The Dirty Underbelly of Cyber-Reviews

The Horror Writers of America (HWA) are requesting that Amazon make changes to its book review and commenting policies, primarily requesting an end to anonymous reviews:

[HWA President Rocky] Wood explained that the online retailer’s policy should be reinforced to prevent what HWA describes as inappropriate reviews, or those that --indicate the customer has not read the book, but only a small portion of it, such as a free electronic sample. --include spoilers that, once revealed, could significantly reduce interest in the work. --include negative personal remarks about the author.  --are focused on the work’s price rather than its content. The letter comes after some of the association’s members raised the issue of the impact that commenting abuse can have on authors and publishers selling their work on Amazon.

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