5 ms·

Surprisingly, YouTube comments can have a high signal-to-noise ratio.

omnicognate 5y ago
And be extremely nice and supportive in tone. The comments on amateur classical music performances are usually lovely.
ravenstine 5y ago
Does anyone have a theory of why that is? I've noticed the same thing, which is why I pretty much stick to both HN and YouTube these days, even to the exclusion of Reddit except for a few select subreddits. The quality of HN makes sense to me, but I'm not sure I can explain YouTube. Maybe it's because YouTube is better suited for consuming interesting and thought-provoking content instead of short snarky snippets? Don't get me wrong, it's not like there isn't a ton of garbage and vitriol on YouTube, but for example I can go to channels I don't really agree with like David Pakman and find both interesting videos as well as some good comments. Whenever someone is a jerk, usually they're called out and not taken seriously unless they have an extremely good point to make. Contrast this with Twitter which, whenever I've been to it, seems to facilitate a lot of moralizing vitriol that gets a TON of positive attention. It even seems to be designed to make irrationality appear to have legitimacy.
- smoe 5y ago
  I think for communities to work, there need to be a somewhat close-knit group with shared interests/expectations and people that are actively fostering and if necessary enforce the kind of culture they want to be in. Otherwise you just end up with lowest common denominator between whoever happens to come by. I wouldn't say YouTube overall has good comments, but there are certainly channels with very high quality comments and it's in my opinion often due to the tone set by the content creators themselves not by any YouTube policy or algorithm.
  - ravenstine 5y ago
    Yeah it may be certain channels. I primarily watch intellectual content, which if I'm going to be honest is a sort of niche part of YouTube overall. Although I still think in general there's a better sort of control against vitriol and snark on there. And now I'm thinking that may be because places like Twitter are designed to make everybody feel like they have some form of celebritydom even if they've never produced content beyond tweets. On YouTube, I'd suspect the vast majority of users don't have accounts of their own, thus no one can subscribe to see their comments; those comments can only be seen in the context in which they are relevant. An asshole in the YouTube comments may appear uncalled for in relation to the video and surrounding comments, but on Twitter anyone can be subscribed to and their comments are mostly standalone. If you're a jerk on Twitter, you will almost certainly be selectively reinforced by the cult you've created with your subscriber base. (I once did an experiment to see if I could amass thousands of Twitter followers with no meaningful content, and it was beyond easy. Anyone can start a cult on Twitter.)
- diogenesjunior 5y ago
  I think part of this is just because of how much there is to learn on youtube. "youtube university", as i like to call it. with so much to learn, it brings good discussion.
  - ravenstine 5y ago
    Ugh, this is why it is so hard for me to hate YouTube despite how awful they and Google can be as companies (a company?). The amount of information on YouTube is just epic. Before YouTube I'd have either needed to buy physical copies of lectures or actually attend them in person. Now I can watch videos from professors on quantum physics and see people ask questions they might not have otherwise asked in a physical setting.
- hluska 5y ago
  I might have some insight. I feel like it comes down to three things: 1.) Twitter is designed to keep us engaged so we keep feeding the eyeball economy. YouTube comments aren’t as directly monetized as active Twitter users. 2.) Irrationality is legitimate -if- you’re trying to sell shit. Then, it’s your best friend. I can sum up my entire marketing degree with the words ‘make people believes lies then take their money.’ I paid way the fuck too much for eight words of insight. 3.) This may be a touch of bias. Judging by how you write, I assume you’re drawn to higher quality content. Like tends to attract like…
65 5y ago
The funniest comments are often the YouTube comments.
spacechild1 5y ago
Heavily depends on the channel/video, I would say.

And be extremely nice and supportive in tone. The comments on amateur classical music performances are usually lovely.

Does anyone have a theory of why that is? I've noticed the same thing, which is why I pretty much stick to both HN and YouTube these days, even to the exclusion of Reddit except for a few select subreddits. The quality of HN makes sense to me, but I'm not sure I can explain YouTube. Maybe it's because YouTube is better suited for consuming interesting and thought-provoking content instead of short snarky snippets? Don't get me wrong, it's not like there isn't a ton of garbage and vitriol on YouTube, but for example I can go to channels I don't really agree with like David Pakman and find both interesting videos as well as some good comments. Whenever someone is a jerk, usually they're called out and not taken seriously unless they have an extremely good point to make. Contrast this with Twitter which, whenever I've been to it, seems to facilitate a lot of moralizing vitriol that gets a TON of positive attention. It even seems to be designed to make irrationality appear to have legitimacy.

smoe 5y ago
I think for communities to work, there need to be a somewhat close-knit group with shared interests/expectations and people that are actively fostering and if necessary enforce the kind of culture they want to be in. Otherwise you just end up with lowest common denominator between whoever happens to come by. I wouldn't say YouTube overall has good comments, but there are certainly channels with very high quality comments and it's in my opinion often due to the tone set by the content creators themselves not by any YouTube policy or algorithm.
- ravenstine 5y ago
  Yeah it may be certain channels. I primarily watch intellectual content, which if I'm going to be honest is a sort of niche part of YouTube overall. Although I still think in general there's a better sort of control against vitriol and snark on there. And now I'm thinking that may be because places like Twitter are designed to make everybody feel like they have some form of celebritydom even if they've never produced content beyond tweets. On YouTube, I'd suspect the vast majority of users don't have accounts of their own, thus no one can subscribe to see their comments; those comments can only be seen in the context in which they are relevant. An asshole in the YouTube comments may appear uncalled for in relation to the video and surrounding comments, but on Twitter anyone can be subscribed to and their comments are mostly standalone. If you're a jerk on Twitter, you will almost certainly be selectively reinforced by the cult you've created with your subscriber base. (I once did an experiment to see if I could amass thousands of Twitter followers with no meaningful content, and it was beyond easy. Anyone can start a cult on Twitter.)
diogenesjunior 5y ago
I think part of this is just because of how much there is to learn on youtube. "youtube university", as i like to call it. with so much to learn, it brings good discussion.
- ravenstine 5y ago
  Ugh, this is why it is so hard for me to hate YouTube despite how awful they and Google can be as companies (a company?). The amount of information on YouTube is just epic. Before YouTube I'd have either needed to buy physical copies of lectures or actually attend them in person. Now I can watch videos from professors on quantum physics and see people ask questions they might not have otherwise asked in a physical setting.
hluska 5y ago
I might have some insight. I feel like it comes down to three things: 1.) Twitter is designed to keep us engaged so we keep feeding the eyeball economy. YouTube comments aren’t as directly monetized as active Twitter users. 2.) Irrationality is legitimate -if- you’re trying to sell shit. Then, it’s your best friend. I can sum up my entire marketing degree with the words ‘make people believes lies then take their money.’ I paid way the fuck too much for eight words of insight. 3.) This may be a touch of bias. Judging by how you write, I assume you’re drawn to higher quality content. Like tends to attract like…

65 5y ago

The funniest comments are often the YouTube comments.

spacechild1 5y ago

Heavily depends on the channel/video, I would say.