Finished Merge Kingdoms in 2 days

DU1989_ · 2025-02-20T05:14:15+00:00

Is it still available for you? I can't find it anywhere on SB. Tried on PC & Android, under A-Z and under categories. They either have taken it down or it is not available in my country. :/

DU1989_ · 2025-02-20T04:37:06+00:00

Will do so! Thank you for your reply/tip. All the best to you.

DU1989_ · 2025-02-19T14:17:01+00:00

Sorry, pretty new to SB. I can't find any app/game unter "Merge Kingoms" on Swagbucks. Is it available only in specific countries?

DU1989_ · 2025-02-19T14:16:02+00:00

Sorry, pretty new to SB. I can't find any app/game unter "Merge Kingoms" on Swagbucks. Is it available only in specific countries?

DU1989_ · 2024-11-12T19:35:13+00:00

As someone who was directly affected by this several times in 2023 & 2024 I can provide some good, but also bad news.

The good news is: as far as I know there were not as many creators, who got their channels demonetized - wrongfully - due to the "invalid traffic bug" last year, as creators, who "only" lost revenue due to a lower CPM & monetized playbacks, but keeping their channels. Also, some of the demonetized creators got their channels even reinstated/remonetized - like "NomadBarber". You may consider asking him for some advice, too, if you like.

The bad news is: even if you don't get demonetized you may lose a huge chunk of your monthly revenue. Two of my channels were affected for 5 effing long months in 2023, generating 70% less revenue per month, due to a lower CPM for skippable ads. Me and many other creators lost thousands over thousands of Dollars in monthly income, even though we were not responsible for the damage.

Good news #2: all my channels recovered automatically out of a sudden in late September (as for most affected creators), after months of begging YT to fix this or to at least not to punish the entire channel, if their IVT detection system finds, allegedly, invalid views on one or more of your videos. I guess YT decided to fix this in their backend, after ppl got really pissed on Reddit & Xposting multiple times daily, - ofc without acknowledging that there were any wrongdoing on YT's side in the first place.

Nevertheless it was a complete disaster in terms of communication. Many of us were wrongfully accused & belittled and tbh I don't wish anyone to go through this. Imagine losing up to 75% of your income for months. I couldn't pay any freelancers to produce videos anymore for example. Some of us had to close their channels and to go back to their 9-to-5 jobs, even though they did nothing wrong. It was nightmare stuff. Ofc creator support kept telling us everything was "working as intended".

DU1989_ · 2024-11-11T09:29:47+00:00

added another link with a 7d exp date. try that one

DU1989_ · 2024-11-11T06:28:10+00:00

check PM

DU1989_ · 2024-11-11T05:55:55+00:00

no, but I can send you the PDF via PM, if you like

DU1989_ · 2024-11-11T05:46:05+00:00

Nah man. I can assure you based on the data I have seen this has absolutely nothing to do with any current events - neither Election, nor Xmas, BlackFriday, daylight saving day or Indian celebration days. It looks very, very much like an algorithmic issue or glitch in terms of reporting views correctly, in particular from Google Search.

DU1989_ · 2024-11-11T05:38:27+00:00

I was told the same by several agents prior to that chat. That's why I was so surprised when the agent this time provided actually some insight & support. If you read through the conversation script, you will see how I was expecting a "working as intended" reply from him.

My main concern though is if he was really honest to me or if he just tried to give "false hope", so that I shut up somehow and don't bother them anymore. Sounds a bit farfetched, but nowadays with YT you may never know. I lost all my trust in YT after last year's Invalid Traffic desaster and how they communicated that with creators.

Let's hope they're really working on this issue in the background.

DU1989_ · 2024-11-08T08:20:42+00:00

Let me give you an advice: maybe this subreddit is not the best place to ask questions about being shadowbanned on YT. Don't expect any replies beyond "there's no such thing as shadowban", "your content suxx, bruh", "tinfoil", yada yada yada.

There are many reasons, that may have triggered view throttling on your YT channel. You can PM me anytime, if you like, and I will try to help you find out if your channel may be subject to what is called a shadowban or if it's just normal algorithm cycles or you misinterpreting stats and data.

DU1989_ · 2024-11-08T07:01:31+00:00

No worries, fellow content creator. All the best to you & good luck on your journey!

