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I've been a paying YouTube user since 2016 when it was YouTube Red. YouTube is imo one of the best sites on the internet. Both in terms of content that I perso

I've been a paying YouTube user since 2016 when it was YouTube Red. YouTube is imo one of the best sites on the internet. Both in terms of content that I personally enjoy and improves my life, as well as its role on the internet overall, where they provide a FREE service that allows EVERYONE to upload as much video as they want, and see what kind of response it gets from a global audience, and even to get paid for their content. I am 100% happy to pay for YouTube. And the bonus is, I don't have to see ads. Sure, many of the videos I watch these days are sponsored and have some short shout-out to the sponsor, but it doesn't bother me.

jszymborski 3y ago
See, I like a lot of content creators on YouTube. I also think that Alphabet has such an immensely negative impact on society. Deeply and thoroughly. I just cannot bring myself to give a red cent. Not by viewing ads, and much less by giving them my credit card.
- thunky 3y ago
  > I also think that Alphabet has such an immensely negative impact on society. Care to elaborate? Good news is that none of this matters to you since you avoid Google products.
  - mostlysimilar 3y ago
    The web was one of the best opportunities we had to steer the ship in a positive direction. Instead of encouraging and fostering the creative and self-expressive web, Google optimized for sucking the wealth out of us at the expense of everything else. And no, I don't buy the "SEO gamification ruined it, Google just responded" argument. They have billions of dollars and hordes of brilliant engineers. They could have done this differently. This was intentional because it made them fabulously wealthy.
  - Gud 3y ago
    There is no way to avoid "Google products". Google are everywhere via Google Analytics.
    - thunky 3y ago
      Maybe I'm missing something but AFAIK Google can't force anyone to install Google Analytics on their website. It would make more sense to me if you were upset with those that do. And if you're someone that knows enough to dislike GA then you're probably already blocking it.
      - deleted 3y ago
        [deleted]
  - soraminazuki 3y ago
    You seem to have completely forgotten about their sole money-making product: the ads and spyware they inject everywhere across the web. Or is the web officially a Google Product now?
carapace 3y ago
It's not free: you're supposed to watch the ads. You pay with your limited seconds of lifetime. You don't get those seconds back, ever.
ChatGTP 3y ago
Of course, it's not free, they're making billions of dollars of targeted advertising and stealing your attention to sell ads. They also seem to be in the shady business of getting kids completely hooked on the service. Most of my friends kids are just staring at YouTube day day out. I could blame the parents, but there is a reason why selling drugs is illegal too I guess.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
0xfedbee 3y ago
Nice try, Google, but no.
warabe 3y ago
That's great! Thank you for keep supporting Youtube!
- meiraleal 3y ago
  Support wikipedia. Youtube doesn't need support they have deep pockets making money selling ad space to scammers
  - DharmaPolice 3y ago
    It's not clear Wikipedia need your help at this point. Support the Internet Archive.
  - fragmede 3y ago
    Wikipedia doesn't need your money - their endowment has enough money ($200m+) to run the encyclopedia bit for decades Support the EFF.
rchaud 3y ago
That would suggest you're paying 40% more for it now than when you started. It's the cable TV model but with public access TV content.
karaterobot 3y ago
Do you ever skip past the shout-outs to the sponsor, or do you sit and pay attention to them out of admiration for the creators who spent so much time making free content for you?
- rchaud 3y ago
  I'll admit, I don't mind the ad reads for Michael Fisher's channel (MrMobile, gadget channel). This is because Fisher had done TV commercials as a young man and understands the importance of voice training and making ads feel friendly and natural.
- qntmfred 3y ago
  I skip, but the goal of sponsors is getting their name out there, which is still achieved even if I skip ahead. I've used promo codes for several products bc of these sponsorship deals/ads as well
- stronglikedan 3y ago
  It depends on whether it's engaging or relevant to me. I don't begrudge the creators for including sponsored content, but if I do sit through it, it's not out of admiration for them. It's because I want to know more, or am cleaning the kitchen and don't want to reach for the remote.
meiraleal 3y ago
> where they provide a FREE service that allows EVERYONE to upload as much video as they want If it was a FREE service to EVERYONE, they wouldn't care about adblockers. It is paid, then.
- stronglikedan 3y ago
  Free, in this context, means ad supported. Context is important.
  - AwaAwa 3y ago
    'Not Free' would be the clearest context.
beej71 3y ago
> YouTube is imo one of the best sites on the internet. This is true. > I am 100% happy to pay for YouTube. Just remember that you're giving money to the company that backs things like FLoC, Manifest v3, and WEI (recently in the news), things that threaten interoperability on the Internet. It's not friendly. If you pay them, do it with your eyes open.
- Workaccount2 3y ago
  Ironically, the reason Google has so much Orwellian power is because people are so much more willing to view ads than pay a subscription. Youtube itself would be a far better product if it was subscription only. It would mean that the users, not the advertisers, are the customer to be catered too.
  - Scoundreller 3y ago
    > Youtube itself would be a far better product if it was subscription only. Isn’t that what a lot of big names kinda move to? “Get more videos by signing up on patrebula”
- jauntywundrkind 3y ago
  They also built an incredible browser full of amazing capabilities that I do love. And have an enormous commitment to standards and standards processes, that they have supported & helped tirelessly. https://www.chromium.org/blink/launching-features/ https://www.chromium.org/blink/launching-features/
  - spystath 3y ago
