Nothing against the developers of it, but it's a tool available for use by others and I'm not going to jump on it any more than I'll install random unsigned browser extensions.
Contrary to what they want you to think, there's an entire world beyond them where trust is not dictated by them.
Hell, I'm not even running the assorted very functional "photo scan to pdf" apps that I purchased Pro versions of over the years because while there are some very skilled developers in Moscow and St Petersburg I have no way of checking on whose behalf they use those skills.
From a security standpoint, can you tell me what's different about this vs "I ran this chunk of PowerShell that said it would patch Office to bypass activation"? After all, it's just a patch.
From a security standpoint, What's the difference between using revanced's open source patches and downloading literally any open source software from GitHub?
I nearly cancelled premium over shorts. They are aweful.
I'm sure it has a rapidly approaching expiry date, however.
I don't use social media because I think it's a net negative in my life. However YouTube I've always justified by following lots of educational content. I've learned a lot of cool things and gained new hobbies just by watching YouTube. One day, leather-working videos popped up on my feed. Soon I was making my own stuff with leather - it was a heap of fun!
I've noticed over the past few years though, that no matter how much I try to tweak the algorithm, I'm just getting mindless junk. And shorts are the worst of it! They're deliberately designed to hook you in, so they're very hard to ignore.
And so YouTube, I have to admit, has become a net negative. Another place for mindless dopamine hits, zombifying us all. I'm so sad about it!
But yes. YouTube shorts are a massive net negative. I wish I could remove them completely.
I think the key is that I subscribe to channels I want to watch and I use the like button on videos I want to see more of.
> I've noticed over the past few years though, that no matter how much I try to tweak the algorithm, I'm just getting mindless junk. And shorts are the worst of it! They're deliberately designed to hook you in, so they're very hard to ignore.
If you're actually clicking the shorts ("very hard to ignore") then you're going to get more of them, period. I get an occasional shorts line in my feed but I scroll right past it.
People don't voluntarily pay to be treated as semi-intelligent scrolling cattle, we fall into endless scrolling unconsciously and pay with our eyeball-time, but we don't go "oh I'm gonna shell out $8 for the privilege of browsing an inferior TikTok". He's got to chose one strategy and commit to it.
I'm currently still paying for premium but now it's like my cable bill. I sorta have to, but I don't feel like it's a voluntary transaction where I'm paying to get something I want. Now I'm paying to reduce about 50% of what I don't want and there is no option to get what I want at any price.
Anyone who says that and actually believes it is fooling themselves if they think they’re immune to strategies developed by an entire industry over the course of decades to the tune of billions of dollars.
I think it's a bit dramatic to jump to words like "dark pattern" just because YouTube dared to suggest some content in one place in the interface.
If anything, YouTube's Subscriptions tab is one of the most user-respecting pieces of social media out there. It only shows you your subscriptions, and it is chronological.
Not a skill issue. Just the way our brains are biologically wired and people exploiting it for ad money.
Fascinating -- I've been seriously considering cancelling mine as well, for the exact same reason.
Those shorts are a thorn in my side.