Valuable content or?

[Saltfever]

A recent post by Jon here has prompted this post.

I have noticed a disturbing trend on HomemadeTools.

In the beginning keen minds and creative people all over the world altruistically posted valuable content without any thought of compensation. It was humanity at best, sharing and giving away useful content simply to help their fellow man. Content was always high quality and with enough diversification to stimulate the interest of just about anybody. Lately, I see content quality eroding with videos being used as a tool to simply collect revenue from You Tube adds. Quite frankly, I resent HT being used by such opportunists! I agree censorship is bad. Also, it is extremely difficult to weigh the delicate balance between what is “useful” content and diluted content purely for financial gain! However, when I see a short video with 3-6 adds, the author’s intent is clear and I don’t like being used that way.

Jon THANK YOU for this site. I know it isn't an easy job and I support you in any direction you take.

[Toolmaker51]

A recent post by Jon here has prompted this post.

I have noticed a disturbing trend on HomemadeTools.

In the beginning keen minds and creative people all over the world altruistically posted valuable content without any thought of compensation. It was humanity at best, sharing and giving away useful content simply to help their fellow man. Content was always high quality and with enough diversification to stimulate the interest of just about anybody. Lately, I see content quality eroding with videos being used as a tool to simply collect revenue from You Tube adds. Quite frankly, I resent HT being used by such opportunists! I agree censorship is bad. Also, it is extremely difficult to weigh the delicate balance between what is “useful” content and diluted content purely for financial gain! However, when I see a short video with 3-6 adds, the author’s intent is clear and I don’t like being used that way.

Jon THANK YOU for this site. I know it isn't an easy job and I support you in any direction you take.

Youtube to me consists mainly of self-professed expertise, agendas, or vile promotion of distasteful material. Naturally, as with any media, there are exceptions.
My perspective is identical to Saltfever's, while contributors [HMT.net] produce excellent videos, dismay occurs with ads. While the subject content may have value, recall very few that compelled initiating or altering what I practice already. Bookmark or delete, fork in the road is ad content.
I suspect varied advertisements offer different amounts of income. Unless they pertain to my interests [rare] I shut down the video. I don't know who selects ads tied to videos; but spellcheck programs, presswood furniture, big or little pharma, auto sales, dating sites, hair restoration f'n insurance . . . INSTANT case of rejection.

None a speck better than email spam. I also ignore 'suggestions' popping up at the end, positive the original poster has no control of that either.

There is one reason I do not post video. No question I'd create useful, easily watched material in the vein of Adam, Keith, Pete, Tony and the others.
Until determining my content IS NOT available to commercial scabs what-so-ever; consider "I do not..." and "I will not..." identical positions on the matter.

Conversely, until sites like HMT.net have their own means of posting video; a] non-commercialized, b] that pausing won't generate suggestions, c] without ending with pitches to view something else [besides next of a series], I have no interest.

[Jon]

Not ignoring. This is a valid issue on our table now, being discussed both on the forum and in our latest batch of forum feedback PMs. I have a reply drafted, but I need to chop it down in length (hint, hint YouTubers ). I'd like to wait for a few more replies too.

We are separating the jealpaul issue (which we are addressing right now) from the low-quality content issue, because the issue with the videos that jealpaul posted is not an issue of quality. Those were perfectly good videos; the problem was the copying. jealpaul's fraud was successful (at first) because he exposed a weakness of ours: he crossed a language/culture gap better than we did, by finding non-English ("non-Western" is reasonable here too) videos and presenting them on our English language forum as his own. In fact, the jealpaul issue has opened our eyes even further to the excellent tool building that is going on in Russia and parts of Eastern Europe (jealpaul was actually posting from a Vietnamese IP, but it looks like he favored targeting Russian language videos for copying). Some of our best tool builders come from that part of the world. That (again, kinda similar but mostly separate) issue can be addressed with active reachout to tool builders from that region. For example, if those videos were posted on this forum by their original creators, because they were encouraged to do so by a bilingual social media worker working for us, it would be a 100% win.

If you haven't yet replied to our recent batch of feedback requests, check your PMs and you can reply with an expectation of privacy, or of course you can just reply publicly in this thread.

