Is Salacious Content Driving E-Book Sales?

narramissic writes "Having already abandoned ebooks once, Barnes & Noble is jumping back into ebooks with the purchase this week of ebook seller Fictionwise. Why is the format suddenly hot? Look no further than the top 10 Fictionwise bestsellers, says blogger Peter Smith. Once again it seems like 'porn is blazing a path to a new media format. Of the top 10 bestsellers under the 'Multiformat' category, nine are tagged 'erotica' and the last is 'dark fantasy.' Need more proof that folks (let's take a leap and call them women) who read 'bodice rippers' like the privacy of ebooks? Author Samantha Lucas (who writes for publishers like Cobblestone Press and Siren Publishing) tells Smith that she sells almost all of her novels in ebook format."

Comments

Of course the main reason is

[Anonymous Coward]

that it only takes one hand to use a mouse?

Re:Of course the main reason is

[Ethanol-fueled]

And that it's much easier to wipe off a kindle. Ever cleaned a keyboard?

Re:Of course the main reason is

[Philip K Dickhead]

Aaahh Freak out!
Le Freak, C'est Chic
Freak out!
Aaahh Freak out!
Le Freak, C'est Chic
Freak out!
Aaahh Freak out!
Le Freak, C'est Chic
Freak out!
Aaahh Freak out!
Le Freak, C'est Chic
Freak out!

Have you heard about the new dance craze?
Listen to us, I'm sure you'll be amazed
Big fun to be had by everyone
It's up to you, It surely can be done
Young and old are doing it, I'm told
Just one try, and you too will be sold
It's called Le Freak! They're doing it night and day
Allow us, we'll show you the way

(chorus)

All that pressure got you down
Has your head spinning all around
Feel the rhythm, check the ride
Come on along and have a real good time
Like the days of stopping at the Savoy
Now we freak, oh what a joy
Just come on down, two fifty four
Find a spot out on the floor

(chorus)

Now Freak!
I said Freak!
Now Freak!

All that pressure got you down
Has your head spinning all around
Feel the rhythm, check the ride
Come on along and have a real good time
Like the days of stopping at the Savoy
Now we freak, oh what a joy
Just come on down, two fifty four
Find a spot out on the floor

(chorus)

Re:Of course the main reason is

[Anonymous Coward]

Now, if they just add a USB port to the Kindle, and ship it with one of these, sales will shoot through the roof:
http://www.thedeets.com/2007/12/31/usb-powered-vibrators/

Re:Of course the main reason is

[ciderVisor]

Just come on down, two fifty four

That's "to '54", in reference to legendary NYC nightclub Studio 54.

pr0n

[XaviorPenguin]

The e-book is for porn!

Re:pr0n

[Ihmhi]

The A-ma-zon Kin-dle is really great!
(For porn!)
It's got a fast connection so I don't have to wait!
(For porn!)

alt.stories.erotica

[Hatta]

I used to read alt.stories.erotica way back in the 9600 baud days. The only thing new here is that people are paying for it.

Re:alt.stories.erotica

[Anonymous Coward]

(http://asstr.org) (NSFW) and (http://assm.asstr.org/assm) (NSFW) Posting anonymously for obvious reasons.

Re:alt.stories.erotica

[Anonymous Coward]

http://storiesonline.net/ (Free registration required, but I've never received spam on the throwaway email address I generated 5 years ago or so. There are some *really* good novels to be found, check out Al Steiner under Authors for example. And if you're into heavy fun, check out Samantha K.)
http://literotica.com/

Re:alt.stories.erotica

[Chris Burke]

I used to read alt.stories.erotica way back in the 9600 baud days. The only thing new here is that people are paying for it.

I read erotic stories augmented with 16-color ANSI art from a BBS over a 2400 baud modem. /waits for someone to come in and talk about how they used to write their mainframe code so that it made dirty pictures on the punch cards, or how if they squinted their eyes at ENIAC the vacuum tubes looked kinda like boobs.

Re:alt.stories.erotica

[Em Emalb]

Back in my day, we had to IMAGINE our porn.

And we liked it.

Dang kids with your fancy electricity and your indoor plumbing.

Re:alt.stories.erotica

[againjj]

My father taught FORTRAN in the 80's, and one of his assignments was to write a program that printed a (text) calender for any given year, bonus points for extra features. One student turned in a program that printed an ASCII graphic for each month -- they were to be looked at sideways on the old 132 character wide fanfold paper -- and the pictures were high-quality center-fold style girls. The student got his bonus points.

Re:alt.stories.erotica

[trmj]

Go back to bed, grandpa! :-)

Re:alt.stories.erotica

[drkoemans]

the sad part is that someone probably DID have some version of pr0n on that ENIAC. If you've thought of it, porn has done it first.

Re:alt.stories.erotica

[Hatta]

Honestly, now that I have the technology to get all the pictures and video I want, I don't much care for text anymore.

Re:alt.stories.erotica

[MichaelSmith]

At high school on an Apple II I once wrote a mathematical expression which looked a bit like boobs.

Re:alt.stories.erotica

[jackbird]

Oh yeah? I did that on a solar calculator!

Re:alt.stories.erotica

[geekoid]

In my day, we had to find the books some else had dog eared to know there was porn in them.
I read the same 2 pages of Jaws 100 times.

Re:alt.stories.erotica

[Mikkeles]

We had the women's underwear section of the Sears' catalogue stored conveniently in the outhouse.

Re:alt.stories.erotica

[aztracker1]

heh, I still run an ansi bbs, though telnet. theroughnecks.net

Re:alt.stories.erotica

[Team503]

Rules 34 and 35.

Re:alt.stories.erotica

[drinkypoo]

IMO far superior were rec.arts.erotica (moderated) and alt.sex.stories (non-.) But hey, YMMHaveVaried. I've posted to both... *cough*

Re:alt.stories.erotica

[fractoid]

And yet somehow, when you're sitting there with your eyes closed and a handful of yourself, the pictures in your head are always just that bit brighter and more vivid, they have warmth and touch and you can hear every little sound. Whereas some crappy low-rate video of two strangers doing each other is so... I don't know, mechanical.

Re:alt.stories.erotica

[mrmeval]

Back in my day we coded our porn in baudot on paper tape and printed it on a teletype.

When stationed at the Pentagon make sure you put the test tape back so that some poor fool doesn't plug your porn into the reader so they can send the midnight test message to test the teletype link to Norad.

Re:alt.stories.erotica

[The Raven]

Despite having the technology to get all the pictures and video I want... late at night, I bring up my Literotica bookmark almost exclusively. Video just doesn't cut it for me.

Hey, not just women

[Toonol]

Men read erotica, too!

Of course, it's Ghost in the Shell meets X-Files fanfic, but still, erotic.

Re:Hey, not just women

[Anonymous Coward]

Men read erotica, too! Of course, it's Ghost in the Shell meets X-Files fanfic, but still, erotic.

"Legolas & Elrond Soil the Shire" doesn't count!

Re:Hey, not just women

[Anonymous Coward]

Men read erotica, too! Of course, it's Ghost in the Shell meets X-Files fanfic, but still, erotic.

Men do. They just mention women together with increasing sales because of one plain fact that everyone seems to want to deny. I'm about to be politically incorrect but oh well, none of this was decided by me, I just call it like I see it. Women as a whole are net consumers, while men as a whole are net producers. The "glass ceiling" exists only because women as a whole take more time off of work than men and work fewer hours than men as a whole. That creates a perception that may be unfair to those women who don't care to have children and are willing to work as hard and as long as men, but those are comparatively rare and by and large the stereotype is true. Women are specifically mentioned here because consumers are what Amazon wants to reach.

Re:Hey, not just women

[davester666]

They just prefer that the book has more color pictures...

Re:Hey, not just women

[Anonymous Coward]

It was a blustery fall afternoon at Hogwarts and Hermione Granger sat in the Gryffindor common with only a crackling fire to keep her company. Upon hearing footsteps coming from the boys' tower she quickly glanced up from her copy of Zublin's Advanced Potions, hoping to find Harry or Ron.

"â(TM)Afternoon Hermione!" Neville Longbottom said, nearly tripping on the last few steps of the spiral staircase.

"Oh, hello Neville" Hermione snapped. "You haven't seen Harry or Ron up there have you? I've been looking for them all day!"

"Yeah, they've been huddled up in Ron's bed with the curtains drawn for hours!" Neville said, dumbfounded "I tried to peak in once to see what they were doing, but they shouted something about not wrecking their secret light sensitive spells. I didn't want to be a bother, so I came back down here."

"Light sensitive spells?" Hermione said to herself, "Those boys could never master such advanced magic. Something fishy is going on here!"

She quickly pulled out her charms textbook and began to rapidly search the index. The combination of heat from the fireplace and intensity of study soon created a seductive glow around Hermione's young face. Soon, the perspiration spread through her underarms, neck and chest, highlighting key areas of her uniform.

"You're looking... hot" Neville murmured from the oversized armchair next to Hermione.

"Yeah, I probably shouldn't be sitting so close to this fire" She said.

Hermione stuffed her papers into her bag and walked over to the couch across from Neville.

"Oh no" He replied, moving to the empty seat next to Hermione. "I didn't mean temperature"

"Um, thanks" She gushed, "I've been using a new lotion. I think it really brings out the summers mist in my skin, don't you?"

"I don't know," He said, looking into her eyes "I've never tasted a summers mist before"

Neville quickly leaned in and kissed her on the lips. Hermione did not protest, and had soon undone the top three buttons of her blouse.

Neville slowly pulled out his wand and said âoeDisplayus mammarium!"

