YouTube Is Testing Timestamped Comments Linked to Specific Parts of Videos

You either love them or hate them, but the truth is that YouTube comments are here to stay. Now, YouTube is testing a new feature that shows timestamped comments during specific parts of a video.

How Is YouTube Enhancing User Comments?

YouTube announced this brand new addition on the YouTube Help website. The company is trying out a few experimental features at the time of writing, but the most notable one is called "testing new timed comments."

The description of this experiment is as such:

We’re currently testing a new feature that allows you to view comments timed to the exact moment you're watching in a video. This experiment is available on some videos to a small group of people and we'll consider rolling this out more broadly based on feedback. To see if you're part of the experiment, go to the comments section on iOS or Android, and tap the Sort button to select "Timed Beta”.

But wait a minute—doesn't YouTube already have this system? If you've ever braved the bowels of a YouTube video's comment section, you've likely seen people linking video timestamps in a comment. You can then click or tap these timestamps to jump to that part in the video.

The key for this new feature isn't the timestamped comments themselves; it's how those comments appear. Instead of sitting underneath the video, the comments will automatically pop up along the bottom of the video when you watch that specific moment.

If you've ever listened to a song on SoundCloud, you're likely already familiar with this system. SoundCloud allows people to comment on specific parts of a song, and those comments automatically pop up on the track as you listen to it.

As such, you may soon find YouTube comments a lot harder to avoid if you dislike them. However, this feature is still in testing and is currently only on Android and iOS. If and when the feature releases, it'll hopefully allow you to adjust how these comments appear, if at all.

It's Time for Timestamped Comments on YouTube Videos

If you want to see what people are saying at every point of a YouTube video, the video-sharing website is making it a lot easier to do that. And if you don't... let's hope there's an option to turn the feature off again.

Fortunately, YouTube does know that its comments section can be a bit rowdy. That's why it recently began reminding its users to watch their Ps and Qs when commenting on a video.

Image Credit: AIexVector/Shutterstock.com

source https://www.makeuseof.com/youtube-testing-timestamped-comments-specific-parts-of-videos/