Current Events > Real talk though, youtube's algorithm used to be not terrible, what happened?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Why is it so much worse now, than it was as recently as a mere 5 years ago?

Companies fund advertisers and buy them views/updoots

that's literally it

I remember when it was good, you could go down a rabbit hole of one kind of video and it would keep recommending similar stuff to watch. Could easily spend hours watching videos.

Now it just recommends seemingly random stuff that I've already seen or is from channels I'm already subscribed to. And it never recommends stuff similar to what I'm currently watching anymore.

I love trying to search for a video and every other result is an unrelated video that I've already watched recently. Very helpful, thank you youtube.

What makes you think it was any better ever, let alone 5 years ago?

This video is so upsettingly accurate

https://youtu.be/d8fJPvXyfc0

And why does youtube just have 2 settings, either constantly recommending me the video I already watched and am done with, or something completely out of left field that I have no interest in.

promoted videos screwed the algorithm.

Hambo the Hog posted...

I love trying to search for a video and every other result is an unrelated video that I've already watched recently. Very helpful, thank you youtube.

Oh my jesus christ what is up with that? At least now I know it's been happening to everyone else

Funkydog posted...

What makes you think it was any better ever, let alone 5 years ago?

It absolutely used to be better

obligatory ProZD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgsDt_y8CC0

MC_BatCommander posted...

It absolutely used to be better

Hardly. There's just more and more idiocy on it, I feel.

saspa posted...

Oh my jesus christ what is up with that? At least now I know it's been happening to everyone else

What is up with that? I keep checking the search options to make sure it's sorted by relevance, but it already is and they're just shoving bullshit in the results anyway.

I understand promoting popular videos and videos you might want to see again on the front page, but if I'm specifically searching for something, then shut the fuck up about them. That's incredibly fucking unhelpful.

Hambo the Hog posted...

What is up with that? I keep checking the search options to make sure it's sorted by relevance, but it already is and they're just shoving bullshit in the results anyway.

I understand promoting popular videos and videos you might want to see again on the front page, but if I'm specifically searching for something, then shut the fuck up about them. That's incredibly fucking unhelpful.

It's part of the reason why I'm encouraged to not log in and literally have to browse on a new or different device just to get search results that haven't been corrupted by the algorithm assuming that I want to rewatch the same video every time and shoving it in to every search result

The worst thing is, you see this cool video and then you show it to your friends and they tell you they've already seen it.

Cobra1010 posted...

The worst thing is, you see this cool video and then you show it to your friends and they tell you they've already seen it.

ye there are defo certain vids out there that the algorithm decides "sure, we'll give you front page coverage to literally everyone for a few weeks" that are like sleeper virals. one that stands out to me right now is that JCS vid on the shooter pretending to hear demons.

I was thinking of making a topic similar to this TC because this is exactly how I feel.

Whats worse is that when you actually search for something, after 5-10 videos down the list it turns into videos such as "videos you have watched" or "Videos other people have watched" or some shit. I don't need THAT shit, I want to find stuff on what I SEARCHED for.

What is even the point in the search bar anymore?

And this goes onto a bigger issue I have with the internet in general.

You would think that after being a thing for around 2 decades, the internet would have more interesting stuff to find, like how it was back in the day. Where you would find a cool website or unique styled webpage with info or hobbies you have never seen before.

But the search engines take all that away from you. They've made it their mission to keep us boxed in to the same type of algorithm via Youtube, Google, Twitter and every other mainstream website out there.

SpiritSephiroth posted...

And this goes onto a bigger issue I have with the internet in general.

You would think that after being a thing for around 2 decades, the internet would have more interesting stuff to find, like how it was back in the day. Where you would find a cool website or unique styled webpage with info or hobbies you have never seen before.

But the search engines take all that away from you. They've made it their mission to keep us boxed in to the same type of algorithm via Youtube, Google, Twitter and every other mainstream website out there.

Yeah it seems like they're limiting everyone's options now. Corporate filtered bullshit. 5 stars now filtered down to likes only, because someone didn't like the callouts they got for a bad video.

It keeps pulling up stuff I've already watched or is way off base from the content I do typically watch. It's frustrating because I know it can be better than this.

Been going on for years now. People keep saying clear your watch history to fix it. Never works. Still only recommends me shit I have seen, and shit I dont want to see that have little to nothing to do with my watch history.

i'll go through music on youtube, and now it keeps playing the same song. did a mix with one song, heard it first, third, and then fifth song in the list. and then after 20ish songs it starts playing SNL skits (idk why, think i clicked one link to a skit) and then music performances on SNL, and it's nothing remotely close to what i started the chain with.

I found YouTube videos through Google search engine that were impossible to find through YouTube search engine.

Not to mention if a video has anything vaguely sexual or offensive the algorithm will bury it forever.

