YouTube is removing dislikes.

[AtticTelephone]

At this point, somebody should just make a YouTube alternative. This is an insanely stupid move that they made just so that they could stop people from disrespecting them and the brands they work with, somewhat similar to demonetization. How sensitive do you have to be to remove censorship from your entire platform just because people disagree with how you and the people you work with manage the site?

[Murdoch]

4 minutes ago, AtticTelephone said:

At this point, somebody should just make a YouTube alternative.

 

The fact that you say this tells me you plainly do not comprehend the absolutely vast amount of financial and technical resources a viable YouTube alternative would require. The number of companies with that kind of capability could probably be counted on one hand.

[AtticTelephone]

3 minutes ago, Murdoch said:

 

The fact that you say this tells me you plainly do not comprehend the absolutely vast amount of financial and technical resources a viable YouTube alternative would require. The number of companies with that kind of capability could probably be counted on one hand.

Then what is there left to do now? Let big companies do stupid things online on a platform meant for the people? Maybe I should just stick to internet forums, forever.

[Murdoch]

1 minute ago, AtticTelephone said:

Then what is there left to do now? Let big companies do stupid things online on a platform meant for the people? Maybe I should just stick to internet forums, forever.

 

YouTube might be for the people after a fashion, but it's a business. It has to make money, and it will do what it takes to keep money. Vote with your wallet, vote with your feet or in the case of a site, vote with your clicks or lack thereof.

 

Answer me this. Does your inability to see the dislike counter dramatically affect your ability to enjoy a video? It's true you can sometimes draw some conclusions about certain things from it, but I would wager not very much and you could probably replace that with simply just watching the video. A dislike in and of itself is meaningless. It's still engagement. And you can still comment if something's really trash in your eyes for whatever reason.

 

Is this idea misguided and a half-assed idea to protect advertisers? Sure. But it really doesn't actually affect much.

[Biodegradable]

YouTube made yet another decision that flatly ignores the feedback from its userbase, wastes its time with frivilous UI changes rather than fixing fundamental issues that have been plaguing the site for over a decade and makes the overall experience just that tad bit worse off. In other news, water is wet.

 

22 minutes ago, AtticTelephone said:

At this point, somebody should just make a YouTube alternative

 

There have been dozens of "alternatives" that have crashed and burned over the past few years and all for the same reason: Not enough money or influence. VidMe, Zippcast, Storyfire, Vanillo, Vidli, the list goes on. The only chance of an actual viable alternative will have to come from an equally large mega-corp like Amazon or something should they decide they want a slice of the video hosting pie. As Murdoch said, the level of financial and technological leverage to operate such a thing is massive. Many have tried, many have failed simply because they lack those resources.

[DarkIceCyclone]

Or from a subscription service dedicated to a big contingent of video watchers, say educational like Nebula and Curiosity stream, which btw are struggling despite insanely good offers, or gaming oriented (twitch, youtube cover it very easly) or music oriented (well hello spotify, i tunes and millions of other apps.

 

And those who stay competitive have either similar faults like youtube or are subscription/payment based services, with probably a few megacorp exceptions. 

 

You can make a video hosting service site quite easly. I'll pay my brother around 750 bucks and he can task someone to make it for me. BUUUT, and this is the main huge BUT: You also need to host it and maintain it, regulate it, and also make sure you're in compliance with hundreds of copyright laws and copyright assets, among other laws, like privacy. And you also need to have terms of service that protect you more than they protect the customer, because otherwise, you WILL get sued for ton of money for even the slightest action or inaction or straight out bug or mishap or security flaw or whatnot else

[Sergeant G]

I've run a channel on YouTube since 2011.

That's ten years worth of watching both the site and the world it represents metastasize into something I don't recognize.

 

   

[Hawk of The Crystals]

Youtube has been dog-shit for several years, expecting the site to not make inane decisions is like expecting the internet to not be bought out by corporations. That being said, considering that the staff would rather make a useless UI change instead of fixing the several glitches that pop up every-once-in-a-while, should tell someone that the site is garbage enough.

