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Devoidless
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Devoidless
3,675 posts
Jester

So how does everyone like the new system for commenting on YouTube videos? Well, that is assuming you have a Google+ account. Otherwise you might as well not comment.
But hey, they did it for a reason! To cut down on trolls by making people use the G+ account tied to their real name! Providing that they don't make a G+ account with a false name. Yet who would do that?
Now, you can see comments that are from people in your circles and celebrities! I know, I know. Right now the top comments are just spambots, links to screamers, porn, ASCII spam and viruses. Who doesn't love that?

Who thought this system was ever going to be a good idea? The comments on YouTube weren't perfect, yet they were nowhere near this bad. In the old system, the character limit on comments kept people from posting stupid long and pointless spam messages. In the old system, you couldn't post links because of spambots, links to screamers, porn, ASCII spam and viruses. In the old system, you weren't notified of someone else responding to a comment to replied to.
As it is, my eardrums have almost been shattered by links to screamers. I've also seen more than my fair share as ASCII genitalia and mega-scroll spam. My inbox is being flooded with messages about someone not even replying to me. I wish I could just turn comments off all together and save myself the pain.

What do you all think?

  • 34 Replies
Devoidless
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Devoidless
3,675 posts
Jester

Really? I haven't really gotten any messages from Youtube since the roll, but then again, I've only ever commented once.


It's more of an issue if your G+ account is tied to your YouTube account. Mine is, simply because of a shady thing Google did ages ago. If you had a gmail account and signed into it one day, they would show you the confirmation page that you would of seen countless times. Normally, it's just a page about "Add you wireless number to retrieve information yada yada yada".
However! That page instead was a "Click here to make a Google+ account". So loads of people made G+ accounts by mistake. Yet that's not the matter at hand.

The problem with the email flood is/was an 'error' where any mail that would normally go to your G+ email went to your YT email (if the two accounts were connected). Now for me, and a good amount of other people, those two emails are exactly the same due to aforementioned trickery. So for each reply in a thread you made/replied to you get an update. Which can be super annoying if the thread you commented it gets hundreds of replies.
At one point, I had 48 notifications about the current 'discussion' being updated. Out of those 48 notifications, exactly zero were directed towards me.
pangtongshu
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pangtongshu
9,808 posts
Jester

But hey, they did it for a reason! To cut down on trolls by making people use the G+ account tied to their real name! Providing that they don't make a G+ account with a false name. Yet who would do that?


You could always change your name back to a more "youtube-y" name after making the account. Not sure why Google wants to make everyone public like this though...

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Reton8
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Reton8
3,173 posts
King

I remember a lot of YouTubers complaining about the old comment system. But, I feel that this new comment system is not the fix the YouTubers were looking for.

My question is what happened to the top comments?

Yes, the old system for top comment was flawed, but I usually got a quick laugh (or spam ad) out of the top two comments, even if they weren't the actual "top" comment. (I have seen comments with far more thumbs up than the top comment, that were not the top comment, in the old system.)

YouTube or Google now claims that your Google+ circles, celebrities, and highly rated (thumbed up) comments will appear at the top of the comment section, when sorting by "top comment". For some videos this is the case, but more often than not the top comments seem to have no rhyme or reason. None of them will be thumbed up and none of them will be from celebrities or other famous YouTubers. (I am often not logged in so it definitely won't be Google+ circles or friends either)

In the old system, the character limit on comments kept people from posting stupid long and pointless spam messages.

YouTube does seem to hide most of the longer comments automatically, but I agree that character limit is too much.

(Want to see a problem with YouTube's new comment section? Want to see a problem with YouTube's new comment section? Want to see a problem with YouTube's new comment section?...)
OperationNilo
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OperationNilo
3,937 posts
Shepherd

My question is what happened to the top comments?

Yes, the old system for top comment was flawed, but I usually got a quick laugh (or spam ad) out of the top two comments, even if they weren't the actual "top" comment. (I have seen comments with far more thumbs up than the top comment, that were not the top comment, in the old system.)


This.
Salvidian
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Salvidian
4,170 posts
Farmer

Frank told me G+ was butthurt about not being popular so Google tied it with their most popular product. Or something along those lines. I remember "butthurt" being used somewhere.

Gamer_Cale
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Gamer_Cale
1,370 posts
Nomad

The amount of jump scare links in the comments is enough to make me hate it.

pangtongshu
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pangtongshu
9,808 posts
Jester

(I have seen comments with far more thumbs up than the top comment, that were not the top comment, in the old system.)


