The state of youtube
The debate is finished. The distribution of the voting points and the winner are presented below.
After 3 votes and with 2 points ahead, the winner is...
- Publication date
- Last updated date
- Type
- Standard
- Number of rounds
- 4
- Time for argument
- Three days
- Max argument characters
- 30,000
- Voting period
- One week
- Point system
- Multiple criterions
- Voting system
- Open
(Copy-pasted warning)
I believe that YouTube is currently shooting itself in the foot with every decision it makes. I am arguing that the "Algorithm" is unfair, The trending videos are incorrect assumptions of what people want to watch, And the executives have lost touch with their viewers. I will make 2 of this debate, With one being a specific challenge against Thoht, And one being up for grabs.
First round for acceptance, Stating position, Etc.
Rather than define the term using a bunch of boring jargon that would probably only complicate things further, perhaps the best way to get a clearer understanding of it is to break it down into simpler terms. To start, let's look at each word individually.The 'social' part: refers to interacting with other people by sharing information with them and receiving information from them.The 'media' part: refers to an instrument of communication, like the internet (while TV, radio, and newspapers are examples of more traditional forms of media).From these two separate terms, we can pull a basic definition together:Social media are web-based communication tools that enable people to interact with each other by both sharing and consuming information.Yes, it's a broad definition — but keep in mind that social media is a very broad term. This is likely as specific as we can get without zeroing in too much on a more specific subcategory of social media.Common Social Media Features
When YouTube was created in 2005, it was intended for people to post and share original video content. But since then it's also become both an archive for storing favourite clips, songs and jokes, as well as a marketing site for companies to promote their products.Nowadays the term ‘viral video’ is common. This refers to a video clip that people have liked so much that they've shared its link by email with millions of others around the globe – in effect, it's spread like a virus. Companies have realised that they can harness this ability to reach potential customers and have created their own YouTube accounts for posting advertisements and other marketing videos.
About us: YouTubeOur mission is to give everyone a voice and show them the world.We believe that everyone deserves to have a voice, and that the world is a better place when we listen, share and build community through our stories.Our values are based on four essential freedoms that define who we are.Freedom of ExpressionWe believe people should be able to speak freely, share opinions, foster open dialogue, and that creative freedom leads to new voices, formats and possibilities.Freedom of InformationWe believe everyone should have easy, open access to information and that video is a powerful force for education, building understanding, and documenting world events, big and small.Freedom of OpportunityWe believe everyone should have a chance to be discovered, build a business and succeed on their own terms, and that people—not gatekeepers—decide what’s popular.Freedom to BelongWe believe everyone should be able to find communities of support, break down barriers, transcend borders and come together around shared interests and passions.
Freedom of OpportunityWe believe everyone should have a chance to be discovered, build a business and succeed on their own terms, and that people—not gatekeepers—decide what’s popular.
The problem with this model is that their algorithms favor the most mundane, inoffensive, generally-relative content creators who target their videos more towards what makes YouTube advertisers happy rather than what interests viewers.
When YouTube does this, it disincentivizes creators from covering certain topics or products. And that is likely going to happen to Weedcraft, which could hurt its sales.
Freedom of ExpressionWe believe people should be able to speak freely, share opinions, foster open dialogue, and that creative freedom leads to new voices, formats and possibilities.Freedom of InformationWe believe everyone should have easy, open access to information and that video is a powerful force for education, building understanding, and documenting world events, big and small.
There is growing concern that the international drug control regime’s outdated and restrictive drug control measures do not meet current human rights standards and public health needs. Provisions in three historically prohibitionist United Nations treaties – the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances, and the 1988 Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances – substantially limit Party latitude in legalizing and regulating schedule-listed substances, including cannabis. Against this backdrop, following through on a promise made during the 2015 national election, the Canadian government introduced Bill C-45 in April 2017 to legalize cannabis for non-medical uses by Summer 2018. This article analyzes and explains how legalizing cannabis violates the three United Nations drug control treaties. Anchored in the premise of respect for the rule of international law, the article identifies several ways forward for reconciling domestic cannabis legalization plans with international legal obligations under the United Nations drug control regime.