 

Also, youtube alternatives usually suck. Only one of them is remotely good, and even that's debatable. At the end of the day, youtube will remain a monopoly that no one will try to usurp unless they're mega-corp with billions of dollars.

[Arrowhead]

Spoiler

I dislike Youtube too, but for a different reason. They won't fix their DAMNED 'shuffle' option.

 

Any playlist over 200 videos doesn't even get parsed properly by Youtube, you have to load the last video for the ones after it to load properly. I've had to use sketchy sites to properly shuffle my music playlists... It has been broken for years...

This whole dislike removal thing is stupid, though. I bet they're gonna come out w/ some lukewarm statement about 'removing negativity' from the Youtube experience...

[AtticTelephone]

17 minutes ago, Murdoch said:

 

YouTube might be for the people after a fashion, but it's a business. It has to make money, and it will do what it takes to keep money. Vote with your wallet, vote with your feet or in the case of a site, vote with your clicks or lack thereof.

 

Answer me this. Does your inability to see the dislike counter dramatically affect your ability to enjoy a video? It's true you can sometimes draw some conclusions about certain things from it, but I would wager not very much and you could probably replace that with simply just watching the video. A dislike in and of itself is meaningless. It's still engagement. And you can still comment if something's really trash in your eyes for whatever reason.

 

Is this idea misguided and a half-assed idea to protect advertisers? Sure. But it really doesn't actually affect much.

The problem for me is what it will lead to, a sterile environment that only benefits advertisers and not creators, a disgusting corporate hellhole. They're going to keep making these awful decisions, and people will just get used to it. People shouldn't get used to it any of this at all, people need to actually work together to make a platform for themselves. The problems with creating a video-hosting website that @DarkIceCyclone mentioned could be theoretically solved by multiple people working TOGETHER to create the website that THEY want. But is anybody seriously going to try and become the change that needs to happen or what?

[DarkIceCyclone]

13 minutes ago, Arrowhead said:

  Hide contents

I dislike Youtube too, but for a different reason. They won't fix their DAMNED 'shuffle' option.

 

Any playlist over 200 videos doesn't even get parsed properly by Youtube, you have to load the last video for the ones after it to load properly. I've had to use sketchy sites to properly shuffle my music playlists... It has been broken for years...

 

This whole dislike removal thing is stupid, though. I bet they're gonna come out w/ some lukewarm statement about 'removing negativity' from the Youtube experience...

Errm no... It's about removing misinformation last time they talked about it. The post ended up on r/facepalm and then deleted on all platforms.... sooooo yhea. it's just corporate shenanigans
 

10 minutes ago, AtticTelephone said:

The problem for me is what it will lead to, a sterile environment that only benefits advertisers and not creators, a disgusting corporate hellhole. They're going to keep making these awful decisions, and people will just get used to it. People shouldn't get used to it any of this at all, people need to actually work together to make a platform for themselves. The problems with creating a video-hosting website that @DarkIceCyclone mentioned could be theoretically solved by multiple people working TOGETHER to create the website that THEY want. But is anybody seriously going to try and become the change that needs to happen or what?

Here is what you need for multiple people to come together and create a website:

1) You need a lawyer

2) You need  monetization

3) You need creators

4) You need consumers

5) You need advertising your new website

6) You need to account for reduced viewer base because of the lack of free option, or you need to account for other methods of funding, if you want to keep the site free.

7) You need a plan

8) You need an idea

9) you need a business plan and/or other business related knowledge

10)You need STAFF.

11) You need to do a lot of research to make sure your lawyers, among other things, aren't going to rip you off

 

Edited November 12, 2021 by DarkIceCyclone

[Biodegradable]

YouTube's "reasoning" is just transparent corpo bafflegab. They claim they've done "research" regarding how creators feel about dislikes and how it apparently impacts their mental health, but they're never actually going to provide that information and the staggeringly negative response from hundreds of YouTubers on their original tweet, pointing out how utterly meaningless it is, shows what a load of rubbish it all is. My working theory is they've simply done it because enough Old Media and specific Influencers, maybe even some politicians, complained about their shitty videos being "dislike-bombed". YouTube have consistently bent the knee to anyone rich/powerful enough be it the government or any number of large corporations or advertising firms if they don't like something.

