Should I refrain from commenting on youtube?

[Togath]

So given some rather hostile comments I received on a negative(as in "this game kinda sucks") comment I left on a youtube video, I wonder if I should stop ever commenting at all.
Like, is the danger of being aggressively harassed by trolls really worth it?
I didn't think I said anything offensive, and yet people were spewing profanity just because I didn't like the same game as them.

[Rynjin]

Like, is the danger of being aggressively harassed by trolls really worth it?

I mean, if your bog tier Youtube profanities really bother you that much, then yeah.

[Peelee]

So given some rather hostile comments I received on a negative(as in "this game kinda sucks") comment I left on a youtube video, I wonder if I should stop ever commenting at all.
Like, is the danger of being aggressively harassed by trolls really worth it?

So, since you brought it up, what is commenting on youtube worth to you? Answer that, and you'll likely answer your larger question.

[Trekkin]

Except in specific circumstances, yes, I would say you should.

Comments sections are generally a cheap way to engage people in non-interactive content by creating the illusion that their opinions somehow matter and make them feel important while also getting their personal information for advertising purposes. Among the people most enamored of this feeling, and therefore most prolifically commenting, are the ones who can't express their opinions any other way, often because they're an uncouth, uninteresting ignoramus who substitutes volume and vehemence for original (or any) thought.

I would suggest that if you would like your thoughts to be read and considered seriously (and you should!), it would be wise to separate them from the trolls' collective effluvia by finding a platform with a higher barrier to entry on which to display them. There are people out there who want to read what you have to say, but aren't willing to wade through reams of toxic garbage and decrepit memes to find it.

[An Enemy Spy]

Youtube comments are a sewer. I bet ninety percent of the comments there are either memes or expletive filled tirades. Generally the only videos that have any actual comments of worth are stuff that trolls aren't interested in, like science documentaries or literary analysis. Of course the science videos bring in the people who don't believe in science, so yeah.

[Sermil]

As a general rule, if you want to be happy in life, you should avoid commenting in any public Internet forum. Or reading public comments on the Internet. Or interacting in any way with publicly visible Internet comment boards.

.... I am aware of the irony, yes, thank you.

[Honest Tiefling]

While sober? Probably, unless you are trolling someone else.

[Shamash]

Avoid making hateful or negative comments.

If you don't like it. Don't watch it.

Negative comments usually bring negative responses.

[Knaight]

Youtube isn't just one thing - there are essentially mini-communities around individual creators, and as long as the viewership is small enough they can remain distinct from larger scale youtube culture. The larger culture is staggeringly toxic; some of these smaller communities are even worse; yet there are still some pockets that are fine. If the general format of comments in response to videos suits you, sticking to videos with fewer viewers which don't have toxic sections should be fine.

[Togath]

I also realize now that my comment might have come off as more negative then intended(trying to make jokes while tired about a game that's a semi sensitive subject is not a good idea, it turns out)... but it still didn't deserve the amount of aggression.
In the future... I probably won't comment at must in videos, at least if I don't have something positive to say(because otherwise trolls will come out of the woodwork there... I think I understand now why it has the reputation it does)

[No brains]

In addition to other weird life experiences, I've actually gotten into interesting and thoughtful conversations on youtube. Just don't take advantage of the GIFT and comment constructively.

[The Eye]

Care to tell us what game it was?

[An Enemy Spy]

Care to tell us what game it was?

It better not be one I like or else I'll threaten to burn her house down and shower her in racial slurs.

[Knaight]

It better not be one I like or else I'll threaten to burn her house down and shower her in racial slurs.

We're talking about Youtube here, not Xbox Live.

[Aedilred]

The YouTube comments section is infamously terrible. In some small, isolated cases comments can be productive, but, as people have mentioned, only generally in small communities and where people are asking for information rather than discussing opinions.

It's worth considering before posting - or indeed reading - a YT comment whether any good will come of it. Usually the answer is no.

I used to have a plugin which blocked YT comments by default, and helped to stop me getting sucked into reading them: I'd scroll down automatically to see the comments, see that I'd blocked them, remember why I'd blocked them, and get on with my life. Unfortunately it doesn't work any more so I read more than I'd like or intend.

[KillingAScarab]

I used to have a plugin which blocked YT comments by default, and helped to stop me getting sucked into reading them: I'd scroll down automatically to see the comments, see that I'd blocked them, remember why I'd blocked them, and get on with my life. Unfortunately it doesn't work any more so I read more than I'd like or intend.

On a per video basis, you can use embeded mode to avoid comments. Find the URL for the video. Like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tMLK-pZAZQ
Take the identifier for the video (the bolded portion, it will always be after watch?v= until an & or an # denotes the next parameter, if any) and add it after this:
https://www.youtube.com/embed/
Follow the resulting URL. This doesn't work on all devices since you need a web browser, the ability to edit text, and (most importantly) the ability to copy the URL without following it and then seeing comments.

As to the topic, most of the time commenting on YouTube is too much of a hassle to even bother with it. There are just too many steps to it. I mean, who has time to infiltrate YouTube and DoubleClick and Google on a nightly basis to erase all records of their existence/have a duel with that one guard who keeps insisting on katanas? It was bad enough before everyone was forced to use Google+.

