User blog comment:Brandon Rhea/We've disabled Featured Video for wiki editors/@comment-3218221-20190411035436

(My thoughts here are ones I've expressed on another platform; pardon to those who may have already encountered them.)

I know Anons still cannot opt out of Featured Video for the time being, but I find this news extremely heartening and (dare I say) a sign of progress no matter how I look at it. It's encouraging to see Staff taking critical feedback into account and actually listening to it/responding to it constructively rather than forever ignore it--and on that note, i'm glad (per the comments) to see you are are aware of/acknowledging just how unfortunately handled the implementation of Featured Video was on certain wikis.

Since you currently do not know what the replacement will entail, I probably oughtn't say I'm nervous about a replacement feature which has yet to be conceived (...but I do confess I'm nervous it will involve compulsory videos). Instead, I will voice support for Brandon's comment in which he says, "One of our big focuses for new features is giving communities and users the tools to create cool stuff..." --because (and I echo others' voiced sentiments here), I firmly believe giving communities/editors choice and control in new features would be a step in the right direction.

Actually consulting communities when it comes to creating this replacement may also be something to consider. Consultation, choice, control, Community Central--that's the dream.

Edit: I really can't stress how important it is that you listen to communities and don't steamroll them. Maybe the recent forkings were a wake-up call, maybe you always knew deep down...as long as you've realized change is needed, right? And I stress long-term listening and actively working alongside editors, not just popping in and out to check with them now and then. We all want, I hope, what is best for our users. Strive for collaboration, not consternation and detachment. End edit.

My hope now (or rather, 'continues to be') is that FANDOM/Wikia's future decisions and features are ones that are pro-editor rather than anti-editor. Featured Video is an anti-editor feature, disabling it by default for logged-in users is a pro-editor decision in some capacity.

(I'd argue that Featured Video is just as much anti-user/anti-community, because the videos' rapid expiration dates make them lacking as overviews for users just as they chagrin editors. Of course, since most of your users/visitors are anonymous/logged out, you're still retaining a good chunk of revenue by leaving FV enabled for them in the meantime... My guess is 'revenue potential' is something you're going to be considering while brainstorming, mm.)

(Not to mention, I couldn't and can't stand how permanently disabling Autoplay was just not an option FANDOM offered outright. I know autoplay is what facilitates the ads playing and thus revenue, but that doesn't mean FV and Autoplay haven't been detrimental to my user experience.)

(I say 'in some capacity' because of course editors still have to worry about Anons dealing with potentially incorrect or out-of-date videos for the time being, but again--I'm aware you plan on universally getting rid of Featured Video once you find a permanent replacement, so the long-term picture is what counts there. I'll certainly be personally benefiting from this in the short term.)

I look forward to seeing FANDOM grow from this and continue to learn from its mistakes. Once again--be pro-editor, not anti-editor. Give us some measure of choice and control in what you want to implement (and, ideally, some say in whether or not it should be implemented and how). Making decisions that benefit communities and not just FANDOM is very much an attitude I hope doesn't fade away any time soon.