What if Youtube removed Comment Sections

[Yukaphile]

Oh, no, wait, wait, wait, I got it, I got it, I got it!

...

Facebook.

[Nealithi]

Ever since they ripped out the G+ integration it's been a mess. It was unusable before G+, and for that short, wonderful time, you could finally post long comments, fully-sourced and referenced, with proper formatting.

Now, those things aren't accessible anywhere but on the video, the notifications don't work, and if you post references to support your fact-checking it often goes into a moderation queue where no one will ever see it because content creators never check it. Meanwhile people who post short, pithy, factually-incorrect comments rise to the top of the video's popularity list because it incites argument and engagement is the only metric of success on YouTube.

One thing I look for in comments sections is the other side of a point or added information. Remove comments and you can say what you like in a vacuum. And that feels like thousands of propaganda megaphones instead of anything useful.

[Deledrius]

One thing I look for in comments sections is the other side of a point or added information. Remove comments and you can say what you like in a vacuum. And that feels like thousands of propaganda megaphones instead of anything useful.

Indeed. For me it's the only way to give any feedback to the video's creator. Of course, that's often just shouting into a deep bottomless hole, since it's rare I get there early enough to not be drowned out by the millions of meme comments.

[Meushell]

I enjoy the comments section. It can be fun, insightful, and/or funny. I’m not going to go elsewhere to see comments on a YouTube video. I’m certainly not going to make new accounts on whatever platforms are used to make comments. Sometimes I look for something on YouTube to read comments on the subject.

YouTubers would also get some less views because people read and reply to each other.

[Deledrius]

I enjoy the comments section. It can be fun, insightful, and/or funny. I’m not going to go elsewhere to see comments on a YouTube video. I’m certainly not going to make new accounts on whatever platforms are used to make comments. Sometimes I look for something on YouTube to read comments on the subject.

YouTubers would also get some less views because people read and reply to each other.

At this point, discussions are going to be put behind a loginwall on Discord, or a paywall on Patreon.

And people call these "communities" now.

[Meushell]

I enjoy the comments section. It can be fun, insightful, and/or funny. I’m not going to go elsewhere to see comments on a YouTube video. I’m certainly not going to make new accounts on whatever platforms are used to make comments. Sometimes I look for something on YouTube to read comments on the subject.

YouTubers would also get some less views because people read and reply to each other.

At this point, discussions are going to be put behind a loginwall on Discord, or a paywall on Patreon.

And people call these "communities" now.

YouTube does seemed determined to drive people away.