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YouTube Will Remove All Pop-up Annotations on January 15 (engadget.com)

Posted by msmash on from the good-riddance dept.

Early last year, YouTube announced that it would be retiring annotations, those boxes that pop up during a video with links and additional information. It discontinued the annotations editor in May of last year and soon all existing annotations will be going away as well. From a report: The company added an update to the help page announcing the end of its annotations editor, saying, "We will stop showing existing annotations to viewers starting January 15, 2019. All existing annotations will be removed."

18 of 91 comments (clear)

  1. I would just be happy by OYAHHH · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If they would stop placing the links to additional videos during the last few seconds of the video I am watching. Is this the popup annotations as described?

    Regardless, it is highly annoying to have additional video icons displayed prior to the end of the video I am watching. These "adverts" block some pretty interesting material in many cases.

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    1. Re:I would just be happy by cayenne8 · · Score: 2
      Hmm..first I've heard of the normal annotations being removed.

      WTF are they doing that? It is a great way to give viewers extra info, like a Part 1 if they hit Part 2 first...etc.

      --
      Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
    2. Re:I would just be happy by lgw · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The were abused badly. Hidden rectangles that covered e.g. the volume control tht linked to "subscribe", for example. This is why we can't have nice things.

      Which sucks, because YouTube has no good way to edit a video once posted (much like Slashdot), so annotations were the one way you could correct a stupid mistake after the fact, by popping up a correction as you said the stupid thing.

      --
      Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
    3. Re:I would just be happy by DarkRookie2 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I am pretty sure they were removed mostly in part is that they didn't work all that great on mobile

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    4. Re:I would just be happy by DarkRookie2 · · Score: 2
      Link since I found it:

      YouTube kills annotations to make way for mobile-friendly features

      https://www.engadget.com/2017/...
      Google is a mobile only company. If anything works on a desktop system, that is just a bonus.

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    5. Re:I would just be happy by The+Original+CDR · · Score: 2

      Those are end cards that can appear in the last 20 seconds of the video. If enabled for older videos and videos without a dedicated end card screen, the end cards will overlay existing content. A dedicated end card screen can be added to the video before uploading to YouTube.

    6. Re:I would just be happy by The+Original+CDR · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Annotations work great on the desktop. Not so much on mobile. And mobile is where most videos are being watched these days. Mobile also has no ad blockers to prevent ads from being shown..

    7. Re:I would just be happy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      nope. that's an advertisement.

      the annotations are just that. text notes added by the creator.

      this is a very nice feature for 'how to' type videoo that is being discontinued and de-published (as the existing annotations will be lost).

      as is the case with everything else google. don't ever count on it.. for anything.

  2. Sometimes the annotations are awesome. by Killall+-9+Bash · · Score: 3, Funny

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

    Whoever sent you this link is doing you a massive fucking favor.

    --
    "Prediction: within 10 years, Windows will be a Linux distribution." Me, 7-6-2016
  3. Add missing information by SmaryJerry · · Score: 2

    I thought these annotations were used sort of as a post uploading editing feature. People always correct what they said, provide links to their new video about a topic or whatever. That said I'm happy to see them go.

    1. Re:Add missing information by Sigma+7 · · Score: 3, Informative

      People always correct what they said, provide links to their new video about a topic or whatever.

      If only there was a place where they could write some text to provide some errata. Maybe it could be placed below the video, perhaps after the major title, and account that uploaded the video... placing it before the comments...

      It would be quite a useful feature if it were implemented. /s

      But really, I've seen obnoxious use of annotations outnumber the proper use.

    2. Re:Add missing information by AmiMoJo · · Score: 2

      They always say "check the description down below for the link", and I'm like "how do I do that on my smart TV? can't you just put the URL on the screen or a QR code I can scan with my phone?"

      But alas they always make me open the video again on my phone or PC just to get that link.

      It's even worse when there are vital corrections in the description, and I never see it because a) I usually watch on a smart TV and b) I rarely look at the description even on desktop.

      A compromise solution would be forced subtitles. Unclickable to prevent abuse.

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  4. Legitimate uses by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    There is a guy who i subscribe to who uses annotations to point to previous videos that he makes reference to (even points to the top of the screen when he makes them) to give you more context on what they are talking about, it's a pity they are retiring it as they are useful. I can understand that they want the platform to the same across any device but if that's the case why do i need to pay for youtube red if i want to minimize the app on my phone? i can minimise the tab in my browser on my computer.

  5. Good-bye Kaizo Trap by tepples · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Removing annotations will break the concept of Kaizo Trap and other interactive works that use YouTube as a substitute for the deprecated Adobe Flash Player.

  6. Wait for it by AndyKron · · Score: 2

    I'm sure they something even more annoying in mind. Wait for it.

  7. Strange days lie ahead for Youtube by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    WTF are all these people pointing at?

  8. Good fucking riddance! by Sebby · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I've found it incredibly stupid to have those popup in the middle of a video - what am I supposed to do with those? Click on them, thereby stop watching what I currently want to watch before it's done?!?

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  9. Re:Why not just default to off by Pezbian · · Score: 3, Informative

    Somehow, whenever I visit Youtube, I have to go to settings to switch annotations off (no, I don't want to 'log-in'). Why don't they just default to off, instead of scrapping the entire feature?

    That's as likely as Facebook defaulting your feed to "Most Recent".

    --
    In a world of the blind, the one-eyed man is king--and the two-eyed man is a heretic.