WHSMith's temporarily shuts down ebook site

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by ucfgrad93

Then all they need to do is fix the search engine.

They've needed to fix that since before they were Kobo (when they were still Shortcovers).

[Yolina]

I'm almost tempted to email their customer relations asking why when trying to use their store finder I get an info page saying that the site is offline until they've removed unacceptable ebooks

[taming]

Originally Posted by ucfgrad93

Then all they need to do is fix the search engine.

There may be issues on a country by country basis regarding protected speech, prohibited speech, and pornography in terms of what can be distributed as well.

[soulfuldog]

When I first read about it (not from the sensationalist Daily Mail article) I also got the impression that while the search engine is part of it, the content of the books makes the fact that they are even on sale on these websites an issue.

It's not just adult material, it's the graphic and offensive nature of it, and as one of the articles mentions: On Amazon, guidelines for self-publishing state: "We don't accept pornography or offensive depictions of graphic sexual acts."

[paola]

Originally Posted by avantman42

Kobo have removed a lot of self-published books, though the criteria for how they decide which to remove (it doesn't seem to be all self-published books) isn't clear. Mine have all been removed. I write non-fiction, military technology & history.

really sorry about this - hope it gets fixed soon for you!

I am not even sure erotica shouldn't be there, it would be enough just to make sure one does not stumble in racy covers when looking for something else entirely.

[RSaunders]

Originally Posted by Crusader

That's the thing. Where do you draw the line.

Yes, I agree that's the problem. While there is something to be said about a good search tool that includes exclusion of "adult" content, simply banning it is not the solution. We won't be able to debate the writing in 50 Shades of Grey if we can't buy a copy.

Barnes & Noble bought Fictionwise, and promised the transition would preserve the content. Today, thousands of books have been purged from B&N, they even have a web page that lists them. ( https://www.barnesandnoble.com/conta....asp?pid=45600 ) While many of these books may be adult, the first screen-full shows a couple of books about Pakistan. These are probably not bodice-rippers, though I suspect they were culled for too-graphic descriptions of sexual abuse.

The real danger in what the brick and mortar booksellers are doing in the ebook market is eliminating books that they can't get on paper. They are self-censoring themselves to "real books from real publishers". So much for ebooks lowering the bar to new authors, at least new authors that want to get paid. Fictionwise provided a unique platform to buy self-published work from a single site and pay the authors. Now every author has to also run a bookstore, and hope Google leads readers to their site. Now ebooks are moving back to walled gardens with DRM fences that keep out anybody with a non-sanctioned voice.

This is not progress.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by RSaunders

Barnes & Noble bought Fictionwise, and promised the transition would preserve the content. Today, thousands of books have been purged from B&N, they even have a web page that lists them. ( https://www.barnesandnoble.com/conta....asp?pid=45600 ) While many of these books may be adult, the first screen-full shows a couple of books about Pakistan. These are probably not bodice-rippers, though I suspect they were culled for too-graphic descriptions of sexual abuse.

This has nothing to do with titles being culled or purged. These are titles where for various reasons (changes in publishers, unable to get permission to transfer, rights expirations) B&N couldn't transfer from peoples FW libraries when they closed FW. They did the best they could, or appear to have, to get permission to transfer over as many titles as they could whereas they could have just closed it and said too bad. It has nothing to do with what's being talked about in this thread.

[avantman42]

Originally Posted by paola

really sorry about this - hope it gets fixed soon for you!

Honestly, I'm optimistic that it'll get sorted out, I'm not looking for sympathy

I commented to let people know that Kobo are doing something, although I can't work out quite what they are doing, or what criteria they have come up with to decide which books to take down.

Originally Posted by paola

I am not even sure erotica shouldn't be there, it would be enough just to make sure one does not stumble in racy covers when looking for something else entirely.

I'm inclined to agree. I don't want erotica books in my search results, but only because I don't read them. I don't want books about calculus appearing in my searches, either

[mr ploppy]

There's no filth in any of mine, but that didn't stop Kobo from removing them all.

[BearMountainBooks]

Originally Posted by ucfgrad93

While I don't buy those kinds of books, I have no problem with retailers selling them. That said, I do think that they should be filtered into a section that you have to opt in to see them.

Just to clarify some things that I'm reading on writer sites and other sources--the material that is/was at the heart of complaint includes/pertains to ILLEGAL porn--not just "erotica" as reported in some outlets. That is not to say that a lot of porn isn't being removed as a result, because it is being removed. HOWEVER the original complaints (and there have been more than one) were concerning porn that included underage children and other topics that are not legal. I don't know the extent of it but one list mentioned pictures inside the books that were of potentially underaged children, as well as other illegal material. Some of these books were appearing during searches that included words that normally returned children's books.