YouTube receives lots of takedown requests under copyright law, asking us to remove videos that copyright owners say are infringing. Sometimes those requests target videos that seem like clear examples of fair use. Courts have held that rightsholders must consider fair use before they send a copyright takedown notice, so in many cases (though it's a very small percentage of copyright takedowns overall), we ask rightsholders to confirm that they've done this analysis.
In some very special cases, we've asked the video's creator to join a new effort that protects some of the very best examples of "fair use" on YouTube from copyright takedown requests. Through this initiative, YouTube indemnifies creators whose fair use videos have been subject to takedown notices for up to $1 million of legal costs in the event that the takedown results in a lawsuit for copyright infringement. This ensures those creators have a chance to protect their work, and makes the entire creative world better by educating people on both the importance and limits of fair use doctrine.If you're in the US, you can watch the videos that we’ve protected above. Unfortunately, if you're outside the US, you won't be able to view the videos in this playlist.
Please note, the videos featured above represent a minuscule portion of the number of copyright takedown requests that we receive – they're even a small percentage of the number of potential fair uses that are subject to takedowns. YouTube is only able to offer Fair Use Protection to a small number of individual videos each year, which we choose based on a variety of factors. We try to select videos that are most illustrative of fair use. If your video is chosen for this effort, we'll get in touch with you. Please don't contact us asking us to protect your video; we'll find you if we're able to offer you this protection.
While we can't offer a legal defence to everyone, we'll remain vigilant about takedown notices impacting all creators. You may have seen press coverage of some cases where we've asked rights owners to reconsider takedowns or reinstated fair use videos. For Example:
- This video by the Young Turks, which shows brief clips from a heavily criticised advert as part of a conversation on why it offended viewers.
- Secular Talk's video, which criticises Mike Huckabee for endorsing an unproven treatment for diabetes.
- Buffy vs Edward: Twilight Remixed – [original version], a remix comparing the ways women are portrayed in two vampire-related works targeted at teenagers.
- \'No Offense\', uploaded by the National Organization for Marriage, which used a rant by Perez Hilton as an example of rude behaviour from proponents of same-sex marriage.
- Political Payoffs And Middle Class Layoffs, an ad created for Mitt Romney's presidential campaign, which made fair use of a clip of Barack Obama singing Al Green's \'Let's Stay Together\'.
As reported by YouTuber Zen World, a company called RamJets -- acting on behalf of Galvis -- Placed a content claim on TheFatRat’s original version of the song last month, basically saying that he had unfairly used a song that belonged to Galvis and Ramjets.
There's nothing Con has said so far to require any significant rebuttal.
- YouTube stealing from TheFatRat
- YouTube failing to meet their own guidelines
- YouTube trapping smaller content creators in a monetization loop.
- The solution to the previous point that could be employed by youtube but isn't.
- YouTube forcing a community of young adults to conform to family friendly guidelines in the name of money.
- I cant refute much of Pro's arguments, because there is almost nothing to refute in the first place. The last argument was 5 small paragraphs (two of which calling my arguments invalid) and a copy-pasted page of YouTube's terms of service.
I will attempt to sum up the burden of proof as allowed by debart. Maybe I'll get lucky and the dictator won't come along and moderate me. But I'm not holding me breath (SUPPORT UNMODERATED VOTING)
Argument point.
Con's argument revolved around copyrights and demonetization. The driving implication is that youtube is too strict and is screwing people out of money that, in pro's opinion, they have earned.
Con linked youtube videos in order to demonstrate this point. which are essentially as helpful as any source would be in a normal debate. It wasn't enough for a source point, but it was enough for me to be compelled by his argument. I essentially agree with most everything that Con said but let's move on to Pro first.
I will admit that even still, my knee jerk reaction is to go with Con on this argument. But I must also admit that Pro's argument is both valid and highly compelling. Pro rightly points out that what Con said was not enough to warrant shutting down youtube. Pro pointed out that not everybody shares Con's position and this point is very powerful in this case since the debate is broadly about the state of youtube in general.
Pro made a strong case for the benefits of youtube outweighing the harms by stating that it's one of the few platforms that helps to promotes the spreading of free ideas.
Pro also points out that while Con finds the most popular content to be childish, that youtube was not designed for intellectual entertainment necessarily.
Further rounds allowed for little clarification and in the end, Pro ended up with his point standing on top.