Nice vids only, pls.

Also anyone new gets buried cause fuck em they are try to exploit the system.

I think what you're probably seeing is the fragmentation of their algorithm as regulations increase. They probably can't use a lot of the data they used to use due to European privacy laws, and they probably have so many manual interventions over specific keywords at this point that whatever algorithm they originally designed has got to be heavily compromised.

Mainly because YT's content has gotten a lot worse

MC_BatCommander posted...

And it never recommends stuff similar to what I'm currently watching anymore.

This is what I hate. I can watch two videos that are wildly different, and the exact same videos are in the recommended tab on the side. Usually stuff I don't want to watch or have already seen. It's like, Yes YouTube, I understand you want me to watch that popular video. If you want hits from me, show me what I want to see, not what you want me to see.

SpiritSephiroth posted...

And this goes onto a bigger issue I have with the internet in general.

You would think that after being a thing for around 2 decades, the internet would have more interesting stuff to find, like how it was back in the day. Where you would find a cool website or unique styled webpage with info or hobbies you have never seen before.

But the search engines take all that away from you. They've made it their mission to keep us boxed in to the same type of algorithm via Youtube, Google, Twitter and every other mainstream website out there.

Man I was just thinking this the other day.

There was a time back in like the mid 00s when I loved going online, but now it's just boring as hell.
It also doesn't help that a lot of those niche websites are dead/dying.

Everything is commercialized, everything is about social media and the like. It's just not the same anymore.

And don't even get me started on porn. I used to be able to find tons of great porn on various sites until they started cracking down. Google and Tumblr being the most infamous examples.

Fuck even ACTUAL porn sites don't have that much anymore. Like even one of the more well-known sites got rid of a good 80% of their content in late 2020. Now I have a really hard time finding anything good, and mostly end up watching the same things over and over...
>_>

Google in general has gotten pretty bad tbh. Google used to be good for finding things that I am actually looking for. Now I have to dig throw completely unrelated garbage just to find what I'm looking for.

The only time I think it does a decent job is on music video recommendations. Otherwise yeah the youtube algorithm is pretty fucked.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]


Oh man I remember when YT videos were no more than 10 minutes in length

Now it's "Here's a 5 hour video on why the upcoming LOTR show sucks"
<_<

I remember a night that I sat around and YT gave me song after song that I had never heard before.

Good luck with that now.

Same songs, over and over. Only way around it is to make a manual playlist which defeats the purpose of random music.

I fucking hate how it shoves completely random music videos on my front page. Im getting so many shitty Korean boyband videos and Ive literally never watched a single one. I wish there was an option to just show subscriptions or something

Every few weeks or months my Youtube front page will just seemingly change, and instead of recommending me stuff from channels I watch it starts recommending any random video with loads of views, regardless of how much it has to do with what I watch. This lasts for a couple of weeks before Youtube realises I won't click on them, then it happens again a month or two later.

Also, stop trying to make mixes happen! I actually delete music videos from my history now because if I don't, that's all Youtube fucking shows me.

SpiritSephiroth posted...

I was thinking of making a topic similar to this TC because this is exactly how I feel.

Whats worse is that when you actually search for something, after 5-10 videos down the list it turns into videos such as "videos you have watched" or "Videos other people have watched" or some shit. I don't need THAT shit, I want to find stuff on what I SEARCHED for.

What is even the point in the search bar anymore?

Damn this is ALSO the case with me. Ok because of this post I'm really confused, if this has been happening with everybody why isn't youtube flooded with complaints to change the search and stuff back the way it was.

Or is it not as overt as "bring the dislikes back!"

YugiNoob posted...

I fucking hate how it shoves completely random music videos on my front page. Im getting so many shitty Korean boyband videos and Ive literally never watched a single one. I wish there was an option to just show subscriptions or something

Isn't that what:

https://www.youtube.com/feed/subscriptions

Is for?

YugiNoob posted...

I fucking hate how it shoves completely random music videos on my front page. Im getting so many shitty Korean boyband videos and Ive literally never watched a single one. I wish there was an option to just show subscriptions or something

It must be adjacent to something you are watching.
I've literally never been recommended a music video of any kind.

The algorithm has always been kind of shit. But, after all the censorship took a hard turn on the site and content creators started being removed or stepping away, things just got worse. Paid promos and the increase in ads have also dragged the site way down.

dolomedes posted...

i think the people crying about losing the ability to dislike are the type of people who don't search, and just click thru the suggestions to find more content. or they do a search and ignore everything but the first one or two results.

people are really stupid

it takes all kinds. I noticed people are generally ok with pretty much whatever websites would do to them. Some people even patiently wait for an ad to end before watching a video, I saw that firsthand and actually wondered wtf it's like to just be ok with that.