    I think that's a relatively simplistic way of viewing this. Although I don't disagree with the core argument, Google will always implement and ship "standards" that fit their business model or their vision of the web. A Chrome API becomes a defacto standard regardless of the state of consensus between engine vendors. Chrome can bulldoze through the standards process because of the massive amount of Chrome installations (and derivatives). There are standards that have never been fully accepted by Mozilla [0] or WebKit (famously webusb for instance, because of security implications) but they are still in Chrome and now Firefox or Safari are effectively a "worse" browser because they don't support "standard" X that never reached consensus but Chrome implemented anyway. It always starts as an "experimental" feature under a config flag while the supposed discussion is taking place "just to see how it works, promise" before Google decides to remove the experimental flag and ship it. WEI started to play out exactly in the same way but given the massive outrage they decided it was too damaging to keep pursuing it (they still sneakily implemented it in Android WebViews). So although I don't disagree that, yes Google has certainly improved on some things when it comes to standard processes they have abused their powerful position and continue to do so to push forward whatever they think it benefits them. [0] https://mozilla.github.io/standards-positions/ https://mozilla.github.io/standards-positions/
acheron 3y ago
"Hm, Google tracks me everywhere I go and tries to store data about everything I do. It's pretty terrible, but what should I do about it? I know, I'll link my account to a real identity and credit card!"
adingus 3y ago
I totally agree. I think we're still in the golden age of YouTube and YouTube red w/ YouTube music is totally worth the $15 or whatever I pay every month. I have YouTube on in the background for hours and use it to look stuff up all the time. If you don't want to see ads, pay for the ad free service! Especially since it's cheap as shit compared to cable. It blows my mind that people expect these free services. I am totally pro paying a small amount for services I value (and I do) than only have a crappy free ad filled option. I pay for kagi, I pay for YouTube and I pay my favorite creators via patreon or whatever because I want them to be able to keep doing whatever they're doing.
malka 3y ago
This does read soooo much like an ad. Uncanny. not telling it is really one though.
- qntmfred 3y ago
  is it that hard to fathom that other people might have generally positive experiences with products and companies that you may consider warrant criticism? whatever valid criticism or discussion may exist regarding ad blocking policies, it doesn't change the fact that there are clear benefits to this service existing, even if those benefits comes with tradeoffs like watching ads or directly paying for the service. can't get everything for free, ya know!
stronglikedan 3y ago
Another bonus is YT Music.
joshspankit 3y ago
How do you feel about YouTube’s gradual shift in focus from promoting evergreen content to “grab your attention for the next X seconds” content?
- qntmfred 3y ago
  I'm not sure I agree that that is an accurate premise, but even if it is, I'd probably feel about it the same way that I feel about grocery stores putting tabloid magazines and candy near the cash registers.
nonbirithm 3y ago
Even though it is true YouTube is a hugely valuable resource, if it takes YouTube going as far as blocking adblockers for me to pay for premium at this point, I don't think I could bring myself to do it. In a word - and I know it sounds like a cop-out to say this - it feels like capitulation. Letting up on blocking ads on YouTube would not make me give up uBlock Origin for all other websites, and I think that would cause me to have a lot of cognitive dissonance in my decision. It's an issue of conflicting mental signals and the mood that results from the resulting implication - it's like saying "ads are not okay under any circumstance - until they start locking the doors." I feel like it could be the same for a lot of people who can afford the cost. Ability to pay may not always be the issue. Paying the price could become a symbolic indicator of Google finally triumphing over even the most obstinate anti-timewasting user, and mentally it's not a good feeling to give that up that fight after years and years of holding on to the adblocking creed, regardless of the resulting betterment of the service from paying. At the same time, it doesn't result in a justification for being set in one's ways, only a possible explanation of why people would decide not to use premium. This strategy only works so long as uBlock Origin's team of volunteers holds more patience than Google's salaried employees.
bitcharmer 3y ago
Just a friendly reminder that you're promoting a platform that happily demonetizes people reporting on important events (like Tiffany Fong) and supports doxxing (as long as the doxxer is a cash cow like SSSniperWolf).
GoofballJones 3y ago
I have subscribed to it for a long time too. I mean, I watch YouTube more than any other streaming service like Hulu or Netflix or whatever. I've guarded my viewing habits jealously so it doesn't feed me any of the toxic BS that can invade the platform. My feed is mostly food and guitar related...with some interesting science bits thrown in. I too am happy to pay for a service I use so much. And it's also so I don't hear any ads. I have trouble falling asleep, and I use it to watch/listen to relaxing videos that calm me down and let me fall asleep. Sure, if I watched everything on a computer, I could just use an ad-blocker. But I rarely watch it on my computer. I watch it on my tablet, and mostly on my streaming box attached to my big TV in the living room. Can't put an ad-blocker on there easily...especially since YouTube can change the way they stream to suddenly nullify how the ad-blockers work. So then you have to somehow update the ad-blocker and tweak it and by that time, you're spending more time than you want to just to watch the fricken video. Yeah, I know...they make watching the ad supported YouTube as obnoxious as hell to push you to just subscribe. But the content I watch, in my opinion, is worth it for me. Yeah, I know. I'll get the "but your contributing to a corporation that does blah blah blah". Okay, but that's a slippery slop. The only way to NOT contribute to myriad of "evil corporations" is to buy and own nothing. Just live in an empty room with a mattress and a single light-bulb hanging from the ceiling. But wait! Is that light-bulb powered by a fossil-fuel electric plant??? I'm a monster!