[BaronOfHell]

So given some rather hostile comments I received on a negative(as in "this game kinda sucks") comment I left on a youtube video, I wonder if I should stop ever commenting at all.

If you think your comment is important, I think you should definitely allow yourself to share it. If the answers you get aren't at a quality you want, I think it's better to leave the conversation.

As mentioned already, youtube is a place where you probably won't find answers to your comment at a quality many would find good enough to continue any conversation, but the videos the themself may be worth commenting on despite of what follows... often when I write something it is as much for myself as it is for those I write to.

[veti]

YouTube is a uniquely horrible environment for trying to discuss anything. If you're just trying to share opinions, then don't.

About the only form of comment that's ever likely to be worthwhile is asking for information, and even that needs to be couched very delicately.

[factotum]

YouTube is a uniquely horrible environment for trying to discuss anything. If you're just trying to share opinions, then don't.

This is a self-fulfilling prophecy. If people wanting to make decent comments are scared off by negativity then of course the comments are going to be a cesspool. I think we should be encouraging people to comment *more* in order to dilute down the bad ones.

(Also, how bad the comments are do seem to depend on the video you're watching--the comments on, say, Ashens or Nerdcubed videos seem to be slightly more intelligent than the rest of them).

[veti]

This is a self-fulfilling prophecy. If people wanting to make decent comments are scared off by negativity then of course the comments are going to be a cesspool. I think we should be encouraging people to comment *more* in order to dilute down the bad ones.

I disagree. YouTube simply isn't a good venue for useful discussion. This forum right here is better, because it has fewer people and we all have greater reputational investment in it. YouTube has so many users that trolling is simply too easy.

Of course you can try, but it's like taking a recreational swim in a cyclone in the middle of the Pacific - you're choosing an environment that is, to put it mildly, unnecessarily hostile to what you have in mind.

[A.A.King]

Keep in mind that not every harsh and/or aggressive comment is automatically 'trolling'. If we used those standards your negative comment regarding the game could also be perceived as trolling. "This game sucks" "Yeah well, you suck" might not exactly be the best defence of something someone likes, but it was the one they went with. It's bad habit to ascribe motive to the actions of others and should be avoided at all costs (especially when we consider that probably at least some of the hostility you received was nothing more then someone delivering karmic retribution for your hostility that they perceived).

Also consider that what you consider 'profanity' is considered both funny and harmless by someone else. We all use language in different ways and if your negativity was a joke gone wrong maybe theirs was as well? It was not an exchange of negative remarks but rather an interaction between two failed yet different comedians.

Yes, the Youtube comment can be very negative and harsh and if you can't handle that then get out. However, even criticism if posted in a genuinely constructive way will receive constructive feed back even at youtube. Sure, you might still get some basic and hostile remarks but those will be much easier to filler through when you posted something worth replying to in the first place.

Finally: you sow what you reap. If you don't want to 'reap' negativity, don't 'sow' it in the first place. While it is certainly true that an environment that doesn't allow for criticism is a sad place to be that doesn't mean that any and all criticism should be accepted as it is presented without resistance. Going to a video about something you like and expecting to see no negative reception may be a childish attitude to have, but it certainly isn't any worse than posting some negative to that same video and expecting it to not have any kind of feedback.

The world is a big diverse place with a lot of different attitudes and opinions, not everyone is 'trolling' you, what is mean to one is normal to another and what you perceived as jokey mild criticism is hostile negativity to you. Were you really being 'trolled' and were you maybe accidentally 'trolling' them? are more important questions to ask yourself then "Is it worth it?" (to which the answer is 'depends on how much you can take')

[Velaryon]

On the relatively few occasions when I feel the need to comment on a Youtube video, I leave my comment and then don't bother to read anyone's reply to it. I've got better places to spend my internet time (like here) than arguing with random people on Youtube. My intent there is simply to express my opinion, whether or not anyone cares to hear it, and then move on. It isn't the sort of place that lends itself to productive or interesting discussion, so I don't bother.

When I want an actual conversation, I go to sites where the community is better (here, for example).

[Goodkill]

i like comments on music videos. sometimes people post lyrics or make helpful comparisons with other bands. ...

[Honest Tiefling]

i like comments on music videos. sometimes people post lyrics or make helpful comparisons with other bands. ...

I much prefer the comments that start to devolve into strange conversations. Like the first remark is someone liking the post and it somehow winds up being a discussion of America's ethnic background.

[Peelee]

I much prefer the comments that start to devolve into strange conversations. Like the first remark is someone liking the post and it somehow winds up being a discussion of America's ethnic background.

Meanwhile, on half the threads in this site....

[90,000]

Make a game of it.

Disarm your opponents with kindness.

[Fri]

Short answer: Yes.

Long answer: Yes, you or anyone should refrain from commenting on youtube.

[The Eye]

Care to tell us what game it was?

I still kind of want to know what game it was.

[Velaryon]

Meanwhile, on half the threads in this site....

Only half?

[Lemmy]

Well... If online rudeness gets to you so much that you consider it a "danger", then, yeah... You probably shouldn't comment on Youtube. Although I'd advise you to simply ignore the trolls and focus on the conversations that are actually worth your time. Trolls literally can't do anything to you if you ignore them, after all.