7 ms·

"Across all these videos and many other silent blank ones, every viewer seems to have their own use case. The most common, by far, is to use these videos as a w

by mdrzn 3y ago

"Across all these videos and many other silent blank ones, every viewer seems to have their own use case. The most common, by far, is to use these videos as a way to simply keep your device on. “I keep this playing overnight so that my laptop doesn’t shutdown while downloading games,” one commenter wrote. “I have to keep this open on my phone because it’s broken and will not turn back on if it turns off,” another said. "

viraptor 3y ago
I think the author is taking too many of those comments seriously when they're likely just Reddit style jokes trying to outmeme each other. I don't believe the explanation that someone would actually pay a video instead of changing the settings to disable turning off the screen. Serious platforms and software also prevent autosleep when downloading large games (or have an obvious switch for it)
- dizhn 3y ago
  I was at a hotel once and the TV remote died at night. There was no way to turn it off and it was really bright. I streamed a video of just black with no audio till morning.
  - mcculley 3y ago
    I have taken to unplugging TVs in hotel rooms as it has become more difficult to figure out how to shut them off entirely. Some will leave a blue or red LED on all night when I would prefer darkness. Also, it is really hard to tell what the TV or any boxes attached to it might be doing as far as listening or watching.
    - macintux 3y ago
      For me, it’s alarm clocks. Simpler to just unplug than to make certain someone didn’t set an alarm that’ll wake me at 3 in the morning (plus I no longer have the annoying light in the room).
  - onetokeoverthe 3y ago
    [dead]
- karamanolev 3y ago
  I do seriously occasionally play videos to keep my device awake - local mkvs on repeat though, not the consuming internet bandwidth type. Usually when leaving some janky update apps (hi Garmin) that really need to keep working for hours and don't care about keeping the PC awake. When twiddling with sleep settings I sometimes don't set them up right and playing a video in VLC always works.
  - laserdancepony 3y ago
    On Windows I've been using "Don't Sleep" [1] and have now switched to "PowerToys Awake" [2] for one-click sleep prevention. On macOS I've used Caffeine [3] for that purpose. KDE on the other hand already has a built-in check box to prohibit sleeping in the power/battery control applet. There seems to be quite a market for this teeny tiny tools. [1] https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Microsoft/DontSleep https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Microsoft/DontSleep [2] https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/powertoys/awake https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/powertoys/awake [3] https://www.caffeine-app.net https://www.caffeine-app.net
    - ethbr0 3y ago
      On Windows, a VB script (so runnable with the default script runner) that toggles NumLock every so often is the classic. Looks like PowerShell is the updated version: https://stackoverflow.com/a/9795442 https://stackoverflow.com/a/9795442 Point being that it's runnable on any Windows machine, without additional binaries.
    - snowe2010 3y ago
      Caffeine is actually built into macs. You can just run ` caffeine` on the command line. I like to use hammerspoon to control it though, which adds the exact same icon to the taskbar, but I have one less thing to install.
      - abwizz 3y ago
        so there is a separate management frontend for the hack that prevents the computer from shutting itself off?
- boomboomsubban 3y ago
  It fits the level of computer expertise I expect from a general YouTube commenter, and I suspect there's a string of replies to the comment telling them there's a better way to do it and that subthread has reached Godwin's law.
  - messe 3y ago
    > subthread has reached Godwin's law Do you mean Poe's law? Although given the general quality of youtube comment sections, I wouldn't be surprised if Godwin's law[2] applies as well. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poe's_law https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poe's_law [2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin's_law https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin's_law
    - HPsquared 3y ago
      I think it's a comment on the length of debate in the comments.
    - boomboomsubban 3y ago
      No, Godwin's. Whenever I end up reading YouTube comments I'm shocked at how quickly seemingly well intentioned replies end up in 50+ comment flame wars.
- iLoveOncall 3y ago
  I use that on my work computer because it doesn't allow changing the lock duration. Even if I spend too long in the bathroom it will go to sleep with the maximum lock time settings, and my amazing Mac crashes if it has external monitors plugged-in when it goes to sleep. I'm also not at all surprised that people are tech illiterate to the point that they don't know how to change basic settings. My girlfriend sure as hell wouldn't for example.
  - viraptor 3y ago
    > on my work computer because it doesn't allow changing the lock duration Well, I did not expect that, but I found an actual explanation that really makes sense. (For your own Mac, there's https://www.caffeine-app.net/ https://www.caffeine-app.net/ available though)
