As part of the many things that need doing for , Eddie and I have set our sights on some house cleaning. Maybe it’s no surprise for me to say this, but storage is not cheap. And you’d be amazed at how much garbage people store.
A conversation I had with Eddie some time ago revealed the crux of the problem: people have tried uploading absolutely everything to . From copyrighted material to things that should probably go unmentioned—and although we preach freedom around these parts, we’re not about to be stupid about it either.
It’s quite conceivable that a platform operating for so many years has accumulated a lot of junk. I don’t think I’m being mean by saying that—I’m just being honest. I even find myself laughing at some of the things people decide to upload, and how they upload them.
Just today I found myself staring at a Bulgarian film encoded at 10 frames per second and less than 100 kbps. I swear, I could make a better-looking film using the webcam from my mother’s 15-year-old computer—and I say that with absolute confidence.
Of course, this task is no easy feat. Imagine combing through thousands upon thousands of banned users, flagged videos, and unwanted files, deleting them one by one. Sounds like a description of hell if you ask me—and I’m sure anyone would agree. So, I did what any rational person would do: I made a tool.
A few easy-to-use scripts that do all the heavy lifting. Think of it like directing a destructive Hulk right into the heart of the city—except, in this case, the “city” is a Bulgarian video no one ever needs to see again. Yes, that made perfect sense as I wrote it out.
At any rate, another tool for the bat-belt. My GitHub account is starting to look pretty good, if I may say so myself. My app ideas might not be the greatest, but you can’t say I’ve been lazy. That’s got to count as a win of sorts… hahaha.
— MenO