[Tony_Danza_the_boss]

https://www.youtube.com/c/WhiteHouse

 

I think its undoubtedly to do with our Commander In Chief's less than stellar videos getting absolutely ratioed with dislikes on almost every video that's uploaded from the White House. Also if you go onto any mainstream News Network's channel, a similar pattern can be seen. Call it coincidence with the timing, but I think Youtube's decision is mainly to protect a narrative as they themselves stated that the video creator can still view the likes and dislikes. If their true aim was to eliminate harassment, they would've not allowed the creator to see any of the dislikes, yet that factor is still in which makes me think shenanigans are in play. 

[Sergeant G]

3 minutes ago, AtticTelephone said:

The problem for me is what it will lead to, a sterile environment that only benefits advertisers and not creators, a disgusting corporate hellhole. They're going to keep making these awful decisions, and people will just get used to it. People shouldn't get used to it any of this at all, people need to actually work together to make a platform for themselves.

 

Precisely, and people creating and protecting their own platforms is a trend that is dying out. That's REALLY bad, that's something we want to avoid at all costs. But with the way the net is now...new, freer platforms are going to be facing a steep ascent.

[RonLivingston]

YouTube has really caused so much damage to there own website today.

[DarkIceCyclone]

13 minutes ago, Tony_Danza_the_boss said:

https://www.youtube.com/c/WhiteHouse

 

I think its undoubtedly to do with our Commander In Chief's less than stellar videos getting absolutely ratioed with dislikes on almost every video that's uploaded from the White House. Also if you go onto any mainstream News Network's channel, a similar pattern can be seen. Call it coincidence with the timing, but I think Youtube's decision is mainly to protect a narrative as they themselves stated that the video creator can still view the likes and dislikes. If their true aim was to eliminate harassment, they would've not allowed the creator to see any of the dislikes, yet that factor is still in which makes me think shenanigans are in play. 

Actually it is even more complicated than that.

For youtube, there is an alarming spike in videos and information that favor socialism, that favor leving taxes on mega corporations, videos that criticize youtube, videos that criticize multiple governments, multiple news medias getting dislikes, oh and my favorite, "fact checkers" getting absolutely massacred by reseach papers proving them wrong and ratiod to hell, then labeled as misinformation, yet youtube, just like facebook not doing anything about it.  Hell, we even see first aid videos gettying ads on them, and then channels that have scientific research papers in their descriptions, getting shadowbanned or "fact checked" just because they disprove someone elses narrative. most recent example being Dr. John Campbell, or second thought 

 

TL;DR: They know they are losing control and they try desperately to maintain it.

 

Edit: Yes I know I sound like conspiracy theorist

[Pseudonaut]

Decisions like these are very slowly making YouTube irrelevant enough that a serious alternative(s) will appear. It's nowhere near being the case right now, probably not even 10 years from now, but eventually most people will prefer some exciting new thing instead.

[DarkIceCyclone]

6 minutes ago, Pseudonaut said:

Decisions like these are very slowly making YouTube irrelevant enough that a serious alternative(s) will appear. It's nowhere near being the case right now, probably not even 10 years from now, but eventually most people will prefer some exciting new thing instead.

I'll take you up on that. I believe youtube will survive 10 years, but will start seeing dramatic reduction way before that. 

[Biodegradable]

4 minutes ago, DarkIceCyclone said:

I believe youtube will survive 10 years, but will start seeing dramatic reduction way before that. 

 

People have literally been saying that for the last 10 years. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

[Capellan]

Eh.  I've never seen dislikes provide a single ounce of value, so I'm more than happy for them not to exist.

