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I don't think you're an odd one. YT has many disadvantages compared to written instructions, especially when it comes to coding. Just off the top of my head, YT has uneven video quality & when you pause videos, there's a bunch of stuff that obscures the video. So, it's hard to read text from a video, or even see something really specific (and maybe tacit) at times.

YT also doesn't allow for notes, no way to easy make an "offline" version, no way to compile its contents into your own knowledgebase, etc.

You can also read text at your own pace, which is really useful for learning things in steps, while videos go at their own.

> when you pause videos, there's a bunch of stuff that obscures the video

I really hate the YouTube app for that. Where did they get the idea that it is a good thing? And it is not even an attempt at monetization, they don't show ads, they still do it on premium, they just make it hard for you to see what's on screen.

After you pause the video, you can tap the screen to hide the controls. Tap again to display the controls.

It looks like youtube doesn't do that pause overlay at the moment. I tried just now in Chrome and Firefox with extensions disabled, and nothing got in the way of the paused video.

I used to have

  .ytp-pause-overlay

in my ublock-origin filters, but it appears it's no longer needed.

They still show the player controls as an overlay the whole time as the video is paused. For me, turning the player controls from a bar below the video into an overlay that dynamically comes and goes is the defining moment when YouTube became unusable. It's simply impossible to read slides in some videos because you'd have to pause them to read all of it, but then the bottom part of the slide becomes unreadable. How was anyone able to arrive at the conclusion that this would be a smart thing to do for a video player?

Ya, I see what you mean.

  www.youtube.com##.ytp-chrome-bottom

blocks all that stuff, but then you lose access to things like choosing quality and turning subtitles on and off.

I used to learn better on YouTube, probably circa 2010. I learned music theory, programming, electronics, photography, and skateboarding, all things that I still use and enjoy today, but this was way before the current eyeball-attention-hogging landscape where videos are replete with ads and sponsorships and regurgitated information that draws videos out twice as long as they really ought to be. I have no doubt that quality educational material is still out there, but the signal-to-noise ratio makes it so hard to sift through that it barely feels worth it.

Monetization has brought out the worst in creators. The folks who did it for the joy are almost always the best to learn from. Alterior motives (including profit) are often a conflict of interest IMO.

Information is meant to be free.

There’s a reason why online content became so popular. Pre-programmed channels are chalk full of garbage, crammed with ads, inflated drama, and other behavior I believe to be a net negative for almost every viewer. Perhaps I’m showing my age and being presumptuous but folks I talk to about this all seem to agree.

I prefer reading too. The main reason is I get distracted easily but music distracts that part of my brain a little so I can focus. I can't do that with videos. And like you, things stick when I see them written down in a way that they don't when I hear them. Write your name for me and I'll remember it forever - tell me and it's gone in 2 minutes.

Skimming is also much harder with videos than text. I can take a whole page in at once instantly to know what it's about, but I need longer on a video to gather the context. Skipping ahead is all or nothing on videos, whereas with text I can glance over the sections I skim past to see if it's stuff I know but with a few new tips thrown in.

I will say though, YouTube definitely wins for practical hands-on videos for me. Cooking, replacing mirrors/handles on a car, making a table. It's enabled me to do a lot of repairs and I've become much better at cooking. I'm not sure written guides would've brought me as far.

> I've found since youtube tutorials and knowledge videos really exploded in popularity

At some point Google decided to prioritize video content. I don't think anybody really likes doing those videos when the main media they are working with is text, but it's a choice of doing a video or never having anybody ever find you.

In my experience the difference is that it is far more likely to find useful content searching for video vs text. The good text content may be there but it is lost in a mass of SEO crap and people trying to sell you things or make a pinterest account.

Those things do exist in the video space but they are not yet so common that it is impossible to find useful information.

I learned blender last year to a pretty good level entirely on YouTube. I recommend using the hot keys (arrow keys to skip, shift+carrots to increase playback speed). I also highly recommend using Anki and creating flash cards as you go. Windows 10 is great for pasting in screenshots with a couple hot keys straight on to your flash cards. By reviewing the flash cards you retain what you watch in the videos and greatly speed up your learning time.

YouTube has doubled down on censorship and they’ve effectively created a chilling effect for creators.

Without clear policies and transparency (their process appears to be highly subjective) creators are afraid to touch certain topics.

I enjoy learning about and seeing opposing ideas. I learn more in the end and the creators themselves benefit from researching and putting together a thesis or explanation on the subject at hand.

I'm with you. I'd rather read and have an odd illustration than watch a video. Most of the time, when I watch a video it is reluctantly, because I can't find written information on the topic as easily as a video. But there are a very limited set of instructions that are better suited to video format, for example, cooking, working on a car or gardening.

I have the same thing and for me a mix is great but I read very fast so if the info is dense I prefer reading and where this really goes wrong is money; when I do not remember a linux cli kata, now the first hits are often videos with an intro, outro etc: makes no sense. It is one line I want to copy paste! Or at least see to remember. Very wasteful but I get why it is.

Given a lot of people don't like being in video or public speaking I wouldn't say the world wants YouTube instructional videos, it's just what in practice has worked the best.

Pin down why and make a site that solves the problem and become a unicorn.

My guess is screen capture and free video hosting has made the documenting process easier than screen shots and carefully described steps.

But it's so hard to skim to even see if it's relevant.

Like so many "fix" videos are actually just basic setup and settings. But you don't know that until you've watched most of the video.

If it were typed and screenshoted, you could figure that out in seconds.

Which is too say- the ambiguity benefits creators who make lower quality content, because you have to watch so much to even make that determination.

Agreed, the outcome is often worse than carefully written and unpadded instructions. Incentives are powerful and creators are motivated by the monetary gain.