How new hobbyists learn right from wrong if there are videos with wrong infromation

[artooks]

Hi Everyone,

I must say that, I have learned almost everything from this forum and community, and I am very happy for it. This forum is a pool of good knowledge, I especially pay attention to safety because it is directly related to our health but on the other hand I see some videos in you tube, which are completely in the wrong way, for example here they show filtering the spirits with a plastic filter and when I read the comments, I see many cheers and good thoughts on the subject. It really makes me sad reason being, since many people who start this hobby have no idea about it, they will accept what is explained in this video as true. Of course everyone is responsible for their own decision, we should assume that they have to do their homework, but this makes me think how will these people who are following this type of channels will learn what is really true or false what do you think ?

This is the video I am reffering:

[NormandieStill]

That grinning face is banned from this forum (as are his videos) exactly because of this type of bullshit. He's such an exemplary provider of bullshit that his channel is actually named in the rules!

[artooks]

That grinning face is banned from this forum (as are his videos) exactly because of this type of bullshit. He's such an exemplary provider of bullshit that his channel is actually named in the rules!

While watching that bullshit video, I really felt bad, the way he speaks, his intonation and emphasis, it seems like he is explaining the subject in a very realistic and knowledgeable way, and as a result, there are a lot of people who believe in him and they praise him, it really infuriates me.

[Wildcats]

Wait for it.....

[Tōtōchtin]

You can read posts here in 2008 spouting falsehoods, it's part of the learning curb. Truth be told a lot of us here have stills because of Jorge and Moonshiners. Once people thought the earth was flat,live,learn and grow.
Truth usually rises to the surface.
Tōtō

[Salt Must Flow]

You can read posts here in 2008 spouting falsehoods, it's part of the learning curb. Truth be told a lot of us here have stills because of Jorge and Moonshiners. Once people thought the earth was flat,live,learn and grow.
Truth usually rises to the surface.
Tōtō

I totally get what you're saying. Some might argue that it would be more effective to openly shit all over that crazy character every time he's brought up rather than ban any mention of him. Oh well, rules I guess.

Many years ago I once saw an episode of GoonShiners where they pumped the fermented mash into the boiler. They fired it up to start a run and at the very last minute they dumped some sugar in the boiler while saying, "this will bump up the proof"

[Saltbush Bill]

I think he's mosty there to make money from promoting cheap rubbish products Artooks....safety and correct information are not high priorities.
Members here don't get payed anything for the advice they give, and any who give out bad or unsafe advice quickly get called out.
That bloke in the youtube has already found his way into the forums rules and been " labled" as one to not watch as he gives very unreliable snd unsafe advice.

[NormandieStill]

While watching that bullshit video, I really felt bad, the way he speaks, his intonation and emphasis, it seems like he is explaining the subject in a very realistic and knowledgeable way, and as a result, there are a lot of people who believe in him and they praise him, it really infuriates me.

I do suspect that a vast majority of his viewers + commenters are vicariously distilling through his videos, and not actually operating stills themselves. I always found it strange that Jesse (of StillIt) maintained such a friendly relationship with him given their clear disagreement over the value of PIDs, and Jesse's general encouragement of the basic safety rules promoted here. Even before discovering HD and consequently, George's troublesome relationship with physics, I found his videos hard to watch. I much preferred Jesse's more informal "learning with you" style where he cited his sources (often the HD forum) to George's "lecturer dispensing his personal discoveries" approach.

As a fast reader, I much prefer a google search of the HD forum and skimming through reading a 30 page thread, than sitting through 20 mins of someone explaining it to me (after which I'll inevitably have to read the thread anyway!). But I know that some people are more comfortable with videos and there's a large of quality educational footage out there.

Ultimately, short of a targeted Google Ads campaign promoting the HD forum on relevant YouTube videos, the only way to address this is to keep gently pushing newcomers here in the direction of real facts, and cross our fingers that no-one dies / makes themselves seriously ill as a consequence of following his methods.

[artooks]

Sometimes ago I did write against one of his strange videos, and I remember that at the time, my comment was immediately erased, so by doing that he is falsely creating a good image, only members of this forum knows that his videos are full of BS, but regardless of what we think there are many supporters that praise him, so now I start to believe that there is no real control or controlling this type of videos which is not very good for the end user.

[Tōtōchtin]

It's just best to learn from mistakes,and move on. Without mistakes we remain stagnant. Beating people up for their mistakes is too easy once you think you know better. Pointing out the pitfalls and offering good advice is a better path. Too many with the knowledge holds on to their secrets. I love the line"that's not what I do in my shed" but offer nothing. Though I agree no info is better than bad info.
Tōtō

[shadylane]

Bad part about YouTube is Videos with bad info and edited comments section.
A newbie see's everyone is agreeing and thinks it must be the truth.

[Yummyrum]

Bad part about YouTube is Videos with bad info and edited comments section.
A newbie see's everyone is agreeing and thinks it must be the truth.

Seriously , I did not know that the comments could be edited … I guess deleted if they dis please the you-tuber .
What bullshit .

[shadylane]

Sorry, I meant deleted but the moonshine typed edited.

[samwell]

That's why this forum is so great and why I joined it in the first place. HD contains such a breadth of information and qualified people to assist. I try to take most distilling stuff on YouTube with a grain of salt and use HD as a way to learn and get information.

For example, on YouTube, people praise VEVOR stills. And when I first got into distilling I bought one (which I don't use anymore). And you see videos of people using those VEVORs with plastic tubing coming off the product condenser but no one in the comments thinks there's anything wrong with it.

