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Re:Moving from YouTube to PeerTube by SifJar on Friday August 21, 2020 @02:47AM (#24232658)
> random junk I have no interest in watching and always regret clicking on

if you regret clicking on it, that means you did click on it and the recommendation did it's job; remember that the job of the recommendation engine is not (directly) to suggest content you'll like, it's to suggest content that will get you to click. Ideally those goals would be aligned, but not necessarily. YouTube is simply incentivised (via ad revenue) to get you to click on as many videos as possible.

Re:Moving from YouTube to PeerTube by csande17 on Friday August 21, 2020 @02:59AM (#24232724)
At least in my case, it's not that I'm constantly clicking on things that it turns out I dislike. Rather, it's that the few times I have clicked on a recommendation (because hey, maybe they know something I don't, maybe Sonic the Hedgehog actually is a good suggestion for people who liked Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), I've regretted it.
Re:Moving from YouTube to PeerTube by SifJar on Friday August 21, 2020 @05:41AM (#24233461)
Right, but my point is that from YouTube's perspective it doesn't "matter" if you like or dislike the video, if they can get you to click. And clearly this strategy works on some people, or they wouldn't be doing it.

So while it may not be overly successful on you (i.e. you only click occasionally), if it works on a significant portion of people it could still be a successful strategy overall.

Re:Moving from YouTube to PeerTube by seanhunter on Friday August 21, 2020 @03:58AM (#24232993)
Sometimes you click even when you don't want to. For example on youtube on ipad it's very difficult to click on the vertical three-dot hamburger icon on a video (that you need to use to tell them you're not interested in a video) without clicking on the video by mistake. The hitbox on that icon is all wrong.