The remainder of Hermione's shirt suddenly split open, exposing her young chest to the fall air. Neville smiled with delight and quickly pressed his face against her bare skin. Hermione felt waves of ecstasy as Neville slowly and carefully licked both of her protruding nipples.

âoeI feel like a Hungarian Horntailâ Neville whispered into Hermioneâ(TM)s ear âoeAnd I need to find a cave to...â

âoeHermione! Neville!â Ron interrupted from the top of the stairs. âoeWhat are you two doing? Oh bugger, weâ(TM)ll have to get new furniture!â

âoeYou would say that, you old faggot!â Hermione laughed.

She writhed with pleasure on an old persian rug while Neville carefully pulled down her white cotton panties. Ron stared, open mouthed.

âoeI⦠but⦠how did you know?â Ron sputtered

âoeLetâ(TM)s just say itâ(TM)s clear to all of us that you two are doing more than talking during those 45 minute âbathroom breaksâ(TM) at lunchâ Neville said, wiping Hermioneâ(TM)s residue from the side of his mouth.

âoeBloody hell, does this mean Harry and I are a couple?â Ron said, slinking into an empty chair near the fire.

âoeOne thingâ(TM)s for sureâ Hermione replied, âoeYouâ(TM)re a couple of huffle puffs!â

Re:Hey, not just women

[Registered Coward v2]

Men read erotica, too!

Yea, that's the ticket. They don't just look at the pictures.

Re:Hey, not just women

[Anonymous Coward]

Wow, how the hell did this bullshit post get modded up? Even if this misogynistic flamebait were true, it'd STILL be irellevent to both the story and the thread it's replying to. The Kindle is targeted at book reading audiences, whether they're male OR female.

This thread's OP is about whether men or women read erotic stories more. Generally this is true, women read erotic stories more, and men look at erotic pictures/videos more.

This has nothing whatsoever to do with some women-haters view that women sit at home suckling babies and big strong men produce all of the world's goods.

Re:Hey, not just women

[thetoadwarrior]

Only if it's a picture book.

Re:Hey, not just women

[soren202]

True, but, at the same time,women read it more often, seeing as they're generally more comfortable with more visual forms of erotic media.

That, and women as a whole read more books. Sad but true.

Re:Hey, not just women

[maxume]

Why is it sad?

Re:Hey, not just women

[Anonymous Coward]

The "glass ceiling" exists only because women as a whole take more time off of work than men and work fewer hours than men as a whole. That creates a perception that may be unfair to those women who don't care to have children and are willing to work as hard and as long as men, but those are comparatively rare and by and large the stereotype is true.

Okay, assuming that you're correct and this is why the "glass ceiling" exists -- could it be that women "take more time off of work than men and work fewer hours than men as a whole" because they are generally tasked with doing more work in the home? (e.g., cooking, cleaning, taking care of kids when they're sick, etc.) A characterization of women in general as being unwilling to "work as hard and as long as men" seems unfair in that case.

But, to be on topic -- there's a common meme that has been around for a very long time that women are the primary consumers of erotica (which is often loosely defined as being focused on sensuality just as much as or more than sex) and that men are the primary consumers of porn (generally described as being more likely to be visually-oriented and with a greater focus on the depiction of sexual acts).

Or, to use the old stereotypes, it's expected that women are the main audience for romance novels (and if you think romance novels aren't erotica, you haven't been read the right ones!), while men are the main audience for titles like Playboy.

Now, there's plenty of room to talk about the definition of porn vs. erotica, what content falls into those categories, and how those categories might be merging, or about the fact that men are also consumers of erotica and women are also consumers of porn, or even about the emerging brands that are trying to specifically promote erotica for men or porn for women (although somehow my brain isn't really wrapping around seeing the latter discussed on Slashdot).

In any case, that might be more relevant to talk about.

Re:Hey, not just women

[geekoid]

"The "glass ceiling" exists only because women as a whole take more time off of work than men and work fewer hours than men as a whole."

One of the reports I updates and maintain is a report that tracks sick and vactaion time, days peoplet ake off, and etc.

I have seen this data with several different organizations.

Granted it's small number of organization, so my sample size is small.
However these are actual hard numbers, so there isn't any bias.

Man and women take the same amount of time off.

Re:Hey, not just women

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, the up-moderation of this post has destroyed any remaining shreds of faith in both the /. moderation system and (apparently) half of /.'ers.

Re:Hey, not just women

[rhyder128k]

Off topic, but completely true.

Re:Hey, not just women

[fractoid]

YOU CAN'T SAY THAT!!!

The first rule of any topic that deals with statistical differences between different groups of people is to never, EVER, say that there's any difference between them. Mate, you could have said "Women as a whole have fewer penises than men (excepting special cases)" and you'd still be shot down as some kind of misogynist.

I might be able to get away with saying that "on average, women are more likely to stay at home at least part-time looking after the children, and as a result, ON AVERAGE work fewer hours over the course of their lifetime" and that "in general, if one partner in a relationship is staying home looking after the children, the other has to be working full time to support the family as a sole earner". Maybe. But if anyone realises that if you put the two together it says "often it is the man in the relationship who supports the woman financially" the femi<oh noes! wrath of Godwin!> will drag me out back and shoot me.

One-handed reading with the Kindle

[The Fun Guy]

The ability to turn pages one-handed is touted as one of the big improvements of the Kindle 2.

Draw your own conclusions.

Re:One-handed reading with the Kindle

[Em Emalb]

Cowboy Neal has a Kindle.

Go ahead and erase THAT mental image.

Re:One-handed reading with the Kindle

[Anonymous Coward]

Draw your own conclusions.

Why bother? I'll just let someone else draw conclusions for me.

Re:One-handed reading with the Kindle

[troll8901]

I demand a handle (hole) and force feedback (vibration) features in Kindle 3!

For CowboyNeal to use.

Go ahead and erase THIS mental image.

Technology really does change things!

[Anonymous Coward]

This is the first time in history that salacious content has driven book sales.

Plus screens are much less absorbant and can be wiped clean.

Porn Buyer's Capital

[daveywest]

So, how does that correlate with http://www.pcworld.com/article/160566/utah_online_porn_capital_of_america.html

Re:Porn Buyer's Capital

[dangitman]

Clearly, it means that the "gold tablets" that God gave to Joseph Smith were actually the world's first eBook readers. And God owns shares in Amazon.

Oblig. Star Wars ref

[PK Tech Guy]

Salacious Crumb is driving Star Wars E-Book sales.

Re:Oblig. Star Wars ref

[Em Emalb]

http://www.blueharvest.net/sound/misc/crumb2.wav

Sort of

[Zerth]

My wife doesn't read bodice-rippers, but most of the sci-fi/fantasy books she reads has a strong romantic or relationship component. IE Vorkosigan Saga, Wizard's Rule series, etc.

It might just be because she just got hers, but she has been spending a lot more time reading lately. Bought a fair chunk, then raided a hundred or two books from my e-library.

Re:Sort of

[Em Emalb]

"Your wife". RIIIIGHT.

Get back in the cage, Erotica-boy!

(kidding, kidding.)

Re:Sort of

[Anonymous Coward]

Why do you assume the poster is a guy? Could be a lesbian. They used to be able to get married, too.

Re:Sort of

[Anonymous Coward]

Who's assuming? Most people can tell he's a guy by the way we he writes.

Only gender confused people, like a lesbian like yourself, would never get the distinction.

The internet is for porn...

[wjh31]

as always

Re:The internet is for porn...

[causality]

Warning: NSFW.

Have you seen this video before? It's called The Internet Is For Porn and It's hilarious.

Nothing New

[KermodeBear]

Pornography has always been at the forefront of technology. VHS, DVD, they were the first to really start using DRM on video content, too. A quick search on Google for 'porn technology' will give you lots of articles on the subject.

Re:Nothing New

[Registered Coward v2]

Pornography has always been at the forefront of technology. VHS, DVD, they were the first to really start using DRM on video content, too. A quick search on Google for 'porn technology' will give you lots of articles on the subject.

Shoot, go back to the dawn of the printing press, sculpture, painting etc. All modern times has done is change the delivery format.

I'd bet that Ogg and Thagg, after drawing the latest hunt on the cave walls then did a little drawing about Oggette and her friends. And then started the flame war over obsidian vs flint for spear points.

Some things never change...

Re:Nothing New

[Thag]

That is pure unfounded supposition on your part. :)

Re:Nothing New

[Thag]

That's because porn doesn't have to be good in order to sell. It will sell on novelty alone, at least for a little while. So it is an ideal early adopter for new media.

Re:Nothing New

[baKanale]

Obsidian is better. Anyone using flint is an idiot.

Re:Nothing New

[Chris Burke]

And then started the flame war over obsidian vs flint for spear points.

Some things never change...

Well, except that modern flame wars don't often end with one side stabbing the other in order to prove their point.

Re:Nothing New

[ravenshrike]

Eh, if people were able to they would.

Re:Nothing New

[Chris Burke]

Eh, if people were able to they would.

Score one for the internet, then, I say!

Re:Nothing New

[hurfy]

You mean these little arrows keys don't..... aw shucks :(

Re:Nothing New

[maxume]

I have this idea for a reality television show that would organize and officiate fights between internet blowhards.

The working title is "Spaz-fight".

It wouldn't be like the time Uwe Boll kicked that guys ass every week, but plenty of good would come with the bad.

Re:Nothing New

[geekoid]

Porn is in all technologies. There success and failure of the technology has nothing to do with porn.

Re:Nothing New

[shutdown -p now]

That's because porn doesn't have to be good in order to sell.

