YouTube is experimenting with comment threading
Following the lead of just about every website and social platform, YouTube is introducing comment threading. But before you get too excited about gaining the ability to view nested replies and being able to follow conversations more easily, there are a couple of quirks.
Firstly, this is – for now, at least – limited to the iOS and Android apps, so if you access YouTube via a web browser, you are out of luck. Secondly, this is an experiment so try not to get too attached to it.
There is a third thing to keep in mind. As this is an experimental feature that YouTube is testing out, you need to be subscribed to YouTube Premium. The company says that: “For a limited time, eligible Premium members can try out new features that we're working on, including AI experiments. As a Premium member, you'll also enjoy watching YT ad-free, downloads and more”.
So, if you have a YouTube Premium subscription in the bag you can test drive threaded comments on the video sharing platform. Oh – one more thing: you will need to move fast.
Not only is this an experiment, but it is also a time-limited experiment. YouTube says that its testing of comment threading will run until 14 August – so you have less than a month left.
YouTube says of the feature:
Comment threading provides a more focused reading experience and helps users to easily understand conversations.
There is even a little introductory “How to use” guide for anyone who is confused about how the new system works:
Click on the 'X replies' button under a comment and view threaded replies in the 'Replies' panel.
YouTube Premium subscribers can sign up to the threading trial by visiting www.youtube.com/new. There is also the option of heading to your profile in the YouTube app on your mobile device and then go to Your premium benefits > Try experimental new features > Comment Threading.
This is not the first time that YouTube has experimented with adding threads to comments, but this appears to be the biggest test the company has done so far. Earlier in the year, a very rudimentary version of comment threading was made available to a very small number of users.
Having seemingly gained some feedback and implemented a few tweaks, YouTube now feels that what is needed is a bigger audience. This in turn will mean that there is more feedback and, presumably, there will be more changes.
At this stage, there is a lot that we still don’t know – including when the feature could get a proper launch. It is also not clear whether or not comment threading will remain an iOS/Android-only feature. More importantly, we don’t know whether comment threading will be exclusive to YouTube Premium subscribers.
This is a distinct possibility, as there have long been complaints that YouTube Premium does not offer value for money. But then there is the question of how such a two-tier system would be implemented – although we may get an idea over the next couple of weeks. If comment threading is available to Premium subscribers, what will non-subscribers see?
Time will tell how the current version of comment threading goes down with testers, and then we will just have to wait to see when, or if, it is fully rolled out.
What do you think of this? Is this a case of YouTube finally catching up with everyone else? What pitfalls do you foresee with this significant change to the platform’s commenting system?
Share your thoughts in the comments below – and if you’re unimpressed with how YouTube is approaching this, how would you like to see things improved?