jszymborski 3y ago

See, I like a lot of content creators on YouTube. I also think that Alphabet has such an immensely negative impact on society. Deeply and thoroughly. I just cannot bring myself to give a red cent. Not by viewing ads, and much less by giving them my credit card.

thunky 3y ago
> I also think that Alphabet has such an immensely negative impact on society. Care to elaborate? Good news is that none of this matters to you since you avoid Google products.
- mostlysimilar 3y ago
  The web was one of the best opportunities we had to steer the ship in a positive direction. Instead of encouraging and fostering the creative and self-expressive web, Google optimized for sucking the wealth out of us at the expense of everything else. And no, I don't buy the "SEO gamification ruined it, Google just responded" argument. They have billions of dollars and hordes of brilliant engineers. They could have done this differently. This was intentional because it made them fabulously wealthy.
- Gud 3y ago
  There is no way to avoid "Google products". Google are everywhere via Google Analytics.
  - thunky 3y ago
    Maybe I'm missing something but AFAIK Google can't force anyone to install Google Analytics on their website. It would make more sense to me if you were upset with those that do. And if you're someone that knows enough to dislike GA then you're probably already blocking it.
    - deleted 3y ago
      [deleted]
- soraminazuki 3y ago
  You seem to have completely forgotten about their sole money-making product: the ads and spyware they inject everywhere across the web. Or is the web officially a Google Product now?

carapace 3y ago

It's not free: you're supposed to watch the ads. You pay with your limited seconds of lifetime. You don't get those seconds back, ever.

ChatGTP 3y ago

Of course, it's not free, they're making billions of dollars of targeted advertising and stealing your attention to sell ads. They also seem to be in the shady business of getting kids completely hooked on the service. Most of my friends kids are just staring at YouTube day day out. I could blame the parents, but there is a reason why selling drugs is illegal too I guess.

