YouTube has just taken the step to proceed with the elimination, by the end of September, of the Community Contributions function, one of the ways that the platform currently has to offer translations of the content of the videos in different languages so that can reach a wider audience.
The main reason, according to a support page, is the limited use of this tool, which in addition to offering low-quality subtitles, has also become a source of spam and other abuse, which has led to frequent reports of the users.
They explicitly point out that:
The feature is rarely used with less than 0.001% of channels that have posted subtitles in the community (shown in less than 0.2% of watch time) in the last month. Instead, creators are using YouTube’s alternative captioning tools.
Indeed, as indicated on the support page, as alternatives there will continue to be manual subtitles uploaded through Creator, and automatic subtitles offered by YouTube itself, in addition to third-party tools and services.
Those who have their contributions still in the draft phase, will have until September 28, the date marked as the last day of availability of Community Contributions before their disappearance, to be able to publish them.
With this we are also saying that community contributions that are already published, whether they are titles, descriptions, subtitles, among others, will continue to exist after the disappearance of Community Contributions.
YouTube notes that these contributions can continue to be managed through Creators in YouTube Studio. As compensation, YouTube notes that …:
… Cover the cost of a 6-month subscription to Amara.org for all creators who have used the Community Contribution feature for at least 3 videos in the last 60 days
In addition, creators will also have special prices and benefits from third-party partner platforms so that they can cover their translation needs.