If something sells well on its own merits alone, then isn't that a sure indicator that it is good (insofar as "good" is applicable)?

Re:Nothing New

[MoeDumb]

"And then started the flame war over obsidian vs flint for spear points."
Impossible. Fire hadn't been invented yet.

Re:Nothing New

[DerekLyons]

Pornography has always been at the forefront of technology. VHS, DVD, they were the first to really start using DRM on video content, too. A quick search on Google for 'porn technology' will give you lots of articles on the subject.

A quick Google search gives me lots of articles than announce a priori that porn has always been at the forefront and always will be - but few actual facts to support that position.

Erotica? Dark Fantasy?

[grassy_knoll]

Why don't they just say "vampire"?

[badum-ching]

privacy of ebooks?

[NotQuiteReal]

Seems like buying books for cash is more anonymous than leaving an e-commerce trail.

I supposed it depends on how big a town you live in.

Re:privacy of ebooks?

[fuzzyfuzzyfungus]

Rationally considered, you are correct. However, human social instincts are not rational consideration. A big faceless corporation knowing that you purchased a porno is, viscerally, way less intimidating than having a clerk who won't remember you tomorrow raise an eyebrow slightly.

Re:privacy of ebooks?

[CopaceticOpus]

It's not the privacy of one's buying history that is at issue. It's the privacy of a mom not sharing with the other parents just what she's reading while attending her daughter's soccer games.

The other mothers won't go stealing her credit card receipts from her mailbox, nor will they hack into her Amazon account. But they will try to catch a glimpse of a smutty book cover.

At least, that's the idea behind this article. I doubt that it is all that common of a concern.

Re:privacy of ebooks?

[Nyeerrmm]

Different kind of privacy. Some things, like health conditions, SSNs and credit card numbers, you don't want the government, corporations, insurance companies or identity thieves to be able to mine out of large databases or find in a deep background check. Other things, like your affinity for bodice-ripping novels or the fact that you secretly love the latest Britney Spears or Backstreet Boys (are they still around?) CD are things you just don't want to advertise as you're sitting on the bus or waiting in line.

Personally, I just prefer the convenience of e-books. While I do like that you can read one-handed, its because the single thing I hate most about real books is trying to hold them open while you're eating and reading at the same time.

Re:privacy of ebooks?

[dave562]

I was wondering what they meant about privacy too. What I came up with is that they are talking about privacy in terms of not holding a physical book. A person could be reading ANYTHING on a Kindle and the Kindle looks the same. However if a woman is reading some trashy romance novel, it will have the picture of Fabio on the cover.

I could be wrong, but I think that is the privacy context that the OP was referencing.

Re:privacy of ebooks?

[Bill Currie]

In Japan, paper books don't pose a privacy problem: when you buy a book, whether it's a raunchy novel or an English textbook, the store clerk wraps it in a nice paper cover, hiding the nature of the book. At most, you can determine size of the book and the shop it was bought at.

Re:privacy of ebooks?

[unixan]

Seems like buying books for cash is more anonymous than leaving an e-commerce trail.

I supposed it depends on how big a town you live in.

The problem is the physical medium itself. If you purchase a bodice ripper, for instance, the book's cover looks awfully eyebrow-raising when found in your bookcase at home when friends, colleagues and family members visit. (Just imagine how awkward it is having your mother over for a holiday, and she gives you a red-faced knowing stare after curiously looking at your book collection.)

You'd have to do something a bit inconvenient (like putting the book in your closet) to give it a good hiding and overcome awkwardness.

"Books" that have no physical cover, of course, don't have that problem. Just be sure not let people read the screen over your shoulder at inopportune times! If you use the text-to-speech feature (play an MP3 audiobook version), you can use headphones when you're not alone.

Re:privacy of ebooks?

[ciderVisor]

Of course, if you bought it at Hideo's Smut Shack, your privacy might be compromised yet again.

Re:privacy of ebooks?

[ciderVisor]

give it a good hiding

Kinky !

Re:privacy of ebooks?

[BoothbyTCD]

Yes, but a kindle always looks like a kindle and can be turned off or switched to another book, while a physical book has a cover, complete with ripping bodices and whatnot.

Keyword search

[unlametheweak]

Yet something else for the Internet Watch Foundation to keep an eye on. There needs to be a repository where people can freely read the ebooks (or at least search for keywords) so that indecent or potentially illegal material can be found and blocked before these materials can be purchased or downloaded. Deep packet inspection may be necessary in the transmission of these materials across boarders.

Re:Keyword search

[causality]

Yet something else for the Internet Watch Foundation to keep an eye on. There needs to be a repository where people can freely read the ebooks (or at least search for keywords) so that indecent or potentially illegal material can be found and blocked before these materials can be purchased or downloaded. Deep packet inspection may be necessary in the transmission of these materials across boarders.

I hope this is satire.

If not, I say to you that if you want to engage in censorship you will always be able to find some noble-sounding "for the children" type of excuse for doing so and lots of misguided people with good intentions and no understanding of the Law of Unintended Consequences will happily and fervently join you in this cause. That doesn't make it right, however.

Again I hope this was satire. If it isn't, and if you fully understand my paragraph above and comprehend the incredible amount of damage that naive but well-intentioned people can do and still think that you have some kind of "holy cause" that overrides these concerns, I invite you to tell me why, for I believe that the weakness of that position is easy to reveal. If it was satire, then I think you already revealed how shallow this mentality is :-).

Re:Keyword search

[migla]

This is probably a redundant summary of all of the topics that have to do with thinking of the children: Don't let them onto the internet on their own, if you're uncertain about the appropriateness of anything on here.

(Disclaimer: I think of the children: I have a kid whom I don't want growing up in a fascist, orwellian panopticon world.)

I just ask my daughter

[Anonymous Coward]

No kidding, my daughter is 20 and she reads tremendous quantity's of male-male porn. We were talking about her "book collection" about a month ago and she told me that she now gets the stories off the internet.
Rather obviously, I am posting this as AC.

Re:I just ask my daughter

[bluefoxlucid]

Why are you aware your daughter reads male on male porn? Like, why are you not totally rejecting this and not talking to her about her porn habits? This seems to be the sane way to handle things.

Re:I just ask my daughter

[Hatta]

Why is an open discussion about pornography a bad thing? They're both adults, they should be able to handle it maturely. Someone so seemingly paranoid about merely discussing pornography shouldn't lecture people on the "sane" way to handle things.

Re:I just ask my daughter

[Chris Burke]

Well for the latter, because she's 20. She's an adult. She quite possibly has done more than have naughty thoughts while reading a story. What's he going to do, wag his finger at her and tell her to stop reading dirty stories? Would that have worked on you when you were in college?

For the former, the least creepy thing I can think of is actually that she simply has so much porn that it's impossible to ignore, like a whole bookshelf where every title is obviously erotic in nature, and stacks of them on her desk or something.

Re:I just ask my daughter

[Daniel Dvorkin]

Like, why are you not totally rejecting this and not talking to her about her porn habits?

Maybe ... because she's twenty years old? As in, old enough (by a couple of years) to vote, get married, buy a house, or get pieces of herself blown off in Iraq -- but apparently not old enough to read about guys getting it on, at least in your book.

Or maybe he feels that his daughter is an independent, thinking human being and he doesn't get to tell her what to read.

Of course, maybe it's that she's twenty years old.

Possibly it's because he doesn't have the same visceral reaction to guy-guy porn that you do. Something tells me that if OP had mentioned that he had a son (particularly a grown son) who's into girl-girl porn, you wouldn't have a problem with it.

Also, did I mention that she's twenty years old?

Someone needs some serious help here, and you know, it's not OP or his daughter.

Re:I just ask my daughter

[Anonymous Coward]

whooosh

Re:I just ask my daughter

[Areyoukiddingme]

I'm wondering why the people who responded to you assumed that the Anonymous Coward was male. Wanna bet she was talking about her daughter? Mothers and daughters discuss subjects that males, especially males related to each other, practically never discuss, unless roaring drunk.

But aside from that, I think all of your respondents deserve a big *woooosh*. That sounded like sarcasm to me.

Re:I just ask my daughter

[bluefoxlucid]

It's just thinking about your daughter touching herself and reading nasty stuff is usually something people pass off and avoid. One of those "Yes, that's okay, but I don't want to hear it" things.

Re:I just ask my daughter

[Anonymous Coward]

I think people probably parsed your statement wrong. It seems from your follow up that you meant

Like, why are you not totally rejecting this and not talking to her about her porn habits [because while they're fine, it's an uncomfortable subject which should remain private]?

and not

Like, why are you not totally rejecting this and [why aren't you] talking to her about her porn habits [which are bad and must be stopped]?

I can't see a problem myself. People naturally like sex and it's more of a society thing to want to suppress talk of it because of embarrassment.

Amazon does not bear this out

[ucblockhead]

Sales for the Kindle do not seem to bear this out: Kindle bestsellers. I see no porn in the top 25.

Re:Amazon does not bear this out

[Hatta]

The relative frequency of any specific title has little to do with the relative frequency of groups of titles.

Re:Amazon does not bear this out

[Dynedain]

And the New York Times intentionally leaves genres off its best-seller list, otherwise LOTR, the Bible, and various sci-fi novels would routinely top the list.

Hell, they created a children's best-seller list specifically because of Harry Potter.

Re:Amazon does not bear this out

[ucblockhead]

Why would Amazon do this for eBooks but not for physical books?

Re:Amazon does not bear this out

[TBBle]

You need to look a little harder. There's two or three in the 26-50 and another three on the 50-75 pages.