    - LoganDark 3y ago
      If they're using a Mac that doesn't allow changing the screen lock duration, that Mac likely has MDM software installed that controls which apps they can run. I don't know if Caffeine is on that list.
      - derefr 3y ago
        No, not really. The fast lock is to prevent a lackadaisical attitude toward security from enabling Evil Maid attacks; not to restrict what you can run on your device. (Source: I had this policy foisted on me on both desktop and mobile when I worked for IBM.)
        LoganDark 3y ago
        I mean, being able to set the lock time in the first place means it's possible they could have software restrictions. Not guaranteed.
      - snowe2010 3y ago
        `caffeine` is built into Mac so they don’t even need to install anything.
- aaron695 3y ago
  [dead]
- jholman 3y ago
  Well, stop disbelieving, I know in-the-flesh at least one person who does this more or less constantly. She doesn't like how her aged macbook behaves when it screenlocks, and she refuses to adjust the auto-screen-lock settings, and refuses to let me change them for her. She streams, not black screen, but youtube videos, 24/7. Sometimes videos she once liked, sometimes videos she aspires to watch, sometimes videos she is watching, sometimes "soothing music". Sometimes she leaves them playing audio, but if there's a reason to stop the audio, she doesn't stop the video, she doesn't change to a silent video.... she presses the mute button on the keyboard. That way her computer won't sleep. If she doesn't want video AND doesn't want audio? (such as if I'm visiting and the videos are bothering me) No problem, press mute, and turn the laptop to face the wall. She is using a shared internet connection with several other apartments, too, so she's actively degrading the experience of other people when she's doing this. This irrationally bothers me, so I ask her to stop. She won't. I have learned to cope. This is a person who gets annoyed if I leave a 15W light on, in one of the cheapest electricity markets in the world (well under 10c/kWh). If I try to ask why she's doing this, she immediately gets confrontational. But, again, it's not because of tech illiteracy, because she refuses help with it, and I'm fairly confident she could do it herself anyway. Thank you for listening. Apparently my learning-to-cope is not 100% effective.
  - fragmede 3y ago
    https://xkcd.com/1172/ https://xkcd.com/1172/
  - chippy 3y ago
    Find something you agree upon. You could appeal to her energy saving mindset. For example mention how much power an always on computer is drawing and say that videos use CPU which ramps up the wattage and usage. Bright monitors use more energy than dim ones etc. Sleep mode vs always on. If you want to go even further you could mention the carbon footprint of youtube and internet servers but this is pushing it a bit.
    - actionfromafar 3y ago
      Not going to work
- Popeyes 3y ago
  I do this when I need to take a break from work but don't want it to lock the screen.
- ethbr0 3y ago
  > I don't believe the explanation that someone would actually pay a video instead of changing the settings to disable turning off the screen. Corporate managed device. 24 hour ML prototype model training on a MBP. Lock killed training. YouTube cat videos to the rescue. (Was not involved, but saw this happen)
- frankreyes 3y ago
  It's just easier to play the video than change settings. I've never managed to change settings on Windows in a way that KEEPS THE THING ALWAYS ON. now I have a fake USB mouse jiggler.
- housecarpenter 3y ago
  I've tried changing the settings, but it's confusing. Am I trying to stop my laptop from "locking", "sleeping" or "hibernating"? It's not clear to me which thing it's doing. Maybe it's doing one thing some of the time, and the other thing the rest of the time. And even now that I think I've set it to do none of these things, the screen still disappears and I have to re-enter my password within 5 minutes. So either the settings don't work, or the UI is too confusing for me to figure out what's the right thing to do. Either way, putting a YouTube video on is much easier.
pjc50 3y ago
I was in a cafe the other day that had some sort of "HD views of Italy" on a big TV on a loop. Except they didn't quite have enough bandwidth, so every now and again it would visibly buffer.
DangitBobby 3y ago
Yes! I just realized I can queue up a silent track so it won't matter (much) anymore that my car ignores auto-play settings! I can't tell you how frustrating it is that I just want silence in my car sometimes but invariably a stupid podcast starts playing every time.
- astura 3y ago
  I've taken to turning off Bluetooth on my phone before getting into the car.
  - DangitBobby 3y ago
    I often need Android Auto for navigation, and my watch is connected via Bluetooth as well.
gniv 3y ago
If you're wondering like I did how to do this easily on a Mac: you can set a hot corner to 'Disable Screen Saver'.
phodo 3y ago
If on a mac you can always type ‘caffeinate’ in Terminal and it will keep your laptop on when you close the lid.
suyjuris 3y ago
Someone I know wanted to have a movable white rectangle on the screen to cover up things (for a presentation). They had a creative solution: open a “10h white background” video and used Firefox's picture-in-picture feature. Unfortunately, the recommendation algorithm picked up on this, and started recommending a bunch of similar videos...

