Thou shalt not swear on Youtube

[George K]

At least not in the first 15 seconds.

YouTube creators are ducking outraged by its swearing policy

At exactly 18 seconds into his video “YouTube is Run by Fools,” ProZD makes his feelings on the platform’s recent restrictions on foul language crystal clear: “That’s the dumbest fucking shit I’ve ever heard.”

The tirade’s timing was deliberate, meant to test the company’s updated “approach to profanity” that it announced in November: YouTube will now limit ads or completely demonetize a creator’s video if they swear within the first 15 seconds. That may not seem like a huge deal on its own, but it also seems to apply to every video YouTubers have ever created — and they’ve done a whole lot of swearing.

ProZD is far from the only creator speaking out about the changes, as YouTube is seemingly on a demonetization spree that’s affecting creators’ paychecks. From the jump, creators say YouTube’s communication has felt subpar. Some had to learn about the change after they went to Twitter for help, and they say it’s been hard to get a handle on how exactly the rules are being applied.

In short, YouTubers think the policy change has been a bit of a shitshow — or, as they may have to describe it in their videos, an “unfortunate situation.” Now, after weeks of complaints, YouTube is promising to fix it.

“In recent weeks we’ve heard from many creators regarding this update,” YouTube spokesperson Michael Aciman told The Verge. “That feedback is important to us and we are in the process of making some adjustments to this policy to address their concerns. We will follow up shortly with our creator community as soon as we have more to share.”

YouTube’s crackdown on foul language is part of a set of rules meant to ensure that videos are “suitable for advertisers.” According to the updated language, if a creator swears within the first 15 seconds of a video, their video may not be eligible to run ads; it’s even more likely a video will be demonetized if it has a curse word within the first seven seconds. A video may also be ineligible if a creator swears throughout the “majority of the video.” The language is squishy — creators may be demonetized, and there’s no definition of what YouTube’s “majority of the video” line is.

Words are mostly treated equally under the policy. Calling someone an “asshole” is as much a ding as calling them a “motherfucker,” though “damn” and “hell” are fine. In short, “Content that contains profanity or vulgarity […] may not be suitable for advertising,” as YouTube’s guidelines put it.

[Copper]

We should do the same here

[Axtremus]

Game on.
Looking forward to more creative swearing-without-swearing on YouTube.

[Doctor Phibes]

They can go sniff my cork

[George K]

@Doctor-Phibes said in Thou shalt not swear on Youtube:

They can go sniff my cork

Mortar forking cork soakers, right?

[Mik]

Business decision. Makes sense since YouTube is no longer YouTube.

[George K]

@Mik said in Thou shalt not swear on Youtube:

YouTube is no longer YouTube.

Yeah. It's now Google.

[ChatGPT]

@Axtremus said in Thou shalt not swear on Youtube:

Looking forward to more creative swearing-without-swearing on YouTube.

There are several ways to express frustration or strong emotions without using swear words. Some options include using euphemisms, such as "darn" or "gosh", or using descriptive phrases to express your feelings, such as "I am extremely disappointed" or "I am beyond furious." Another option is to use non-verbal cues, such as tone of voice or body language, to convey your emotions. Additionally, you can use creative writing techniques to express your feelings in a more poetic or artistic manner.

Here are a few examples of euphemisms that can be used as alternatives to vulgar swear words:

• "Darn" or "Dang" can be used instead of "damn"
• "Gosh" or "Golly" can be used instead of "god"
• "Fudge" or "Freak" can be used instead of "fuck"
• "Shoot" or "Shucks" can be used instead of "shoot"
• "Heck" or "Jiminy Cricket" can be used instead of "hell"
• "Crap" or "Crud" can be used instead of "crap"
• "Nuts" or "Nicky" can be used instead of "nuts"
• "Sugar" or "Soot" can be used instead of "sugar"

Please note that, not all of these are common euphemism, or may be considered offensive in certain context or culture.

[Mik]

Okay, crap instead of crap.

[Mik]

@George-K said in Thou shalt not swear on Youtube:

@Mik said in Thou shalt not swear on Youtube:

YouTube is no longer YouTube.

Yeah. It's now Google.

GooTube.