To improve its site, YouTube has hatched a plan to involve YouTube users in a rewards-based program called YouTube Heroes.
According to 9to5Google, YouTube offers all who participate in the YouTube Heroes program the chance to get additional moderation tools as well as the chance to test drive YouTube's new products and features before they are released on the market.
As announced on the YouTube Help channel, YouTube will give members the chance to get points corresponding to their actions on the website. At the start, members will be given access to the Heroes dashboard, so that they can start earning points.
Different actions merit different points. For instance, reporting a video that does not follow YouTube's guidelines merits one point, while giving the top answer in YouTube Help forums gives 10 points. The more points a member gets, the quicker they level up.
Once members reach level five, the highest level, they will be given the chance to review YouTube products early, as well as the chance to enter what YouTube calls the Heroes Summit. The Verge reported that rewards include invitations to unspecified workshops. Members, however, will need to accurately report a thousand bad comments before reaching the highest level.
Although Heroes are given the opportunity to improve the moderation of YouTube's comments, they still are not given direct power over the website as only YouTube employees can approve good subtitles and remove bad comments. Although anyone can report bad comments, only Heroes are given rewards for reporting.
If you want to become a YouTube Hero, sign up here. Keep in mind, however, that if you have a history with bad comments, it is likely that you would not be allowed to register.