From what I understand, YouTube started out as a place to upload and share your own videos. It was great because it was basically just an Internet version of watching other people's home videos.

What it is now, however, is a monstrosity. The simplicity is gone, the edge is dull, and the ads are ruining the pacing of every single video on the platform. I even get ads when I want to watch a movie trailer - which is, itself, an ad. YouTube is just ads on ads now.

I understand that datacenter costs are high and that there is a lot of work behind keeping the lights on and so forth. I know that the money has to come from somewhere. Maybe YouTube is its own best alternative, but I'm starting to get to the point where I just don't care. All I want to do is watch some guy's 5 minute video on some obscure game lore, so why are ads about car insurance involved?