YouTube continues to experiment with more ways to help reduce abusive comments, and lessen the pressure on creators, with a new test of Channel Guidelines, which will enable Channel managers to set rules around the types of comments people can post beneath their clips.
As explained by YouTube:
"We're experimenting with a small number of creators, giving them the ability to define up to three channel guidelines for comments. These are a specific set of rules that everyone has to read and accept before they post a comment to your YouTube channel that help outline the kinds of conversations that you want to see on that channel"
The option is similar to Facebook's group posting rules, which group admins can set to maintain specific elements of discussion in their communities. Of course, it still comes down to manual intervention, as automated systems can't automatically detect contextual violations, but it does provide another means to set clear parameters around what's acceptable, and what's not, on your YouTube clips.
Those who are in the test pool will see the new option in the Community section of their YouTube Studio settings.
In addition to this, YouTube's also expanding its process of holding potentially hurtful comments for review to mobile.
Originally launched in October last year, the process automatically detects potentially harmful comments on your videos, and then moves them to the 'Held for Review' area in YouTube Studio. If the channel owner chooses not take action on these comments after 60 days, they're then removed automatically.
The option was fully rolled out on desktop earlier this year, and now, YouTube is making the review process available on mobile as well, providing another means to manage your on-platform engagement.
As noted, these are the latest in YouTube's evolving effort to combat toxic comments, and trolls who spam comment feeds with unnecessary criticism and remarks, which can often deter creators from posting. Over the past couple of years, YouTube has also tested hiding the comment section by default, and even removing comments entirely on some videos, while it's also added more ways to track each users' comment history, in order to determine who to block.
That can also help to limit subversive group connection via video comments, and reduce amplification among certain audience segments, while also giving creators more ways to control what happens with their posts.