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

0xfedbee 3y ago

Nice try, Google, but no.

warabe 3y ago

That's great! Thank you for keep supporting Youtube!

meiraleal 3y ago
Support wikipedia. Youtube doesn't need support they have deep pockets making money selling ad space to scammers
- DharmaPolice 3y ago
  It's not clear Wikipedia need your help at this point. Support the Internet Archive.
- fragmede 3y ago
  Wikipedia doesn't need your money - their endowment has enough money ($200m+) to run the encyclopedia bit for decades Support the EFF.

rchaud 3y ago

That would suggest you're paying 40% more for it now than when you started. It's the cable TV model but with public access TV content.

karaterobot 3y ago

Do you ever skip past the shout-outs to the sponsor, or do you sit and pay attention to them out of admiration for the creators who spent so much time making free content for you?

rchaud 3y ago
I'll admit, I don't mind the ad reads for Michael Fisher's channel (MrMobile, gadget channel). This is because Fisher had done TV commercials as a young man and understands the importance of voice training and making ads feel friendly and natural.
qntmfred 3y ago
I skip, but the goal of sponsors is getting their name out there, which is still achieved even if I skip ahead. I've used promo codes for several products bc of these sponsorship deals/ads as well
stronglikedan 3y ago
It depends on whether it's engaging or relevant to me. I don't begrudge the creators for including sponsored content, but if I do sit through it, it's not out of admiration for them. It's because I want to know more, or am cleaning the kitchen and don't want to reach for the remote.

meiraleal 3y ago

> where they provide a FREE service that allows EVERYONE to upload as much video as they want If it was a FREE service to EVERYONE, they wouldn't care about adblockers. It is paid, then.

stronglikedan 3y ago
Free, in this context, means ad supported. Context is important.
- AwaAwa 3y ago
  'Not Free' would be the clearest context.

beej71 3y ago

> YouTube is imo one of the best sites on the internet. This is true. > I am 100% happy to pay for YouTube. Just remember that you're giving money to the company that backs things like FLoC, Manifest v3, and WEI (recently in the news), things that threaten interoperability on the Internet. It's not friendly. If you pay them, do it with your eyes open.

Workaccount2 3y ago
Ironically, the reason Google has so much Orwellian power is because people are so much more willing to view ads than pay a subscription. Youtube itself would be a far better product if it was subscription only. It would mean that the users, not the advertisers, are the customer to be catered too.
- Scoundreller 3y ago
  > Youtube itself would be a far better product if it was subscription only. Isn’t that what a lot of big names kinda move to? “Get more videos by signing up on patrebula”
jauntywundrkind 3y ago
They also built an incredible browser full of amazing capabilities that I do love. And have an enormous commitment to standards and standards processes, that they have supported & helped tirelessly. https://www.chromium.org/blink/launching-features/ https://www.chromium.org/blink/launching-features/
- spystath 3y ago
  I think that's a relatively simplistic way of viewing this. Although I don't disagree with the core argument, Google will always implement and ship "standards" that fit their business model or their vision of the web. A Chrome API becomes a defacto standard regardless of the state of consensus between engine vendors. Chrome can bulldoze through the standards process because of the massive amount of Chrome installations (and derivatives). There are standards that have never been fully accepted by Mozilla [0] or WebKit (famously webusb for instance, because of security implications) but they are still in Chrome and now Firefox or Safari are effectively a "worse" browser because they don't support "standard" X that never reached consensus but Chrome implemented anyway. It always starts as an "experimental" feature under a config flag while the supposed discussion is taking place "just to see how it works, promise" before Google decides to remove the experimental flag and ship it. WEI started to play out exactly in the same way but given the massive outrage they decided it was too damaging to keep pursuing it (they still sneakily implemented it in Android WebViews). So although I don't disagree that, yes Google has certainly improved on some things when it comes to standard processes they have abused their powerful position and continue to do so to push forward whatever they think it benefits them. [0] https://mozilla.github.io/standards-positions/ https://mozilla.github.io/standards-positions/

acheron 3y ago

"Hm, Google tracks me everywhere I go and tries to store data about everything I do. It's pretty terrible, but what should I do about it? I know, I'll link my account to a real identity and credit card!"

