A Way To Minimise The Effects of Negative Reviews? Or Merely Censorship In Disguise?

I found this on an author blog, via a link from Sybil:

Calling all Authors!

Tired of being trashed with no recourse? There may be something we can do to minimize the effects of mindless reviews.


I am sending a cache of letters to Amazon's corporate office requesting that all reviews be ordered according to their stars. Five stars at the top. One star on the bottom. The reader can choose which order she wishes to read the reviews in, but the best will always be at the top. This may cut down on the deliberate trashing of books because the trashers review wil always be at the bottom and not the first thing prospective buyers will see.


Please send your letters made out to Amazon requesting this change in how reviews are presented to:


*Address omitted*


Deadline for final mailing will be Aug. 31 St 2006 but depending on the response I may send several batches. Spread the word.

Hmmm... Aren't you Americans big on freedom of speech etc, etc, etc?

What if the reviewer genuinely hated a book? Is it right that only the good reviews should be featured at the top? I know they aren't talking about banning the crappy reviews, but isn't this a type of censorship? Would it even work? Wouldn't some people just choose to look at the negative reviews first anyway?

If a one star review is well written, without bashing the author, why should it be relegated to the bottom? What's the point in having reviews on a site such as Amazon, if authors can pick and choose which reviews go where?

I don't post reviews on Amazon, as a general rule, so it doesn't really affect me, but doesn't the whole idea make you feel a tad uncomfortable...?