It's a shame YouTube allowed dots in handle names considering the problems creators have with impersonation. Those should be reserved for domain validated handles similar to the BlueSky post a couple weeks ago [1].
As it is, I don't think there's a way to create aliases, so it's not even possible to proactively protect yourself from impersonation by grabbing all the attractive handles that would be used by bad actors.
For example, what stops me from creating @LinusTechTips.com as a handle? That looks very official to a lot of people and high value domains are recognized by a lot of normal users. I know it would get banned eventually, but that's after the creator complains and it seems a bit unfair to ask creators to police their brand while YouTube leaves the door wide open for bad actors.
In the case of a channel like LTT, if they're using @LinusTechTips as a handle I think it would be pragmatic for them to be able to ask Youtube to forbid all other @LinusTechTips* handles. That's their brand, everyone knows it's them, they've earned it, and platforms should be doing more to work with them to reduce impersonation. I say that in the context of all popular creators, not just LTT.
ryan29|2 years ago
As it is, I don't think there's a way to create aliases, so it's not even possible to proactively protect yourself from impersonation by grabbing all the attractive handles that would be used by bad actors.
For example, what stops me from creating @LinusTechTips.com as a handle? That looks very official to a lot of people and high value domains are recognized by a lot of normal users. I know it would get banned eventually, but that's after the creator complains and it seems a bit unfair to ask creators to police their brand while YouTube leaves the door wide open for bad actors.
In the case of a channel like LTT, if they're using @LinusTechTips as a handle I think it would be pragmatic for them to be able to ask Youtube to forbid all other @LinusTechTips* handles. That's their brand, everyone knows it's them, they've earned it, and platforms should be doing more to work with them to reduce impersonation. I say that in the context of all popular creators, not just LTT.
1. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35050335
tintedfireglass|2 years ago