User:Bear/The YouTube coin flip
- The YouTube coin flip - is the video available or not?
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Given that less than half of what was on YouTube in 2010 is still there, revisiting a video after a long time resembles flipping a coin between the video being available and not.[1][2]
The moment you click or tap on a video URL or hit "Go" on the URL bar or "Enter" on your keyboard, you toss your coin and the page begins to load. When the imaginary coin is spinning on the ground and rolling on its edge, the skeleton screen of YouTube appears, meaning the circle and rectangle placeholders that show where the elements will appear after loaded.
If you are lucky, the side facing up indicates "available" and you can watch the video. Congratulations!
If you are unlucky, you will be greeted by a "this video is unavailable" or "this video is private" message, or any of these error messages. Good luck hunting for a copy elsewhere!