A 'fix' for those STUPID YouTube 'Shorts'

[JohnRM]

The problem I have with Youtube shorts is that if you watch one it will loop until you clip something else. YT should randomly play something else like they do with regular videos.

 

[hotwired]

Definition sticky

This may have been covered but I didn't read each and every reply. Can you define what a YouTube short is and what it's supposed to accomplish? I am a web designer, and solo musici, actually have my own YouTube channel, watch at least three videos a day for the purpose of music learning and I've never heard this term. I suspect that many others reading this thread have not heard of this and maybe missing out on valuable information.

 

[statsman]

A few of the channels I am subscribed to on YT have seen their shorter videos made into shorts. I am not sure whether this was by design for these channels or forced onto them by YT. Reading the comments here, it sounds like it might be the latter in many cases.

Anyway, I found a userscript that modifies the YT shorts such that when I open their links in a new tab or new window (right-click context menu with Firefox), they revert to a format with full video and volume control. Clicking on the links directly maintains the shorts format.

 

[JoeWras]

This may have been covered but I didn't read each and every reply. Can you define what a YouTube short is and what it's supposed to accomplish? I am a web designer, and solo musici, actually have my own YouTube channel, watch at least three videos a day for the purpose of music learning and I've never heard this term. I suspect that many others reading this thread have not heard of this and maybe missing out on valuable information.

Shorts are just that, "short" videos, less than one minute. They are very much designed to compete with Tik Tok.

As OP mentions, shorts don't have good playback controls. They also are in the portrait instead of landscape formats. This is because people still don't know how to turn their phone.

Time moves on and, tick tock, Alphabet was thunderstruck by competition from overseas. Shorts is the result.

Here's a short of a girl playing Thunderstruck on bagpipes with a horse playing bucket drums. Perhaps this will qualify for your music learning of the day, ha ha. Sounds like Tik Tok, eh?

 

[hotwired]

Got it!

Shorts are just that, "short" videos, less than one minute. They are very much designed to compete with Tik Tok.

As OP mentions, shorts don't have good playback controls. They also are in the portrait instead of landscape formats. This is because people still don't know how to turn their phone.

Time moves on and, tick tock, Alphabet was thunderstruck by competition from overseas. Shorts is the result.

Here's a short of a girl playing Thunderstruck on bagpipes with a horse playing bucket drums. Perhaps this will qualify for your music learning of the day, ha ha. Sounds like Tik Tok, eh?

Ah! I get it. I usually see those under articles I'm reading, etc. I do understand the frustration. EVERY single one I click on appears like it's going to be interesting and it's over long before anything meaningful is said.

 

[Spock]

We cast youtube from the phone to the TV so we can both watch some common interest channel. For whatever reason, shorts won't cast to the TV which is mildly irritating.

 

[ERD50]

Shorts...watch them or don't watch them.

Complaining endlessly isn't going to change anything.

You also are missing the point, and are objectively wrong on two others. There are some 60 second videos I want to watch, they actually have content I'm interested in, but the forced "shorts' format takes away some of the user controls, with no apparent offsetting advantage. I have watched a 60 second video before this 'shorts' deal, and had full control. That's a better way to watch, options (that don't get in the way) are always a good thing.

And you are wrong that complaining won't change anything. I found a work-around, and several others have mentioned some other work-arounds that might be better than what I found (have not tested them yet). If I didn't complain, I probably would not have found those.

And though it might be rare, complaining can cause the company to change their view on something. It happens.

And here's one example you may appreciate :

https://www.brandwatch.com/blog/5-times-customer-change/

Tesla

There are many speedy things Tesla CEO Elon Musk makes and decisions are definitely one of them.

This is a great reference point for any company that takes customer success seriously.

Thirty minutes after tweeter Paul Franks raised an issue with Tesla cars to Musk, he replied with a promise to fix it in the next software update.

Valuing customer feedback is one thing, but addressing it in that time frame is seriously impressive.

A few of the channels I am subscribed to on YT have seen their shorter videos made into shorts. I am not sure whether this was by design for these channels or forced onto them by YT. Reading the comments here, it sounds like it might be the latter in many cases.

Anyway, I found a userscript that modifies the YT shorts such that when I open their links in a new tab or new window (right-click context menu with Firefox), they revert to a format with full video and volume control. Clicking on the links directly maintains the shorts format.

Yes, it is my understanding that YT forces the conversion to 'shorts' format on any <= 60 second video, no option for the content creator.

Do you have a link to that user-script? I may want to try that. TIA.

