undefined | Better HN

0 pointsfrogulis2y ago0 comments

Videos not being trackable is such a perplexing one. Is it intended to keep the user watching longer by forcing them to re-watch the whole video if they want to see something again?

0 comments

Larrikin2y ago

It's also there to force the user to watch the full video to see if the build up to some final product was actually worth seeing. Both reasons are there to take seconds off your life to juice their engagement stats.

komali22y ago

When I complained to my friend at Instagram about this, this is the exact answer she gave as to why they have it like this.

Instagram is a Duke of dark pattern ux, I'd say king but there's travel booking websites out there that hold the crown.

lxgr2y ago

Given that Youtube copied it for their "shorts" clone of TikTok/Reels, it must be working for the platforms...

balder19912y ago

I think their reasoning is that if it’s just a few seconds it “simplifies” the UI, which is why if the reel is just a bit longer it is trackable.

TikTok on the other hand I think the video needs to be much longer to be trackable.

chromakode2y ago

YouTube shorts are seekable.

schott125212y ago

It’s a double edged sword, because the seekability of YT Shorts mean I’ll actually watch them.

Noumenon722y ago

Not in my web browser right at this minute. I have to edit the URL from /shorts/ to /watch?v= all the time.

1 more reply

mh-2y ago

That is a relatively recent change.

1 more reply

whywhywhywhy2y ago

Really wish the engineers behind that design did us a solid and at least left the shortcut keys (left/right/j/l) in. Dropping those too is criminal.

SushiHippie2y ago

You definitely can jump in a video (at least on android).

The white bar at the bottom, which shows the progress of the reel/video, can be dragged. It is a very buggy experience, but it works.

I think it doesn't work with very short videos.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

0 comments

Larrikin2y ago

komali22y ago

When I complained to my friend at Instagram about this, this is the exact answer she gave as to why they have it like this.

Instagram is a Duke of dark pattern ux, I'd say king but there's travel booking websites out there that hold the crown.

lxgr2y ago

Given that Youtube copied it for their "shorts" clone of TikTok/Reels, it must be working for the platforms...

balder19912y ago

I think their reasoning is that if it’s just a few seconds it “simplifies” the UI, which is why if the reel is just a bit longer it is trackable.

TikTok on the other hand I think the video needs to be much longer to be trackable.

chromakode2y ago

YouTube shorts are seekable.

schott125212y ago

It’s a double edged sword, because the seekability of YT Shorts mean I’ll actually watch them.

Noumenon722y ago

Not in my web browser right at this minute. I have to edit the URL from /shorts/ to /watch?v= all the time.

1 more reply

mh-2y ago

That is a relatively recent change.

1 more reply

whywhywhywhy2y ago

Really wish the engineers behind that design did us a solid and at least left the shortcut keys (left/right/j/l) in. Dropping those too is criminal.

SushiHippie2y ago

You definitely can jump in a video (at least on android).

The white bar at the bottom, which shows the progress of the reel/video, can be dragged. It is a very buggy experience, but it works.

I think it doesn't work with very short videos.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse