In an attempt to improve the quality of comments on YouTube videos, Google is now requiring users to login into their Google+ accounts in order to post comments on YouTube.
Announced earlier today on the official YouTube blog, the YouTube development team has integrated the site’s commenting system with the Google+ social network. Originally announced during late September, this transition is an attempt to move more relevant, high-level comments to the top of the feed while pushing less helpful comments down into oblivion. By displaying the “Top Comments” by default, users will be shown comments from the creator of the video, comments that received lots of positive votes, comments posted by public figures and comments posted by friends within a user’s various Google+ circles.
YouTube users are outraged that they are being forced to use Google+ under the guise of cleaning up the comments section. Trolls are always going to use fake names, and will continue to plague the comments sections. Legitimate users will likely not want their actual names attached to their comments and will be annoyed by Google’s strongarm tactics. Lame lie, Google. Time to boycott!