To the management and directing bodies of the online commercial realtor business Amazon.com:

We, the undersigned, are outraged at the recent actions taken by the online moderators on the discussion forums affiliated with the Amazon.com website. These actions involved the banning and suspension of two accounts who went by the names of Nietzsche’s Girlfriend and Analyst. In both cases, not only were the personages behind those posts prohibited from contributing to the forums, but their past posts to ALL the discussion boards - regardless of content - were disabled from public viewing as well.

As members of the Amazon.com community, we recognize the necessity of the company to reasonably moderate and protect against such elements as blatant advertising and abusive or threatening posts. However, the actions in this instance appear to us abrupt, arbitrary, inexplicable, and indefensible, as both the individuals in question were viewed by the general community as intelligent and worthwhile participants on those forums and in that community. These individuals appear to be themselves victims of a campaign to game the system by other amazon members who themselves have already been identified by the community at large as trolling, non-productive members of the discussion forum. Further, most of us intensely value the right of freedom of speech - regardless of whether or not we agree with the opinion being expressed - and view the mass censorship of any individual's views, perspectives and ideas with extreme disfavor.

We are further angered, not only by the complete lack of satisfactory explanation offered by Amazon for its actions, but by the complete and total refusal of Amazon to so much as offer such explanations.
Therefore, we as members of the discussion forums have decided to make our dissatisfaction known with this online pledge to collectively boycott any business transactions with Amazon. This includes (but is not limited to) refusing in the future to purchase goods or products through either the Amazon website or one of its other online vendors; as well as, for those of us who own or operate personal or commercial websites, to cease to direct website traffic to commercial links sponsored by or affiliated with Amazon.

This boycott will go into effect immediately and will remain thus until the following conditions are met to our satisfaction.

1. The immediate and full reinstatement of the accounts of Nietzsche’s Girlfriend and Analyst, with all rights and posting privileges intact, including the return to the discussion board of all censored posts by those two for the public viewing and edification of others.

2. A satisfactory apology issued by Amazon.com to the two individuals associated with those accounts, as well as to the amazon discussion community as a whole for their actions.

3. The institution, or the good-faith display of the intention to institute, a system of due process for any future banning of posters or posts. This will ideally include, with any future banned posts, a brief message from the amazon community detailing the reason and justification for the poster’s banning or post’s removal.

The purpose of this online pledge is to remind Amazon.com that it is a business dependent for its continued existence and prosperity upon the patronage of its customers. Engaging in activity which pointlessly alienates and aggravates its customer base does not constitute wise business practice.   

We are your customers. We are not your underlings.