The Kindle's results seem somewhat skewed because there's a lot of (I'd say mostly, but I havent' counted) free books in their top 100 list.

On the other hand, looking at the fictionwise list, the one title not tagged erotica is by an author whose other works I've read have involved plenty of sex and violence. They're not erotica or even overwhelmingly romantic, but my local bookshops no longer distinguish paranormal and paranormal romance, so they sit side-by-side on the shelf.

It might be that Ficitonwise has a particularly strong suit in the paranormal, romance and paranormal-romance categories, ranging up and down the scale erotica-wise. They're generally popular categories, I assume, based on the number of bookshops (particularly web-based bookshops) that specialise in these three categories.

Coming back to the parent post, the Stephenie Meyer books (Twilight etc) I'm told are the teenage girl's paranormal-romance of choice, equivalent to some of the less erotic novels that appear in Fictionwise's top sellers.

Again going by my local bookshop, in the science fiction/fantasy area, there's a shelf which is just Terry Pratchett books. Last time I was there, a shelf in the paranormal section was dedicated to Stephenie Myer, although this was right after the Twilight movie had released, so I don't know if that'll last.

Selective memory

[93 Escort Wagon]

Not the "porn is what drives adoption of all new formats and technologies" explanation again... has everyone already forgotten that HD DVD was supposed to win over Blu-Ray because of its early adoption by the porn industry? There were only, oh, a few thousand posts to that effect right here on Slashdot - right up until HD DVD died.

Re:Selective memory

[olddotter]

I'm not sure that Blu-ray has won against, well nothing at this point. HD-DVD has been dead for a year and Blu-ray is still not taking off as a format.

Re:Selective memory

[Anonymous Coward]

I think it's more along the lines of "if you build it, they will have sex on it". Porn doesn't drive innovation, it adapts to it.

Re:Selective memory

[91degrees]

True. For porn to really work you need better porn. Video worked because people didn't need to go out to watch it. DVD was substantially better quality. The internet just provided so much. e-books offer a certain amount of convenience but it's not exactly a disruptive technology.

Re:Selective memory

[Sir_Lewk]

That's not the point at all. The point is that porn failed to make HD-DVD sucessful.

Re:Selective memory

[genner]

I'm not sure that Blu-ray has won against, well nothing at this point. HD-DVD has been dead for a year and Blu-ray is still not taking off as a format.

Thats because porn is the one thing you don't want to see in hi-def.

Re:Selective memory

[Fast Thick Pants]

Very true. ASCII art is good enough for me.

Re:Selective memory

[Anonymous Coward]

Does this mean that porn will eventually adapt to open source as innovation? That's open source I can't wait to contribute to!

Re:Selective memory

[Areyoukiddingme]

That's because Blu-Ray's ascendence over HD DVD had absolutely nothing to do with the market. Sony decided it was "their turn" to garner all the royalties from the next breakthrough media format (mainly from sheer soul-gnawing jealousy over how much Phillips has made off of CD/CD-ROM royalties) so they bought Blu-Ray's success for cash. HD was winning in the marketplace. Players were cheaper than Blu-Ray players, and available from a wider choice of manufacturer. Discs were cheaper and more widely available. I didn't actually check, but I would bet money that HD DVD production gear, both hardware and software, was also cheaper. That's the reason why the porn industry chose HD. It's always about cost, for them. The porn industry may or may not drive adoption, but for certain its own direction is cost-driven.

What actually happened wasn't made public, but it was visible around the edges. Sony paid off the HD camp. With BIG money. HUGE money. Far more money than they'll ever make on royalties, both because Sony has had serious problems finding tolerable price points for buyers and because they've been incredibly bad at striking licensing deals on anything since the Trinitron tube. I think it was a very bad business decision for Sony, but they will always consider it a win out of blind pride. Sony survives by dint of sheer massive inertia. If not for that, the moon-sized egos running the place would have brought it down two decades ago.

Re:Selective memory

[maxume]

Is porn doing well on Blu-ray?

My favorite explanation is that pimple fetishes aren't that common (DVD leaves enough to the imagination, HD shows you everything you didn't want to see).

Re:Selective memory

[Chris Burke]

So porn doesn't dominate over all other factors. I think that was obvious. I'd think the tiny marketshare of both formats means that porn simply didn't have a chance to drive one versus the other. Because the physical media format that is "winning", and has the most porn on it, is DVD.

Re:Selective memory

[Dynedain]

Actually, I posed this question to someone IN the industry who does editing and disc authoring work (for one of the biggest producers) before the HD-DVD vs. Blu-Ray war was decided. He said the general consensus in the industry this time was to wait and see which format would win out. There wasn't a rush to go to one format or the other. There's far more players involved than there was during the classic VHS/Beta example, which skews the simple mantra of "porn drives technology selection". Just like the mainstream movie producers were afraid of taking the gamble.

Re:Selective memory

[Anonymous Coward]

Never underestimate the imagination as an erogenous zone, I always say...

Re:Selective memory

[Thag]

Porn doesn't drive development of anything, it's an early adopter. There's a difference.

Hugh Hefner doesn't fund research into new media, but he'll be glad to sell his wares anywhere he can.

Mainly, I think, because porn doesn't necessarily have to be good in order to sell.

Re:Selective memory

[againjj]

Rule 34

Re:Selective memory

[Anonymous Coward]

HD-DVD has been dead for a year and Blu-ray is still not taking off as a format.

You might want to check your sources again. Google for adoption rates. Blu-ray adoption rate is faster than the DVD adoption rate.

Re:Selective memory

[geekoid]

Well there was HD-DVD and BLu-ray.
Right now Blu-ray is substantially more abundant

However Blu-Ray Players are still 200+ bucks.
Whehn blue ray players hit 50-100 bucks, you wont be able to find a DVD players. Onces that happens why would anyone buy DVD? Sure, the blu-ray players can play both but why not get the higher quality.
I wastched watched Iron Man on a plasm TV and it was Jaw Dropping.

Personaly I wish HD-DVD had won. I think the red box is what screwed them.

That said, I don't allow anyone to buy DVD's in my house anymore. We will wait until Blu-Ray Players get cheaper.

Of course, I think it's the last physical disk format we will see.

Re:Selective memory

[meta-monkey]

You laugh, but it actually kind of has. The porn industry is hurting because of do-it-yourself porn sites like youporn.com. While some of the content is "professionally produced," most of it is homegrown stuff. People these days seem to be really getting off on releasing their homemade porn tapes on the interwebs.

So, yes, porn is open source, too. However, I would avoid open source porn that features open sores. That's just nasty.

Re:Selective memory

[fermion]

This is an example, not a counter example. My impression is that the kindle is better for certain content because you do not have to purchase the item or having it lying around your house. For the same reason all physical media for this kind of movies failed long before HD formats came into existence. om the ads that regularly pop up in various places, it seems it has long been possible to download paid content, and likely it of "dvd quality". Furthermore, given the fights that having been going on, it seems that quite a few people are putting this stuff up for free. I suspect the physical industry has been dead for a while. Even something as tame as Playboy appears to be on it's last legs.

Even if the industry was not dead, what would the benefit to the consumer or the producers. Does anyone need to see penetration in more detailed? How much more makeup will it take to make the 30 years old mother or 5 look like a 20 year old virgin on HD media? Does anyone really need a two erotic movie? Are we know going to be able to see alternative versions, in that same way that so many produces put alternative angles on the DVD?

Re:Selective memory

[Anonymous Coward]

That's because HD is fucking worthless shit.

Re:Selective memory

[Anonymous Coward]

It happened years ago, didn't you hear that ESR is a polyamorist? He even wrote a dating guide. It sounds like fanfic: ESR is a love god enough that he shares his knowledge, and in a more intimate setting will also share his loving.

Re:Selective memory

[Scroatzilla]

Have you already forgotten the pr0n has driven internet video way before BluRay was a twinkle in anyone's eye, and that internet video is likely to shape up as the *real* format winner in the end?

Re:Selective memory

[fractoid]

Like the guy said above, the last thing you wanna see in 1080p is someone's butt crack. No matter how fine she looks at VHS quality, humans (yes, even porn star chicks) are pretty disgusting when viewed at massive magnification.

Re:Selective memory

[Anonymous Coward]

Most of what's on youporn.com is professional actors and scenes (shown at low resolution of course)

Some amateur stuff but easily less than 50%

Girls like porn?

[bluefoxlucid]

What?

Re:Girls like porn?

[Anonymous Coward]

Men tend to be visually stimulated, while women tend to be intellectually stimulated. In other words, men look at pr0n, while women read pr0n. So this shouldn't be too surprising.

Re:Girls like porn?

[wjh31]

Well there are no girls on the internet, so they have to get it from books

Re:Girls like porn?

[NeoSkandranon]

Yep, although in the case of the bodice ripper genre I think it's almost as much about the "someday my prince/knight/highlander will come and this will happen to me" fantasy (even when they're 75)

Re:Girls like porn?

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually, no. We just like visceral hard core porn with hard dicks and explicit visuals, and can't watch it because you boys get all whiny and wah-wah-wah if we express any interest. The playboy channel does *not* do it for us.

Re:Girls like porn?

[Anonymous Coward]

That's a good girl, at least you know your place.

Now go get me my slippers and a beer.

Does it drive kindle sells?

[olddotter]

That would be interesting if the chance to read naughty lit in public drives the sales of a $350 e-book reader.

Is porn driving uptake of the web?

