YouTube rolls out new comments management system

14 Jan 2014

In response to user dissatisfaction with changes that took away users’ ability to manage comments on their YouTube page, the world’s second largest search engine has launched a new comments management system.

The new feature allows users to easily review comments, flag comments for spam or abuse, give a thumbs up or click over to the video watch page and reply.

Users can also easily manage comments that are pending channel manager approval or that have been marked as spam.

More additions are on the way, such as replying inline or expanding all replies.

“Many of you have told us that you use your YouTube Inbox to manage comments,” YouTube engineer Patrick Doyle said in a blog post.

“With the new commenting system moving comment notices to alerts, removing this feature was, well, a bummer.

“Staying connected with your audience is critical on YouTube, so we fast-tracked the development of a new comment management page that lets you see, respond to and moderate your comments all in one place,” YouTube said.

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com