Knee Jerk Reactions and 10 Ways to Kill a Cat

Last week, I was greeted by an email from YouTube information me that one of my videos had been deactivated because it was reported to be in violation of community standards.  It went on to detail the consequences of further violations and informed me that I could appeal the decision, and appeal I did.

The title of the video was 10 Ways to Kill a Cat.  The video shows (with the aid of the FX Guru app) our cat being the victim of a flame thrower, a hand grenade, a rocket launcher, a cruise missile, and half-dozen other non-traditional euthanasia devices.

By now you are probably convinced the movie was rightly reported. Now, if you are saying, "No wonder it was reported" you are may be guilty of the same knee jerk reaction that probably resulted in the reporting of the video.  The fact is that I love cats and would never harm one.

It was obvious from some of the comments and the reporting of the video, that some people didn't read the description or watch to the end.  I made that clear in my appeal where I simply told the YouTube reviewers the video was NOT about killing cats.  It was about man's inhumanity to man. 

I then asked them to watch it until the end as I requested in the description. I'm pleased to say within a few hours of my filing the appeal I received the following message.

Thank you for submitting your video appeal to YouTube. After further review, we've determined that your video doesn't violate our Community Guidelines. Your video has been reinstated and your account is in good standing.
Sincerely,
— The YouTube Team

Since then, I have gone back to the video and examined the detailed statistics provided by YouTube.  It quickly became obvious to me that most people were NOT watching the video to the end.  Cat lovers were clicking off of it before they got to the end message, and cat haters were stopping as soon at the ending text screens started, and sharing it.

It appeared that my attempt at pointing out man's inhumanity to man was missing the mark.  In an effort to get more people to watch the video all the way through, I have gone back to the video and added more text along the way. 

You can make up your own mind as to the message and my success in getting it across.