At YouTube, we strive to be a place where creators of all sizes and backgrounds can find and share their voice. To ensure that YouTube promotes respectful interactions between viewers and creators, we introduced several featuresand policies to improve their experience. And earlier this year, we experimentedwith the dislike button to see whether or not changes could help better protect our creators from harassment, and reduce dislike attacks — where people work to drive up the number of dislikes on a creator’s videos.We're making the dislike counts private across YouTube, but the dislike button is not going away. This change will start gradually rolling out today.
As part of this experiment, viewers could still see and use the dislike button. But because the count was not visible to them, we found that they were less likely to target a video’s dislike button to drive up the count. In short, our experiment data showed a reduction in dislike attacking behavior1. We also heard directly from smaller creators and those just getting started that they are unfairly targeted by this behavior — and our experiment confirmed that this does occur at a higher proportion on smaller channels.
Based on what we learned, we're making the dislike counts private across YouTube, but the dislike button is not going away. This change will start gradually rolling out today.
What’s changing for creators and viewers starting today
Creators will still be able to find their exact dislike counts in YouTube Studio, along with other existing metrics, if they would like to understand how their content is performing.
We want to create an inclusive and respectful environment where creators have the opportunity to succeed and feel safe to express themselves.
Viewers can still dislike videos to tune their recommendationsand privately share feedback with creators.
We heard during the experiment that some of you have used the public dislike count to help decide whether or not to watch a video. We know that you might not agree with this decision, but we believe that this is the right thing to do for the platform.
We want to create an inclusive and respectful environment where creators have the opportunity to succeed and feel safe to express themselves. This is just one of many steps we are taking to continue to protect creators from harassment. Our work is not done, and we’ll continue to invest here.
What does all that crap mean? It's worded like a person or company trying to cover their butt in litigation or some damn thing. Without picking out each and all statements, I'll chose this one.
earlier this year, we experimentedwith the dislike button to see whether or not changes could help better protect our creators from harassment, and reduce dislike attacks — where people work to drive up the number of dislikes on a creator’s videos.
On its face it reads like the dislike button is a relatively new thing which it is not. It's been there since Julius Caesar's farts mixed with Cleopatra's farts in the atmosphere. I can't even tell you how many times I've seen comments for videos say something like, "148 people don't know what good music is." Or variances of that sentence based on the video. And it was true! That damn dislike button was absurd. I've seen countless great videos get thumbs down and I'm sure others have as well. You often had to wonder just what kind of backwards idiot thumbs this or that video down. And I'm not saying this on personal preference either. It's probably by people (teenagers?) that want to be a dick or something. Could even be an adversary and that wonderful API. Oh, APIs. They're such great little things. Twitter's is a fun little piece of stool, let me tell you. They'll shadow ban till the cows come home, but allow bots to infest like a cockroach hotel.
For me, a like or dislike feature serves no purpose once so ever other than to warp one's psyche in a positive or negative manner. And other social media like Facebook is good for this crap. When someone gets a thumbs up, I bet it's like the equivalent of a jolt of heroine in the brain or some damn thing. A thumbs down the very exact opposite. It's the chimp in us after all...
Having said that, the whole stupid thumbs crap should go away. Its only purpose is for monetary growth of the product at the cost of the user's vibes and mojo of the day, for better or worse. It's as bad as the review feature for products. Boy, what a cluster that is. Many are fake as all hell, but it's a massive marketing strategy on so many levels it isn't even funny. To those that don't know, marketing firms hire psychologists. Also focus groups and everything else under the sun. You think the NSA or what ever the hell knows everything about you - pffft, try corporations. One day they'll ALL know what you need to eat based on your bowel habits due to IoT attached to your toilet. And everyone will accept it as something absolutely great. I'm reminded of the Eloi and the Morlocks in the classic movie The Time Machine.
I could literary type a four page thesis on this stuff. The title? Fuzzy Little Feelings
P.S.
It took an experiment to figure this out? I see your corporate BS and raise you diarrhea covered cotton candy sold by a carney...
