SydLexia.com - The Forums :: View topic - Amazon, Kindle, censorship, and pedophilia

Posted: Nov 10 2010 02:23 pm

http://www.amazon.com/Pedophiles-Guide-Love-Pleasure-ebook/dp/B0049U4CF6/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

So Amazon, via Kindle, is offering a book on pedophilia. The story broke earlier this week and has been gaining traction. Amazon has apparently deleted hundreds of comments critical of the company's decision to offer the book.

Ironically, Amazon is being criticized for not deleting this book, but in the past they have been criticized for deleting 1984 and Animal Farm from Kindles: http://pcworld.about.com/od/gadgets/Amazon-Sued-Over-Kindle-Censor.htm

So Amazon shouldn't delete books... unless they should.

Of course, the circumstances in both cases are a lot different. And that book should be banned. You shouldn't be able to offer handbooks on illegal activities.

Posted: Nov 10 2010 03:06 pm

Are they keeping tabs on who's buying it? WHAT!?

Joined: Dec 06 2007 Location: Connecticut Posts: 11244

Blackout wrote:

Are they keeping tabs on who's buying it? WHAT!?

Thats what I'm talk'n about.

Lojack that shit.

Posted: Nov 10 2010 03:35 pm

This reminds me of that one SVU episode about the guy who was planning to write a book about sexual activity between minors.

Posted: Nov 10 2010 03:58 pm

I'd say it's pretty clear cut. As Syd pointed out, books about illegal activities should not fall under free speech. Especially when you're dealing with asshats who want to have sex with little kids.

The Orwell books were yanked because of a copyright issue, if I remember correctly. It wasn't really Amazon's fault, and they fixed it asap.

Joined: Oct 01 2009 Posts: 5316

The pages should be laced with SARS...free of charge.

Posted: Nov 10 2010 04:18 pm

Doddsino wrote:

The pages should be laced with SARS...free of charge.

I'm revoking your license to exist before everyone starts laughing at you.

Posted: Nov 10 2010 04:21 pm

Doddsino wrote:

The pages should be laced with SARS...free of charge.

Seeing as how this issue is Kindle specific, we'd have to hire people to track down every person who bought it, and smear the SARS on their e-reader.

Which would be admittedly awesome, if impractical.

Posted: Nov 10 2010 04:25 pm

Valdronius wrote:

Doddsino wrote:

The pages should be laced with SARS...free of charge.

I'm revoking your license to exist before everyone starts laughing at you.

Posted: Nov 10 2010 04:25 pm

Yeah, I wouldn't call that censorship so much as it is keeping 'how-to' manuals out of the hands of would-be child rapists. Seriously, I won't buy from Amazon ever again if they release that, and I buy quite a bit off of there. I think anyone serious about children NOT being raped should do the same and attack them in the only place they care about: the wallet.

Posted: Nov 10 2010 04:31 pm

1984 shouldn't have been banned, but a book about pedophiles should, also yes I'm back and I'm going to try to be much more nice. But yes, this book should be banned, Horrible scum are what pedophiles are.

Joined: Oct 01 2009 Posts: 5316

Wow...maybe I should've ya know...KNOWN what Kindle was before I decided to make a dumb joke. Embarrassed

Posted: Nov 10 2010 05:16 pm

This falls under the slippery slope of censorship.

In the past, such titles have drawn attention, with one group wanting the books banned, and another defending their right to exist under free speech. (Anyone remember "The Anarchist Cookbook?")

I don't have an answer. Only an opinion. And, personal opinion should not be the basis of any law dealing with morality.

Posted: Nov 10 2010 05:18 pm

The Anarchist's Cookbook deserves to be banned. It's also filled with outdated and incorrect information.

Posted: Nov 10 2010 05:29 pm

Syd Lexia wrote:

The Anarchist's Cookbook deserves to be banned. It's also filled with outdated and incorrect information.

It's a really dangerous book, partially because of the stuff that does work right and partially because of the stuff that absolutely doesn't. I don't think you'll be seeing it on shelves anytime soon. But on your Kindle...

Posted: Nov 10 2010 05:31 pm

Syd Lexia wrote:

The Anarchist's Cookbook deserves to be banned. It's also filled with outdated and incorrect information.

Which is why nobody cares about it anymore. Plus, if some jackass blows himself up trying to make homemade pipe bombs... bonus.

Posted: Nov 10 2010 05:31 pm

That preety wrong

UsaSatsui's Youtube Channel · Posted: Nov 10 2010 06:06 pm

Knyte wrote:

Plus, if some jackass blows himself up trying to make homemade pipe bombs... bonus.

The problem is when he blows up himself and the three houses around him.

And I don't see a slippery slope here, at all. Maybe a slight 5 degree incline covered with rocks and bushes. I'm all about the sensitive issues of first amendment and the like, but really, who the heck thinks this book is a good idea that isn't a criminal? At least have the decency to disguise your book as a work of fiction. Really.

But, maybe, we shouldn't be thinking "There oughta be a law", maybe we should be thinking, "Why the fuck is Amazon -selling- it?"

Posted: Nov 10 2010 06:08 pm

I remember hearing a rumor that the Anarchist Cookbook also known as The Jolly Roger's Cookbook was laced with disinformation precisely to be dangerous to home explosive enthusiasts, put a book out about bomb making that if followed step for step causes said bombs to explode in the face of whoever is making them so to speak.

Posted: Nov 10 2010 06:44 pm

The Anarchist Cookbook is an actual book:
http://www.amazon.com/Anarchist-Cookbook-William-Powell/dp/0974458902/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1289428151&sr=8-1

The Jolly Roger Cookbook was a collection of articles on such things as bomb making, credit card fraud, drug making, lockpicking, phreaking (If you don't know what this look it up.) , and such. It was originally compiled digitally and passed around via BBS boards in a .txt file. It was never an official book.

Posted: Nov 10 2010 09:04 pm

Well I'll be damned, I didn't know that.

Joined: Jun 08 2010 Location: Termina Field Posts: 1541

It looks like they've already deleted the book, because I get a 404. But I can't believe I live in a world where this could happen. Why? WHY!? By the way, I don't buy ebooks, I still prefer hardcopy books. Because there should be no chance that a bookstore would sell this kind of garbage.

Joined: May 29 2010 Posts: 168

My friend's little brother has the Anarchists Cookbook, not sure how he got a hold of it but he was showing it off to all his friends on the bus. I'd better warn him about how half the stuff is liable to blow up in your face while you're building it, he's only in 8th grade after all.

Posted: Nov 11 2010 04:52 am

awsgames wrote:

My friend's little brother has the Anarchists Cookbook, not sure how he got a hold of it but he was showing it off to all his friends on the bus. I'd better warn him about how half the stuff is liable to blow up in your face while you're building it, he's only in 8th grade after all.

Not to mention waving that book around at school will probably get his ass on a watch list, I wore a Trench Coat back in middle school (before Columbine mind you) and even though I didn't wear it anymore the day after that whole shit sandwich went down I got called in to the office and searched and monitored all the damn time afterwords.

Also, yeah he probably shouldn't have that book in the first place.

Posted: Nov 11 2010 10:44 am

As much as I want to shred Amazon for this, how the fuck would this book get published to start with? Who fucking says, "Hey, we could sell this book.". That seems a bit more "Are you fucking kidding me?" to me.

This thing could have just blown up in Amazon's face kind of unaware what the subject material actually was. I can't imagine every product they sell is properly screened and onced over by someone with a brain.