r/technology bristles at reports YouTube is hiding the dislike button; YouTube says it's creators only
What is actually changing, YouTube's own clarification, and why readers care so much about a thumbs-down.
The post links Dexerto's report on a redesigned YouTube desktop layout that moves the dislike option into the three-dot menu. Dexerto has since updated it with YouTube's statement: "We are not testing hiding the dislike button on YouTube for users," calling it "a new UI for creators on their own uploaded videos." Creators can still see dislike counts in YouTube Studio. YouTube hid public dislike counts in November 2021.
Most of the thread was written before or without that clarification. Top replies argue that removing negative signals helps advertisers and rage-bait (one cites Nextdoor), credit Reddit's downvotes for keeping it saner, recall the five-star ratings Netflix and YouTube once used, and complain about scam ads. About 29,700 upvotes and 1,900 comments in an 18-million-member community.
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Like button
After exploring YouTube explains why the dislike button is disappearing from some videos, the history of the humble thumbs is in Like button.
Wikipedia's overview of like and recommend buttons in social software, which let users show support for content and usually display a running count.
Wikipedia · Wade · 5 min
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