Youtube's "Limited state" is now live.

[Kearn]

never would have seen this video without the censorship-lite, thanks youtube

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[SeventhSandwich]

I agree that it's important to enforce rules against "wild" stuff but I think this is pushing it too far in to the "don't hurt my feelings" zone.

I'd be inclined to agree if the idea is that any group of viewers can brigade the system to censor any specific video, regardless of content. Unlisting videos from white supremacists is fine because they're a nutty fringe group, but I don't know the extent of how this policy works.

They should probably be more transparent about how this system actually works, since 'offensive' can range anywhere from videos talking about the inferiority of black people, to someone using the word 'handicapped' in a stand-up routine. The former I would consider a good use of social pressure to make hate-groups forget off, while the latter is unreasonable.

[otto-san]

probably worth noting that hate speech has always been an offense on youtube as far as i know, it's just that before if you got flagged enough for it your video would be deleted entirely instead of being put in video limbo

[Steve5451²]

I'd be inclined to agree if the idea is that any group of viewers can brigade the system to censor any specific video, regardless of content. Unlisting videos from white supremacists is fine because they're a nutty fringe group, but I don't know the extent of how this policy works.

I'm playing the slippery slope card with this one. I fear there's more censorship to come from YouTube because it's been getting steadily worse over the last few years.

probably worth noting that hate speech has always been an offense on youtube as far as i know, it's just that before if you got flagged enough for it your video would be deleted entirely instead of being put in video limbo

I wouldn't call that video hate speech. He's clearly got a bias against black people but for the most part it seems factual, but I didn't watch very much of the video so feel free to prove me wrong.

[SeventhSandwich]

I fear there's more censorship to come from YouTube because it's been getting steadily worse over the last few years.

Fortunately, it's not like we have to decide right now what extent of censorship we're okay with on YouTube. If they decide to take it to an outrageous degree, it's not like people won't be able to boycott it then.

And even though there's zero chance of throwing Google into bankruptcy through a boycott, you can still cause enough measurable damage to their ad revenue that they would consider reverting the policy.

[Kearn]

we sure are in weird times when the left is fine with censorship

[SeventhSandwich]

we sure are in weird times when the left is fine with censorship

You are okay with censorship as well. In fact, everyone is. Whenever you kick someone off a platform for something they say, then you're technically committing censorship. The Blockland Forums censors users who break certain rules (namely, flaming) by banning them.

[otto-san]

I wouldn't call that video hate speech. He's clearly got a bias against black people but for the most part it seems factual, but I didn't watch very much of the video so feel free to prove me wrong.

doesn't necessarily matter, youtube's always dished out automatic punishment if a video got enough flags without review because it's easier to let people appeal if something is obviously wrong than to sift through every report that comes in. people seem to be under the impression that youtube is hand-picking conservative videos and disabling them but from what i can tell this is just a less-severe version of the same thing they've always done

edit: scratch some of that, a video has to be specifically determined as not bad enough to be removed to be put in this kind of state (x)

still, this only happens if people report it and the review teams agree that its kinda almost hate speech but not really enough to actually be removed, not because youtube is seeking out videos with right-leaning viewpoints and censoring them

[Deus Ex]

is this it?

yes

Also, the whole "they're a private company" response is such a loving cop out when Youtube basically has a monopoly on the video hosting website industry. After a certain point they're almost more of a public utility than a private service

[LeisureSuit912]

I don't care about bullstuff race science enough to defend this channel sooooooo

Anybody still pushing race science in *current year* needs to get their skull measured

[LeisureSuit912]

we sure are in weird times when the left is fine with censorship

Dude if these white supremacists ever got into power they would take away free speech as soon as they can

[Deus Ex]

Dude if these white supremacists ever got into power they would take away free speech as soon as they can

"Hey man if we don't do it they will!"

[bloody jumper]

Dude if these white supremacists ever got into power they would take away free speech as soon as they can

So, it's okay to remove the free speech of others because you're scared that these idiots are going to be voted into power? Do you honestly think that an actual white supremacist is going to be voted into power? Do you honestly think that these people have the support of anyone outside of they're small, almost non-existent groups?

[Kearn]

Dude if these white supremacists ever got into power they would take away free speech as soon as they can

if your argument is so pathetically weak that the only way you can prevent white supremacists from beating you in today's political climate is by preventing them from voicing their opinions in public forums, you really need to reevaluate

[Deus Ex]

if your argument is so pathetically weak that the only way you can prevent white supremacists from beating you in today's political climate is by preventing them from voicing their opinions in public forums, you really need to reevaluate

Yeah that's another thing. The reason fringe, extremist viewpoints are seen as fringe and extremist is because people are allowed to engage them in public and destroy them with logic. By removing the ability to downvote and comment on these videos, they're allowing them to exist in a vacuum with no criticism. They'll be pushed to the areas of the internet where white supremacists congregate in echo chambers and become more entrenched in their beliefs. It's not smart. It's not smart whatsoever.