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I think this kind of tool can be neat, and probably sometimes useful, but honestly I do not hope that tools like this become common, and used in inappropriate p
by fragsworth 7y ago
I think this kind of tool can be neat, and probably sometimes useful, but honestly I do not hope that tools like this become common, and used in inappropriate places. I am sick and tired of recommendations that are based on actions that are not inherently intended by me to affect my recommendations.
Take YouTube, for instance. It has gotten so bad that I actively avoid watching videos that I might otherwise want to see (even when I just want to educate myself - a simple example might be Nazi war propaganda videos), because I really don't want all my YouTube recommendations to turn into similar crap. I therefore use the service less. And I like the service less. And I think it is now more difficult for people to discover interesting videos because they largely rely on the inherent behavior pattern-matching and not robust, intentional searches. And people avoid searching for specific topics they don't want popping up on their sidebar.
I am learning that my behavior is what changes my settings, and therefore I should change my behavior if I want my settings to be good. Robust search is falling by the wayside. This is an objectively terrible situation.
- bytematic 7y agoTruth is that the metrics show it is better than scrolling through a gigantic list, which is what 99% of search website are.
- sbierwagen 7y agoIf you're logged in, you can reject recommendations by clicking the triple dot menu and selecting "Not interested".
- leobakerhytch 7y agoTurning off viewing history and search history puts the recommendations much more under your own control — they’re then (AFAICT) only based on likes and subscriptions, and you still have the option to reject recommendations, as sbierwagen says.
- metb 7y agoI tried doing that on my android TV. There is no option in YouTube app on TV to turn off viewing history. Do you know if it is hidden somewhere?
- maccard 7y agoI've found myself watching those sorts of videos in a separate Firefox profile that I'm not logged into YouTube in.
- pmart123 7y agoI find this very true for things like movie reviews or product reviews. You likely will be bombarded by a ridiculous amount of similar content for weeks after you no longer have any intention to watch similar content.
- Hercuros 7y agoI just occasionally clear videos from my Watch History which I do not want to be used for recommendations. It’s become a habit to do this every once in a while, and doesn’t take a lot of time.