Beta Videos linked in comments...Yae or Nae?

I've noticed an accelerating trend of people posting beta videos on route comments. What are your thoughts? Self-promotion? Useful resource? Comment Clutter? 

I'm torn. Curious about others' thoughts. 

I'm in favor of it. If you want the beta videos, they are curated right there. If you don't want the beta, you don't have to click the links.

A few thoughts-

1. It makes sense to me that comments don’t need to be only limited to text in a digital world.

2. Many of the pieces of linked media are more helpful (to me, at least) than the often static and outdated route descriptions.

3. A ton of results that rise to the top of online searches are companies monetizing their content and are often not super applicable to me. I personally much prefer seeing authentic content made by climbers, which I also find more useful. 

4. At least some people are posting useful content on this site, compared to the majority of gibberish in the forums….

60 second video of a boulder problem: yea

60 minute go pro video of a route: nay thanks while I vomit

6 minute video of a boulder problem that includes opening and closing credits and shots of you driving your van through mud to get to the problem and being totally radical with your bros: go away, wanker

I always make fun of people who make beta videos with a go pro..... but I always end up watching them. I think watching a beta video takes a lot of the 'adventure' out of climbing, but I'll take all the help I can get.
They are especially useful to see runouts/finnicky gear that people talk about in the comments section of a climb

I watch lots of beta videos. Having them in the photos section of MP would be the most helpful. The comments section works but there can be a long string of comments to page through for popular routes. 

I’m all for the bouldering beta videos in the comments.  I’m find them helpful to decide if I want to go check out a problem.  It is hard to get a sense of how something climbs from just photos.  

And probably like a lot of aging curmudgeons I use to look down at people taking videos of themselves on boulder problems.  Then after one season of actually taking bouldering seriously I got myself a tripod for my iPhone!  Being able to watch myself do a move was super helpful for dialing in the beta and sending. I’ve never posted any of videos but definitely appreciate the climbers that do.

Andy and Amanda in bishop are incredible resources for beta.  And it appears they have been adding a lot of video links in the comments section.

For routes, just more clutter. The comment sections are already getting horribly cluttered though. I wish there was a way to better filter out all the nonsense and "great route" comments that you have to scroll through to find out useful safety or logistical information. 

Here for it... tempted to do it myself with some of these obscure boulder areas and nonsense beta in comments ... its just a youtube link. Theres no accidental reading of beta or paragraph on how you 'gaston to the pinch and slap the sloper to top out" junk.

keep them coming !

If someone doesn’t want the beta don’t click on the link

and posters, if it’s a trip report or “story”, call it what it is. if it’s just a send and/or beta info, then even better

Short Fall Seanwrote:

60 second video of a boulder problem: yea

60 minute go pro video of a route: nay thanks while I vomit

6 minute video of a boulder problem that includes opening and closing credits and shots of you driving your van through mud to get to the problem and being totally radical with your bros: go away, wanker

I'd like to add:  3 minute video, 2:15 of which are attempts, 45s at the end of the send... I do enough falling myself, please just post the send, wanker.

Edit to 6 minute video:  Fine with me as long as you link to the timestamp of the send.  My reason why:  sometimes montage/compilation videos can show you boulders you otherwise wouldn't have considered.  If you make a 6 minute video that is 3 minutes of intro/driving, 1 minute of walking, 1 minute of falling, and 1 minute for the send... stop.

In the comment section? Sure. 

As the route description? Shame on you and a pox on your house.

I think that they should be treated like any other comment, in that they need to be adding something that wasn't already there. Its nice when an route has one or two convenient beta videos in the comments, but some routes have like 10 videos all showing the same thing (*cough* Hulk) and that's just obnoxious.

I feel like there is a general sentiment that for MP comments/pictures, beta is good and self aggrandisement is out of place (save that shit for the Gram, bro). If you don't want to see beta, don't click the link/look at the pic. If you did click/look, it's fair to expect useful beta.

It sounds like folks are saying, "don't show me your drive to the crag, or the approach." IMHE, sometimes finding the right pullout or turn in the trail is the crux of a climbing day. I've gotten useable approach beta from videos before. But it's usually been a damn treasure hunt to find the useful bits in the pap. As folks have pointed out, a video becomes WAY more useful as beta if you just include timestamps of the relevant information. So I say "Yae" with timestamps, Nay without.

I have posted a few when I think I have beta that is different than what the consensus is. My videos are straight up just beta shot from a tripod, no music no intro montages though.

I enjoy beta vids because it gets me psyched.

Alex Whitmanwrote:

In the comment section? Sure. 

As the route description? Shame on you and a pox on your house.

Agreed, you want to link a short beta video in the comments… fine. You want to add a bunch to the route description = deny! 

Connor Dobsonwrote:

I have posted a few when I think I have beta that is different than what the consensus is. My videos are straight up just beta shot from a tripod, no music no intro montages though.

I enjoy beta vids because it gets me psyched.

If you have different beta you are allowed to post. Especially if you are tall, short, -12 ape index, can't do a pullup, used 12 intermediates, etc. 

But just make sure the beta is actually different.

tobias bundlewrote:

If you have different beta you are allowed to post. Especially if you are tall, short, -12 ape index, can't do a pullup, used 12 intermediates, etc. 

But just make sure the beta is actually different.

There is one route in the bay area where everyone uses Andy Liu's beta but that guy is way too strong and his heel hook beta is heinous to actually do imo.

Not directly the OPs question… and maybe I’m just an old curmudgeon, but one thing I hate in a whole lot of videos is the loud, raging, screaming, killer music some folks seem to think is a good idea.  If I come across such a video—and I still want to watch it—I’ll turn off the sound. I think it’s really hard to choose decent music and I often resent even the tame stuff. I’d much rather listen to the breathing of the climber, the conversation with the belayer, and the clang of the hexes (said I was old!).

A distant aside: Cycling has been a part of my life for a long time and I used to really HATE how American Tour de France coverage would throw in music all the time to “spice things up” for the viewer. I wanted to hear the noise of the peloton, the breathing, the gear changes, the yelling, the crowd noise, etc. 

EDIT: As to the original question… I like links. Nice to have the option. And as a couple of others have already said, you aren’t forced to click on them. 

Love it, if you don’t want beta don’t watch the video(s).