Tired of YouTube "reviews"

You tube is useful. Separating the fluff from the stuff is the trick and the larger the amount of fluff, the harder the separation, unless you find good folks u-tube channels.
The same could be said about the i-web at large, but then you find a channel, like TFL.
 
Here's an idea why doesn't TFL create a library forum? We can still host over on YT (or how about local to TFL domain?). We could have a vetted library of links here on TFL?
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I don't know if there is any interest in doing something like this but i'd be on board with it. I host my own private dedicated server & I have about 20-25GB of space on the hard drive that I could donate to the project (this is space i'm not using). Video could be hosted there and linked back to other resources (like here)

If it were going to be organized and menu driven I would want help in picking the best layout for the interface (and coding it if there are other comp savvy's here). Otherwise it could just be a repository of files and they could be linked from other places via an IP address (don't worry if you don't know what this is).

Another thing that could be included (if it were to happen and sometime in the future) would be a load data database. Something that would give a more comprehensive list than found in most manuals since the manuals are limited by how much they want to print - it wouldn't be the case with an online resource where ALL the information could be combined and take almost no space.
 
Thanks for excluding me, brmfan. :D

The reason I started doing reviews was because the stuff that was out there was either;

1) Not informative.
2) Ridiculously long.
3) Way too short.
4) Good info but horrible lighting.
5) Bad info, but great lighting.

When I would say something about a review that might not have been flattering, inevitably someone would say "if you think you can do better, then post your own video".

So I did.

In the end I do videos because I love firearms and I like helping folks if I can. I realize not everyone will care for what I'm doing, my style, or even the topics I cover. But if a video helps one person I feel as though I've accomplished something. If a few people find the video to be entertaining even if they didn't learn something new, I feel as though I've accomplished something. In the process, I find doing videos to be fun and therapeutic.
 
Eh, youtube is like anything else. You gotta make sure you don't step in the BS.

I've seen a lot of real cool videos for assembling and stripping weapons. Also some cool videos of guys shooting vintage weapons (correctly). But once and a while I do step in the BS and find a woman clocking herself out for the day with the Deagle or a bikini clad woman with an Ak-Ak...:D
 
I am so sick of some of the reviews too. I thought that mock review that was previously linked was a riot. My wife heard it started watching and laughing too. She is the best because she understood why it was funny and all the bad information that was on it.
Even though I am sick of some of them there are some other good ones on there. Sturmgewehre does some good ones and I learned how to disassemble the bolt on my Mosin with a YouTube video. There is a popular one on there (not naming names) who does a lot of videos but they are so long and drawn out I get frustrated.

Bottom line though.... I am glad we are able to post gun videos on YouTube and they have not disallowed them.
 
I got tired of them when people started considering them authoritative sources of information. I'm shocked what people take for gospel based on what some unqualified yahoo says on YouTube.

That said, this one is my personal favorite.
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Tom Servo,
Thanks for posting that. It made my day. Hilarious! I now know all about Glocks!
 
Who says anyone takes what's in the videos as "gospel"?

Why would anyone watch something they don't like?

I can't complain about the last two episodes of House because I dont like the show and didn't watch them. So how could I be sick of it?

Interesting stuff......
 
Anyone with a video camera can post videos on YouTube, and many do. Many can not talk well, (that would be me), do not understand how to use a video cam or how to properly light the area one is video taping or even how to talk inelegantly on the subject they are covering. The meaning of review is lost on most who post their so called “reviews”. Most are a waste of time to watch, but there are some very few good channels. Some very good channels. They are few and far between, but they are out there, and worth watching.

Sometimes searching for a particular gun turns up a gem of a video. My other half recently got back a couple of guns she shot a lot as a kid in the 1960's from her brother who is getting rid of all of his guns because he has advanced Parkinson disease and can no longer shoot. One of those is a Winchester 1906. We had no clue how to break this down, but a quick search on YouTube brought up an excellent video on field stripping this gun. Well worth time to search out and watch. In looking at the rest of his channel, there was nothing else worth watching, but his 8 minute video on the 1906 was well done and informative.

Sometimes, searching a particular gun turns up a bunch of junk. Stuff not worth more than two seconds of my time. There is a lot of good stuff on YouTube, but there is more junk than good stuff, but don’t discount YouTube cause you can’t find the good stuff.
 
Some guys do a great job. Others drag on and on and on. Some need to actually practice what they are doing before they post it..lol. I am going to put a G2 trigger in my Ak-47. I watched a couple of videos. One guy did a decent job of taking the old out and putting the new in. The other guy already had all the old stuff out before he put the new stuff in.

The first guy had some pretty handy tips about taking the old stuff out.

my fav funny guy was the guy trying to take out the pins before he removed the shepherds hook...banging on them.
 
I've always liked YouTube because it gives a voice to the average Joe. You can make your channel as good (or bad) as you like.

I don't mind unpolished speakers. I don't mind modest camera work. I like quality content. I've found lots of useful stuff on YouTube over the years, not just firearms stuff. I find great tutorials for advanced editing using Final Cut Pro for example.

I like blogs, YouTube, discussion boards and other outlets that give a voice to us regular folks. I'm mean heck, I started my own program with a $400 camera and iMovie. I've since built a studio, bought lights, a high end camera, mics, top tier editing software, etc. because I freaking love it and want to produce the best quality videos I can... Not because it makes me rich (because it doesn't), but because I enjoy making vids and I love the gun community.

I hope you guys find a few channels you like and support them with your viewership.
 
Personally, I (often) like youtube reviews. Yes one still has to discern the good ones from the bad ones, but at least with most youtube reviewers, their opinions aren't bought by the manufacturers as is usually the case with the printed periodicals.

Random individuals still have biases of course but I would much sooner trust the general consensus on the internet above a review in a magazine.
 
I like Sturmghewere's reviews, short, but detailed, and professional.
I like nutnfancy's reviews, hes a bit long winded but very detailed and even if i disagree with his views on aluminum ammo or what not the data is solid.
Hickock45 is what i watch for entertainment, hes a cool guy, i just dont call that a review.
 
There is a lot of trash on youtube but there is also a lot of good things on there. I have found gun reviews and tips to be very useful.
 
I find the Youtube reviews to be better than gun rag reviews, flat out. With that said, there is a bunch of garbage in both, but Youtubers sometimes will tell you when they have a piece of crap or something isn't ergonomic for them to use for some reason and why.

Like gun rags, but with different motivation, some Youtube reviews seem to be a bit of bragging or "ain't this really cool" sorts of reviews where the owner doesn't want to admit that there are problems with the product that they just spent a fortune on because admitting that they spent that much and didn't bother to check into the product first makes them look like an idiot. Of course, you get some of that on the gun boards, too.

Regards of reviews on places like TFL or YT or even sometimes in gun rags, I look for trends about what is said. If several people mention in various forms that they had trouble controlling the gun because of recoil issues, then maybe the gun isn't as ergonomic in that regard as maybe it could be and hence the problem is a design shortcoming. And it is the shortcomings that I usually want to know about the most. Usually when buying a product, I have seen some cursory reviews and have some idea of the capabilities of the product, so I look for reasons why the product may not be suitable for me and often folks make statements, sometimes fairly detailed or explanatory, that really shed light on salient issues. Sometimes the things that bother reviews on YT for gun forums most don't bother me at all and so while they may not give a glowing review, the key things I am concerned about don't appear problematic and that is insightful too.

Overly ranting or overly raving reviews are often too emotion-oriented for me to put stock in one way or the other and I usually blow off most everything they have to say that is evaluative. Few products are truly perfect or truly disasters.
 
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