[Saltbush Bill]

For example, on YouTube, people praise VEVOR s

And you see videos of people using those VEVORs with plastic tubing coming off the product condenser but no one in the comments thinks there's anything wrong with it

That's because most of them have never seen properly made quality stills. They think that is quite normal.
Reminds me of the saying that you will see here often.
" you don't know what you don't know yet"
Until a few years ago this cheap rubbish didn't exist.
You bought something of better quality or you didn't get into the hobby.

[still_stirrin]

Youtube videos do not necessarily hold safety as a charter. In fact, most Youtubers make no claims to the risks or safety when promoting home distillation. The social media tool is instead focused on viewership and subscribers. “Tubers” can gain notoriety and compensation if the views are significant enough. So, the motivation for safety simply does not exist. Instead, it’s “influence” or “monetization” that motivates the creators.

Sure, there is information there. But the quality of the information is left to the responsibility of the viewer, not the creator. So, ALWAYS keep the Youtube videos “in perspective” that they may be misleading and/or dangerous.

Home Distillers website is an active forum of members who have practical experience with the hobby for years. And the membership represents a knowledge-base from around the world. For those new hobbyists who invest time reading the forums can attest, there is no better resource for home distilling than this site.

So, while a video is easy to queue, the best information is embedded here. Reading HD is the best use of your time, especially when considering knowledgeable safety.
ss

[Demy]

Bad part about YouTube is Videos with bad info and edited comments section.
A newbie see's everyone is agreeing and thinks it must be the truth.

Exactly....this is my thought. I would add that many don't know safer places like this forum...they take it for granted that positive comments and many subscribers is an indicator of quality.

[samwell]

So, while a video is easy to queue, the best information is embedded here. Reading HD is the best use of your time, especially when considering knowledgeable safety.

Well said, SS.

[shadylane]

Not all distilling Youtube videos are bad. There's several folks that do a good job.
I've even been guilty of watching them.

[Salt Must Flow]

It's kinda sad that forums are generally no longer the first source the majority of people seek for information. It's just a sad truth. Damn kids didn't grow up using forums I guess. I've been part of many forums for decades and many if not most forums have dwindled or died over the years. NOT this one though. Other distilling forums have died off. I suspect younger people seek info through YouTube, FaceBook and other crap social media for info. A lot of YouTubers don't have the heart to mention this forum though some do. If you think about it, it's not in their best interest to mention this forum unless they provide entertaining enough content with their videos that draw people's attention.

[NZChris]

In hindsight, I'm very happy that I didn't have the volume of newbie youtube crap available when I started on my distilling journey. I had to do my research in university libraries.

Even now, I don't trust everything I read on forums, YT, etc.. Forums and Youtube are great places for finding new avenues to explore, but I hunt for the science that backs up any outrageous claims before committing myself to large batches of anything.

BTW, I think that posting links to nutters posting crap on Youtube is counter productive regardless of how you try to justify it. I'm very surprised that this thread hasn't been deleted, or locked, as it does contravene the forum rules.

[artooks]

Yes, you are very right, but another aspect of the incident is that I think the way the new generation accesses information is largely through platforms such as YouTube and TikTok, where you have to make a serious effort to reach real information, most of them share strange recipes to gain followers. My business is in poultry farming and we employ veterinarians. Believe me, some of the veterinarians we have just hired confuse the heart and the liver while performing autopsies, and the ones who do this are new graduates, I mean, it seems to me that the new generation accepts the information they can easily access as correct and this is where the problem arises.

[NZChris]

I'm sure that there are ways to point this out that don't encourage Google and AI algorithms to serve up poor quality hits for unsuspecting newbies to follow, but I don't know what they are

[NormandieStill]

I'm sure that there are ways to point this out that don't encourage Google and AI algorithms to serve up poor quality hits for unsuspecting newbies to follow, but I don't know what they are

Sadly even today there's a democratic element to search engines. Meaning that more popular videos (as measured by view count) get more promotion. For anything to change Google et al would need an incentive to promote accuracy over popularity. So don't hold your breath.

[dina_di]

Youtube videos do not necessarily hold safety as a charter. In fact, most Youtubers make no claims to the risks or safety when promoting home distillation. The social media tool is instead focused on viewership and subscribers. “Tubers” can gain notoriety and compensation if the views are significant enough. So, the motivation for safety simply does not exist. Instead, it’s “influence” or “monetization” that motivates the creators.

Sure, there is information there. But the quality of the information is left to the responsibility of the viewer, not the creator. So, ALWAYS keep the Youtube videos “in perspective” that they may be misleading and/or dangerous.

Home Distillers website is an active forum of members who have practical experience with the hobby for years. And the membership represents a knowledge-base from around the world. For those new hobbyists who invest time reading the forums can attest, there is no better resource for home distilling than this site.

So, while a video is easy to queue, the best information is embedded here. Reading HD is the best use of your time, especially when considering knowledgeable safety.
ss
When considering content like YouTube or mobile applications, monetization often comes before quality, as noted in app monetization statistics, where creators focus on revenue rather than providing safer user experiences.

Interesting point about the safety of YouTube videos. I agree that the motivation for many content creators often revolves around views and monetization rather than the quality or safety of the information. This certainly puts the responsibility on the viewer to discern whether the content is trustworthy or not. It’s crucial to approach YouTube videos with caution, especially for topics like home distillation. Forums with experienced members can be a much more reliable source of accurate and safe information.