My YouTube channel, Crustacea Studios, was wrongfully terminated this week. I made short films there, but due to hard drive issues, I don’t have access to most of my films beyond the YouTube channel. Is there any way to watch those videos again, maybe through the Wayback Machine or something else? Thanks!
Your best option is to contact YouTube and appeal the termination if it was indeed wrong. The next best option is to try the Wayback Machine. If you still have the links to your videos, you can put them in there. You might find them in your browser history (Ctrl+H usually). If you remember the titles, try typing them in and see what shows up. Right-click and copy what you find, then use the Wayback Machine. But keep in mind it’s not very likely.
@MarcusBrown
I have the links and titles. Last time I tried the Wayback Machine with YouTube, I couldn’t find anything, and no videos showed up. Also, YouTube said my channel was spamming/scamming when I only post short films I made for school, maybe twice a year. It was really out of the blue and unfair. Thanks for your help.
@Caius
You’ll want to use the full link on this site: http://web.archive.org/. Searching YouTube in the Wayback Machine doesn’t work well—using the direct video links is better. Also, did you actually file an appeal or is that just the reason they gave you initially? Appeals can work well, even if it takes a month for them to respond.
@MarcusBrown
I’ve officially appealed. Didn’t know it could take that long. I’m just not optimistic because 6 years ago, I used British Pathé footage of the Nazi Party for a historical trailer, and YouTube accused me of being a Nazi. I appealed that too, and they didn’t listen. This termination makes even less sense, so I’m not hopeful.
@MarcusBrown
Am I screwed if the Wayback Machine says it hasn’t archived that URL?
Caius said:
@MarcusBrown
Am I screwed if the Wayback Machine says it hasn’t archived that URL?
Sadly, yeah. Pretty much.
Caius said:
@MarcusBrown
Am I screwed if the Wayback Machine says it hasn’t archived that URL?
Sadly, yeah. Pretty much.
Shii, anyway, thanks for your help. I’m recovering media right now, but I’ll have to re-edit a lot of my films. I’m moving to Vimeo/my own website from now on, haha.
The Internet Archive doesn’t store media, and I doubt your channel was wrongfully terminated. Yes, the terms of service can be harsh, but the rules are clear.
Gerald said:
The Internet Archive doesn’t store media, and I doubt your channel was wrongfully terminated. Yes, the terms of service can be harsh, but the rules are clear.
Why do you doubt it? I used the channel to post short films me and my friends made, and I got flagged for ‘spam/deceptive scamming’ when I only post twice a year. I’m not scamming anyone. If there was a genuine reason for the termination, it must have been due to a hack or something, not me.