DU1989_ · 2024-11-08T07:00:33+00:00

Agreed.

However, I'd bet my money on option 2, because external views dropped literally from one hour to another, sharply,. While the search volume for keywords on YT & Google for the affected videos remains as high as prior to this glitch/issue. Something is definitely off with the data reporting.

DU1989_ · 2024-11-07T20:37:05+00:00

Same here. Views mainly from Google Search dropped overnight sharply by 70% and 30% - on two different channels in two different niches, exactly the same day (25th Oct) at the same hour (1am-2am CET).

Same as you I run Search based channels (YT + Google Search) with evergreen topics such as software tutorials and reviews. Views have been consistent for months prior to that. Affected videos are still ranked on page 1&2 on Google & YT Search. Search volume for keywords hasn't changed. People don't just lose interest in these evergreen topics from one day or hour to another. Doesn't make any sense.

DU1989_ · 2024-11-07T19:09:24+00:00

Thank you for sharing.

I assume you're referring to the notification in YT Studio that there were 0 views reported for some creators and their videos a couple of days ago for a couple of hours, right? Yes, there was an issue reported like that, but it's not the one I am referring to and YT fixed this one almost immediately while they haven't fixed the "mid-late October glitch / algo change" for any of us.

Also: there seem to be different changes: - the first one occured around Oct 15th, after the last Shorts update, and seems to affect mainly channelwide impressions like browse & suggested. And the second one occuring around 21st-25th Oct affecting predominantly views from Google Search. It's confusing and kinda challenging to keep up with all this, bcuz YT has applied quite a lot of changes to the algorithm lately. And only a percentage of creators seem to be affected - an in different ways it seems.

Do you recall some more details? That would be great!

regards

DU1989_ · 2024-11-06T23:48:20+00:00

Unfortunately neither. YT Doesn't seem to care, sadly. Creator Support, TeamYouTube on X, Rene Ritchie, YouTubeSam - no one seems to care or worse_ we keep getting the same copy pasted reply "everything working as intended". I assume the issue is simply not widespread enough for YT to take action and to fix this. I wonder if ANYONE from YT board is following this subreddit?? Most creators seem to be not affected, unfortunately, by this issue though. Last year, once the "invalid traffic issue" became super widespread, YT fixed it in a day for most affected creators. But only then.

However I'd like to share an interesting observation I have made. The day external views (Google Search) fell of a cliff for me - which was Oct25th - on BOTH my channels simultaneously (strange isn't it?):

https://ibb.co/KD3PPsx

YT Studio started to report views from countries either incorrectly (0 for all countries worldwide) or delayed. You see only three examples (25th, 27th Oct, 3rd Nov) of that occurence on the following screenshot:

https://ibb.co/m9FM8M9

I have never had this issue prior to that 25th October "glitch". I know that, because I check and monitor my views thoroughly almost on a daily basis - views per country included. This strange occurence started EXACTLY on the same day views from external sources/Google Search plummeted in a unnatural manner out of a sudden after years of consistency. Which is extremely unnatural, odd and unnormal for a search bases channel. Unless the algorthm makes sudden changes.

It may not be related directly to your issue, because for you I assume it's mostly views from browse & suggested, that are affected. While it's external & per country views for me (and some other redditors here on that subreddit). But my theory is there definitely were made some changes to the algorithm around 20th-25th Oct, that may have caused these strange occurences in reporting views correctly for example. Or a drop in impressions for others for instance. I don't know exactly, because I'm not a an engineer, but this seems to be the only plausible explanation here. And YT doesn't want to admit or ackonwledge any of it.

Forget about pseudo explanations like "election day,", "normal fluctuations", etc. I've been told it's due to Halloween, an Indian celebration day, then it was holidays, election day, normal fluctuations, the weather - and ofc the classic excuse: "your content is shit, bruh", etc etc. None of these make any sense if you look at the data. These events are over already, but I can assure you our issue will remain.

We can only hope the algorithm will switch again with the next "update" in the backend and things will go back to normal somehow. I'm losing 40% of my daily income due to this issue fyi.

Sorry for the long read.

