Forced YouTube ads, how I respond to them

YouTube recently started cracking down on people using security protocols on their site, regardless of whether they were being used to block ads or not.  I personally find mid-video ads intrusive & many times I do not finish watching the video once one destroys the experience for me, usually voting down the video for a ruined experience & finding something else to do.  For this reason I usually stuck to watching YouTube videos on my PC & rarely used the Shield TV, game system, mobile or tablet apps.

The recent change now blocks the player from even running, giving you a 3 video grace period, however that gets counted down even if you didn't start the video (refresh the page even if your browser prevented the video from auto-starting & you still get docked on the unstarted video).  This even affects videos that are not monetized & do not have ads on them (as with my own videos, which I will be making a point NEVER to monetize my channel with this type of bullshit being forced on users).

My response to having to disable my security plugins on YouTube lowers my trust rating of YouTube (which is likely going to be updated to state as much in my reviews of the site) & additionally leaves me open to not finishing videos as a result of intrusive mid-video ads (if I even decide to watch videos on YouTube anymore, I know I'll be looking at other sites for videos to watch before considering similar/same videos on YouTube).  If I do decide to continue watching videos on YouTube, I will continue to vote down EVERY video that is interrupted with mid-video ads.  This ultimately means that ALL monetized videos over a few minutes will be getting down-voted as a result of YouTube's insistence that you either pay their premium plan or you have to deal with intrusive ads that don't allow you to finish what you are trying to watch (or just go to another service to watch the same videos; quite frankly there's a reason I have subscriptions to other paid streaming services over YouTube).

I will be attempting to find another service to upload new videos to (as well as I have backups of EVERYTHING I have on YouTube, so I can always move them to that new service once I find something else that has an acceptable platform).  Additionally I will likely be looking to persuade Steam into allowing other video sharing services to be used on user's profile pages (which probably won't go anywhere, I know my attempts to get them to allow Twitch has been a dead end).

I've been waiting for Google Fiber in my neighborhood since I moved here in 2016, being on that notification list of availibility for almost 10 years since I moved into my previous residence.  I have refused to put my payment information on ANY Google service since they allowed the attacks from Bandai/Namco targeting a link on the live streaming page of my channel that never got removed after the first attack (getting hit once again a month later even when the live channel was not even active, this time not allowing an appeal to be processed; I have had live streaming on my YouTube channel disabled ever since & do not mess with any other live channels on YouTube because that function was targeted on my own channel).  I've been saying that if Google Fiber were to become available in my area, this might be the thing that ends my boycott against paying into Google services.  However with what has happened with ads on YouTube, I don't know that I will even be switching to Google Fiber IF it ever becomes available in my area, I am much more likely to just switch back to Xfinity/Comcast or stick with CenturyLink (provided the upload rate is good enough, which has the primary reason why live streams on Twitch ended; I don't really want to stick with the piss-poor customer service of CenturyLink, but right now my mindset is I don't know that I can trust Google-owned services with my payment information.

Possible Warframe videos coming to YouTube channel

Considering I've been playing a lot of Warframe lately & have had an increase in running into Warframe leechers, I've decided to start recording my gameplay again.  These recordings could also result in Warframe highlight videos being uploaded/published on YouTube (unfortunately not on Twitch as I have had issues with audio desyncronization when trying to upload longer videos to Twitch, one of the reasons Twitch channel update videos are mostly exclusive to YouTube when previously recorded).

When I started playing Warframe regularly, I started using the SteamLink app on my nVidia Shield TV Pro (and older model, not the newer ones).  Unfortunately after the last Steam overhaul update a few days ago, performance over the SteamLink app took a serious turn for the worse, so I'm back to playing on the actual PC again.  It was determined after running into 2 leechers in 2 consecutive missions (1 per mission) that it was time for me to start recording missions in case I needed to start publishing videos of violations to go with reports again (again running into a third leecher in the third mission, which only destroyed my interest in continuing to play it for that day).  The 2 leechers previously stated were not recorded, but screenshots of their information was uploaded to my Steam profile, so the information is still out there regarding their disgraceful actions (or more accurately, inactions); I didn't even feel like messing with processing & uploading the video or reporting the third leecher, this was just the "I'm done with it" point for Warframe for the day...

Unfortunately I am still stuck with CenturyLink & a lower upload rate not capable of streaming online games (only offline games are possible with my current upload rate, the bandwidth from steaming interferes with online gameplay too much), so streaming to Twitch still is not a viable option.  Also as much as I want to get back into streaming, health is still an issue & I am unable to get a date set on my operation (which will require more recovery time as was the case when I last had this same operation done, something I didn't take seriously after the first surgery, which is likely why it has to be done again).

The plus side is my father told me that it appears that Xfinity/Comcast (my parents going back to being a customer of theirs) may have a disability discount, so I may start looking into going back to Comcast (at least for internet, if nothing else) in the near future.  Unfortunately with the lack of preferable health to do extended streams, any streams that might be done after the switch will still be limited to "as my health permits" & likely be no longer than a few hours (at the most)...

Preparation for upcoming Steam cutoff

In 2024, my Steam accounts will go inactive as a result of Steam deciding to cut off it's ability to run on OSs earlier than Windows 10.  I have no trust in Microsoft after they decided to blacklist my personal site & this blog from Bing, so I don't intend on putting any more money into Microsoft until the issue on Bing is resolved (which is clear it won't, as is the case with many other sites that got blacklisted backed up by search results when you do a search on Bing regarding webmasters that were looking for answers why it happened & receiving NO RESPONSE WHATSOEVER from Microsoft) & because Steam is forcing this purchase, all further purchases on Steam have also ceased (at least until I am able to acquire a copy of Windows that meets the new Steam OS minimum requirement that won't be taking money out of my own pocket, whether that means it's a gifted copy, acquired with fund donated towards it's acquisition or just ends up being a downloaded/cracked copy).