That was not the only illegal material that was supposedly found; there are other topics not legal in many countries.

The heart of the matter from what I understand that started this is not the usual "gasp, there's erotica, where do we draw the line." The books that caused the problem contained clear, illegal material or instructions/tips for how to commit certain crimes.

[BeccaPrice]

kobo even took down my little book of fairy tales.

They're seeming to be focusing on D2D indy titles (at least right now); The Snarls is a free book I put up with Smashwords, and last I looked it was still there.

[John Carroll]

I just received this email from Kobo

To our Kobo Writing Life and self-publishing partners:

As you may be aware, there has been a significant amount of negative media attention in the UK regarding offensive material that became available across a number of eBook platforms. Kobo was included in the reports from media and we are taking immediate action to resolve an issue that is the direct result of a select few authors and publishers violating Kobo’s content policies.

In order to address the situation Kobo is taking the following steps:

1. We are removing titles in question from the Kobo platform.

2. We are quarantining and reviewing titles to ensure that compliance to our policies is met by all authors and publishers. We will ensure that content meeting the policy is made available online as soon as possible.

3. We are reviewing our policies and procedures to implement safeguards that will ensure this situation does not happen in the future.

We are working hard to get back to business as usual, as quickly as possible. We appreciate your patience and understanding in this matter.

Our goal at Kobo is not to censor material; we support freedom of expression. Further, we want to protect the reputation of self-publishing as a whole. You have our promise that we will do all we can to ensure the exceptions that have caused this current situation will not have a lasting effect on what is an exciting new channel that connects Readers to a wealth of books.

Sincerely,

Mark Lefebvre

Director, Kobo Writing Life

[taming]

Just a guess here, but the UK decision to make porn "opt in" beginning next year and to filter porn has something to do with how aggressively Kobo and WHSmith is dealing with this now. When they have finished with it, and the titles that are not an issue are back up, they may mirror what has been done in the UK elsewhere.

There is discussion about doing the same thing in Canada, btw. Background info here: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/07...n_3636481.html

[Barcey]

Originally Posted by John Carroll

I just received this email from Kobo

To our Kobo Writing Life and self-publishing partners:

As you may be aware, there has been a significant amount of negative media attention in the UK regarding offensive material that became available across a number of eBook platforms. Kobo was included in the reports from media and we are taking immediate action to resolve an issue that is the direct result of a select few authors and publishers violating Kobo’s content policies.

In order to address the situation Kobo is taking the following steps:

1. We are removing titles in question from the Kobo platform.

2. We are quarantining and reviewing titles to ensure that compliance to our policies is met by all authors and publishers. We will ensure that content meeting the policy is made available online as soon as possible.

3. We are reviewing our policies and procedures to implement safeguards that will ensure this situation does not happen in the future.

We are working hard to get back to business as usual, as quickly as possible. We appreciate your patience and understanding in this matter.

Our goal at Kobo is not to censor material; we support freedom of expression. Further, we want to protect the reputation of self-publishing as a whole. You have our promise that we will do all we can to ensure the exceptions that have caused this current situation will not have a lasting effect on what is an exciting new channel that connects Readers to a wealth of books.

Sincerely,

Mark Lefebvre

Director, Kobo Writing Life

How sad and what an over reaction to an issue that's been there for a long time. I agree there should be better filtering and the defaults should be set so the Puritans don't have erotic dreams thinking about the covers they saw but the mass removal of Indie books is just silly. This is something they could have fixed over time without hurting authors. In the spirit of Thanksgiving I was going to give thanks that I don't live in a Nanny state, but apparently I'll have to drop that one.

Why are these issues always raised around sex when all manner of violence is ignored?

[Crusader]

Originally Posted by Barcey

How sad and what an over reaction to an issue that's been there for a long time. I agree there should be better filtering and the defaults should be set so the Puritans don't have erotic dreams thinking about the covers they saw but the mass removal of Indie books is just silly. This is something they could have fixed over time without hurting authors. In the spirit of Thanksgiving I was going to give thanks that I don't live in a Nanny state, but apparently I'll have to drop that one.

Why are these issues always raised around sex when all manner of violence is ignored?

I don't think this is an overreaction, rather the result of an extremely lax screening process for self-pubbed titles which has reached critical mass. Kobo had to remove everything so they can effectively sift through the books and remove those that are in violation. Any lesser action on their part would've been seen and widely proclaimed as 'doing nothing' by the media.