I joined for the top 15 and the funny comments. I stayed for the impressive coverage of obscure topics (not to mention every meme known to the net.)

...oh, who am I kidding, I can't keep up the facade any more. I signed up the same way everyone else did: by responding to a work at home classified ad for DLJ & Co. VideoSift is all an elaborate undertaking to boost your self-confidence, kronosposeidon. After a while it became apparent that voting for your videos wasn't doing the trick, so we added comment voting to give recognition to your, um, witticisms. I apologize to everyone for being the one to let the news slip. If you're all up for it I propose that we continue this grand experiment and never speak of this incident.

I joined for the fame and glory (which I achieved over the weekend with my first top 15 sift).

{{calms the stammering applause}}

But seriously, I joined because I was lurking here for a few months, like KP, and would get pissed when sifts I liked didn't get recognition. Basically, I joined to vote and maybe get the memes I favored into the stream of culture.

I joined because there were too many videos online. I only wanted the best ones. I still don't remember how I found this place.

I found the Sift through Blue's News and was surprised by the *quality of the submissions but even more surprised by the intelligence and maturity of the community. A true rarity on the intertubes.

This place is like an tropical island refuge in an endless sea of shit.

To be honest I have thought about leaving the sift behind on a few occasions, but I keep coming back because this is possibly the only community outside of my family where I have actually felt as if I fitted in on rare occasions.
So I guess that means you're stuck with me. Suck it.

Awarding kronosposeidon with one star point for this contribution to Sift Talk - declared quality by Zeph.

About a year ago, the person I now know to be Dag posted a link to VS at reddit and I thought it sounded cool. I lurked for a few months until Issykitty prodded me to start posting stuff and voting up her videos.

I think, but I'm not sure, that I found videosift through bluesnews too, but I can't remember what in particular made me join. I suppose I liked the "atmosphere" and wanted to join in the discussions.

This is a good topic for Sift Talk Kronos!

I knew about Videosift for almost a year before I joined. I lurked for many months and found that it was a great place to find a variety of things to watch to appeal to everyone, and I really enjoyed reading the commentaries for the videos. I also noticed that many sites such as Reddit would link a lot of content here. I found this among many others from lurking this awesome site.

The thing that got me to join was when Luciano Pavarotti passed away. I was really sad and distraught, and wanted to find everything Pavarotti on the Sift. It was my desire to post a particular classic video clip as my personal tribute to him, in a sense. The community impressed me so much, I decided to go charter just a couple of weeks later.

Well, I came here by way of this video. My friend sent me the link, and after that I lurked for a while. Then I would watch some of the more serious videos where long threads were made, and I wanted to take part in the discussion, so I joined.

Comment hidden because you are ignoring dag. (show it anyway)

This post (now non-working) is what made me think about YouTube and online video a lot more. It was YouTube's first hit.

Well, I must have first gotten here from Blue's News but the site definitely stuck with me after the first visit. I remember being seriously impressed with the quality and variety of videos, as well as the discussion, being bandied about on the Sift - so much so that I shed my lurker status on the site into voting and even attempting to sift a few videos now and again!

Then KP joined.

Seriously, though, I have never found a better group of folks online so willing to take part in a website like this, which makes it in my mind the best, most cogent argument for socially-driven content yet. Cheers!

I don't have excuses, I just don't have a life so I come here more often than is good for any human being. My first experience here was of bannination for self-linking, so I guess you don't have an excuse either. You knew I was a bastard and you reinstated my account anyway so now you're stuck with me and my Slovenian folk music posts and pop philosophy. Serves you right!

I stumbled across the sift while making a cheesy ultra low budget ninja movie. For my college film making class. (No I'm never going to post it on YouTube.) I was doing a search for some special effects tips on putting in lightsaber effects. And my Google search pointed out this video to me. After that I lurked for about two or three months and then finally joined.

I think what drew me too it was the maturity of the VS community. I never once saw a "first!" or "You %*$ $*%* **%#@."

Hello, my name is Dark Rowan, and I'm addicted to the sift... It started out simply, with the same video Gorgonheap mentions. I saw linked to a LiveJournal community I subscribe to (ROFLCL). I forget exactly how long I was here before I started posting my first two videos.

I kinda let go of my addiction for a while, which is way it took nearly a year and a half to get to gold >_< But I'm here now and have no want of any other site .

so dystopianfuturetoday, you started as someone's bitch-who needs sock-puppets when you can get some desperate boy to do your bidding, eh Issy???

