Does YouTube even need comments? I can't remember any meaningful discussion happening in the comments, it's mostly meme type stuff. Long term I can see this being the final resolution for toxic comments.
Exactly, on a lot of technical/tutorial videos you'll see helpful discussion, like people asking questions that weren't covered, pointing out flaws, etc.
I think you need to say what you are watching to qualify your comment about the comments.
The more intellectual the content the more intellectual the comments. If you do a lot of your learning of code and development things on Youtube and watch conference talks online (rather than attend) then you are not going to find drivel in the comments.
Same with music, if you go through the back catalogue of your youth and find that record that only sold 5000 copies the first time around then the comments are going to be overwhelmingly positive.
Youtube doesn't recommend me any of these videos with meme grade comments or whatever these kiddo videos are that now can't have comments in them. I think I am watching different stuff to most people here who have a lot of hate for Youtube comments or maybe I am just not that sensitive.
To think there used to be a time when the BBC had a complete roster of paedophiles presenting all their music and TV shows and nobody noticed. The UK's most prolific paedophile worked for them for decades. How the pendulum of stranger-danger swings!
> I can't remember any meaningful discussion happening in the comments, it's mostly meme type stuff.
That's because you're watching pop-videos. There's a goldmine of educational content on YouTube which breed valuable comments. The problem isn't the concept of commenting, the problem is that shitty content attracts shitty comments.
A good example I've seen recently is Ronald Finger's Fiero restoration series. It's his first classic car restoration and the comments are full of good tips and friendly warnings about mistakes he makes.
Yes I read comments a lot in videos I watch. They tend to be more infotainment, so comments are filled with discussions surrounding the videos. Utopias don't exist. It's either we put up with toxicity, or live under a censorhip/dictatorship. Seems those are only two options in the long run.
As others have mentioned, it depends a lot on the video. Often technical or informative videos will have quite a few worthwhile comments, corrections or more in-depth explanations for instance. Other kinds of videos, especially if they are opinion pieces, not so much.
Probably. Comments provide feedback for content creators, which improves quality. That helps engagement, as so does being able to interact with the content creator and comment in general. That means viewers have a better experience and are likely to spend more time watching ads.
