let's just hope... for our sakes... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      Oh fuck, the copyright infringement charges alone from all those NYT articles I've reposted...

    2. Re:Let's just hope... for our sakes... by kfg · · Score: 5, Funny

      Indeed, why, without the option to post as an AC I wouldn't have the guts right now to tell you how moronic most of your posts are, stupid git.

      Nanny, nanny, poo poo, yoooou caaaaan't seeeeee me!

      KFG

    3. Re:Let's just hope... for our sakes... by JDWTopGuy · · Score: 5, Funny

      No shit, CmdrTaco! ;)

      --
      Ron Paul 2012
  3. Sickening. by Tokerat · · Score: 4, Funny

    The weeklong glitch, which Amazon fixed after outed reviewers complained, provided a rare glimpse at how writers and readers are wielding the online reviews as a tool to promote or pan books when they think no one is watching.
    Even the people without webcams on the Internet are whores...
    --
    CAn'T CompreHend SARcaSm?
  4. MOD PARENT UP!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    An INSIGHTFUL review, totally correct!! Mod +1, Informative.

    - A reader from Chapel Hill, NC

  5. "Outted" authors by Eric_Cartman_South_P · · Score: 4, Funny
    Slashdot is aweome. This Amazon story of reviewers who got "outed" is so kewl. Slashdot is the best. I'm going to pay and subscribe right now.

    -Eric_Cartman_South_PaR#@J::: [MSSQL Error: Author "CmdrTaco", Action "PostAs: User 594330" not valid]

    1. Re:"Outted" authors by JDWTopGuy · · Score: 4, Funny

      "MSSQL"?

      Begone, heathen!

      --
      Ron Paul 2012
  6. Slashdot wouldn't do that to us.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Would they?

    1. Re:Slashdot wouldn't do that to us.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      You've tried that!?!? People these days...

  7. No wonder I hated that Britney CD ! by bushboy · · Score: 5, Funny

    Now I feel cheated !
    I got a Britney Spears CD based on 18 rave Amazon reviews and really tried to like it !

    I feel vindicated !

    Britney, I'm sorry, but you suck ! (or does she blow ?)

    --
    A slashdotting - you get the stick first and then the carrot !
  8. Cowards? by Lindy · · Score: 5, Funny

    Why would anybody posting a review on Amazon be afraid of putting their name to it? It's not like there going to mod'ed as "troll" or "flamebait" or something....

    Oops I thought I was posting this as AC...

  9. Review. by Trillan · · Score: 4, Funny

    I'm surprised it took this long to discover...

    "Insightful! Trillian's comments show a true understanding of the situation!" -- Some Anonymous Reviewer.

    "Interesting! Why didn't I think of that?" -- Some Other Anonymous Reviewer.

    "Ha ha ha! +1 Funny!" -- A Third Anonymous Reviewer. Definitely not the same as the previous two. Oops!

  10. Re:Unfortunate Error or... by Thomas+Miconi · · Score: 5, Funny

    "Unfortunate error". Yeah right.

    Somewhere in the programming department at amazon...

    "My, this bastard writes flashing comments about his own books and I can't do anything to stop him... Oh wait let's imagine for a second that I inadvertantly comment this 'unless ($anonymity_check)' thing...?"

    Thomas Miconi

  11. In a related story.... by bobdotorg · · Score: 4, Funny

    When a similar error occured at Slashdot it was revealed that Cowboy Neal does in fact have 18,137 first posts with Goatse links.

    --
    __ Someday, but not this morning, I'll finally learn to use the preview button.
  12. Re:I've begun to notice this phenomenon... by kurosawdust · · Score: 4, Funny

    True, but don't forget to correct for the "People Are Fucking Morons" factor.

  13. DAMNIT! Now I've been found out! by whiteranger99x · · Score: 3, Funny

    I thought I clicked that post anonymous button! :P

    --
    Join the TWIT army now!
  14. Did anyone get the info on... by Trikenstein · · Score: 5, Funny

    all 849 David Hasselhoff reviewers?

  15. Anonymous Cowards by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Yeah, well anyone who posts anonymously is a coward who deserves to be outed anyway.

  16. Well that explains it! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Well that explain all those scathing reviews on Linux books from an anonymous reader in Redmond, Washington...

  17. Re:You have to wonder.. by Battlegeek · · Score: 5, Funny

    I used the name Satans Third Nipple, but entered my real address to see how long it would take me to get junk mail from the site selling my information. Within a few weeks, I got an email promoting a 'Third-Nipple Family Reunion' and a credit card application for Satans T Nipple.

    --
    Apathy...make it a way of life.
  18. Re:I don't see a problem by IamLarryboy · · Score: 3, Funny

    dude. Thats just the karma bonus. It's not a bug.

  19. Re:Unfortunate Error or... by __past__ · · Score: 5, Funny

    Sure you can. Just ask the RIAA for some tips.

    --
    Programming can be fun again. Film at 11.
  20. Time to go back to original method to pick a book. by crotherm · · Score: 4, Funny

    .. by its cover.

    --
    "Those who make peaceful revolution impossible, make violent revolution inevitable" - JFK
  21. Re:Should have kept the change.... by Beryllium+Sphere(tm) · · Score: 5, Funny

    My favorite was when someone filled in the "I am the author" review option for the Bible.

  22. Re:Unfortunate Error or... by Odin's+Raven · · Score: 5, Funny
    Well, the moral of the story, boys and girls, is that you shouldn't trust information you find on-line if you can't verify the source as someone you trust.

    Definitely good advice.

    Doh! Wait a minute, that's just something I read online from someone who's trustworthiness I can't verify. Ha! I'm on to your little game, and you're not gonna catch me that way! I'm gonna go and trust anything I read online.

    Double-doh! Now I've gotta trust your advice again. Errrr, so I'm not going to trust your advice. So I am going to trust your...

    Infinite recursion detected, process Raven terminated... AT$@AA#-^%%%

    CARRIER DISCONNECT

    --
    A marriage is always made up of two people who are prepared to swear that only the other one snores.
  23. Robert Jordan by stangbat · · Score: 1, Funny

    Think how many positive reviews Robert Jordan would have to post to improve the rating of his last several drivel filled snoozefests.

  24. Re:I don't see a problem by dave1212 · · Score: 2, Funny

    L. Ron Hubbard.

  25. Don't worry by sircrown · · Score: 3, Funny

    It happened to Amazon Canada so only like 5 people saw it.

  26. Re:Out of the closet by Bishop923 · · Score: 1, Funny

    +5 Flamebait

    Only Thing better is the coveted +5 Troll...