Tom 〠  Jan 6
Mike Roach
My new favourite browser extension is DeArrow. It uses automation and community-maintained overrides for YouTube thumbnails and titles to de-senstionalise, de-clickbait them. It's so nice.

I don't even have to tell you which are the before and after thumbnails.

https://dearrow.ajay.app/
Jan 5 at 12:09pmWeb
Show threadKarl BaronJan 6

@mroach I did the opposite, I installed the “Mr Beastify” extension which adds Mr Beast clickbait to every single thumbnail

https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/youtube-mrbeastify/dbmaeobgdodeimjdjnkipbfhgeldnmeb?hl=en&pli=1

Show threadMike RoachJan 6
@kalleboo Hahaha that's a riot. I still don't know who Mr Beast is but this is enough information that I can say I'm happy with my life choices.
Show threadJoe 🏔️ King of NYNEX   Jan 6
@mroach i have blocked this guys channel because of the face he makes
Show threadJoe 🏔️ King of NYNEX   Jan 6
@mroach like he just shat his pants
Show threadThe Great Llama Jan 8
@luzkenin @mroach
Looks like he's actually in the process of shitting his pants.
Show threadMike RoachJan 8
@TheGreatLlama @luzkenin “Oh not again…well, since I’ve already ruined these pants, may as well go full send!”
Show threadMike RoachJan 6
@luzkenin I have come close to doing the same. Normally it doesn’t show up in my recommendations. I have used “never recommend this channel” a lot for YouTube face and sensationalist clickbait titles.
Show threadTzimisce FleshJan 6
@mroach To clarify for the weirdos like me, as far as I can tell "automation" here is used to mean "automation", not "slop engines".
Show threadMike RoachJan 6
@flesh Yeah they’re super simple: changing the casing of the titles e.g. THIS -> this and replacing the thumbnail with a random frame from the video. No AI slop
Show threadOliJan 6
@mroach
This reminds me of a couple years ago when Derek Muller explained that changes to YouTube's algorithm forced him to either play their shitty clickbait game or have Veritasium disappear over time. 😐
@n0toose
Show threadamenomeJan 6
@mroach tbf "the mongodb situation is crazy" is a joke rather than just engagement bait at least
Show threadDanJan 6
@mroach oh hey, it's from the same dev as SponsorBlock - which I very highly recommend as well.
Show threadMike RoachJan 6
@dank Thanks for the reminder! I knew there was another extension I needed to install. I wish this stuff had some way of working on Apple TV or iOS but I’ll take what I can get.
Show threadAutJan 7
@mroach Nice. I find myself not watching videos because I hate clickbait titles. I'll have to give this a try.
Show threadMike RoachJan 7
@Aut Same! I make heavy use of their "Don't recommend channel" option on channels using over-the-top clickbait and hysteria in their titles. So nice to turn down the temperature.
Show threadChloe G artistJan 7
@mroach Somebody give this person a medal.
Show threadmorganJan 8
@mroach hahah, I love it, but how will I know which videos to not watch?
Show threadMike RoachJan 8
@morgan I’m finding these titles tell me I don’t need to watch them! It’s so nice. It’s working.
Show threadmorganJan 8
@mroach I've a strict policy, no red arrow, no befuddled white guy face.
Show threadMike RoachJan 8
@morgan Same. I make heavy use of the “do not recommend channel” button on YouTube. I must have a list a mile long now of soft-banned channels. Also tiles putting random words in screaming-case.
Show threadThe Great Llama Jan 8
@morgan @mroach
I actually hate the "way over the top shocked face" more than the befuddled face, but they're both pretty bad.
Show threadMike RoachJan 8
@TheGreatLlama @morgan They’re both bad for sure. LTT is a big offender. But then random channels end up on my feed that are much, much worse. I block them immediately haha
Show threadThe Great Llama Jan 8
@mroach @morgan
Yeah, I'm pretty aggressive with my use of the, "don't recommend this channel" feature. It seems to come in waves: I'll get the garbage fairly filtered out, then suddenly I'll get another barrage of clickbaity crap all at once.
Show threadMike RoachJan 8
@TheGreatLlama @morgan Same! I don’t get it. Maybe they’re A/B testing or trying to get people to branch out? I’m all for branching out but not into a cess pool.
Show threadThe Great Llama Jan 8
@mroach @morgan
I suspect they're constantly tweaking their algorithm, probably to push content that their analytics show tend to boost viewing time. It's all about the ad revenue.
Show threadMike RoachJan 8
@TheGreatLlama @morgan This is how you do thumbnails that get me clicking instantly. (clabretro and Serial Port are in my top 5 fave channels)
Show threadjan Ki | 奇  Jan 9
@mroach
I was worried for a moment that this could be LLM slop, but I'm pleasantly surprised to see it's crowdsourcing