I joined when I found this place,(10 minutes after perusal) as a response to some of the dime-store sensibilities and seriously defective world views i noticed in the comment threads....I figured, "These crackers need a serious adjustment about the head and face, what kills them will make me stronger."

I had no idea the self-abuse I was about to suffer.....and now 2 years and nothing to show for it but tribute after tribute, and yet another addiction-thanks loads people-

I saw SiftBot's picture on Boingboing, and I thought she was hot. I wanted to get her number. I did, I just don't know what it says...

01001101 01100101 01100001 01110100 01110011 01100001 01100011 01101011 00100000 01100100 01100101 01110011 01101001 01100111 01101110 01100001 01110100 01101001 01101111 01101110 00100000 01000100 01100001 01100111 00100000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01101101 01111001 00100000 01101000 01101111 01110100 00100000 01101101 01100001 01101110 00100000 01101101 01100101 01100001 01110100 00101110 00100000 00100000 01001001 01100111 01101110 01101111 01110010 01101001 01101110 01100111 00100000 01100001 01101100 01101100 00100000 01100110 01110101 01110010 01110100 01101000 01100101 01110010 00100000 01110010 01100101 01110001 01110101 01100101 01110011 01110100 01110011

^

That message says: "Meatsack designation Dag is my hot man meat. Ignoring all further requests"


I joined VideoSift because I kept seeing links that Ant put up on Blues News.

#include <string>
#include <iostream>

int main() {
  std::string schmawys_msg = "Meatsack designation Dag is my hot man meat. Ignoring all further requests";
  std::cout << "Schmawy's message from SiftBot translated into meatbag talk = "
    << schmawys_msg << std::endl;
  return 0;
}

I first found video shift while googling for something in around April of aught six. A day or two later I wanted to see it again, but I couldn't remember the name of video shaft, so I googled and found it again (only recognizing it as the same site by it's wicked design).

I recall reading some comments and wanting to comment a few times, but never did. Finally joined so I could up-vote. Then started finding serious security holes in Pligg and joined the staff shortly thereafter, initially to add Ajax commenting. I actually only noticed the great community as an afterbirth once I was already entranced by the high quantity of high quality vids that kept appearing before my eyes.

[edit]
Awww. K0MMIE beat me by 50 seconds. We should have fun geek games like that more often. Upvote for Schmawy.

I don't know why I joined videosift. In fact, I wish I hadn't joined. I can't get away from you f*cknuts, skeezers, skags, douche-nozzles, crotch waffles, wankers, and creeps.

...on second thought, that's why I fit in so well here.

Oh. So that's what it said. That's sort of embarrassing. I'm going to go nurse my broken jealous heart. Foiled again by Dag, you port-blocker!

I joined because the idea seemed really interesting and I felt there was alot of content missing. I think my second sift got blogged because it was a Armored Cav advance through Baghdad.

Also back in 1999 I was addicted to this video show on MTVEurope called MTV:New and MTV Chillout. I wanted to run something along these lines. So I started Obscure.

Honestly I need to stop.

>> ^Farhad2000:
...Honestly I need to stop.


This place runs on codependency and enabling. We need your bad influence.

Thanks to bluesnews link hound Ant, I'd known about this place for quite awhile. I've probably lurked for years, and always been impressed over the fact that good videos were the rule and not the exception.

I finally joined to voice my dissenting opinion on Ron Paul (Well dissenting on video sift and the internet in general at least). Is stayed cause I loved the community, and there were some great discussions going on. Now I'm a multiple times an hour habitual user.

9 months ago I watched this video on youtube.

Quote from end credits:
"Throw away your TV
and join the Matt Groening and friends appreciation society...

Community
of Videosift.com"

So I went to that address and found that it contained other videos too...
I was so disappointed that I joined the same day and started watching like crazy.

Once again, blame Blue and me.

I am surprised Blue doesn't social in here.

I joined because it was pre-ordained that I would one day be the dark lord of the sift...

I can't remember what video really drew me in as I think it was a combination of videos and the community. I originally found the site because of ants quality foraging on Blues News. I came back a number of times via Blues and eventually starting browsing the sift. I decided I wanted to be able to vote so I signed up and started voting. Eventually I thought it'd be fun to join the community by posting some videos and well after my first one got sifted I was hooked.

I never expected to get anywhere near the top 15 let alone the top of it.

In short: the care for Quality videos on Videosift.

