Goodreads, the popular book review site owned by Amazon, is facing criticism for its outdated infrastructure and lack of protective features against targeted harassment. Former employees have revealed that Amazon was reluctant to invest in updating the site, instead content to mine it for user data. The absence of moderation has allowed “review bombing,” where users flood a book’s page with one-star ratings without having read the book. Authors have been targeted by review-bombing campaigns and have criticized the limited recourse for reporting harassment. Goodreads, formerly seen as a platform for connecting book lovers, has failed to fulfill its promise due to its outdated design and lack of innovation.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/07/01/amazon-goodreads-elizabeth-gilbert/