I had completely forgotten about that system. I really enjoyed video replies. Not only did they foster discussion, it was a great way to learn, discover music, and the replies allowed a great collaborative humor to develop as well. I seem to remember that they were starting to become very spammy about the time they disappeared though.
>That was the best part of YT at least for vloggers even if they didn't like each other
I remember reading a scientific paper a while back that suggested social networks grew much better when they had [likes/eprops/upvotes/etc] than they did without, but allowing negative feedback (beyond comments) stifled growth. We naturally try to surround ourselves with like-minded individuals as well. Our natural tendencies coupled with incentive social networks have to censor information that we disagree with means we all live in bubbles where our ideas are rarely challenged.
The YouTube reply system made viewing content from the "other side" really easy. I'm pretty sure I watched more vlogs from people I disagree in a single month before that feature was taken away than I have in the entire time since, especially with the new changes to the "recommended videos". Which is a shame. It makes it much easier to demonize the other side.
As a side note, someone on Reddit made a snide joke about the Demosthenes/Locke story arc in Ender's Game and how unrealistic it was; the point being nobody gives a shit about two bloggers having a fight. That story arc might actually make sense on YouTube, given how much better we empathize with people in a video than we do with people who are hidden behind the written word.
Edit: The whole point about Demosthenes and Locke was that any sufficiently persuasive person could be widely influential in an anonymous online system. Putting it on YouTube with videos destroys a portion of the anonymity. Who would take Demosthenes seriously, knowing that he was a girl in her early teens?