From my understanding, top comments seemed to be based not on how many thumbs up you had, but how many thumbs up you were getting in a certain period of time* (say, like, 2 weeks or so, an estimate). So after a while a top comment with, say, 250 thumbs up would be replaced by one with 100 because the one with the 100 was getting 10 times the amount per day.
Reton8
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Reton8
3,173 posts
King

I just want to restate myself. The old video comment system's top two comments usually gave me a decent laugh or said something that I could agree with about the video. It was flawed but at least, at the very least, the comments were usually highly thumbed up and gave me a laugh. Now look at this.

This is what Google (and YouTube) have to say about how top comments work:

Comments you care about show first. Youâll see comments at the top of the list from people in your Google+ Circles, from creators, and from popular personalities. Comments with many likes and replies will rank highly as well. Choose Newest First to see the most recent comments instead. Replies are threaded (like Gmail) so you can easily follow conversations.


Here's a look at some top comments:
http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/a627/Reton8/AG%20Image%20Uploads/AG%20Misc/Untitled-1.png

It's sorted by top comment, but the thumbs up don't seem to be much a factor.
1 thumb up, 7 thumbs up, 1 thumb up, no thumbs up, no thumbs up, 1 thumb up, 5 thumbs up, 4 thumbs up.

How is that in any order. Like I said, I'm not logged into Google+, so they aren't people in my Google+ circles. None of those commenters are YouTube celebrities (popular personalities), or Google+ celebrities (popular personalities), most of the comments don't have a reply (so replies aren't factoring in much), and it's obviously not sorted by the number of thumbs up.

My only guess is the algorithm puts users with more subscribers or higher amounts of friends (or circles) on Google+ higher, because the the YouTube comments algorithm now factors in &quotopular personalities".It's like a user with 100 more subscribers and a comment with 0 thumbs up is getting a higher ranked comment than a user with 15 subscribers and a comment with 10 thumbs up.

The top comment algorithm is flawed in two areas. I don't care what &quotopular personalities" have to say, especially when I don't know who those &quotopular personalities" are. I don't want replies to push a comment higher on the list either. Comments with a lot of replies are often just arguments between two people and are rarely worthy of a top comment spot. Going by how the top comments have been sorted now (and the image above), the new algorithm isn't working well.
Reton8
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Reton8
3,173 posts
King

Actually, Reton, it goes by the number of replies.

Check out the picture I posted previous page, first comment 0 replies 1 thumb up, beats out 7 thumbs up and 2 replies.

Replies are part of the algorithm indeed, but also &quotopularity", if the users are in your circles, and thumbs up. Paraphrased from Google's support page (quoted in my last post).

I'm thinking &quotopularity" is what's messing things up the most. Looking at the picture in my last post, the number one comment has 0 replies and 1 thumb up. But it beats out the number 2 comment that has 7 thumbs up and 2 replies. Then the rest don't have replies and aren't in order according to thumbs up. So it must have to do with those users &quotopularity" or some other not given factor.

I don't want to see my friends replies, or celebrities, or a debate between two users as the top comment. Top comment should be bases solely on thumbs up. They should add a new sorting category for all the other stuff.
Charlie506
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Charlie506
1,298 posts
Nomad

Well, you see. YouTube comments have been a new style. So, people are not tempted to click on EVERY REPLY THEY SEE because it opens a new tab.

Reton8
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Reton8
3,173 posts
King

I have one more complaint about the new YouTube comments. You can't open the all comments link in a new tab anymore.

Sometimes I like to let the video run while I search through or read more comments. Sometimes, I'd pause the video, but by opening the comments in a new tab, the video didn't lose it's place or have to re-buffer. But, now left clicking that link doesn't give the option and CTRL + Click doesn't work either. What a what to remove functionality.

nichodemus
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nichodemus
14,991 posts
Grand Duke

Quit Youtube commenting/viewing comments ages ago. I didn't even realise they had changed and caused such mental distress. Though I might return, now that the yellow site links are showing up.

Nurvana
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Nurvana
2,520 posts
Farmer

my eardrums have almost been shattered by links to screamers


What kind of comments are compelling you to click on links?
Devoidless
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Devoidless
3,675 posts
Jester

What kind of comments are compelling you to click on links?


The ones where the links are disguised as the "Expand this comment" link. Those kind.
xXxDAPRO89xXx
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xXxDAPRO89xXx
6,737 posts
Baron

I hate how when you click on something like 1:10 it opens up a new tab...

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