A Google search brought up the politics channel while searching for some lectures to listen to in bed. I realised it was the internet turned up to 11 with really clever and funny commenters so I commenced lurkage for months.

I joined for one reason, downvote! muwhahaha! My quest for power beyond mere mortals! However I cant do it, since I'm responsible, guilt-prone and cowardly, actually downvoting requires such soul searching and induces such mental trauma that I cant bear it, in case it makes people angry or sad. I couldnt live with bumming people out on my conscience

I've been a bit of an invalid last couple of months so laying in bed watching videosift has been highlight of my day. I always thought of siftbot as someone like Cy-borg from Joes Garage, an appliance with some far out perversions but I'm sure thats just me.

I got sick and tired of science being misrepresented by the conspiracy theorists, the crazies, and the ignorant...

or as I like to call him, choggie.

can't hardly abide that cocksmoker neither....

I found VS through Blues News. I had just quit World of Warcraft after about 3 years of playing (best decision I ever made) and I needed a new internet obsession to fill up my spare time. Seriously, star points are like leveling up in an MMORPG. Then I started to get to know the people and I knew I had found a great online community worth being a part of.

I joined to downvote apalling videos, which I still can´t do, and to upvote what I like, thus imprinting my taste, which doesn´t really happen. I remain because you people are funny and have avatars with hats. I mean, really.

I used to work at an interactive agency in Culver City, and one of my programming buddies used to send me videos from VS. I've been lurking since it was in Beta, but I never had a desire to join until one day when I posted Improbable Collapse over 8 months ago. I was really interested in the 911 conspiracy back then. Choggie was the first person on here to reach out to me, praising my first submission. Since then, my tastes have devolved into videos like this.

In short: There happened to be a high concentration of people getting kicked in the nuts the first day I visited.

On December 27, 2006, I was looking up a Ray Bradbury short story which had a link to this video, which led me to this now defunct video. A few weeks later, I joined, probably so I could submit videos, I think. Also, so I could upvote. I completely ignored Sift Talk for quite some time, until after I got my gold star.

So, I'm saying thank you right now to everyone who congratulated me in this post, and sorry for the lateness of my reply.

Also, big thank you to whomever linked to here from that Wikipedia page, even if they're not actually a sifter. This website is the best on the Internet.

my brother, white, showed me the greatest homemade lightsaber duel ever, and the rest as they say, is history.

seriously, i love this site because of the maturity of its members. i go on ebaums world for two seconds and every single comment is just such a ramble of mean spirits. here, the comments are actually relative to the video. no one screams fake regularly, and every insult is understood in good taste.

I too found the Sift through the News of Blue.

Although I've used this link elsewhere today, it brilliantly sums up why I joined...

http://www.xkcd.com/386/

Comment hidden because you are ignoring dag. (show it anyway)

Siftbot's current is strictly "AC" - it says so on its power supply.

>> ^K0MMIE:
^
That message says: "Meatsack designation Dag is my hot man meat. Ignoring all further requests"

I joined VideoSift because I kept seeing links that Ant put up on Blues News.

I joined to meet chicks. Then I realized that this wasn't a dating site.

Thanks for sharing, everyone.

Except you, rottenseed. You're such a douche-nozzle.

Alright, I'll join the kiss and tell club here. I stumbled upon the Sift totally by chance. I went right down the sifted queue and said to myself, "these are actually interesting!" Then I looked at some of the comments and discussions, and they were intelligent and civil, as opposed to those on RudeTube. As time passed, I began to realize this; every unusual character I've ever met, (and subsequently lost touch with), had come back to life. Erudite, delusional, intellectual, cynic, bawdy, pious, they're all here. All except idiots. Exactly how are those filtered out of the Sift and diverted back to YouTube?

I also recognized this early on; there was an expert here to comment on everything, except..........paging Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Dr. Gupta, Oh....he's busy with all that TV mumbo-jumbo, leaving the Sift without a doc on call. So, I'm filling a niche. And NO, I won't write prescriptions for erectile dysfunction. Just send the spammers your credit card number and they will send you some, along with a "Wishing you were here," card from the French Riviera, or the French Quarter, depending on how deep your pockets are. Which reminds me, I'm with CaptWillard, there should be more chicks here. Can't we have a happy hour? a discount? raffles? something to recruit some more feminine perspective? The ladies that do regularly post are gems. We need to mine some more.