adingus 3y ago

I totally agree. I think we're still in the golden age of YouTube and YouTube red w/ YouTube music is totally worth the $15 or whatever I pay every month. I have YouTube on in the background for hours and use it to look stuff up all the time. If you don't want to see ads, pay for the ad free service! Especially since it's cheap as shit compared to cable. It blows my mind that people expect these free services. I am totally pro paying a small amount for services I value (and I do) than only have a crappy free ad filled option. I pay for kagi, I pay for YouTube and I pay my favorite creators via patreon or whatever because I want them to be able to keep doing whatever they're doing.

malka 3y ago

This does read soooo much like an ad. Uncanny. not telling it is really one though.

qntmfred 3y ago
is it that hard to fathom that other people might have generally positive experiences with products and companies that you may consider warrant criticism? whatever valid criticism or discussion may exist regarding ad blocking policies, it doesn't change the fact that there are clear benefits to this service existing, even if those benefits comes with tradeoffs like watching ads or directly paying for the service. can't get everything for free, ya know!

stronglikedan 3y ago

Another bonus is YT Music.

joshspankit 3y ago

How do you feel about YouTube’s gradual shift in focus from promoting evergreen content to “grab your attention for the next X seconds” content?

qntmfred 3y ago
I'm not sure I agree that that is an accurate premise, but even if it is, I'd probably feel about it the same way that I feel about grocery stores putting tabloid magazines and candy near the cash registers.

nonbirithm 3y ago

Even though it is true YouTube is a hugely valuable resource, if it takes YouTube going as far as blocking adblockers for me to pay for premium at this point, I don't think I could bring myself to do it. In a word - and I know it sounds like a cop-out to say this - it feels like capitulation. Letting up on blocking ads on YouTube would not make me give up uBlock Origin for all other websites, and I think that would cause me to have a lot of cognitive dissonance in my decision. It's an issue of conflicting mental signals and the mood that results from the resulting implication - it's like saying "ads are not okay under any circumstance - until they start locking the doors." I feel like it could be the same for a lot of people who can afford the cost. Ability to pay may not always be the issue. Paying the price could become a symbolic indicator of Google finally triumphing over even the most obstinate anti-timewasting user, and mentally it's not a good feeling to give that up that fight after years and years of holding on to the adblocking creed, regardless of the resulting betterment of the service from paying. At the same time, it doesn't result in a justification for being set in one's ways, only a possible explanation of why people would decide not to use premium. This strategy only works so long as uBlock Origin's team of volunteers holds more patience than Google's salaried employees.

bitcharmer 3y ago

Just a friendly reminder that you're promoting a platform that happily demonetizes people reporting on important events (like Tiffany Fong) and supports doxxing (as long as the doxxer is a cash cow like SSSniperWolf).

GoofballJones 3y ago

I have subscribed to it for a long time too. I mean, I watch YouTube more than any other streaming service like Hulu or Netflix or whatever. I've guarded my viewing habits jealously so it doesn't feed me any of the toxic BS that can invade the platform. My feed is mostly food and guitar related...with some interesting science bits thrown in. I too am happy to pay for a service I use so much. And it's also so I don't hear any ads. I have trouble falling asleep, and I use it to watch/listen to relaxing videos that calm me down and let me fall asleep. Sure, if I watched everything on a computer, I could just use an ad-blocker. But I rarely watch it on my computer. I watch it on my tablet, and mostly on my streaming box attached to my big TV in the living room. Can't put an ad-blocker on there easily...especially since YouTube can change the way they stream to suddenly nullify how the ad-blockers work. So then you have to somehow update the ad-blocker and tweak it and by that time, you're spending more time than you want to just to watch the fricken video. Yeah, I know...they make watching the ad supported YouTube as obnoxious as hell to push you to just subscribe. But the content I watch, in my opinion, is worth it for me. Yeah, I know. I'll get the "but your contributing to a corporation that does blah blah blah". Okay, but that's a slippery slop. The only way to NOT contribute to myriad of "evil corporations" is to buy and own nothing. Just live in an empty room with a mattress and a single light-bulb hanging from the ceiling. But wait! Is that light-bulb powered by a fossil-fuel electric plant??? I'm a monster!