14 DAY TRIAL // YouTube is working on a major redesign, perhaps the biggest the site has seen, and you can imagine it's a daunting task for a site this large and complex. The redesigned site has been in testing for a few months now and, though things are moving forward, every change is put through its paces thoroughly. The latest big change to go live is a revamped comment system, arguably, the section of the site needing the most attention. The new rating system with the like/dislike buttons is also getting some tweaking.
"Over the past couple of weeks, we've been busy iterating on the new video page design based on your feedback, and we're excited to share some new developments before the page is rolled out to everyone soon," Peter Bradshaw and Tyler Morse, software engineers at YouTube, wrote.
"Many of you indicated that comments could use an overhaul and hoped that was a part of the redesign. We're happy to say that it is. Today, we're introducing a 'highlights view' of comments which summarizes top rated comments, uploader comments, video responses and recent comments in a single 'front-page story' that you can drill into for more detail," they added.
The comments on YouTube have been long due for a major overhaul. With some videos getting millions of comments, the traditional system, listing comments chronologically, is clearly obsolete. Add to this the 'value' of the vast majority of comments on YouTube, and it's easy to see why the system needed fixing and badly.
With the new "highlights view," the relevant comments should be the ones displayed, though the system is too new to know if it will actually work. This is why YouTube is asking users for feedback on its new approach to video comments.
The star system that enabled users to rate videos is going to be replaced, as it proved out of touch with what the users really wanted. The new like/dislike system should make it easier for viewers to put across their opinion. Users also wanted a way of keeping track of the videos they 'liked,' but they wanted it to be separate from the existing "favorite" tool. Enter the new "Videos I Liked" section, which is pretty self explanatory, it houses the videos one liked while browsing YouTube so they can check them out later. Other changes are coming, but the redesign is close to being launched widely.