[syousef]

People have evolved to be interested in sex. Those that aren't die out. So of course if the web provides a means to look at boobies, it's going to get more popular...and if an ebook reader allows you to read about people having sex, those who are interested might turn to it. It's a hell of a lot more discrete to use an ebook reader than have a sexually explicit book open. You don't have to hide it behind something else to avoid attracting attention or getting into trouble.

Dear Moderators

[Anonymous Coward]

Please moderators, don't be so trigger-happy. When I wrote that post, it was about as inoffensive and non-inflammatory as I knew how to write it. It's what I believe and I know that a lot of people won't like it, so I tried hard to take a neutral tone and I tried to make it as non-Flamebait as I could. If I wanted to piss people off or offend them, I could have done that significantly more than I did. Modding that down because you don't like what I say is akin to censorship and it's not useful to anyone. If you want to do something useful and constructive, then tell me why you think I have that wrong. Do it openly for everyone to see. That way, if you are right and I am wrong, everyone will see it and anyone who feels inclined to think of the situation the way I do will have a new point of view to consider.

I hope I've explained why just getting mad and modding it down is probably the worst action you could take. That makes sense for a GNAA troll or something like that but not for what I said. If you really think I am being unreasonable, showing me that you can also be unreasonable is not going to help. I can be reasoned with and I want to hear how you feel.

Re:Dear Moderators

[Anonymous Coward]

Flamebait is flamebait, regardless of whether or not it is actually what you believe. What matters is what everyone else believes. Even if you were right, it would still be flamebait. That you posted anonymously just adds fuel for those who wish to flame you.

Next time, try to find support for your beliefs. (Non-flamebait posts have evidence if they disagree with the majority.) Maybe, when you don't find any support, you can post something else.

Also remember that talking about moderation is always off topic.

Re:Dear Moderators

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm sorry, but what a narrow-minded post.

Flamebait is flamebait, regardless of whether or not it is actually what you believe. What matters is what everyone else believes. Even if you were right, it would still be flamebait. That you posted anonymously just adds fuel for those who wish to flame you.

Next time, try to find support for your beliefs. (Non-flamebait posts have evidence if they disagree with the majority.) Maybe, when you don't find any support, you can post something else.

No, when it's what you actually believe it's discussion. When you post it for the sole purpose of pissing off or offending other people with no regard for whether you actually believe it or not, it's Flamebait. For example, I would not be the least bit surprised if most of the racist jokes I see on here are from people who are not actually racist but enjoy the strong reactions most others have to such highly offensive jokes.

I posted anonymously precisely because of responses like yours, to be very honest with you. You are capable of open acceptance, even of things you dislike or don't understand, but I am not getting that from you at all. Instead I am getting somebody pontificating to me about how I should express myself, as though that were for you to determine. Somebody who, I might add, complains that I posted anonymously while doing the same thing himself.

Also, I refuse to take on any additional burden of proof that someone who conforms to the majority would not be expected to deal with. That's because every human being is equal and popularity does not determine truth, so I reject the notion that some extra standard should apply to me because of the content of what I believe. One more thing, I don't need to "find any support" because I did what I set out to do, which was to express how I felt and to respect that other people are free to love it or hate it as they see fit. I would defend your right to do the same, in fact. It is only that you presume to tell me how I should express myself and what I should say and don't seem to see anything wrong with your actions that I object to, and rightfully so.

Also remember that talking about moderation is always off topic.

Just as soon as there is another way other than follow-up posts to critique the moderators, I'll use it. In the meanwhile, I accept that valuable discussion can occur where you least expect it, including those posts that you might be quick to dismiss. Therefore I think it's best to evaluate each on a case-by-case basis, which is after all why we have human moderators who are expected to use their judgment.

Re:Dear Moderators

[Dishevel]

I don't actually think that if the majority of people thought about it they would disagree with the content of his post.

No one thinks women should be discriminated against but I do think that as a group that working women take more hours off than working men. Period.

So that means they work less hours. Less on the production side. Also as a group women make more of the buying decisions in a family than the men do. More on the consuming side.

Sounds like the post is just factually true.

Re:Dear Moderators

[Anonymous Coward]

You should not have been modded down, but neither should you have been modded up in the first place. Women as net consumers? Because they bear children?

Of all the things to criticize about women, you chose the fact that they bear children? That is the most fucking important job in our society, pun intended. You should rethink your priorities, man.

Re:Dear Moderators

[osymandias]

Avoiding inflammatory language and couching what you say in veils isn't being non-inflammatory. Writing everything in a reasonable fashion doesn't mean you're being reasonable, it just means you're trying to give the impression of reason whilst getting away with posting the same tired old nonsense. The glass ceiling is not a product of women working less. I don't deny that there may be women who want to work less, just as there may well be men who feel the same. That doesn't explain how comparing across people in the same positions, doing the same jobs with the same hours, we still find a massive inequality in pay rates (an average of 17%, in the UK at least).

Re:Dear Moderators

[nickspoon]

Sounds like the post is just factually true.

Except that what it is implying is that the 'glass ceiling' is imaginary, that gender-based discrimination does not exist. Even in our 'enlightened' society, where the role of women has been significantly balanced, it remains ignorant to say that women only get worse pay because they do not work such long hours. In addition, the number of women who do work long hours and do not spend excessive time on childcare is certainly not insignificant, nor (as parent^4 seems to think) worth dismissing.

Also, it seems to me that women are mentioned here purely for comic effect, not because Amazon sees them as more apt to consume.

Re:Dear Moderators

[NeutronCowboy]

You got modded flame-bait because... well, you WERE flame-bait. The only time that women take off more than men is when they give birth. Other than that, they work at least the exact same hours. I say at least, because there's a lot of perception that women just aren't as good as men.... and to disprove that convincingly requires overtime.

Here's what I would suggest: talk to top-flight women. Women who are Director level and above. See what they say about their working hours, and how much time they take off for children. You'll find that a lot actually don't have children for precisely the reason that it would hamper their career.

Re:Dear Moderators

[Anonymous Coward]

You should not have been modded down, but neither should you have been modded up in the first place. Women as net consumers? Because they bear children? Of all the things to criticize about women, you chose the fact that they bear children? That is the most fucking important job in our society, pun intended. You should rethink your priorities, man.

Why so angry? A corporation does not care WHY they are net consumers. It could be a good reason like the one you cite, or it could be a horrible reason, it makes no difference to e-book sales figures. "Net consumers" isn't an insult, or at least it was not intended to be. The differences between the sexes create business realities that successful businesses understand because they know their market and try to give their customers what they want. If I said that most porno sites that offer pictures and videos cater to men, would you get upset? No? Then what's wrong with what I said about women?

Other industries do this too. The real estate market and increasingly the automobile dealers are also beginning to cater to women because women are increasingly making the buying decisions for those two things. They don't do it because "women bear children" or because they are sexist, they do it because it results in better sales. I really think your venom is misplaced.

Re:Dear Moderators

[Anonymous Coward]

That creates a perception that may be unfair to those women who don't care to have children and are willing to work as hard and as long as men, but those are comparatively rare and by and large the stereotype is true.

Its not so much that this line is sexist, but rather that is just plain wrong. Raising children is the most important task of society. Maybe you could go with something like "women suck at raising kids." At least that might be a valid point. What you've said here is just totally nuts: it sounds like you are saying that having kids is somehow doing something irrelevant and unimportant.

I mean, really this line is completely off-topic. The first line of your OP is on topic, and the rest is off-topic, slightly sexist, but most importantly, irrational. Women aren't net consumers any more than your liver is a net consumer.

Re:Dear Moderators

[Miseph]

"No one thinks women should be discriminated against but I do think that as a group that working women take more hours off than working men. Period."

If you don't count time off die to child birth, that discrepancy almost completely vanishes. If you also take into account that men generally make more money for the same work, the notion that women take more time off starts looking like a self fulfilling prophecy (ie. given the choice between a family losing $x when a woman takes the day off or losing $1.5x whena man takes the day off, the most rational choice is clearly for the woman to take the day off), not to mention that there is a cultural norm that mothers are expected to take time off to deal with children (meaning that schools are more likely to call mothers in an emergency than fathers, and that employers are far more likely to permit time off to deal with children for mothers than fathers). Even assuming that your statement of "fact" really is, there are some very clear factors making it far more likely than the alternative which, frankly, have almost nothing to do with the quality or quantity of work done by women and everything to do with social norms and economic conditions.

"So that means they work less hours. Less on the production side. Also as a group women make more of the buying decisions in a family than the men do. More on the consuming side."

I doubt this very much. I work in retail, and while I certainly see women buying more items, I also men buying more expensive items... VASTLY more expensive.

"Sounds like the post is just factually true."

No, it sounds like the post is stating a common and highly controversial assumption that is factually ambiguous but reinforces what many people already believe subconsciously and is possibly a major factor in making or keeping it true. It is rationalization for sexism, not a valid explanation in its own right.

Re:Dear Moderators

[Anonymous Coward]

Don't forget, "the speed of business" is nearly synonymous with "thinking only in the short-term."

And, hey!, my liver *IS* a net consumer, you insensitive clod!!

Re:Dear Moderators

[Scrameustache]

Please moderators, don't be so trigger-happy. When I wrote that post, it was about as inoffensive and non-inflammatory as I knew how to write it. It's what I believe and I know that a lot of people won't like it, so I tried hard to take a neutral tone and I tried to make it as non-Flamebait as I could.

No matter how you dress up a turd, it still smells like shit.

Re:Dear Moderators

[Zerth]

As a counterpoint, women buy more cars than men, in the US midwest at least, and dealership mailings aimed at women have a higher response rate than those aimed at men.

The guys read the info, say "neat", then trash the mailing. The women look at the pictures, say "pretty", then purchase.

