5 ms·

Something else strange is that they removed the dropdown option to sort videos in a channel in chronological order ("oldest first").

quaintdev 3y ago
Probably assuming oldest one like archived data and storing them accordingly.
Tokkemon 3y ago
Are you sure this isn't just an option for some channels to decide if they want it? Some channels definitely still have this sort option available.
- doodlesdev 3y ago
  No, they removed it. While I believe they haven't shared the reason they do it, I think it's probably due to backend changes to reduce costs of hosting older less popular videos (maybe moving them to nearline storage?). Some previous discussion here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33559888 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33559888
  - Lockal 3y ago
    Yes/no, "Some channels definitely still have this sort option available". Many smaller (?) channels still have this button. Also sorting by date still works for all channels after editing URL. I don't know exactly, what is the criteria for hiding that button, but consider size/geography/political views/ability to inject ads/etc. YouTube shadowbanned comments, likes, videos for a long time; consider this as another technique of shadowbanning without explaining anything.
    - squeaky-clean 3y ago
      Any examples? I just checked about 20 channels I'm subscribed to that have between 1k-15k subs and there's no Sort By Oldest button.
gniv 3y ago
It's been a while since they removed it. It's probably because playing rarely-played videos costs more in bandwidth. You can still find them, of course, but it's more work.
- colejohnson66 3y ago
  True. The most recent videos of popular channels would be cached in multiple locations to improve latency, but rarely accessed videos would exist at only one (or two for redundancy) data center.
- terinjokes 3y ago
  It's one reason why I love channels that take the time to make meaningful playlists: they're in whatever order the channel decides, which is often oldest-first in the context of a regular series.
  - MikusR 3y ago
    In my experience that kind of playlists are always newest first.
    - terinjokes 3y ago
      I watch a channel that has hundreds of videos playing a city builder, with playlists for each city they've streamed. I just looked and they're all oldest to newest, but yeah, I guess its up to the creator. The frustrating bit if they get it wrong is YouTube autoplays the next video, which would be going backwards for you.
- matteoraso 3y ago
  >It's probably because playing rarely-played videos costs more in bandwidth. Huh? Why would that be the case?
  - Fauntleroy 3y ago
    They exist on fewer servers, so they have to be pulled from deeper levels of cache, or maybe even no cache. Popular videos will be cached on edge servers all over the place, and will be quick and easy to deliver.
pessimizer 3y ago
It's not too strange if you think that YouTube is trying to abandon its past to become another also-ran on-demand broadcast service.
insteadof 3y ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gS1qfuKfVN8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gS1qfuKfVN8 They appear to be bringing it back based on a recent video from their Creator Insider channel

quaintdev 3y ago

Probably assuming oldest one like archived data and storing them accordingly.

Tokkemon 3y ago

Are you sure this isn't just an option for some channels to decide if they want it? Some channels definitely still have this sort option available.

doodlesdev 3y ago
No, they removed it. While I believe they haven't shared the reason they do it, I think it's probably due to backend changes to reduce costs of hosting older less popular videos (maybe moving them to nearline storage?). Some previous discussion here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33559888 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33559888
- Lockal 3y ago
  Yes/no, "Some channels definitely still have this sort option available". Many smaller (?) channels still have this button. Also sorting by date still works for all channels after editing URL. I don't know exactly, what is the criteria for hiding that button, but consider size/geography/political views/ability to inject ads/etc. YouTube shadowbanned comments, likes, videos for a long time; consider this as another technique of shadowbanning without explaining anything.
  - squeaky-clean 3y ago
    Any examples? I just checked about 20 channels I'm subscribed to that have between 1k-15k subs and there's no Sort By Oldest button.

gniv 3y ago

It's been a while since they removed it. It's probably because playing rarely-played videos costs more in bandwidth. You can still find them, of course, but it's more work.

colejohnson66 3y ago
True. The most recent videos of popular channels would be cached in multiple locations to improve latency, but rarely accessed videos would exist at only one (or two for redundancy) data center.
terinjokes 3y ago
It's one reason why I love channels that take the time to make meaningful playlists: they're in whatever order the channel decides, which is often oldest-first in the context of a regular series.
- MikusR 3y ago
  In my experience that kind of playlists are always newest first.
  - terinjokes 3y ago
    I watch a channel that has hundreds of videos playing a city builder, with playlists for each city they've streamed. I just looked and they're all oldest to newest, but yeah, I guess its up to the creator. The frustrating bit if they get it wrong is YouTube autoplays the next video, which would be going backwards for you.
matteoraso 3y ago
>It's probably because playing rarely-played videos costs more in bandwidth. Huh? Why would that be the case?
- Fauntleroy 3y ago
  They exist on fewer servers, so they have to be pulled from deeper levels of cache, or maybe even no cache. Popular videos will be cached on edge servers all over the place, and will be quick and easy to deliver.

pessimizer 3y ago

It's not too strange if you think that YouTube is trying to abandon its past to become another also-ran on-demand broadcast service.

insteadof 3y ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gS1qfuKfVN8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gS1qfuKfVN8 They appear to be bringing it back based on a recent video from their Creator Insider channel