# You Tube "Friends"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 24, 2011, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-tube-friends/590163 "2011-07-24T09:18:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-tube-friends/590163/1 "2011-07-24T09:18:03Z")
Does anyone have any knowledge of these? As background, I have accessed You Tube for years and have had a google account since gmail came out. Yesterday someone sent me a message inviting me to be a friend on You Tube. I had never heard of such a thing and I didn’t recognise the name. However, I thought it maybe someone from the Straight Dope and accepted. Today, I got a You Tube message from someone different offering salvation and the rest of the religious bit. I am wondering why this has started and also wonder if it is tied up with Google +. Any ideas? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-tube-friends/590163/2 "2011-07-24T09:27:44Z")
Nope, it’s been around a while. I don’t get it either. It would make sense if subscribing only put you on channels, but, really, it does the exact same thing without the other person having to agree. Anyways, lots of websites have this. Heck, this website has it. It’s Web 2.0, making every website into a form of social networking. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-tube-friends/590163/3 "2011-07-24T09:45:42Z")
Thanks BigT. Don’t know how my new “friend” knew I needed salvation. ---
**Author:** ![Toucanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3bc359/32.png) [@Toucanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toucanna)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-tube-friends/590163/4 "2011-07-25T03:53:29Z")
> [@Cicero](#): > > {snip}Don’t know how my new “friend” knew I needed salvation. Umm…he saw the kinds of videos you “Liked”? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Niply\_Elder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8e8cbc/32.png) [@The\_Niply\_Elder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Niply_Elder)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-tube-friends/590163/5 "2011-07-25T04:18:22Z")
Seeing the quality of you tube comments, the last thing I would want to be is friends with one of those chumps. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-tube-friends/590163/6 "2011-07-25T05:23:24Z")
I have a dozen YouTube channels and I loathe the “Friends” nonsense. I’m about ready to go in and block all friend requests. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-tube-friends/590163/7 "2011-07-26T05:15:32Z")
I didn’t even think about just blocking friend requests. Duh. I think it’s weird, too. I have an account, but I’ve never posted anything, I just have some subscriptions and favorites and a “like” list. I was just figuring people with channels must have a way to search for account holders who watch similar stuff to theirs and then send messages and friend requests. Most of mine have been musicians. I just delete 'em. Blocking them in the first place would be better. Duh! ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-tube-friends/590163/8 "2011-07-26T13:16:09Z")
> [@Toucanna](#): > > Umm…he saw the kinds of videos you “Liked”? 😉 That would not surprise me at all. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-tube-friends/590163/9 "2011-07-26T13:18:24Z")
> [@The\_Niply\_Elder](#): > > Seeing the quality of you tube comments, the last thing I would want to be is friends with one of those chumps. Some time back I made a comment about Jimmy Morrison of The Doors being a bit of an unpleasant person- which he was. About a year later I got a notification saying Morrison was a visionairy and idiots like myself were to stupid to realise it. Now Morrison was indeed a fine vocalist, but visionairy? I think not. ---
**Author:** ![MysteryFellow63427](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e4f/32.png) [@MysteryFellow63427](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MysteryFellow63427)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2011, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-tube-friends/590163/10 "2011-07-27T20:53:59Z")
> [@The\_Niply\_Elder](#): > > Seeing the quality of you tube comments, the last thing I would want to be is friends with one of those chumps. Youtube commenters may be the stupidest people on all the Internet, and that’s a lot of dumbasses.