We cast youtube from the phone to the TV so we can both watch some common interest channel. For whatever reason, shorts won't cast to the TV which is mildly irritating.

Hah! Another reason to hate the 'shorts' format!

-ERD50

 

[easysurfer]

I've been bombarded with Facebook reels not long ago but seems the amount has subsided a bit. Not sure if something I did to hold off the onslaught. Tik Tok, Reels, Shorts are similar.

 

[statsman]

Do you have a link to that user-script? I may want to try that. TIA.

Here is an example of one such userscript. There are others, and they require knowledge of using a browser add-on such as Tampermonkey, Violentmonkey, or Greasemonkey.

I am not an expert at creating userscripts, but I can read existing ones to determine how they work (and whether I should be concerned about security flaws). I have a small group of four websites I visit where using userscripts comes in handy.

https://github.com/YukisCoffee/yt-anti-shorts

 

[threeonesix]

The golden age of the internet is gone. I'm gonna say peak was about 15 years ago. Lots of content. Good manners. Lots of cooperation. Freedom. Desktops. Mobile. Yeah, video too. All with good control.

Now it has devolved to non-controllable, minimalistic short attention span content that has to fit in someone's properly vetted box, with mostly vapid content. Sad.

What you're describing by "Golden Age" was the Anything Goes days of the World Wide Web ("internet" and "world wide web (www)" are not interchangeable). The days when people could post whatever they wanted on every forum around (goatse, tub girl and two girls one cup), or spread lies about weapons of mass destruction and everyone would believe them. I'm sorry, but I do not miss those days one bit. I believe in freedom every bit as much as the next person, and I believe in inalienable rights as much as the next person, but I also believe in practicing prudence and respect for others. 15 years ago neither of those things were in overabundance on the world wide web. Neither are in overabundance on social media today but at least today mods, admins and service providers aren't afraid to censor content. Some things people just don't need to see, like beheading human beings on video.

 

[W2R]

What I'd like (in an ideal world) is for Youtube to include a software switch to turn off shorts so that we couldn't even see that they were there. I have never enjoyed listening to any of them, and they clutter up my screen (IMO).

With a switch such as I am suggesting, one could always decide to change one's mind and gain access to shorts again later on.

 

[ERD50]

What I'd like (in an ideal world) is for Youtube to include a software switch to turn off shorts so that we couldn't even see that they were there. I have never enjoyed listening to any of them, and they clutter up my screen (IMO).

With a switch such as I am suggesting, one could always decide to change one's mind and gain access to shorts again later on.

That's good, but it would take more to be "ideal".

YouTube also needs to stop automatically converting content to shorts format - some content creators don't intend for their 60 second videos to be converted to that format. So if YouTube only gave me a switch to disable them, I'd completely miss those 60 second videos that I might want to see (with all the controls in place - normal format). At least now, I can apply one of the work-arounds, to convert it back to the regular format with controls. Which I couldn't do if I didn't see it!

-ERD50

 

[Time2]

I saw this feature for the first time today, ( >Created From ) clicking on it takes you to the original content.

From one that generally likes short but often wants to see the original.
I hope this a starting to be a thing.

 

[ERD50]

I saw this feature for the first time today, ( >Created From ) clicking on it takes you to the original content.

From one that generally likes short but often wants to see the original.
I hope this a starting to be a thing.

I was hopeful, but that bubble was burst upon closer inspection.

If you notice, the original is a much longer video. So that's from a content creator who wanted to create a short from a longer video (like a movie 'trailer'). People see the 'short' and may want to look at the full feature.

But that appears to be by the design of the content creator. My big issue is YouTube is converting any/all <60 sec videos to 'shorts' format, w/o input from the content creator. There are some informative, short videos, that benefit from having the jump and frame-by-frame controls. That gets stripped away when they are forced to a 'short'.

-ERD50

 

[Time2]

It's my contention that most of the shorts I watch are just clips from long videos. It would seem to me they are one Youtuber's Material clipped and made into a short by another Youtuber.

 

[ERD50]

It's my contention that most of the shorts I watch are just clips from long videos. It would seem to me they are one Youtuber's Material clipped and made into a short by another Youtuber.

They might be, and that's fine (except why take the bleepin' controls away!!!!). But in the case of the automatically converted ones, that were meant to b watched with the controls, it's a mess.

I looked through the 'shorts' on my YT home page, and the 'shorts' subcategory, and I didn't see any with this link to the full video. Maybe that's only the case when another YT-er has made a short of other's material?

-ERD50