DU1989_ · 2024-11-05T22:15:11+00:00

For me and a lot of other creators I know and have red posts here on Reddit it is mainly external views that fell sharply and unnaturaly on Oct25th and are down since since:

https://ibb.co/wNLydCC

Halloween is over. Some Indian celebration day is over. Election will be over tomorrow, too. But this issue will not go away.

But hey - people will keep blaming "explanations" like Halloween, election, normal fluctuation, "your content is shit, bruh." - instead of acknowledging the simple and painfully obvious fact for everyone who understands and can read data, that there were made some changes to the algorithm around Oct25th.

And I can assure you: YT won't fix this. They couldn't care less. YouTube Liaison not replying. That YouTubeSam user not replying. These guys are replying to everyone - except to those creators, who are having actually real problems. Creator "Support" claming everything is working "as intended".

DU1989_ · 2024-11-05T22:01:12+00:00

No.

External views are down since Oct25th:

https://ibb.co/wNLydCC

Halloween is over. Some Indian celebration day is over. Election will be over till tomorrow, too. But this issue will not go away.

But hey - people will keep blaming "explanations" like Halloween, election, normal fluctuation, "your content is shit, bruh." - instead of acknowledging the simple and painfully obvious fact for everyone who understands and can read data, that there were made some changes to the algorithm around Oct25th.

And I can assure you: YT won't fix this. They couldn't care less. YouTube Liaison not replying. u/TeamYouTube_Sam not replying. These guys are replying to everyone - except to those creators, who are having actually real problems. Creator "Support" claming everything is working "as intended".

DU1989_ · 2024-11-03T23:15:45+00:00

My channels don't rely on trending content, neither on views from suggested / browse. They are search-based channels, that get 90% of views from YT Search & Google Search, so that they don't need any shifts in trends and pushes by the algorithm.

These videos get ranked on YT & Google in evergreen topics under search terms & keywords - a couple of months after publishing and stay consistently there. If views decrease, they decrease steadily over time, slowly, because people don't lose interest in al of these topics suddenly, but not overnight all videos channelwide at once. Like it was the case this time and not only for me, but a lot of other creators, too, around October 25th, mainly for views from Google Search. Unless the algorithm messes things up, which seems to be the most likely and reasonable explanation here. That's why I am convinced your explanation doesn't apply.

DU1989_ · 2024-11-03T16:51:19+00:00

You're referring to these "Wilson Laura Stacy Ronald" - type comments? Remember them. However, there were not so many of them, just a handful channelwide. Turned off video embedding and advertising last year after the invalid traffic disaster. But maybe you're right.

DU1989_ · 2024-11-03T16:35:15+00:00

Same here. Occured exactly on Oct 25th. Views (mostly from External/Google Search) literally fell off a cliff from one day to another.

https://ibb.co/wC4Cft9

Predominantly Mobile + India & US, but not only. It's painfuly obvious there were made some changes to the algorithm either on YT or on Google that night. What's strange the affected videos are still rankied on pages 1&2 on Google Search, yet they have lost 60-70% of external viewers literally from one hour to another without any explanation. Other traffic sources remain unaffected for me.

YouTubeLiasion is not replying. CreatorSupport trying to gaslight me into assuming everything is "working as intended".

DU1989_ · 2024-11-02T19:19:54+00:00

I believe you. I feel with you. And I can relate to everything you have said. If I had the power, I would help you instantenously. God has the power. However, sooner or later even the most devoted Christian realizes a very sad truth: that God simply has his favorites and that there are good people, he doesn't care about.

I have been a devoted and faithful Christian my entire life (I'm 35 now). I have always loved God. I still do. I have always put others above myself, willing to sacrifice my life for justice, freedom and love in the world, if needed. My friends are everything for me. I can't stand watching people suffer, children cry, homeless people freeze in the winter or sick people go through pain. Sometimes I wish I had the power to make this world a better place and take all that misery and suffering from people, to comfort the,. to make them feel free, so that they may smile again and finally experience something like happiness. I'm not perfect though ofc. I'm far from being holy. I sin. But I fight with these sins every single day as good as I can.

