YouTube Announces Improved Commenting System
YouTube comments are currently displayed according to date, but that’s about to change. The popular video sharing website announced a new commenting system that focuses on relevant, meaningful discussions instead of simply sorting comments chronologically.
A preview of how YouTube comments will appear once the system is implemented.
YouTube comments have become a breeding ground for spam, bullying, and offensive or unhelpful remarks. Implementing a system that focuses on personalizing how comments appear for each individual user might just provide the answers for these problems.
Comment Sorting Based on Relevance and Votes
With the new system, comments from the video uploader and “people [users] care about” will rank higher in the comments section of each video. Comments from popular personalities and people from the user’s Google+ Circles, for example, will be ranked higher and appear at the top of the comment threads more often. The comment system will retain the voting system, and user votes will influence the way a comment is ranked. Comment threads with highly engaged discussions will also be highlighted.
Improved Google+ Integration
YouTube started integrating Google+ into their system last year, when they started encouraging users to connect their Google+ and YouTube accounts in an effort to get more users to use their real names on the site. Aside from giving comments from people in a user’s Google+ Circles higher ratings, the new system will also aggregate and display public comments about a video from Google+.
Once the system is implemented, users can have private conversations by posting comments that can only be viewed by specific individuals or people in their Google+ Circles.
Better Moderation Tools
YouTube will also be introducing new comment moderation tools for channel owners. The new system will allow them to create lists of approved users who can always comment on their videos, block specific users, or hold comments with specific words for review.
YouTube’s new comment setting interface.
One of the interesting yet subtle changes YouTube made is that the website will no longer notify users if a channel owner has blocked them, and blocked users will still see their own comments when they’re logged in. YouTube hopes that this small change will discourage users from creating new accounts after being blocked.
The new comment system has been implemented on channel discussion tabs, and will continue to be rolled out “later this year”. Old comments will be retained, and will still be displayed along with the newer ranked or threaded comments.
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