Re:Dear Moderators

[geekoid]

"No one thinks women should be discriminated against but I do think that as a group that working women take more hours off than working men. Period."

well, at least your open minded to that facts. Period~

Strawman argument, return to GO. Do not collect 200 dollars.

Re:Dear Moderators

[Anonymous Coward]

"No one thinks women should be discriminated against but I do think that as a group that working women take more hours off than working men. Period."

Right, that's just 3 or 4 days every lunar month. Piffle!

If you don't count time off die to child birth, that discrepancy almost completely vanishes.

Right again—what kind of male chauvinist pig would count death against a woman? If there's a solid reason to take a day off from work, that's surely it.

the post is stating a common and highly controversial assumption that is factually ambiguous but reinforces what many people already believe subconsciously and is possibly a major factor in making or keeping it true. It is rationalization for sexism, not a valid explanation in its own right.

Ah, but you raise so many questions. For example, do you know the difference between ambiguous and dubious? Or did you mean to say false? Well, since the belief is "subconscious", we aren't aware of having it, so I suppose it hardly matters.

Yes, I had a bad day, and I'm into sharing. And no, I'm not being nice to the girls. But you'll admit I have the wit to do it anonymously.

Re:Dear Moderators

[Anonymous Coward]

cry about it

Re:Dear Moderators

[makomk]

No, when it's what you actually believe it's discussion. When you post it for the sole purpose of pissing off or offending other people with no regard for whether you actually believe it or not, it's Flamebait.

Nope. Flamebait includes stuff that the poster may actually believe, but that is written in an inflammatory or offensive way - comments than generate far more heat than light, so to speak. They tend to derail the conversations into flamewars. You're more than welcome to express controversial opinions, just word them so they aren't flamebait.

Also, I refuse to take on any additional burden of proof that someone who conforms to the majority would not be expected to deal with.

Ever heard the phrase "extraordinary clames require extraordinary proof"?

Re:Dear Moderators

[fractoid]

What he said wasn't particularly extraordinary, and in fact can be at least partially supported by anyone who cares to observe the society they live in.

Re:Dear Moderators

[fractoid]

That doesn't explain how comparing across people in the same positions, doing the same jobs with the same hours, we still find a massive inequality in pay rates (an average of 17%, in the UK at least).

That is certainly a discrepancy but doesn't sound like it fits the description of a glass ceiling to me. A glass ceiling (as I see it) would be if, say, at $20k - $40k per year, gender numbers were roughly equal but above $40k per year men outnumbered women by some significant percentage. (Not saying this isn't the case, I'd be interested to see stats).

Re:Dear Moderators

[osymandias]

Fair point - I wandered off point somewhat there. Haven't found any numbers purely giving salary divided by sex, but the Fawcett society gives the numbers for certain top positions (% women) as: * 9% of directors of the UK's top 100 companies * 19% of MPs in parliament * 7% of top police officers * 23% of civil service top management * 9% of editors of national newspapers * 18% of trade union general secretaries or equivalent I'd tend to discount the MPs, given that they're elected, but the others are reasonably indicative. The workforce as a whole is now reasonably balanced in that regard.

Re:Dear Moderators

[Anonymous Coward]

there is a cultural norm that mothers are expected to take time off to deal with children (meaning that schools are more likely to call mothers in an emergency than fathers, ....

Oh, bullshit -- there's no reason that parents can't DEMAND that the father be called first. What if he works five blocks from the school and the mother works twenty miles away? If, in that situation, my child was injured or died because of time spent calling the farther-away parent, you can be goddamned sure I'd own the school district and all its assets in short order. In any case, you could file a legal document with the school specifying the call order. It will be their responsibility to comply. It's just as stupid as people who demand to know your cell phone number because that's their preferred means of communication. I frequently refuse to give it out for that reason and tell them I'll call home when it's convenient for me to get the message off my land line.

My cell phone is useless at home. I tell people that and they still try to leave the first call there. Since I leave it in its charger, I usually don't hear it from a couple of rooms away. The reason I leave it in the charger is that the stupid asshole "designers" have determined that, if it can't check in with the mothership, they should "fix the problem" by having the phone aggressively attempt contact by trying, ever more frequently and at even greater power, thereby using the most battery power when it's least useful. Then, when I come out of the great wilderness and really need help, the cocksucking bastards have left me with a dead goddamned battery. Fuck the sons of bitches to the lowest pit of hell.

Somewhat off-topic

[causality]

My wife doesn't read bodice-rippers, but most of the sci-fi/fantasy books she reads has a strong romantic or relationship component. IE Vorkosigan Saga, Wizard's Rule series, etc.

If she likes the Wizard's Rule series by Goodkind, I think she'll really enjoy the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. If she likes dark fiction with a strong tragic-hero element, I think she'll also enjoy the Eternal Champion series by Michael Moorcock, particularly the Elric books.

Re:Somewhat off-topic

[ericrost]

Ah good pointer, avoid the Wizard's Rule series since Wheel of Time is the worst wannabe Tolkien (who's writing I love) dreck I've ever read.

Re:Somewhat off-topic

[ravenshrike]

Wizards rule is worse. Well, after the first or second book anyway. Terry Goodkind gets a bit nutty.

Re:Somewhat off-topic

[turtledawn]

More like Terry Goodkind gets a little pot-boiler-y. The first book was very good. The second was perfectly acceptable. After that, crap. Solid crap.

Re:Somewhat off-topic

[Anonymous Coward]

At least he could finish a series before dying. Or causing his readers to want to die.

Re:Somewhat off-topic

[Zerth]

Maybe, although I think she might feel WoT drags on a bit. On the other hand, WFR were fairly thick, so who knows.

I could see her going for the Elric books, though.

Re:Somewhat off-topic

[Anonymous Coward]

Is it wrong to be mad at Robert Jordan for dying before he finished the wheel of time?

Not surprising at all.

[digitalderbs]

Let's not forget that the kindle 2 now handles 16 shades of gray, and the size of foldouts is virtually limitless with Next/Prev page functionality.

The two top selllers

[Anonymous Coward]

Having worked in the ebook industry for +N years, and knowing sales figures, the top two sellers of all time: the KJV bible, and the Kamasutra. There is a certain company who is willing to sell this sort of stuff, and there is another who is not for fear of loosing the cash cow 'bible sales'

Well there are a lot of Lucas Kindle books

[Anonymous Coward]

There are a number of Lucas Kindle titles on Amazon.

Pages don't stick together

[relikx]

Perfect format, they should co-market with screen wipes.

Why is everyone so excited about porn...

[jhfry]

... this is clearly a privacy issue, not a pornography issue. If it were common for me to read in public places, like at work on my lunch break, a e-book would be far better than a typical paperback. Why, because then no one could learn what I am reading unless I tell them.

I don't read anything to be embarrassed about, but I can imagine it is awkward for women into those trash romance novels to hold a lewd covered book when sitting across the aisle from their boss.

Or what about people reading the Bible, Koran, or other religious manuscript. I have seen the way people look at folks reading such material on subways.

E-Books are great for everyone concerned about others judging them by what they read. Hell, in some cities you can be judged by which news paper you read... god forbid your conservative boss sees you reading the New York Times. I know I would hate to have a perfectly good working relationship ruined because I think homosexuals should be allowed to marry and raise children.

I am all for personal privacy in all things personal. I am not a conspiracy theorist that thinks the government or big business is spying and gonna use information against me... but I don't want my reading material, music tastes, or social/political beliefs to be an issue with those I wouldn't readily discuss such things with. A good ebook reader and some head phones allow me to consume media privately, if for no other reason than that.

Re:Why is everyone so excited about porn...

[Dripdry]

While I agree with this in principal I can't help but feel there may be a deeper cultural issue at work regarding "privacy".
This may be slightly off topic, but since we are talking about porn, which is fairly cultural, here goes:

I know that I have picked up a book or two because some stranger was reading it on the train or in a cafe. Sometimes I have conversations with strangers on the street due to something that happens or a weird coincidence. These instances are one way that culture can spread, move people, and create a community.

We seem to be heading into an era where people are very cut off from others. Ear buds in our ears, reading our Kindle, oblivious to anything in the outside world. Just our little bubble. One could even go so far as to say "it helps block out meaningful thought by keeping many of us entertained 24/7.

While I think your privacy concern is valid (I had a situation arise years ago where I am fairly certain i was fired due to the fact that I am a Buddhist, while my employer was very Christian) I sometimes wonder if the very things which we profess to keep us safe are in fact making our own worlds smaller and even conceited. While we see mountains of data and electronic communication that profess to enhance and enlarge our experience, is it at the cost of true involvement in day to day life? Maybe it's just the shifting of culture to a digitally defined reality. Either way it oftens feels cold and detached. This comes across more and more in personal interaction (IMHO) which seems like cause for concern.

To be a bit dramatic: Is it really privacy we desire, or is technology slowly giving us what some want: Emotional and social laziness?

Also, is there a time and place for porn? Should we be reading it while our boss is sitting across from us? If it's ok to do that, it seems like it could usher in a different day-to-day mindset if people are less obliged to pay attention to their business meeting than their hootie-hoo (or whatever you call it).

Re:Why is everyone so excited about porn...

[geekoid]

OTOH, the more people that are out with there likes and dislikes, the less people will care what anyone is reading.

Re:Why is everyone so excited about porn...

