
Google Starts to clean up Youtube Comments - ChuckMcM
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57604431-93/google-starts-to-clean-up-youtube-comments/
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Ellipsis753
Something I really disliked was youtube videos that moderate comments actively
to warp what it seems people are saying. I was really hoping this would be
addressing that but sadly it doesn't seem to be.

For example if you go on a free energy video or a water powered car video
you'll notice that normally none of the comments explain why it fake. This is
normally because the author is removing the comments that say this (or simply
having all comment have to be approved first).

This means that as people read through the comments they get a really warped
sense of what people are commenting where they think all 1 million people who
viewed the video thought that the video was legit. There's no way to tell if a
video's comments are being deleted or have to be approved. Sometimes I might
right a long comments just to see "waiting for approval" when I post it. At
that point I know the comment will never be viewed by anyone...

~~~
VikingCoder
But they are addressing it:

If you Follow Bill Nye or Neil deGrasse Tyson, putting them in a Science
circle, for instance, and they comment on a YouTube video, you'll see that at
the top of the comments.

~~~
Ellipsis753
But can't the video creator still just delete the comment?

~~~
eksith
Yes they can, but on those videos, you have to be aware of what you're
commenting on.

Those free energy, perpetual motion, water powered car etc... etc... videos
aren't scientific. They're religious in nature and when you challenge their
beliefs, they will respond in kind as if you've questioned a miracle.

But really, I don't think it's a good idea to stop uploaders from pruning
their own video comments. That could have other repercussions so, let them
censor logic all they want.

The solution to these videos popping up is to make videos of your own
explaining in detail why they can't work. Call them "The truth behind free
energy" or the like. Bill Nye and Neil deGrasse Tyson are already famous and
they will have an audience. If you cultivate your own, you can properly make a
stance.

Fight fire with fire, as they say.

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er0k
I think Randall Munroe did a pretty great job with reddit's 'best' comment
ranking[1]. Hopefully youtube will be using something similar.

1: [http://blog.reddit.com/2009/10/reddits-new-comment-
sorting-s...](http://blog.reddit.com/2009/10/reddits-new-comment-sorting-
system.html)

~~~
thezilch
Specifically, the sorting algorithm as described by Edwin Wilson (1927)
([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binomial_proportion_confidence_...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binomial_proportion_confidence_interval#Wilson_score_interval))
and a more technical digest of the Reddit implementation by Amir Salihefendic
([http://amix.dk/blog/post/19588](http://amix.dk/blog/post/19588)).

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alayne
As a sometimes youtube troll, I worry that this will greatly reduce the
entertainment value of youtube comments.

~~~
MartinCron
What provides entertainment value to "sometimes" trolls is pollution to
everyone else. May I suggest that you find a better hobby?

~~~
pgrote
I don't understand your point.

The ability to comment is provided along with the method of voting them
up/down and hiding them.

Do you really think that forcing a G+ account to comment will make things
better?

I had a similar thought when our local paper started using Facebook accounts
for comments. My thought, "If people use their real names ..."

It didn't happen.

Stupid people will post stupid things. It's up to those who want valuable
comments to weed through them.

~~~
MartinCron
_Stupid people will post stupid things. It 's up to those who want valuable
comments to weed through them._

I wasn't talking about stupid people posting stupid things (although that is a
distinct problem). This is about trolls posting _provocative_ things
specifically to provoke drama and outrage. What is entertainment value for
trolls is noise to everyone else.

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k-mcgrady
I hope this works. As silly as it sounds YouTube comments used to really
frustrate me. It was like reading through some of the worst and most stupid
content humanity could come up with under every video. I eventually sought out
a Chrome extension to block them. YouTube comments could generate great
discussion if they're ranked/sorted etc. properly.

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ChuckMcM
Wow this was long over due. More power to them though.

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cromwellian
Finally, YouTube comments no longer resemble 4chan. \

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anthonyb
Herp derp derp herp derp herp derp derp herp derp.

~~~
jonheller
One of the best Chrome extensions I've ever used.

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jordanthoms
Looks like this might have finally fixed the brain-dead UI of the youtube
comments - following threads has always been terrible.

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jezebel6
Slowly but surely, bit by bit, internet freedom is being eroded. The road to
hell, etc.

~~~
eropple
Explain to me how a private company not letting trolls shit up their site is
an attack on "internet freedom".

You are entirely welcome to have a YouTubeVideosSuckAndWeMakeFunOfThem.com.
That doesn't mean Google must host you.

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o0-0o
Overall this is a good thing. There will be a lot less hate speech on Youtube.
;p

PLUR!

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ivanbrussik
thank god - youtubes comment system is a wreck

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ffrryuu
Censorship is starting?

~~~
sp332
You have a right to free speech, but you don't have the right to post anything
on someone else's server. People will have to make terrible comments from
their own blogs or something.

~~~
ffrryuu
So it's kind of like freedom of the press then? You have freedom of the press
as long as you own one.

~~~
bithive123
No, it's kind of like the freedom to kick an obnoxious person out of a private
establishment because they are disrupting the other patrons. YouTube is not a
government institution.

