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I'm not angry at Youtube for blocking ads; I'm angry for Youtube existing at all. It shouldn't have to. AV content is pretty important to humanity. I want my g

I'm not angry at Youtube for blocking ads; I'm angry for Youtube existing at all. It shouldn't have to. AV content is pretty important to humanity. I want my government to tax me and spend the money on a public video repository. When some garbage for-profit outfit like Alphabet is in charge of the world's video, I expect ads and garbage content.

crop_rotation 3y ago
YouTube is extremely expensive to host and that too when it relies on Google infra which is very well optimised. Please remind me of any non trivial Government software project that didn't cost ridiculous amounts of money compared to similar private products.
- thomassmith65 3y ago
  Cost is certainly a consideration, but not the only consideration that matters (not to me, at any rate). The issue of private- vs public-run projects is complicated by culture. There's a vicious cycle / virtuous circle that happens in a given society. In a place where government projects have a bad reputation (of being wasteful and substandard), it makes it difficult for government projects to succeed. That's a long way of replying to you that you're probably correct about cost-overruns in most nations - but I don't believe it has to be that way. You can probably predict the nations I'd trot out that do a better job. At any rate, where Youtube is concerned, I'd sooner government be in charge, regardless of cost. I don't see Youtube ever making the public good its primary focus - not if its front page, recommendations, or comments section are any indication.
  - crop_rotation 3y ago
    That's the thing about cost though. It doesn't matter until it grows big enough and then it starts mattering a lot.
    - thomassmith65 3y ago
      Agreed. I just also think living in a knowledgeable society is important. Video could help. Youtube does a terrible job of that. Presumably it's not great economically if a nation is full of dummies.
Lendal 3y ago
I'm with you, man. I run an ad blocker and I sure would hate to pay Google another dime. But I have to say objectively, govt ownership ought to be reserved for services that either practically cannot make a profit or morally should not make a profit. Things like police, fire, medical, education, etc.. The entertainment sector though has been making a profit for hundreds of years. Radio was funded entirely by commercialism from the beginning, as was television, and thus far the Internet has followed. So I gotta disagree with you as much as it pains me to admit. There may be a way to get some things funded like purely educational, or the arts, but the vast majority of YouTube is really just pure entertainment and ought to remain profit driven.

crop_rotation 3y ago

YouTube is extremely expensive to host and that too when it relies on Google infra which is very well optimised. Please remind me of any non trivial Government software project that didn't cost ridiculous amounts of money compared to similar private products.

thomassmith65 3y ago
Cost is certainly a consideration, but not the only consideration that matters (not to me, at any rate). The issue of private- vs public-run projects is complicated by culture. There's a vicious cycle / virtuous circle that happens in a given society. In a place where government projects have a bad reputation (of being wasteful and substandard), it makes it difficult for government projects to succeed. That's a long way of replying to you that you're probably correct about cost-overruns in most nations - but I don't believe it has to be that way. You can probably predict the nations I'd trot out that do a better job. At any rate, where Youtube is concerned, I'd sooner government be in charge, regardless of cost. I don't see Youtube ever making the public good its primary focus - not if its front page, recommendations, or comments section are any indication.
- crop_rotation 3y ago
  That's the thing about cost though. It doesn't matter until it grows big enough and then it starts mattering a lot.
  - thomassmith65 3y ago
    Agreed. I just also think living in a knowledgeable society is important. Video could help. Youtube does a terrible job of that. Presumably it's not great economically if a nation is full of dummies.

Lendal 3y ago

I'm with you, man. I run an ad blocker and I sure would hate to pay Google another dime. But I have to say objectively, govt ownership ought to be reserved for services that either practically cannot make a profit or morally should not make a profit. Things like police, fire, medical, education, etc.. The entertainment sector though has been making a profit for hundreds of years. Radio was funded entirely by commercialism from the beginning, as was television, and thus far the Internet has followed. So I gotta disagree with you as much as it pains me to admit. There may be a way to get some things funded like purely educational, or the arts, but the vast majority of YouTube is really just pure entertainment and ought to remain profit driven.