[Rasperin]

To continue your off topic it's an interesting concept. This goes much farther then not socializing with the stranger in a cafe. One thing I recently was thinking about was "If we actually had another great depression it would be difficult for people to survive. Families and neighbors just are not as close as they were in the 30's". Honestly, you can start to see the growing trend of this since the early 70's but growth spiking in the mid 90's. Basically those families who lose jobs will not have anywhere to go, and more likely then not; if the economic environment get's worse; will die out.

Re:Why is everyone so excited about porn...

[Ozmrsparkle]

Good post/question.

One of my closest friends met his now wife by way of a book he was reading - while I guess the "line" may have worked if he was holding a Kindle (it wasn't title specific really) perhaps that relationship wouldn't have happened.

Re:Why is everyone so excited about porn...

[Anonymous Coward]

Should we be reading it while our boss is sitting across from us?

You're reading what you want into the parent post. "across the aisle", I believe, meant on a bus, train or the like, not during a meeting on work time.

As for your fear of "the bubble", I think it's perfectly OK to set one up for yourself in this age of the snoop. Middle-eastern-looking men have been put off airplanes because some pantywaist "got upset" that the men "might be" terrorists.

One teenager was told to turn his t-shirt inside out or cover it with other clothing. The reason? -- it had an image from a Transformers (tm) ad. It was an abstract charcoal-like drawing of what, only upon close inspection, turned out to be an imaginary robot holding something that vaguely resembled a handgun. Not a real one, mind you, just an image made with a few swipes of a charcoal pencil.

Yet the kid's Constitutional right to free speech was destroyed in favor of some putative scaredy-cat who "might become upset" by the image. For Christ's sake, the correct response would have been to expel the "wee, cowerin', timorous beastie" who could not act like an adult and leave the kid alone. I, for one, do emphatically not welcome our new bed-wetting overlords who shudder at the sight of anyone not a clone of their own pathetic selves.

Smut is as old as pictographs

[Jabbrwokk]

This is the first time in history that salacious content has driven book sales.

No, it isn't. And again, no.

And for the record, dammit, I guess I need to re-think my novel... AGAIN. Good-bye, black-humour social satire, hello throbbing shafts of love and steamy windows of desire.

Re:Smut is as old as pictographs

[fractoid]

Actually the GP was a throbbing shaft of sarcasm, plunged into the moaning mounds of slashdot comments.

Re:Smut is as old as pictographs

[Jabbrwokk]

Dammit, I can never tell when ACs are being sarcastic or not.

throbbing shaft of sarcasm, plunged into the moaning mounds of slashdot comments.

Hey... that's pretty good. Can I use it in my e-chicklit-bodiceripper?

This is fantastic!

[Gizzmonic]

Now I can get all the disgusting Spock/Kirk slash that people post at -1 in eBook format!

Re:Erotica? Dark Fantasy?

[Anonymous Coward]

Because vampire fiction is all homoerotic, bodice-rippers are hetero.

Politics and other reasons to keep it quiet

[o2binbuzios]

I do a lot of my reading while I travel and while I have not bought any porn on my Kindle, I like the idea that I can read a Michael Savage, or Michael Moore book without advertising my politics. As a guy, there are books I automatically pass over in a book store because a pink cover markets them to women, and it would not do to have 'Skinny Bitches' fall out of my briefcase in a meeting. With an e-book, that shaming factor goes away. To me, the privacy and compact size make them worthwhile.

Why women?

[Knowbuddy]

Why assume that the buyers are women? That sounds rather contrary to the higher proportions of men both in the tech industry and with technophile tendencies.

Let's be honest.

I'd be willing to bet that there are plenty of men buying ebook erotica -- mentally justifying it as "research material".

If you're a socially-awkward male geek, is it really that far of a leap to want to be ahead of the curve when you finally get a woman to talk to you? Yeah, book-learnin' will only get you so far, but it's still better than nothing and a heckuva lot easier to hide than mags or DVDs.

Re:Why women?

[NeoSkandranon]

I think there might be some misconception about what sort of book it's assumed women are reading. "Bodice rippers" as a genre are written to appeal to 'romantic' fantasies: Strong but possibly oppressed heroine, tall dark stranger, forbidden love affair, etc. Always sexual, rarely graphic.

Credentials:I worked in a bookstore, and we sold the hell out of garbage like danielle steele, always to women, mainly to older women. I'd guess the younger generation just get porn on the internet.

Re:Why women?

[geekoid]

Hey, I think you need a pace makers.

Credentials: I worked for some cardiologists.

Re:Why women?

[geekoid]

Eh, reading sexual encounters doesn't it do it for most men*. Audio and visual really tap right into a man libido. You don't most of playgirls sales are from women, do you?

The only way to become less social awkward is to be social. Do things with people that do things you like.

*Generalization, but would like to hear from any men that do get sexual stimulate by it.

Re:Why women?

[Zironic]

There's plenty of men that likes reading about sexual encounters, the difference is that men usually prefer short very graphic stories while the women are usually after much longer romantic fantasies.

Re:Why women?

[smoker2]

Q. Why did the woman watch the porno all the way to the end ?

A. She wanted to see if they got married !

Re:Why women?

[NeoSkandranon]

Right, because an observation about book content and buying habits is totally analogous to a medical diagnosis.

Re:Why women?

[badkarmadayaccount]

I think you accidentally lot of words. BTW, FWIW I get something of a kick from those raunchy texts. Though I'm in high-school and horny as dog with no luck, so I guess it comes from a well honed imagination. That, and I have an obsession with reading.

The privacy paradox

[Anonymous Coward]

Of course, the irony is that the sellers of these e-books have an easier time tracking who is buying what book than with traditional bookstores (at least if you buy with cash).

porn myth

[Daimanta]

"Once again it seems like 'porn is blazing a path to a new media format"

Again the myth that porn has decided the formatwars is called upon again.

"Many theories regarding why Sony's Betamax failed have arisen over the years. One of the more amusing (and false) is that Sony refused to allow pornographic material on their system. A quick perusal of the Betamax library reveals that adult entertainment was readily available. For example, Playboy Industries released their videos in a dual format, both Betamax and VHS, for most of the 1970s and 80s (and can be confirmed with a quick search through Ebay's adult section, or other used video markets). Second, the adult industry is too small to have any lasting impact on standards selection. According to Forbes.com, adult video income is approximately $1 billion. "The industry is tiny next to broadcast television ($32.3 billion in 1999), cable television ($45.5 billion), the newspaper business ($27.5 billion), Hollywood ($31 billion), even to professional and educational publishing ($14.8 billion). When one really examines the numbers, the porn industry--while a subject of fascination--is every bit as marginal as it seems at first glance." (Link - http://www.forbes.com/2001/05/25/0524porn.html )"

There, it should be over now.

Re:porn myth

[geekoid]

I've been fighting that for 20 years. I'm glad someone is catching on.

Re:porn myth

[Anonymous Coward]

Over, except that posting a 2001 Forbes article as a basis that the industry is small is somewhat misleading.

I work in the industry and have no doubt that it was never a leading force behind a _given_implementation_ being adopted, but it sure as hell gives people good justifications for using said medium.

The Industry these days is huge, but largely private-owned due to the odd nature of business-to-business and the consumer market. As such only PRVT, SXS and co will appear on the Forbes article, while the industry itself is an enormous revenue generator.

Re:porn myth

[Fencepost]

I'll trust your figures, but I think you (and Forbes) were looking at the wrong thing. The absolute size of the porn market may be low, but availability of porn drives adoption of devices that can play/display it. In the early days of VCRs, I might not have paid $500 for a VCR just to watch a popular movie of the time, but I might buy one to be able to watch porn in the privacy of my own home - possibly with only a few movies. But, now that I have the VCR I might as well get some regular movies as well - after all, I've already got the equipment. Besides, I have to buy at least a few regular movies.

"Bob, want to see my new VCR?"
"Sure Jim, what movies do you have?"
"Oh, I don't have any movies for it."
"Ah, just porn eh?"

Gotta wonder what percentage of movies watched on PCs with DVD-ROM drives were porn. It's not like there was a lot of PC content available on DVD for the early years of those drives; even now most retail-channel software is distributed on CDs because it's just not that big.

Re:porn myth

[smoker2]

Gotta wonder what percentage of movies watched on PCs with DVD-ROM drives were porn. It's not like there was a lot of PC content available on DVD for the early years of those drives;

Er, I think the key word there is "DVD". Ya know, like the DVD you put in a DVD player...

Re:porn myth

[Anonymous Coward]

One of the more amusing (and false) is that Sony refused to allow pornographic material on their system.

Of course -- they didn't want the device to become known as the MasturBetaMax.

There, it should be over now.

Fuck you, pompous son of a bitch -- who the hell appointed you to be the arbiter of when discussion is to be terminated? Fucking arrogant bastard.

Barnes and Noble bought Fictionwise?!?

[argent]

Oh, damn, I hope they don't kill the DRM-free side of the store.

Mod parent up

[dpbsmith]

During the 1960s, it was fairly common to see the occasional pin-up picture emerging from the high-speed chain printers in university computing centers.

Programs that printed the correct carriage control character in the first column... was it a plus sign?.... could overprint multiple lines and get a reasonable grey scale, but of course the page was still only 132 pixels wide, and there was quite a lot of whitespace separating adjacent pixels.

Lost in Terminology

[PalmHair]

What is "Erotica" and "Dark Fantasy" supposed to mean? Why can't you use terminology that everybody in this forum would understand - "Softcore" and "Ebony"?

Felicia Day has a twitter and it is awesome

[Scrameustache]

Seems like buying books for cash is more anonymous than leaving an e-commerce trail.

