YouTube User Support

I find it totally unacceptable that YouTube make users wander through a complicated maze to access YouTube staff. Maybe I am losing my mind, but I could not find a contact form or email address anywhere on in their Help Center. I finally left YouTube and poked around Google for the answer. I found and email address on the Get Satisfaction YouTube discussion boards; but I should have been able to easily get the info from YouTube.

Maybe you all can help me? The YouTube user who has "juliaroy" has not signed into her account for 1 year. I have contacted her, but I am going to assume she will not respond, unless she has email notifications for direct messages. Anyways, I would like to know if there is any way possible I could get that username from her. I spend a lot of time in YouTube for clients, and I feel somewhat empowered to ask if they will make it available for me.

Comments

[Dan]

You know I'd love to help, but the best I can do is offer to provide the torches and pitchforks for the storming of YouTube's corporate castle.

That probably isn't much help, is it?

[John Carson]

Hi Julia, tried Twitter? People know people on there, it may filter through to "Julia" eventually.

Cheers,
John.

[Ontario Emperor]

Re the second issue (I don't know any Google people, so can't help with the first) - Initially I was going to give the YouTube account creator the benefit of the doubt and assume that the person just happened to have the same name as you. Then I realized that "Julia Roy" is probably not a common name in the Ukraine. :)

I tried adding a comment to the profile, not realizing that comments apparently have to be approved by the owner, and since the owner apparently never visits the page, that ain't gonna happen.

Good luck.

[Ontario Emperor]

Oh, and I guess it could be worse. Just ask Shel Israel.

[Phil Harnish]

Hey Julia, found this on twitter ;)

(Disclaimer: All of this shoddy guesswork is purely hypothetical or public information--I don't even know what timezone(s) customer support is in.)

In the entire history of the internet the landgrab for usernames on new websites has always been around. Sort of the "First Post!!" plague. In my opinion it's silly and really nearsighted. I feel that way about domain names too though and we know that won't go away.

It has been said[1], if YouTube were a country it would be the third largest in the world. A problem affecting 1% of the users is still millions of people. Self-service style customer support is seriously necessary. (It doesn't have to be painful though, I agree.) If I had to guess no single person at YouTube has the _authority_ needed to transfer ownership of an ordinary account..

So why did I bother to write? I totally care about the one off problems (especially bugs in the site which I *can* do something about). I don't know of anyone else watching twitter, getsatisfaction, etc. (remember, we have to be super careful what we say :-x) but someone else may happen on the problem and be in a better position to help :) Good luck!

[1] http://twitter.com/lirra/statuses/895621764

[Karson With a K]

Having someone squatting on your name is a pain. Someone tried to take "karsonwithak" from me on AIM and I had to lay the smack down and steal it back 8-)

K~