by mdrzn 3y ago

viraptor 3y ago

I think the author is taking too many of those comments seriously when they're likely just Reddit style jokes trying to outmeme each other. I don't believe the explanation that someone would actually pay a video instead of changing the settings to disable turning off the screen. Serious platforms and software also prevent autosleep when downloading large games (or have an obvious switch for it)

dizhn 3y ago
I was at a hotel once and the TV remote died at night. There was no way to turn it off and it was really bright. I streamed a video of just black with no audio till morning.
- mcculley 3y ago
  I have taken to unplugging TVs in hotel rooms as it has become more difficult to figure out how to shut them off entirely. Some will leave a blue or red LED on all night when I would prefer darkness. Also, it is really hard to tell what the TV or any boxes attached to it might be doing as far as listening or watching.
  - macintux 3y ago
    For me, it’s alarm clocks. Simpler to just unplug than to make certain someone didn’t set an alarm that’ll wake me at 3 in the morning (plus I no longer have the annoying light in the room).
- onetokeoverthe 3y ago
  [dead]
karamanolev 3y ago
I do seriously occasionally play videos to keep my device awake - local mkvs on repeat though, not the consuming internet bandwidth type. Usually when leaving some janky update apps (hi Garmin) that really need to keep working for hours and don't care about keeping the PC awake. When twiddling with sleep settings I sometimes don't set them up right and playing a video in VLC always works.
- laserdancepony 3y ago
  On Windows I've been using "Don't Sleep" [1] and have now switched to "PowerToys Awake" [2] for one-click sleep prevention. On macOS I've used Caffeine [3] for that purpose. KDE on the other hand already has a built-in check box to prohibit sleeping in the power/battery control applet. There seems to be quite a market for this teeny tiny tools. [1] https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Microsoft/DontSleep https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Microsoft/DontSleep [2] https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/powertoys/awake https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/powertoys/awake [3] https://www.caffeine-app.net https://www.caffeine-app.net
  - ethbr0 3y ago
    On Windows, a VB script (so runnable with the default script runner) that toggles NumLock every so often is the classic. Looks like PowerShell is the updated version: https://stackoverflow.com/a/9795442 https://stackoverflow.com/a/9795442 Point being that it's runnable on any Windows machine, without additional binaries.
  - snowe2010 3y ago
    Caffeine is actually built into macs. You can just run ` caffeine` on the command line. I like to use hammerspoon to control it though, which adds the exact same icon to the taskbar, but I have one less thing to install.
    - abwizz 3y ago
      so there is a separate management frontend for the hack that prevents the computer from shutting itself off?
boomboomsubban 3y ago
It fits the level of computer expertise I expect from a general YouTube commenter, and I suspect there's a string of replies to the comment telling them there's a better way to do it and that subthread has reached Godwin's law.
- messe 3y ago
  > subthread has reached Godwin's law Do you mean Poe's law? Although given the general quality of youtube comment sections, I wouldn't be surprised if Godwin's law[2] applies as well. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poe's_law https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poe's_law [2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin's_law https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin's_law
  - HPsquared 3y ago
    I think it's a comment on the length of debate in the comments.
  - boomboomsubban 3y ago
    No, Godwin's. Whenever I end up reading YouTube comments I'm shocked at how quickly seemingly well intentioned replies end up in 50+ comment flame wars.
iLoveOncall 3y ago
I use that on my work computer because it doesn't allow changing the lock duration. Even if I spend too long in the bathroom it will go to sleep with the maximum lock time settings, and my amazing Mac crashes if it has external monitors plugged-in when it goes to sleep. I'm also not at all surprised that people are tech illiterate to the point that they don't know how to change basic settings. My girlfriend sure as hell wouldn't for example.
- viraptor 3y ago
  > on my work computer because it doesn't allow changing the lock duration Well, I did not expect that, but I found an actual explanation that really makes sense. (For your own Mac, there's https://www.caffeine-app.net/ https://www.caffeine-app.net/ available though)
  - LoganDark 3y ago
    If they're using a Mac that doesn't allow changing the screen lock duration, that Mac likely has MDM software installed that controls which apps they can run. I don't know if Caffeine is on that list.
    - derefr 3y ago
