Google-owned YouTube is allowing users to
exchange tips, ideas and feelings about the site and how to use it through the
launch of a new community forum today. Featuring discussion boards dedicated to
themes such as Announcements, Bug Reports & Issues, How-to's and TestTube Feedback, these new Community Help Forums are set to function
as a a place for peer-to-peer support for video sites core fans.
The forums are accessible either through the Community Tab, YouTube?s Help Centre or directly
through a specific link featured at the bottom of most pages on the site. They are intended to be run by users for
users, with intervention on the part of YouTube staff occurring only to
announce updates on bugs, upcoming features or general news items. Comments can de read by anyone, and the only
requirement for posting a question or a reply is to be logged into a YouTube
and/or Google account and to click the "Join this group" tab when
first visiting the forums.
The post on YouTube?s official blog announcing
the new offering says that the end goal of the endeavour is that the forums
should become the first point of call for users encountering difficulties on
the site. Brand identification may be
said to have reached a high point indeed when
troubleshooting can be successfully outsourced to the user audience itself.