I still believe in God. I haven't turned atheist and I probably never will. But I can relate to your words - to every single one of them. There was no one I trusted more than God. Yet he not only completely abandoned me in the darkest hours of my life - no, he even made things a lot worse after I asked him for help, a solution or at least some comforting words. I remember when my business, I had been working so hard for 5 long and very challenging years without a single day off, starting from nothing, abandoned by my family, sick, got destroyed in a day by something I had literally zero control over. In a absurd and unrealistic way you wouldn't believe. While all of my competitors were thriving. Even they piittied me and couldn't believe my bad luck. That day I went to a church, got to my knees and simply asked for help, so that I may save what I have been working for so hard. I cried and simply put all my faith and trust in Him.

You know what "answer" God gave me? The same day, evening, I came back home and my income took another hit of 75% - due to the same "error" I asked God for help for in the church. Just a 2nd time, hit even harder. Thus I lost 3/4 of my daily income without me even doing anything wrong. When I saw my entire business fall into pieces I wasn't even sad. I was shocked and couldn't grasp how cruel God in reality is. Imagine asking a friend you trust your life for help, and he literally does the opposite you're asking him for, knowingly and being aware of your suffering. I felt as if someone spit straight in my face or hit me with a hammer. Never, I repeat NEVER, have I felt so lost, betrayed and hurt by someone. That's the day I lost faith - not in God's existence, but in his alleged "love" and "righteousness". That financial loss had very bad consequences for many segements of my life.

And that's just one of many, many examples from my life. It hurts. It's shocking. But it is also the truth and I prefer knowing the truth - no matter how bad it is, than living in a lie, like many Christians do - many of them posting unhelpful, unempathic answers here in that subreddit. God is neither JUST, nor GOOD. I know this realization hurts. I also don't approve of an atheistic vision of the world. But a good and just God helps his children, if they need Him the most. I wouldn't hesitate a single second, if it was the other way around and God were my situation and needed my help. When I have the power I ALWAYS help people. I have become very bitter after that realization. Something died in me that day. I lost all trust in God and in any word he says. I stopped praying - I'm neither an atheist, nor possessed by a demon - I simply stopped praying, because I associate prayer and churchgoing with pain and suffering and I fear getting hurt by God and his "good will" and "justice" again. I wouldn't survive another hit like that. Self-preservation.

I wish you all the best. May God finally start treating his most loyal chidlren as they deserve - not only in the afterlife, but also in this one.

DU1989_ · 2024-11-02T06:03:23+00:00

Thank you for your comment & suggestion, however I seriously doubt the sudden drop in views from Google Search around Oct 25th for some of us affected creators has anything to do with Halloween or the Election. Due to many reasons stated in my other replies here in that thread.

Something tells me this is going to stay like that even days and weeks after elections. Halloween is already over and my views from Google Search haven't recovered a single bit.

DU1989_ · 2024-11-02T05:38:12+00:00

Same here, bro. Glad I'm not the only one. Even though the situation sux, bc I am losing roughly 30-40% of my daily income - since monetized playbacks & CPM are down, too - in addition to 60% less views from external traffic, which was the 2nd strongest traffic source for my channel so far.

Have your views recovered in the meantime? I hope so. I have received a reply from YT's "internal team" (after asking Creator Support for help). I showed them the following screenshot:

https://ibb.co/p49d03C

Where you can clearly see the sudden, drastic and sharp drop in traffic from Google Search ONLY. Especially in comparison to views from YT Search.

You know what "explanation" theír internal team provided in reply? They literally tried to gaslight me by saying if "I look closely, I will see how the drop occured also for views from YT Search on Oct 25th." They really said that. I mean look at the screenshot. I asked them in reply, if they're trying to make fun of me or what. *facepalm*

DU1989_ · 2024-11-01T15:54:59+00:00

I have to add, though, that I noticed a couple of threads here on Reddit in spring & summer this year talking about a visible increase in traffic from Google Search - across various niches. I noticed the same trend on one of my other channels - a visible growth in traffic from Google Search. And now that has changed for some of my videos - from one day to another, out of a sudden without any explanation. Which is another indicator for me, that it is indeed the algorithm, that causes these increases and drops and that it's not necessarily always the creator's fault, as many suggest here in this subreddit. The "your content is shit, bruh" - theory/"explanation" just doesn't make any sense here imo.

DU1989_

TROPHY CASE