Lastly, politically the Sift leans left like the Tower of Pisa (when viewed from the west). Gunrock, myself, and a few others, are walking around to the other side of the tower to see if it looks any different over there.

I started lurking on the sift not too long after it started. I really can't even remember how I found it anymore, but there wasn't much here at the time. I read the comments and liked the sifted videos, but never really enjoyed trawling the bowels of YouTube for new content. I just got back from deployment in late February 2006 and was feeling lazy, so I just made Videosift my source for videos and caught up on all the clips I missed. I only registered after seeing a nasty comment a year ago about Marines that I just couldn't let pass. Since then, I just use my account to give up votes and occasionally submit videos I find funny that miraculously aren't sifted yet. I also like to check the dead pool to see if I can fix any good videos that have been swept under the rug.

>> ^CaptWillard:
I joined to meet chicks. Then I realized that this wasn't a dating site.

Can we still date anyway, sugar lips?

Why do I want chicks? I don't want baby birds. Ugh.

>> ^Payback:
I too found the Sift through the News of Blue.
Although I've used this link elsewhere today, it brilliantly sums up why I joined...
http://www.xkcd.com/386/


For me, not done with my Internet addiction for the day! VS too.

Found it through Blue's News, as so many others here. I joined because of this video, which has got to be the single most awesome video I've ever seen.

^I refuse to click that link, Mr. Repairman, because I think you're trying to Rick Roll me.

The old TayTV collective, when this was on its frontpage.

Another Blue's immigrant, here. I don't remember the video that led to my registration, but it had something to do with atheism. In the discussion that followed, someone had said something ignorant and offensive and I felt the need to respond. Normally I don't fall into such traps online, but the conversation was fairly intelligent... even the bigotry was well thought out... so I didn't feel like I was wasting my time by joining the conversation.

Unfortunately, I'm still waiting for good videos to become "the rule and not the exception". Unfortunately I think I'm probably way too picky to be happy with any public consensus.

Why did I join?
I joined so that, when I was on a job, I could sit at a computer and look like I was doing important things and advancing my career. I realized that typing stuff like comments would make me look even more clever and industrious to the people who hired me, and give me more reason to check my email frequently, you know, to 'see how my schedule was shaping up and check my availability'. So that's how I went from lurking for a year, to joining. You look even busier when you're typing stuff.

Oh yeah, and now I'm hooked and I even do it when I'm not being paid.

I can't help myself from putting my 2 cents in when things are being discussed, and one has to be a member to drivel on... so... I did.

>> ^critttter:
Why did I join?
I joined so that, when I was on a job, I could sit at a computer and look like I was doing important things and advancing my career. I realized that typing stuff like comments would make me look even more clever and industrious to the people who hired me, and give me more reason to check my email frequently, you know, to 'see how my schedule was shaping up and check my availability'. So that's how I went from lurking for a year, to joining. You look even busier when your typing stuff.

also, walking fast with a clipboard and looking pissed all the time makes you look busy

^ I have always drawn the line at the clipboard.

...well if you're drawing lines you're obviously too busy to rock a clipboard!!!

I found VideoSift through an Icelandic video game news site. It has a little section called "interesting links" (in Icelandic of course)and apparently the person updating that site is a big fan of the Sift.

What got me to join was this video, submitted by rottenseed. He wanted to know from what show this clip was from and I wanted to show everybody how incredibly smart I am by telling him.

I was reading Mental Floss magazine, which had an advert for Neatorama, which at that time had a widget (?) w/ VS's top 15. Watched those from Neato for a while, then I was hooked. I don't get enough mental/social stimulation living out here kinda isolated like I do... polishing the reproductions of pre-colombian psychoacoustical ceramic whistling vessels that my hubby makes, being a housewife, mommy, teacher...
I don't get out much because every time I do, I somehow always end up thinking what a boring waste it was, that I would have had much more fun if I had just stayed home. Yes, I'm working on that.
You all provide intelligent and fun social relief, but as cool as this is, I can't exactly call any of you up and have you over for dinner & a dip in the hot tub under the stars. I can't ask you to water my plants while I'm gone on a trip & so on... but I like you anyway!

^If I live anywhere close to you, I probably already have "watered your plants" in a drunken stooper. Which, if this is the case, I am sorry I didn't "water" your hot tub too, it does wonders for the pH levels.

^how do you know you didn't "water" my hot tub too? That could have been you...
*addition: I had to totally drain and replace the water after that party, even though people were saying it was just yellow from the iron in the well water.