With few exceptions, when a challenge to delete YouTube channels happens, no channel gets deleted. A framework can help resolve the problem.
A major problem is the channel owners are the judges for whether they will be deleting their own channel. This is clearly a conflict of interest. Both judging and channel deletion must be removed from the control of each participant.
To avoid complaints about judging, the win/lose criteria must be clearly specified and agreed to by all participants before the challenge.
All participants must publicly agree to the rules before the challenge begins.
Any legitimate challenge has at least these 4 features:
- Independent judging
- Deletion of YouTube channel must be out of the control of the participants
- Clear win/lose criteria
- Rules agreed to by all participants
I am requesting comments on this framework. Send comments to mctoon@mctoon.net.
MCToon
July 2019
Version 0.9c
1.0 Introduction
There are a lot of challenges on the internet including YouTube channels. Unfortunately, many are not handled in a predictable and honest manner. When challenges are successfully met nothing happens. Either the challenge parameters are changed or the results are rejected. This results in the apparent loser of the bet not fulfilling the agreed upon action, deletion of their channel.
The Delete Your Channel Challenge Framework is intended to provide a guide for challenges to assist in providing a predictable and honest challenge. This framework lays out parameters that allow objective analysis of the challenge and provide a plan to ensure the channel deletion occurs.
2.0 Process
2.1 Specify the Challenge Clearly
Each participant clearly states a claim they will be supporting. The claim must be clearly stated and be testable.
3.0 Judging panel
For a two person challenge the judging panel shall be three appropriately qualified individuals. An odd number of judges is critical to avoid a tie. Each participant selects one judge and the third is to be selected in a public Reddit.com thread.
Participants are encouraged to seek participation from subscribers or wherever they want to garner support in the Reddit.com thread. At the least a link to the Reddit.com thread should be posted on each participant’s YouTube channel. The thread shall run for one week and a poll of the participants shall determine the judge.
The judges shall be prepared to perform the channel deletion for the participant that selected them. This willingness shall be publicly stated.
3.1 Judge qualifications
A minimum of a Bachelors Degree in Physics or a minimum of a Masters degree in one of the following fields: Astronomy, Chemistry, Earth Science, Meteorology. The prospective judge must be currently working within the field associated to their qualifying degree. This may be either as a professional educator at the high school or higher level, or as a scientist in a public or private organization.
Any judge nominee that does not meet these qualifications may not be a judge. If a participant selects a judge that does not qualify, the other participant may select a judge. If the winner of the Reddit poll is not a qualified judge the next qualified judge shall be selected.
If the Reddit thread does not result in any judge being selected, the challenge cannot be performed.
3.2 Qualification verification
Each participant’s selected judge shall make their credentials available to other participants upon request. This is only to be shared with the participants to reduce unwanted personal information leakage.
The judge selected by the Reddit thread shall make their credentials available to all other judges to verify the judge qualifies.
4.0 Channel credentials
Before the event each participant shall turn over the username and password for their channel to the judge he or she selected. The judges shall verify these credentials are accurate by posting a unique comment on a video.
5.0 The event
If the challenge is a debate all participants shall agree to a hosting facility, a debate format, and a date and time. The debate format shall be specified in advance and publicly agreed to by all participants.
If the even is not a debate the details shall be agreed to in advance by all participants.
5.1 Forfeit
A forfeit shall be declared if one participant does not show up at the agreed time and date. However, this must allow for real world circumstances. If the participant communicates at least 60 minutes before the event or more, at the discretion of the other participants, an absence shall be allowed and the debate will be rescheduled.
Care must be taken to be fair before declaring a forfeit. Channel deletion is serious. Unforeseen circumstances should not adversely affect someone’s channel.
5.2 Premature exit
If one of he participants leaves the challenge for reasons other than important personal matters, that participant shall forfeit.
For example, leaving the debate in the middle is a forfeit.
5.3 Forfeit results
A forfeit means that participant loses. Their channel shall be deleted by the judges. The other participants may, at their discretion, forgo the deletion.
6.0 Results
After the event the judges shall decide who supported their case scientifically using evidence, observation, peer reviewed studies and experiments, inductive and deductive reasoning.
The winner shall be decided by a simple majority of the judges.
Each judge should write a statement about their decision and make this publicity available.
7.0 Channel deletion
After the judges have decided which participant won, the losing participant’s channel shall be immediately deleted by the judges.
8.0 Modifications by written agreement only
Any part of this framework may only be amended by agreement of all the participants. This agreement must be clearly stated and visible in a publicly viewable posting.
MCToon 