[Saltfever]

I agree plagiarizing content is a separate issue. The JealPaul deceit annoyed me enough to speak up but I didn’t want to thread-jack and have it take off in a different direction. I started this thread to bring focus on content dilution!

We are all looking for the golden nugget of content that pertains to us individually so I have an extremely wide tolerance for all things technical. However, when I see more than 1 add-bar on the U-Tube time line, the author’s intent is suspicious immediately. If it is a low value subject for me, I delete. If it is a high value subject for me I may randomly click a few screen shots to access overall quality. Lately, 2 or 3 out of 10 have redeeming content, the rest have been marketing swill.

[Toolmaker51]

I agree plagiarizing content is a separate issue. The JealPaul deceit annoyed me enough to speak up but I didn’t want to thread-jack and have it take off in a different direction. I started this thread to bring focus on content dilution!

We are all looking for the golden nugget of content that pertains to us individually so I have an extremely wide tolerance for all things technical. However, when I see more that 1 add-bar on the U-Tube time line, the author’s intent is suspicious immediately. If it is a low value subject for me, I delete. If it is a high value subject for me I may randomly click a few screen shots to access overall quality. Lately, 2 or 3 out of 10 have redeeming content, the rest have been marketing swill.

I feel hijacking [hmt.net in particular] occurs because our own thirst for knowledge and desire to help each other, interconnect. Much like a conversation, when "what if's" interject, those perspectives round out viewpoints.
I recall opening a youtube vid, timeline had 5 or 6 ad signals! Granted, a 30+ minute presentation, but at 4x the rate of television ads? Needless to say, that video didn't collect anticipated revenue!
I agree with Saltfever; screen shots and copy/ paste remedy all the trivial details, self-tailoring decent content. Why not, Cliff-Notes makes a fortune providing students that service.
Although the case against jealpaul won't reach prosecution, his avatar shows him in appropriate attire. Lol.

[Okapi]

Reading this post, where I agree totally with Saltfever, I've seen something which can be interesting about YouTube publicity, when I look with my TV they are a lot more than on the computer where I'm using some adblockers, the most interesting videos without ads need eventually be classified in the forum with stars for example by the members or to say if it is some ads but the video is interesting and need to pass them ?
Thanks to the administrators who read my explanation eventually not very well wrote…

[shopandmath]

Hi every one
Correct me if I me wrong this post is against advertising and plagiarism
I am hoping it not against videos
Because I love them and they are so hard to make (even a bad one have some good stuff in it)
I have two YouTube channels
One for work
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0a...hdlJy1OIlo1Qmw
and one for fun
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfe...wKgzvOQ4RIkVFg
they do not have any advertising on them
my key message is to educate and help others
I try to leave places better than I found them
Ray

[Crusty]

I'm completely fed up with "GREAT, GENIUS, INCREDIBLE" "HACKS" in 35 minute long videos with 3½ minutes of worthwhile content (Don't we all know how to drill holes without watching someone else make another 10 holes?) which consist mostly of techniques that were considered essential workshop skills a generation ago. While I do appreciate and support the learning of the presenter I resent the squandering of my time for someone else's potential financial gain. I skip through these kiddie vids now to save my time but I often wonder if I've missed the worthwhile tidbit when I do.

Keep the bar high.

[mklotz]

I'm completely fed up with "GREAT, GENIUS, INCREDIBLE" "HACKS" in 35 minute long videos with 3½ minutes of worthwhile content (Don't we all know how to drill holes without watching someone else make another 10 holes?) which consist mostly of techniques that were considered essential workshop skills a generation ago. While I do appreciate and support the learning of the presenter I resent the squandering of my time for someone else's potential financial gain. I skip through these kiddie vids now to save my time but I often wonder if I've missed the worthwhile tidbit when I do.

Keep the bar high.

In addition to using over-the-top adjectives as ignore-flags, I immediately ignore anything that offers only a video as the description. Without some text or still photos to give me a hint of the subject I'm on to the next thread.

Also, if metal is cut with a angle grinder in the first ten seconds of the video, it's goodbye for me.

Another good bellwether is text under the video pleading for the reader to become a subscriber.

Some of these bloated videos remind me of a favorite Dorothy Parker quote...

This is not a novel (post) to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force. (Italics mine.)

[Crusty]

...

This is not a novel (post) to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force. (Italics mine.)

That's hilarious!