This cut off on Steam is going to be the same steps I have taken with:

• PlayStation after their cutoffs on the PS3 on their website & mobile app.
• Epic Games after they forced V-Bucks to the Battle Royale mode of Fortnite (a mode I don't play), effectively stealing 37,100 V-Bucks from the mode they were acquired to be used in & 4 years of my life from me acquiring them.
  

COMPLETED or CURRENTLY ACTIVE

• No further purchases on Steam.  Any games of interest on Steam are searched out on other sites (starting on GOG, then over other PC clients, lastly on Nintendo Switch) or ultimately determined will not be a game I will be purchasing.
  
• No purchases of products promoting Steam-exclusive games, products or franchises.
• Cease all trades through Steam.
• Deny all incoming friend invites through Steam.  PSN & Epic Games at least had privacy options to auto-deny friend invites or restrict only to friends of friends, which has been active since I decided I was no longer a paying customer to those platforms.
• Notifications for Google Play Steam app disabled or set to silent (depending on whether categorized notification disabling works correctly).
  

IN PROGRESS or STARTED

• Remove/Hide Steam store page & profile links/associations to Steam from other profiles & websites:
• Steam profile & store links removed from Twitch channel.
• Steam profile link removed from side-bar navigation links on Twitch/YouTube blog.
• Steam profile link removed from YouTube channel.
• Steam profile link removed from Wikipedia profile page.
• Steam account association hidden on Discord.
• Both Steam accounts removed from "Other contacts" Discussion in private Steam group.
  
• Transfer games on Steam wishlist to wishlists on other platforms and/or online stores.
• Remove likes & block the Steam Facebook page, as well as any other game page exclusive to Steam or for a game I lost access to as a result of Steam's OS cutoff.
  

PENDING or NOT COMPLETED/STARTED

• Start contacting developers/publishers of games that don't provide another PC alternative to a Steam version regarding releasing the game on other PC platforms (like GOG, Origin or Uplay).
  
• Publish details about Steam boycott to personal site when PC client is no longer able to be run, including details about how much money was put into the account (over $5300 directly, not including activated keys from other sites/store purchases/giveaways or gifts from other accounts/users) prior to knowing about this upcoming cutoff.
  
• Remove/Hide Steam store page & profile links/associations from other profiles & websites:
• Remove Steam store page links from personal site.
• Append details about boycott against Steam on every published review of a Steam game on personal site.
• Find other profiles where links to my Steam profile hasn't been removed/hidden yet & remove/hide it (provided it don't break account linking of content in games or game redemptions).
  
• Download official versions of F2P games originally owned & played on Steam (or look at playing those games over another PC platform that also has them, provided they can use the same account).
• Test games downloaded through Steam to see if they will run without forcing Steam to run when run directly from the executable, make sure the latest version is downloaded prior to the cutoff date.
  
• Uninstall Steam games that won't run without forcing Steam to run by running the game executable directly.  Update published reviews of those games to give details about their inability to run after the OS cutoff.
  
• Seek out other versions of games that are owned on Steam (or a Steam crack that will allow already downloaded Steam versions to be played without forcing Steam to attempt to run) to play while Steam won't run on PC as a result of OS cutoff.
  Repurchasing those games on other platforms won't be an acceptable option, however purchasing on another PC platform if they haven't already been purchased is & is already being looked into for games still on my Steam wishlist.
  
• Remove the Steam Authenticator as the primary means of 2-step authentication (leaving texting of authorization codes active) on both Steam accounts.
  
• Remove all Steam game-specific showcases (Game Collector, Badge Collector, Achievement, Rarest Achievement & Screenshots) from Steam profile.
• Update Video Showcase on profile to only feature videos for non-Steam games.
• Update details on profile to inform that the account is a "dead/inactive account" after the OS cutoff that is essentially holding well over $6000 worth of games hostage until my OS meets their new standards as of 1/1/2024...
• Update profile to state other PC gaming platforms I may frequent (GOG, Origin, Uplay, etc.) since Steam became an defunct PC gaming option.
• Set game activity to Private on account.
  
• If PC alternatives can not be found to unpurchased games that I was intending on purchasing on Steam (prior to knowledge of the upcoming cutoff), consider whether paying the monthly subscription for Nintendo Switch is worth it.
  If this does happen, it is likely that most games will be purchased on Nintendo Switch (outside of FPS games & other games that require precise aiming from a first/third-person perspective) over other PC platforms even if Steam ever does become an option to be run on my PC again.
• Remove SteamLink app from all 5 personal devices it was installed on (Samsung Galaxy S6, S9 & S20 5G FE and nVidia Shield TV & Shield TV Pro) & update Google Play review to a 1-star review detailing it's loss of functionalty due to defunct PC client after OS cutoff.  Look for another means to remote access PC on nVidia Shield TV devices (using single-monitor HDMI cables run under the house if necessary); remote access on Samsung Galaxy devices will remain primarily as TeamViewer, SteamLink really only be used on them when playing a Steam game).
• Hide all channels on personal Discord server created for use with Steam games (as has already been done with Epic Games games or use the Unreal Engine).
  

This list will continue to be updated as I have time to work on it & in between starting/continuing/completing steps already listed.

For those who were friends on Steam or would like to add me, I expect most of my PC game playing & purchases will be on GOG until otherwise assured that I will not lose access (or have re-aquired access) to my Steam games based on an operational PC client for Steam (which won't be the case once they kill support for Windows 7).