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Life hack, maybe it will help someone out: Add a "before:YYYY" to the search to go back to a simpler time. Eg, "before:2012 python talk" As an experiment open

by frfl 3y ago

Life hack, maybe it will help someone out: Add a "before:YYYY" to the search to go back to a simpler time. Eg, "before:2012 python talk" As an experiment open two tabs and compare the results of "python talk" and "before:2012 python talk". The difference is staggering.

smallmancontrov 3y ago
This is amazing! I bet there are already tickets in google-JIRA to break this functionality :(
jerlam 3y ago
We'll probably all need to start adding "before:2023" to all our search queries when the deluge of AI-generated content crowds everything else out.
- red-iron-pine 3y ago
  there was tons of BS content, often digitally created, before 2023. the difference is 40% (then) vs 95% (potentially, soon)
mid-kid 3y ago
My only complaint about this is that so much of the old stuff has been removed, privated, marked as age restricted, blurred due to refusal to be marked as "for kids"[1] and removing the comment section, or otherwise made inaccessible by their authors. The reason usually being that it's embarassing or otherwise doesn't reflect the uploader's modern persona. A lot of awesome content is missing from the results due to that, and that thought alone makes me sad when I use this feature... [1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viTkj0eu-fk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viTkj0eu-fk
- wildrhythms 3y ago
  People should be allowed to remove their persona from the internet.
  - mid-kid 3y ago
    Yes, but that doesn't make it less of a shame when people remove content thousands of people enjoy. Information that goes on the internet never truly goes away, be it through personal archive sites or more general ones like archive.org (which archives youtube.com directly), it just becomes harder to find unless specifically sought for. The knowledge that I'm most certainly missing something when doing dated searches, and I'm viewing results filtered by people's current-day hindsight, instead of the unfiltered essence of the youtube of yesteryear makes me sad. We lost a lot of authenticity in the pursuit of flawless public images.
- Tarq0n 3y ago
  The way YouTube doesn't show you the metadata for removed videos anymore is infuriating. You end up with playlists where you can tell something was removed but not what.
justforasingle 3y ago
That is a good tip. Many people doing this will run into another silent youtube change, which is higher resolution options for older videos are completely removed. Some videos I have in my saved playlists marked 'HD 1080p' now only have a maximum resolution of 240p. Very sad.
- crtasm 3y ago
  That seems unusual, post some examples?
- BlueTemplar 3y ago
  Welp, it's way past time I backed up my favourite videos. Thanks for the warning.
Gud 3y ago
Thanks a lot!
mxmilkiib 3y ago
Also, 'sort by upload date' kills all the non directly keyword related results.
- winkelmann 3y ago
  You can also do before:2030 (or some other date in the future). It shouldn't change the results except removing the "recommended" garbage. It's crazy how much more usable it becomes. You could probably write a Userscript or something to automatically add it to every query.

by frfl 3y ago

smallmancontrov 3y ago

This is amazing! I bet there are already tickets in google-JIRA to break this functionality :(

jerlam 3y ago

We'll probably all need to start adding "before:2023" to all our search queries when the deluge of AI-generated content crowds everything else out.

red-iron-pine 3y ago
there was tons of BS content, often digitally created, before 2023. the difference is 40% (then) vs 95% (potentially, soon)

mid-kid 3y ago

My only complaint about this is that so much of the old stuff has been removed, privated, marked as age restricted, blurred due to refusal to be marked as "for kids"[1] and removing the comment section, or otherwise made inaccessible by their authors. The reason usually being that it's embarassing or otherwise doesn't reflect the uploader's modern persona. A lot of awesome content is missing from the results due to that, and that thought alone makes me sad when I use this feature... [1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viTkj0eu-fk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viTkj0eu-fk

wildrhythms 3y ago
People should be allowed to remove their persona from the internet.
- mid-kid 3y ago
  Yes, but that doesn't make it less of a shame when people remove content thousands of people enjoy. Information that goes on the internet never truly goes away, be it through personal archive sites or more general ones like archive.org (which archives youtube.com directly), it just becomes harder to find unless specifically sought for. The knowledge that I'm most certainly missing something when doing dated searches, and I'm viewing results filtered by people's current-day hindsight, instead of the unfiltered essence of the youtube of yesteryear makes me sad. We lost a lot of authenticity in the pursuit of flawless public images.
Tarq0n 3y ago
The way YouTube doesn't show you the metadata for removed videos anymore is infuriating. You end up with playlists where you can tell something was removed but not what.

justforasingle 3y ago

That is a good tip. Many people doing this will run into another silent youtube change, which is higher resolution options for older videos are completely removed. Some videos I have in my saved playlists marked 'HD 1080p' now only have a maximum resolution of 240p. Very sad.

crtasm 3y ago
That seems unusual, post some examples?
BlueTemplar 3y ago
Welp, it's way past time I backed up my favourite videos. Thanks for the warning.

Gud 3y ago

Thanks a lot!

mxmilkiib 3y ago

Also, 'sort by upload date' kills all the non directly keyword related results.

winkelmann 3y ago
You can also do before:2030 (or some other date in the future). It shouldn't change the results except removing the "recommended" garbage. It's crazy how much more usable it becomes. You could probably write a Userscript or something to automatically add it to every query.