 

There are probably more important things YT could be doing, like working out how to stop their platform being used for propaganda by literal Nazis, but that actually requires effort.  Turning off the dislike button is easy, and is probably actually a (tiny) net benefit.

[Nevander]

I kinda like the idea of removing negative feedback systems like dislikes, thumbs down, downvotes, whatever. It's an avenue for abuse.

 

Think of it this way: good content will get liked a lot. Bad content will not. You can be the judge of if low voted content is good without being biased based on dislikes. A dislike abuser can't abuse by disliking it and they won't like it either.

[JustCallMeKaito]

I don't understand why anyone would be in favor of removing the dislikes, it's a decent way of seeing if a video is clickbait, a scam, or just a general waste of time. On top of that, it's a decent way to see what people think of your videos since not everyone is going to leave a comment. It's a way of saying "Hey, I don't like this" without having to deal with a potential comment war later on. If I see a video with a shitload of dislikes, either I click off, or I turn adblock the fuck on.

 

 

This is just a massive step backwards in the ever-growing pile of idiotic decisions made by the people in charge at YouTube.

 

[RDETalus]

1 hour ago, Murdoch said:

Answer me this. Does your inability to see the dislike counter dramatically affect your ability to enjoy a video?

No, I have basically never looked at the like / dislike ratio. The comments section provides much better information about the quality of the video anyways. I don't really care about the like / dislike system, not very important.

 

But still, I don't like the direction this is heading in. A few years ago most major news websites had a comments section. The comments section was full of bullshit and garbage, but it was still quite useful because users often provided a lot of contextual information that the journalist might miss / choose to leave out. However over time many sites have chosen to eliminate the comments section entirely to protect their viewers. It would suck if YouTube started moving in this direction, if they, for example, said that CNN and FOX News or the White House videos aren't allowed to have comments sections.

[Nine Inch Heels]

Can we take a moment to acknowledge that a thread about how YT is going to remove dislikes is being posted on a forum that has no dislikes..?

Edited November 12, 2021 by Nine Inch Heels

[pcorf]

2 hours ago, AtticTelephone said:

At this point, somebody should just make a YouTube alternative. This is an insanely stupid move that they made just so that they could stop people from disrespecting them and the brands they work with, somewhat similar to demonetization. How sensitive do you have to be to remove censorship from your entire platform just because people disagree with how you and the people you work with manage the site?

 

A user should have a choice whether to like or dislike a video.

 

The ads are a far worse problem, especially with videos over 8 minutes in length on well subscribed channels. And getting rid of the yellow ad markers has really turned me off from Youtube. Despite that I still have my own channel but I don't consider myself as a die-hard Youtuber.

[Chezza]

At some point, western nations may catch up to hammer down anti monopoly laws for online platforms. Apparently they're trying.

 

When that finally happens, Youtube may be quite vulnerable and will have to retract many of their changes to prevent competition taking advantage. Their constant increase of ads, removal of features, increased difficulty for content creators to make revenue, bots and rules that unfairly punish said creators, removal of dislike option etc will all turn against them in a fair playing field.

[DarkIceCyclone]

2 hours ago, Biodegradable said:

 

People have literally been saying that for the last 10 years. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Haahaa yhea I know that. 10 years ago I offered it 40 years. now it has dropped drastically. so it's interesting for me either way: was i dumber when i was younger or smarter, as it tends to be the case. (lots of anesthesia has done miracles on my brain, and not good ones)

[Breeder]

I wish more people would boycott Youtube and start supporting the other platforms. I am sick and tired of them allowing all sorts of deranged, pornographic, violent, content, then turning around and giving me strikes because I am trying to share information on subjects from as many sides as possible, both popular, and unpopular.

[snapshot]

looks like they're getting ready for rewind 2021, this is gonna make finding working tutorials a bit harder >_>

[lazygecko]

Dislikes are one of the few venues regular people have for feeling like they have some semblance of agency in a world where corporations try to exercise complete control of the narratives they are pushing. So of course people are going to be against this change in spite of how these systems can occasionally be abused.