Google Temporarily Disabled YouTube's Advanced Captions Without Warning (arstechnica.com) 16
Google has temporarily disabled YouTube's advanced SRV3 caption format after discovering the feature was causing playback errors for some users, according to a statement the company posted. SRV3, also known as YouTube Timed Text, is a custom subtitle system Google introduced around 2018 that allows creators to use custom colors, transparency, animations, and precise text positioning. Creators cannot upload new SRV3 captions while the feature remains disabled, and existing videos that use the format may not display any captions until Google restores it. The company has provided no timeline for when SRV3 will return, and its forum post notes that changes should be temporary for "almost" all videos.
Also mucking with filters (Score:4, Informative)
Also in YouTube filters, they are making it less functional. When one clicks on filters and tries to sort by Upload date, one sometimes sees it, and sometimes doesn't. In the new YouTube, they'll just offer "Relevance" and "View Count". If one wants to see the most recent uploads on a subject, one is SOL
The enshittifcation of both software and the internet aggressively continues
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Which reminds us why it's really important for people to own all the server software for critical things. At some point there's a decision which is a trade off. "Disable A or Disable B". If A is the thing which kills your business and B is the thing that kills something Google cares about (even if it's just two other small businesses) then Google will kill A and your business with it.
Microsoft used to be able to do similar things, but it was much much slower and they tried to give you lots of warning. Now t
They Did Something Right? (Score:2)
Google disables the 'tool' that lets people put captions in the middle of videos, obscuring whatever the fuck the video is?
Cool, cool.
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Pretty sure captions are not shown unless you enable them. The only way to unconditionally get them shown is to bake them right into the video itself.
Accessibility-meets-Google (Score:2)
SRV3 has been disabled while Google works on a simpler, more reliable caption system where every sentence is replaced with “ upbeat music ”.
Captioning rant. (Score:2)
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I don't know what should be the default, but sometimes, when there are other people in the house, or I have trouble following a speaker's accent, I mute the volume and turn on the captions, reading it. It's not something I always do, but I am fine w/ turning it off if it happens to be on by default
I do wish we had the option of placing the caption where we wanted. Like if it was a wide screen w/ horizontal blackspace above and below, that we could make the video either top/bottom aligned, and put the ca
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I don't know what should be the default, but sometimes, when there are other people in the house, or I have trouble following a speaker's accent, I mute the volume and turn on the captions, reading it. It's not something I always do, but I am fine w/ turning it off if it happens to be on by default
I do wish we had the option of placing the caption where we wanted. Like if it was a wide screen w/ horizontal blackspace above and below, that we could make the video either top/bottom aligned, and put the caption in the empty area. As opposed to sometimes covering something material to what we're watching
Nope. They are not going to give you that option. The function of the captions is not to increase your understanding of or even convenience with accessing the content. The function of the captions is to add another color layer and moving object to catch your brain so that you pause long enough to swallow the hook.
There are no longer new features which help you use the content. All new features are now to help the content use you.
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The second language, hard of hearing, and deaf community all give you a big middle finger for that "I don't use it so it must not be needed" attitude.
Actually, I am mildly capable in ASL and have been involved with the deaf community in various ways at many points of my life.
My understanding of this subthread was that it is not talking about accessibility captions that can be activated by the user upon demand, but instead (1) the automatic showing of captions which (2) do not give you control over their appearance. If I misunderstood, and instead this is simply about poor implementations of the accessibility UI, then mea culpa.
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Accessibility laws. They will continue to ruin end-user experience and we're all supposed to just put up with it because you look like an ass if you complain. Just think of how privileged you are to not be blind and deaf.
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Why is it that everyone seems to enable captions by default now? It's annoying to have to keep turning it off for every website with a video.
Engagement farming. Same reason as everything else.
Farmers know that a huge percentage of people are sidescrolling while at work or church or at their kid's tee-ball game or watching TV, and any number of other places where they can sneak in their neurotransmitter/endocrine fix with the sound muted. The captions in the first 5 seconds are essential to provoking enough curiosity-bait that we livestock will let the reel/thread/tok continue, and possibly tap to turn on the sound or save the bait for later revi
Who needs captions? (Score:2)
Just use speakers/headphones and enjoy the programme. Having captions on by default on many platforms these days infuriates me. They distract my eyes from the content.