So I had a video removed today as it violates the YouTube sale of regulated goods policy.
Now given I have been doing this since 2012 and have over 2800 videos that follow the same format, I thought I would contact them for some clarification.
Please read the following and see why working on this platform is a total minefield. It takes a unique set of circumstances before I get anywhere near angry and I very seldom complain publicly but damn, what a joke!
Brace Yourself!
23 Nov, 05:32 (Pacific Time) 05:36:07 James: James joined the conversation 05:36:07 Mark Todd: Mark Todd joined the conversation 05:36:08 James: Welcome! Your case ID is 0-8121000037366. Refer to this if you need to contact us again. 05:36:38 Mark Todd: Hi James. 05:36:54 James: Hi. My name is James. How are you doing today? 05:37:22 Mark Todd: Cold mate, gotta love the snow :D Can you see what I typed in the how can you help box? 05:37:55 James: Oh, that's cool. Yup, I see here that your video was removed. 05:38:26 James: Having video removed without a notice can be really concerning. Let me see what actually happened. 05:39:10 Mark Todd: This happens every few years with me but I usually just hit the appeal button and it gets put back up. I don't sell anything, I only review hardware. 05:39:35 James: I see. Thanks for the additional details. 05:39:52 James: Since you have also shared the video ID, I'll check this further. Please give me about 3-5 minutes while I look into this. 05:40:03 Mark Todd: No problem05:44:53 James: Thanks for waiting. 05:45:17 Mark Todd: NP 05:47:27 James: I checked your channel and here's what I can share. 05:49:16 James: As I checked, this video removal has only incurred a Community guidelines warning on your channel. 05:50:25 Mark Todd: But the video has been removed and I can see no reason why this is the case, I have 2800 videos that are almost identical over the past 12years 05:51:09 James: I understand that. I'm here to share more information. 05:52:46 James: The enforcement action on your content has already been appealed in YouTube Studio, and a human reviewer re-evaluated your content and determined that it does violate our Community Guidelines. We know that this is probably disappointing news, but it's our job to make sure that YouTube is a safe place for all. 05:53:25 James: We hope that you take time to review our Community Guidelines. Because the content violates our Harmful or dangerous content policy we encourage you to review this policy closely: https://support.google.com/
youtube/answer/2801964 05:54:14 Mark Todd: Forgive me here James but how does it violate it, it is no different from anything else I do? 05:55:22 James: I understand that. 05:56:05 James: I can only refer and provide you with information based from our internal team's findings. 05:56:33 Mark Todd: So you can not tell me which rule I apparently broke? 05:56:51 James: That's the rule that I shared earlier with the link as well. 05:57:33 Mark Todd: I have read that already, several times and I don't see where my video breaches this rule 05:59:44 James: You may want to read it carefully since that's the only information that we can share. 06:01:25 Mark Todd: OK, I will try this one last time, maybe I am not being clear. I produce the same content for over a decade and it is fine and the exact same as this video that was removed. How can I have over 2800 videos that do not breach the rules but this one does. It is the exact same content. 06:02:21 Mark Todd: How can I produce content going forward if videos are being removed for no apparent reason. Once again, I have read the rules and I do not see where I am breaking them 06:02:48 James: Yes, I understand that you produce the same content for a long time. If you have the option to appeal, it's important to do so and to put an explanation so that our internal team can reviwe it. 06:02:54 James: review* 06:03:27 Mark Todd: So what do I do going forward? 06:04:20 James: If you have already appealed and rejected, you can still attend the policy training since this is only a Community Guidelines warning. 06:06:09 James: To have this warning expire after 90 days, you can take a policy training. Policy trainings are short in-product educational experiences based on the specific Community Guidelines policy you’ve violated. 06:06:18 Mark Todd: Come on fella, there is no logic in this, no policy training will help if you do not tell me exactly what I did wrong. 06:07:42 James: Alright. I understand how you feel. 06:07:45 Mark Todd: Imagine you did something 2800 times and then you are told that this one time you broke a rule but we can't tell you exactly what rule you broke. That's just insane 06:08:31 Mark Todd: Is this the only answer you can give, do the training? 06:08:36 James: As much as I'd love to, we're unable to provide any specifics regarding this process, more so point out the specific video(s) that caused the video to be removed. 06:09:02 Mark Todd: OK, is there a manager or some process I can go through so that I can get an answer on this? 06:10:23 James: I understand your frustration, but please know that we have thoroughly investigated your request and, I’m afraid there is nothing more I can add at this stage. 06:12:35 James: Are we still connected? 06:12:41 Mark Todd: So any video I do going forward can just be removed if someone decides it breaches the rules. That's insane & heartbreaking. I understand you are just doing your job and going through a script/process but damn that just sucks 06:13:43 James: I can only imagine how you feel about this. 06:14:28 Mark Todd: Trust me, you have no idea. Anyway, I'll try sharing this on social media and see where I can take it. Have a good weekend James 06:14:43 James: Is there anything else you need for now? 06:15:04 Mark Todd: Mark Todd left the conversation