5 ms·

If only it had a feature to get rid of every video with someone pulling a stupid face on the poster frame. I might even actually visit YouTube if it did.

mattgreenrocks 5y ago
I'd pay for a YouTube that bans all reaction videos. I can't stand them.
- sillyquiet 5y ago
  Yea, I don't get the appeal of watching someone pretend they haven't seen "The Empire Strikes Back" and are watching it for the first time and are agog at the the twist.
  - krapp 5y ago
    The original Star Wars trilogy is decades old by now. Most modern Star Wars fans haven't even seen them, much less the general public.
    - sillyquiet 5y ago
      Sure maybe? but it's penetrated popular culture enough that I refuse to believe anybody would be surprised by 'No, I am your father'
      - krapp 5y ago
        I don't know... I'm as familiar with it as anyone of my generation, but I honestly can't remember when I actually saw it last referenced in media or popular culture. I'd definitely be skeptical of anyone close to my age being unaware of it, though.
pcurve 5y ago
Try a plugin called "Clickbait Remover for youtube". Your thumbnail will be replaced by freeze frame from video. I love it. And you can turn it off/on easily.
- ddtaylor 5y ago
  I've been using this for about half a year now and it's great!
- Nextgrid 5y ago
  I think the parent's goal was to use the presence of a stupid thumbnail as proxy for low quality and completely hide those videos instead of merely replacing the thumbnail. Now if there's also something that could detect "YouTuber voice" (https://www.vice.com/en/article/aepn94/the-rise-of-youtube-voice-and-why-vloggers-want-it-to-stop https://www.vice.com/en/article/aepn94/the-rise-of-youtube-v...) or the awful trend of putting a short clip in the intro with no context which wastes your time at best or spoils the video at worst that would be great as well.
  - Diskutant 5y ago
    about the short clips, try the browser extension "sponsorblock" it skips many of those.
  - jerf 5y ago
    "Stupid thumbnail" as a proxy for low quality is no longer a valid metric. The good channels have been, reluctantly or otherwise, mostly been forced into following suit.
    - drcongo 5y ago
      Sadly this is true. I definitely used to use "stupid face" as a proxy for low quality but I've seen people who make good content doing it recently too, so now it all must go. I'm also painfully aware that I'm an old man shouting at clouds.
whoomp12342 5y ago
or when you try to use youtube not for entertainment but utilitarian (e.g. how do I take a part a door hinge again?) and they start the actual information halfway through the video
- selfhoster11 5y ago
  The trick is to recognise those early and switch to a different video. Or quickly figure out which channel is more serious about getting to the point, and pick their video.
- iosifnicolae2 5y ago
  Youtube tested some sort of feature where you can see what are the parts which are the most watched by people.
  - whoomp12342 5y ago
    heaven forbid they could adjust their "algorithm" to encourage people to make better content for this category. How many googlians are considered brilliant and none of them ever stopped to think "what are the use cases of this product"
- Uehreka 5y ago
  I’ve learned over time that many people who make helpful videos are not skilled at how to edit or pace a video at all. But I often need the content and can’t get it elsewhere. 2x is so great for screencast tutorials for things like Blender. I can’t imagine watching them any other way.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
mikub 5y ago
That's really the most annoying thing. Even people who make good videos do this shit. I just can't say how much I hate(and I don't use that word often) seeing angry, sad, or surprised faces. When I'm on Linux most of the times I just use newsboat and on android it's newpipe with the previewimages turned off. But somtimes I have to use the webpage, and it always makes me angry.
- selfhoster11 5y ago
  Some YouTubers outright say it increases views. Given that some of them make a living out of this and that I'd rather keep seeing their content, I can live with some pandering to the algorithm/trends in thumbnails.
izacus 5y ago
The bizarre part is - I've seen a lot of youtubers say that they hate it, but that it also increases views by a fair amount. Which is... wierd.
- mrweasel 5y ago
  Linus Tech Tips talked about this a while back, and it is just like when Wikipedia uses Jimmy Wales face to raise money. Everyone say they hate it, but it is what yields the best results.
AlwaysRock 5y ago
> I might even actually visit YouTube if it did. It's much easier for YouTube to get someone who already views YouTube videos for some amount of time per day to view more using clickbate than it is to get you who doesnt view YouTube to start.