BTW third trashy paranormal romance book read on my Kindle. Just told someone I am reading Dickens, LOL!!! I love this!
12:32 PM Mar 3rd from twitterrific

Slashdot - News-Porn For Geeks

[westlake]

Once again it seems like 'porn is blazing a path to a new media format. Of the top 10 bestsellers under the 'Multiformat' category, nine are tagged 'erotica' and the last is 'dark fantasy.'

Fictionwise's own lists of Best Sellers/HIghest Rated titles tells a different story.

Entries in Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" series rank 1st, 2nd, 3d, and 4th as best sellers the past six month.

Joe Halderman's "The Accidental Time Machine," came in fifth.

No erotica title made it into the top 25.

You will find YA "Twilight" on the Fictionwise "Dark Fantasy" shelf.

Which means were looking at more blogger BS on the front page of Slashdot.

Re:Slashdot - News-Porn For Geeks

[justgeekenough]

Sorry to be picky about this, westlake, but the original blogger in question was actually correct. If you look at what you included in your post, you'll see that Peter Smith specifically referred to

...the top 10 bestsellers under the 'Multiformat' category...

The list he's talking about can be found at Fictionwise eBooks: Multiformat eBooks. That's the same link used in the original blog post Salacious content driving the adoption of ebooks? Under multiformat, 6 of the 10 listed are Erotica/Romance, 3 others are listed as Erotica, Erotica/Fantasy and Erotica/Dark Fantasy and #2 is Dark Fantasy/Fantasy.

I can see where the person who posted on this page mistakenly referred to

top 10 Fictionwise bestsellers

which is where the water got muddied. I just wanted to try to "un-muddy" it because the author quoted in Smith's original post has been a close friend for over 20 years and I've read and enjoyed all of her stuff.

Re:Slashdot - News-Porn For Geeks

[julesh]

The list he's talking about can be found at Fictionwise eBooks: Multiformat eBooks. That's the same link used in the original blog post Salacious content driving the adoption of ebooks? Under multiformat, 6 of the 10 listed are Erotica/Romance, 3 others are listed as Erotica, Erotica/Fantasy and Erotica/Dark Fantasy and #2 is Dark Fantasy/Fantasy.

So all this tells us is that porn is available in multiple formats, whereas most popular books are only available in one format. Which isn't all that interesting, really.

Re:Slashdot - News-Porn For Geeks

[Anonymous Coward]

Not sure who's axe you're grinding, but let's take a look at the truth. Here's the list of the top 15. 'Pleasure Unbound' is clearly salacious.

1. The Demon's Librarian by Lilith Saintcrow [DARKFANT]
  2. White Witch, Black Curse by Kim Harrison [FANT]
  3. Pleasure Unbound [A Demonica Novel] by Larissa Ione [ROM]
  4. Temptation and Surrender by Stephanie Laurens [ROM]
  5. Empress [Godspeaker Trilogy Book 1] by Karen Miller [FANT]
  6. New Moon [Twilight Series Book 2] by Stephenie Meyer [DARKFANT]
  7. The Vampire's Bride by Gena Showalter [ROM]
  8. Use of Weapons [A Culture Novel] by Iain Banks [SF]
  9. Breaking Dawn [The Twilight Saga Book 4] by Stephenie Meyer [DARKFANT]
  10. Twilight [Twilight Series Book 1] by Stephenie Meyer [DARKFANT]
  11. Eclipse [Twilight Series Book 3] by Stephenie Meyer [DARKFANT]
  12. First Comes Marriage by Mary Balogh [ROM]
  13. Promises in Death [An In Death Series Novel] by J. D. Robb [MYS]
  14. Angels' Blood by Nalini Singh [DARKFANT]
  15. Primal Needs by Susan Sizemore [ROM]

Re:Slashdot - News-Porn For Geeks

[justgeekenough]

LOL. Oh, well. Here I go bein' all picky and stuff again. Folks, there's a big difference between what most of us think of (okay, what I think of) as porn and the Erotic Romance stuff being published online. Well, maybe more of a spectrum than a difference...

Anyway, many of the e-books I've seen and read are fairly close to "standard" romance and fantasy novels, just with an "open bedroom door" approach to the sex between characters. While it's true that some of them feature varying degrees of BDSM, m/m, m/m/f, m/f/f, etc. there is typically actual plot and character development both in and out of the bedroom. For anyone who isn't aware, porn (particularly of the "gonzo", "reality" style) totally gives the finger to notions of plot and character development.

Puts soapbox away and goes to algebra class at the local community college

Re:Slashdot - News-Porn For Geeks

[julesh]

For anyone who isn't aware, porn (particularly of the "gonzo", "reality" style) totally gives the finger to notions of plot and character development.

Depends very much on your porn. I'm quite nostalgically fond of 70s and 80s porn, which tends to have much more in the way of plot than modern stuff does. :)

Stop [preading that damn myth

[Anonymous Coward]

Porn foes onto all type of media, regarldess of success. Laser disk had porn, Betamax had porn. yet they still didn't become the hits their counter parts did.

eBooks is becoming how now because the kindle is in the news and on a lot of peoples minds.

Yes, I'm sure there wouldn't be DVDs and the Internet of porn never went to them.

Remember kids, hindsight is a lying bastard. It makes you think there are connection that aren't there as is the main reason people fall into confirmation bias.

Stop It.

porn for women

[rubycodez]

Really, soap operas and romantic novels have been porn for women for decades.

Re:One-handed reading with the Kindle... soooo

[davidsyes]

Now, we can say, "The Kindle will becum sooo hot, it can be called "digitial kindling"... It offers, preplay, foreplay and replay, including, (butt not leased), swipes and pastes, and a washable surface, along with a tacked, tiled enter face relay...

For the daring, we offer an upgrade to excite the "awlfactory" and the "Ohhhhh" factor in the form of scintillating and scent elating emitters that will chemically diffuse the funk or fragrance of your choice. (Be mindful of your choices in confined, public, or transportation environs...)

(Batteries not included)"

Flint -- proven technology with SPARK!

[OneIfByLan]

Listen you stupid jackass, Obsidian is the latest flash-in-the-pan buzzword-heavy gimmick that lets newbies chip one edge and pretend they know what they're doing, which is fine if you live right next to a FREAKIN' VOLCANO.

For those of us who prefer not to tempt the wrath of the LavaGod, and oh yeah -- maybe make FIRE, HAVE YA HEARD OF THAT YET, YOU WHEEL-LESS SLED-DRAGGING DORK -- we'll remain with a proven technology with Spark(TM)!

Erotic novell ...

[Anonymous Coward]

starring: anonymous coward. Looking forward to read ... not!

Roughnet BBS

[troll8901]

Nice ANSI graphics! Great work.

Now, just let me install DOS 6.2's ANSI.SYS in my CONFIG.SYS, and surf to some other BBSes ... hmmm... what does "keyboard remapping" mean, and why does it say "FORMAT C:"?

Similar trend in Japan with Mobile Manga

[jelaludo]

Same trend with Keitai Manga in Japan, which is a subset of e-books.

It started with 60% to 70% of downloads being
1) downloaded at night
2) by women
3) erotic content

now it's grown to about a $300 million* a year industry and seems to be more diversified.

The model is typically that the first chapter is offered for free, and users are prompted to purchase if they wish to continue reading.

*http://www.soumu.go.jp/s-news/2008/080718_4.html

The power of porn

[damburger]

Porn is a big business. Lets face it, they've got a substantial and inexhaustible demand for their wares and low production costs due to the number of desperate slappers with serviceable tits.

I head, although this may be apocryphal, that porn has been the deciding factor in format wars in the past - porn went VHS, and that buried Betamax. Porn chose blu-ray (although most of the porn I have seen benefits from NOT being high definition...) and buried HD DVD.

Salacious Content?

[Anonymous Coward]

is that a posh way of saying 'p0rn'?

Poppycock

[SmallFurryCreature]

Ages ago I was reading one of the hitchhikers books, just released, in the train. Was completly lost in the book to the point that the conductor apparently had to call me several times and eventually touch my shoulder to get my attention. Much to the amusement of my fellow travelers.

After showing my ticket, the passenger across from me asked what I had been reading, I told him and turns out he had read the previous books as well but had not heard about the new one yet. We talked a little about the series (learned that there is a LP version as well that is different from the radio broadcast) and then parted ways as we arrived at the station.

This was before MP3's and kindles and what not. People have always been able to loose themselves in their own world and we survived just fine. Stop being an alarmist.

Re:Poppycock

[Dripdry]

Just to clarify:

My hope was that the post was worded so it wouldn't sound alarmist. Apparently I could have done better :)

Yeah, but

[Travoltus]

If you write erotica and it's a hell of a bodice ripper with a nice story line, you may wind up not needing porn videos.

That is, except to watch them with one of the women who read your stuff.

Oh and these women aren't all DOGS, either. I know for a fact. I owe my marriage and three (well, one adopted) kids to doing this myself.

Hoo rah.

options

[copperdawn]

Has anyone looked at what fiction is available in ebook format? A lot of authors and publishers just don't provide digital format copies, and a lot of people are self-publishing online... which means there's a lot of under-edited, badly written stuff out there. For sale, not just freely available. Not to say that there isn't good, regular fiction as well, but it's not nearly so easy as buying a paperback and being able to more or less rely on it being half decent and at least containing no spelling errors. Also, the erotica writers who are any good often still have trouble getting published in RL, so a lot of them publish online. End result - a lot of the erotica ebooks available are better written, better edited, and more fun to read than their non-erotic cousins.

I like reading.

[Anonymous Coward]

( . Y . )

Re:

[clint999]

Cowboy Neal has a Kindle.Go ahead and erase THAT mental image.