YouTube comments often suffer from low quality, spam, and off-topic discussions, which detract from meaningful interactions between creators and viewers. Many users comment without fully watching videos, leading to repeated questions, misunderstandings, or toxic replies. This not only frustrates engaged viewers but also burdens creators with moderation efforts. A potential solution could involve implementing a watch-time requirement before allowing users to comment.

How It Would Work

The idea involves setting a minimum watch-time threshold—say, 50%, 90%, or a creator-defined percentage—before users can leave a comment. Here’s how it might function:

• When a user tries to comment, the system checks their watch time for that video.
• If they haven’t met the threshold, a prompt (e.g., "Watch more to join the conversation") appears instead of the comment box.
• Creators could customize thresholds per video—for example, lowering it for tutorials or raising it for in-depth analyses.

Additional features could include badges for users who meet the threshold (e.g., "Informed Commenter") to encourage thoughtful participation.

Benefits and Stakeholder Impact

This approach could improve engagement quality while reducing moderation workload. Benefits include:

• Creators: Fewer repetitive questions and toxic replies, leading to better feedback.
• Viewers: More relevant and high-quality discussions in comment sections.
• YouTube: Increased watch time as users stay longer to unlock commenting, boosting retention metrics.

Potential concerns, such as reduced engagement on time-sensitive content, could be addressed with exemptions or adjustable thresholds.

Implementation Strategy

A step-by-step rollout could help refine the feature:

1. MVP: Test with a small group of creators (e.g., educational channels) at a fixed 70% threshold.
2. Iterate: Add customization options based on feedback, like per-video adjustments or live-stream exemptions.
3. Scale: Expand globally, initially as an opt-in for creators, then evaluate performance before broader adoption.

Comparisons with platforms like Twitch (priority chats) and Medium (read-time badges) suggest this model could be adapted effectively for video.

By leveraging YouTube's existing watch-time tracking, this idea could transform comments from a chaotic space into a structured, value-driven feature.