mattgreenrocks 5y ago

I'd pay for a YouTube that bans all reaction videos. I can't stand them.

sillyquiet 5y ago
Yea, I don't get the appeal of watching someone pretend they haven't seen "The Empire Strikes Back" and are watching it for the first time and are agog at the the twist.
- krapp 5y ago
  The original Star Wars trilogy is decades old by now. Most modern Star Wars fans haven't even seen them, much less the general public.
  - sillyquiet 5y ago
    Sure maybe? but it's penetrated popular culture enough that I refuse to believe anybody would be surprised by 'No, I am your father'
    - krapp 5y ago
      I don't know... I'm as familiar with it as anyone of my generation, but I honestly can't remember when I actually saw it last referenced in media or popular culture. I'd definitely be skeptical of anyone close to my age being unaware of it, though.

pcurve 5y ago

Try a plugin called "Clickbait Remover for youtube". Your thumbnail will be replaced by freeze frame from video. I love it. And you can turn it off/on easily.

ddtaylor 5y ago
I've been using this for about half a year now and it's great!
Nextgrid 5y ago
I think the parent's goal was to use the presence of a stupid thumbnail as proxy for low quality and completely hide those videos instead of merely replacing the thumbnail. Now if there's also something that could detect "YouTuber voice" (https://www.vice.com/en/article/aepn94/the-rise-of-youtube-voice-and-why-vloggers-want-it-to-stop https://www.vice.com/en/article/aepn94/the-rise-of-youtube-v...) or the awful trend of putting a short clip in the intro with no context which wastes your time at best or spoils the video at worst that would be great as well.
- Diskutant 5y ago
  about the short clips, try the browser extension "sponsorblock" it skips many of those.
- jerf 5y ago
  "Stupid thumbnail" as a proxy for low quality is no longer a valid metric. The good channels have been, reluctantly or otherwise, mostly been forced into following suit.
  - drcongo 5y ago
    Sadly this is true. I definitely used to use "stupid face" as a proxy for low quality but I've seen people who make good content doing it recently too, so now it all must go. I'm also painfully aware that I'm an old man shouting at clouds.

whoomp12342 5y ago

or when you try to use youtube not for entertainment but utilitarian (e.g. how do I take a part a door hinge again?) and they start the actual information halfway through the video

selfhoster11 5y ago
The trick is to recognise those early and switch to a different video. Or quickly figure out which channel is more serious about getting to the point, and pick their video.
iosifnicolae2 5y ago
Youtube tested some sort of feature where you can see what are the parts which are the most watched by people.
- whoomp12342 5y ago
  heaven forbid they could adjust their "algorithm" to encourage people to make better content for this category. How many googlians are considered brilliant and none of them ever stopped to think "what are the use cases of this product"
Uehreka 5y ago
I’ve learned over time that many people who make helpful videos are not skilled at how to edit or pace a video at all. But I often need the content and can’t get it elsewhere. 2x is so great for screencast tutorials for things like Blender. I can’t imagine watching them any other way.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

mikub 5y ago

That's really the most annoying thing. Even people who make good videos do this shit. I just can't say how much I hate(and I don't use that word often) seeing angry, sad, or surprised faces. When I'm on Linux most of the times I just use newsboat and on android it's newpipe with the previewimages turned off. But somtimes I have to use the webpage, and it always makes me angry.

selfhoster11 5y ago
Some YouTubers outright say it increases views. Given that some of them make a living out of this and that I'd rather keep seeing their content, I can live with some pandering to the algorithm/trends in thumbnails.

izacus 5y ago

The bizarre part is - I've seen a lot of youtubers say that they hate it, but that it also increases views by a fair amount. Which is... wierd.

mrweasel 5y ago
Linus Tech Tips talked about this a while back, and it is just like when Wikipedia uses Jimmy Wales face to raise money. Everyone say they hate it, but it is what yields the best results.

AlwaysRock 5y ago

> I might even actually visit YouTube if it did. It's much easier for YouTube to get someone who already views YouTube videos for some amount of time per day to view more using clickbate than it is to get you who doesnt view YouTube to start.