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DeArrow is an open source browser extension for crowdsourcing better titles and thumbnails on YouTube. (dearrow.ajay.app)

submitted 7 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

75 comments fedilink hide all child comments

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/19421887

DeArrow is an open source browser extension for crowdsourcing better titles and thumbnails on YouTube. The goal is to make titles accurate and reduce sensationalism. No more arrows, ridiculous faces, and no more clickbait.

"Clickbait" isn't the exception anymore, it's becoming the norm. Many have even started going through their entire backlog, changing old titles and thumbnails to be more attention grabbing and vague.

It's no one's fault. It's a system that creates a race to the bottom.

DeArrow hopes to stop this cycle. It's time to return to a more peaceful experience.

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[+] [email protected] 13 points 7 months ago (3 children)

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

I agree. I think what you describe is also seen in sponsor block.

People mark story telling videos mostly as filler content, so a beautiful 10 minute video is chopped down to only a minute or two and most of what makes the video great is removed.

Live music sets where people segment out the intro and outro to songs, so tracks are mashed together for a non-stop music experience, which I think misses the mark with live music.

I also find a lot of sponsor segments are done quite badly like the person who made them doesn't care or is in a rush. Eg. Today I came a sponsor segment that started 11 seconds too early. I only recognised it because it kicked in half way through a sentence.

Don't get me wrong, I still use the extension; I've just disabled most of the auto actions.

Many moons ago I tried Darrow for a day and got the same feeling as what your described. I decided the original video titles are superior and disabled the extension.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago (1 children)

yeah, I've got it set to off by default. i used it almost like a spoiler tag. click the button to see the answer to "THIS AMAZING DEVICE DOES WHAT????"

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I respectfully disagree. Any high quality creator is tangibly penalized by YouTube's recommendation algorithm for not optimizing their titles and thumbnails. A rare few choose to take this penalty but I don't blame the many quality creators who choose to take part in the game that YouTube has made for everyone.

Yes, the alternate titles may not be perfect, but I'd take any random person's attempt at a title over the hyper optimized ones any day because I'd rather make an informed decision to watch something even if there is some degree of inaccuracy than to make a completely uninformed decision based on what an algorithm predicted would most likely get me to click and get hooked on a video irregardless of my own will and whether I am satisfied at the end of watching it.