An Open Letter to YouTube/Google

Dear YouTube/Google,
In recent weeks and months I've noticed an alarming amount of my friends leaving your site. At first I attributed it to the channel changes only. Did I agree with them? Well yes and no. I'm not one to make waves unless things are really bad. I knew that eventually all would see that you were really trying to shape up the look of YouTube do to it's incredible success. There can be no doubt that it has permeated all areas of society throughout most of the world.
I totally agree with that. I am a public school teacher and I use YouTube daily in my guitar classes. Actually, I can't imagine not having it now. It was always risky to pull up pages on the site that had questionable content on it. One can scoff at such things and pass them off like they don't matter however, I am still teaching children and they and their parents have a right to know that they won'tbe tainted with anything objectionable. So I applaud you for moving towards becoming a professional operation not colored with content that tends to lower it's value and seriousness.

The new changes you are instituting now have sent many people to other sites. However, I've read what you are trying to do and once again, I give you the benefit of the doubt that you know what you are doing. In the long run you want a successful and efficient system. I will change over to the new look in a few days and follow your advice about how to run it efficiently.

Now, on the the major problem you have. The amount of hatred, deceit, sabotage, and greed on your site is at the most alarming level I've ever seen. I fear that you have lost control of your ability to police your operation. You must get this under control as soon as possible. At least 50 percent of the channels I deal with now have locked people out from commenting or voting thumbs up or down. It was never like this even a year ago. You have random trolls running throughout your system with absolutely no fear of getting caught by you.

My question to you is simple. Why would you risk this incredible empire by letting your security system so open? Why do you grant channels with no system of check and balance to at least cut down on those who would find joy in decimating others? This issue will not go away and in fact is getting worse.

One other issue is the thumbs up/down controls. Many are frustrated by random people who hit thumbs down just to spread their hatred in small but effective ways. Please consider removing the option of thumbs down. An easier method would be just a thumb up. We are all intelligent enough to figure out that if a video has 100 views and there are 90 thumbs up, it's probably okay. The amount of incredibly talented people who have disabled the thumb option is stunning. Remember that these people do generate income for you. We are okay with you making money as long as we feel you care for us.

Allow me to return to the issue of alternative sites. Let's be honest, these alternative sites are nice, but they are basically copies of YouTube 15 months ago. I look at them and realize that you were right in changing to a more conservative style. I myself have opened accounts with three other sites but to me honest, I only go to one semi-regularly and don't even have the desire to visit the other two. We all know, as well as you, that you are really the only game in town for those of us who are serious about posting content. However, do not let that give you a license to become comfortable. Real people are leaving your system and if things stay the same more will. Remember, MySpace was once a large organization and they are trying to rebuild after a disastrous crash.

I've put a lot of time into YouTube and I will not go away so easily. I will however consider it if things continue and safety remains a major concern. If that is not taken care of then I will join the others. It will hurt but nothing is worth that kind of hassle.

Please don't allow YouTube to fail. It can surely happen to you if the people feel you don't care about their safety. Therefore, I implore you to move quickly on this issue so that you can continue to grow. My desire is to help not to criticize.