Argument point to Pro.
All other points tied.
RFD in comments
This debate appears to be the issues with YouTube’s algorithms and monetization policy.
Con is taking the position that their copyright enforcement appears excessive, that their demonetization of fringe content unreasonably sanitizes content and forces edgy video makers to sell out and become mainstream to continue earning money. Con also points out that kid friendly, copycats and a variety of other vacuous content can easily succeed as it is not specifically targeted by these same algorithms
On their face these seem valid examples of bad policy.
Pros argument is to try and twist the resolution to an absurdly unfair and unreasonable extent by arguing that pro must show that YouTube is not able to continue. This is an asinine and ridiculous statement and I’m going to ignore it and focus on the reasonable and stated resolution and explanation in the description - focusing on the idea that YouTube is making poor decisions.
Pros position on this front is to show these decisions are reasonable.
Pros argument is to basically confusing the algorithm for trending videos with the whole of cons argument.
On the trending side, I can buy pros point that if millions like it, just because con doesn’t like it doesn’t mean it’s not trending; but this is only a tiny aspect of cons argument.
Pro rounds this off by claiming other platforms are worse.
Even if I buy all of this, con clearly has the edge in the first round as the majority of issues are ignore.
Con goes on to reiterate his objections - by pointing out that YouTube is harming content makers with using algorithms to unreasonably select less offensive and middle of the road content - which is harmful for freedom of expression.
Pros response, has little relation to what was presented. He tries to respond to cons argument that YouTube copyright responses are harsh, by saying its not YouTube that report it (which in my opinion is not the point)
Pro also makes a single point about marijuana usage and portrayal of illegal acts justifying censorship.
It’s a shame, as I feel the examples con raised could have been challenged far better and more conclusively, pro offers a minimal (putting it charitably) set of arguments against cons position - and doesn’t address any of the main points raised.
As a result, arguments to con.
Conduct to con for the forfeit.
Thank you for the vote, it really made my day to see I got my points across in the perspective of another user.
What I meant by this is not that the algorithm should be increased or decreased, I mean it should be changed. The youtubers that are "idiots" getting popular is a direct effect of the algorithm being too harsh and only allowing child-friendly content. The idiot youtubers would then fall out through natural community selection, rather than being censored by the algorithm. An example of this is N&A productions, which receives a like-dislike ratio averaging 1-8, as well as multiple viral hate comments and two hate videos. (Which ARE hate but are also totally legitimate, not being hateful for race or accent but instead being hateful for content.)
If youtube were to open up the algorithm and change around the requirements to get on hot, N&A would still be monetized, but other deserving youtubers would earn their spots in trending. My argument is very clear to me, but I probably didn't get it across quite right, so hopefully that will be enough to clarify.
Why didn't you vote
“That is completely ridiculous to assume. Pro is hereby stating that Con has contradicted their own case. Either Con is arguing that YT is censoring too much or that it's too free for stupid people to succeed in with poor content.”
This is a very valid point which proves that Con is a hypocrite since he is complaining about youtube not having enough regulation to prevent idiots from getting popular while also complaining about how YouTube is censoring too much.
Very obviously this is a clear contradiction, you can’t argue for YouTube to be a free platform while at the same time arguing for YouTube to regulate the algorithm.
Because of Con very obviously being a hypocrite and his entire argument falling apart as demonstrated by these two examples, I must award argument
RFD:
One of Cons main arguments for why youtube is turning into a dumpster fire is that the algorithm is unfair and the trending videos are garbage.
Which Pro pointed out that
“ The opinion of one person like Con or even a few hundred, that complain about its trending videos should never be enough reason for it to disregard the many millions who are the very up-voters and view-providers that lead to the algorithm putting those Trending videos on top.”
This is a very valid argument since the majority of videos that end up on the trending page and get the favor in the algorithm are videos that are liked and get millions of views.
It’s very obvious that Con has lost this point since he will now have to argue that his subjective opinion is superior to millions of subjective opinion. Which is an absurd argument to make since there is nothing wrong with the trending videos being the most popular videos.
A point to which Con never rebutted
I believe that where Con really failed was Con making the argument was arguing that youtube should be more free, but then at the same time complaining it’s too free to the point where idiots are getting the most subscribers.
To which Pro responded with