      No, not really. The fast lock is to prevent a lackadaisical attitude toward security from enabling Evil Maid attacks; not to restrict what you can run on your device. (Source: I had this policy foisted on me on both desktop and mobile when I worked for IBM.)
      - LoganDark 3y ago
        I mean, being able to set the lock time in the first place means it's possible they could have software restrictions. Not guaranteed.
    - snowe2010 3y ago
      `caffeine` is built into Mac so they don’t even need to install anything.
aaron695 3y ago
[dead]
jholman 3y ago
Well, stop disbelieving, I know in-the-flesh at least one person who does this more or less constantly. She doesn't like how her aged macbook behaves when it screenlocks, and she refuses to adjust the auto-screen-lock settings, and refuses to let me change them for her. She streams, not black screen, but youtube videos, 24/7. Sometimes videos she once liked, sometimes videos she aspires to watch, sometimes videos she is watching, sometimes "soothing music". Sometimes she leaves them playing audio, but if there's a reason to stop the audio, she doesn't stop the video, she doesn't change to a silent video.... she presses the mute button on the keyboard. That way her computer won't sleep. If she doesn't want video AND doesn't want audio? (such as if I'm visiting and the videos are bothering me) No problem, press mute, and turn the laptop to face the wall. She is using a shared internet connection with several other apartments, too, so she's actively degrading the experience of other people when she's doing this. This irrationally bothers me, so I ask her to stop. She won't. I have learned to cope. This is a person who gets annoyed if I leave a 15W light on, in one of the cheapest electricity markets in the world (well under 10c/kWh). If I try to ask why she's doing this, she immediately gets confrontational. But, again, it's not because of tech illiteracy, because she refuses help with it, and I'm fairly confident she could do it herself anyway. Thank you for listening. Apparently my learning-to-cope is not 100% effective.
- fragmede 3y ago
  https://xkcd.com/1172/ https://xkcd.com/1172/
- chippy 3y ago
  Find something you agree upon. You could appeal to her energy saving mindset. For example mention how much power an always on computer is drawing and say that videos use CPU which ramps up the wattage and usage. Bright monitors use more energy than dim ones etc. Sleep mode vs always on. If you want to go even further you could mention the carbon footprint of youtube and internet servers but this is pushing it a bit.
  - actionfromafar 3y ago
    Not going to work
Popeyes 3y ago
I do this when I need to take a break from work but don't want it to lock the screen.
ethbr0 3y ago
> I don't believe the explanation that someone would actually pay a video instead of changing the settings to disable turning off the screen. Corporate managed device. 24 hour ML prototype model training on a MBP. Lock killed training. YouTube cat videos to the rescue. (Was not involved, but saw this happen)
frankreyes 3y ago
It's just easier to play the video than change settings. I've never managed to change settings on Windows in a way that KEEPS THE THING ALWAYS ON. now I have a fake USB mouse jiggler.
housecarpenter 3y ago
I've tried changing the settings, but it's confusing. Am I trying to stop my laptop from "locking", "sleeping" or "hibernating"? It's not clear to me which thing it's doing. Maybe it's doing one thing some of the time, and the other thing the rest of the time. And even now that I think I've set it to do none of these things, the screen still disappears and I have to re-enter my password within 5 minutes. So either the settings don't work, or the UI is too confusing for me to figure out what's the right thing to do. Either way, putting a YouTube video on is much easier.

pjc50 3y ago

I was in a cafe the other day that had some sort of "HD views of Italy" on a big TV on a loop. Except they didn't quite have enough bandwidth, so every now and again it would visibly buffer.

DangitBobby 3y ago

Yes! I just realized I can queue up a silent track so it won't matter (much) anymore that my car ignores auto-play settings! I can't tell you how frustrating it is that I just want silence in my car sometimes but invariably a stupid podcast starts playing every time.

astura 3y ago
I've taken to turning off Bluetooth on my phone before getting into the car.
- DangitBobby 3y ago
  I often need Android Auto for navigation, and my watch is connected via Bluetooth as well.

gniv 3y ago

If you're wondering like I did how to do this easily on a Mac: you can set a hot corner to 'Disable Screen Saver'.

phodo 3y ago

If on a mac you can always type ‘caffeinate’ in Terminal and it will keep your laptop on when you close the lid.

suyjuris 3y ago

Someone I know wanted to have a movable white rectangle on the screen to cover up things (for a presentation). They had a creative solution: open a “10h white background” video and used Firefox's picture-in-picture feature. Unfortunately, the recommendation algorithm picked up on this, and started recommending a bunch of similar videos...