From Newsgroup: alt.comp.software.firefox

Firefox added, modified original post at the bottom.

In alt.comp.os.windows-11, on Sun, 14 Sep 2025 17:14:00 +0100, Andy
Burns <usenet@andyburns.uk> wrote:

micky wrote:

if you want to
see comments, you have to scroll down 17 screen to get to them,

So far this has only affected my win11 computer and not either of the
win10 ones.

I highly doubt it's the Win11-ness causing that; mine doesn't do it in >Firefox or Edge, I don't think you can even try to "pull-the-wool" over >YouTube's eyes, because there's no distinction in the browser
user-agent: between win10 and win11 ...

One would think I would have learned by now to do more testing before
posting. For several days I coudln't find the comments at all, and I
googled Where are the youtube comments. I found posts from months
before the problem started for me, one that said they are to the right,
but mine were not. I waited several days and looked at a dozen videos;

What I did not do is try Edge or Chrome and it works as it used to in
both of them, even in win11.

So the problem seems to be not for everyone but for me with Firefox. So
I've added firefox to ng list, and for them reposted the original
question, but modified since the question has changed.


Youtube format
It seems Google/Youtube have rearranged youtube's format, so if you want
to see comments, you have to scroll down 17 screen to get to them,

At least in Firefox in win11, though not in Chrome or Edge in win11, or
Firefox in two win10 computers.

One used to have to scroll down about 1 screen to see the comments. The
extra 16 screens in win11 are filled with previews of videos you could
watch, that used to be about 1 square inch in a column on the right, Now
they are 4 inches wide and proportionally as high, and only two fit
on a page horizontally and 1 vertically. I occasionally go back and
forth between the video and the comments and I want the otld format
back!
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.comp.software.firefox

micky wrote:

One used to have to scroll down about 1 screen to see the comments. The extra 16 screens in win11 are filled with previews of videos you could
watch, that used to be about 1 square inch in a column on the right, Now
they are 4 inches wide and proportionally as high, and only two fit
on a page horizontally and 1 vertically.

sounds like you've zoomed-in the page, try zooming out with ctrl-minus,
or ctrl-mousewheel, or reset the zoom with ctrl-zero (not the numpad zero).
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.comp.software.firefox

On 2025/9/14 18:53:3, micky wrote:

Firefox added, modified original post at the bottom.

In alt.comp.os.windows-11, on Sun, 14 Sep 2025 17:14:00 +0100, Andy
Burns <usenet@andyburns.uk> wrote:

micky wrote:

if you want to
see comments, you have to scroll down 17 screen to get to them,

So far this has only affected my win11 computer and not either of the
win10 ones.

I highly doubt it's the Win11-ness causing that; mine doesn't do it in
Firefox or Edge, I don't think you can even try to "pull-the-wool" over
YouTube's eyes, because there's no distinction in the browser
user-agent: between win10 and win11 ...

One would think I would have learned by now to do more testing before posting. For several days I coudln't find the comments at all, and I googled Where are the youtube comments. I found posts from months
before the problem started for me, one that said they are to the right,
but mine were not. I waited several days and looked at a dozen videos;

What I did not do is try Edge or Chrome and it works as it used to in
both of them, even in win11.

So the problem seems to be not for everyone but for me with Firefox. So
I've added firefox to ng list, and for them reposted the original
question, but modified since the question has changed.

Youtube format
It seems Google/Youtube have rearranged youtube's format, so if you want
to see comments, you have to scroll down 17 screen to get to them,

At least in Firefox in win11, though not in Chrome or Edge in win11, or Firefox in two win10 computers.

One used to have to scroll down about 1 screen to see the comments. The extra 16 screens in win11 are filled with previews of videos you could
watch, that used to be about 1 square inch in a column on the right, Now
they are 4 inches wide and proportionally as high, and only two fit
on a page horizontally and 1 vertically. I occasionally go back and
forth between the video and the comments and I want the otld format
back!

I thought I'd ask ChatGPT for you anyway. It didn't solve the problem,
though it _did_ confirm that there _isn't_ a YouTube setting for video
preview size. Here's the conversation - starting with my input: I've
found giving it plenty of detail works best. =========================================================================
A fellow newsgroup user is having a problem with the size of the video
previews on YouTube: he is used to seeing previews of videos other than
the one he is viewing, at a fairly small size on the right of the page,
with the comments to the main video which he is viewing on the left of
the page. He is now seeing the previews presented at a much larger size,
such that he needs to scroll down 17 screens to reach the comments. He
is only seeing this when using Firefox under Windows 11; Chrome and Edge
work in Windows 11 as they used to (small previews), as does Firefox on
his windows 10 computers.
Is there a setting in YouTube for the size of video previews which he
can adjust, and if so how does he get to it?
ChatGPT said:

There isnrCOt a YouTube setting that controls the size of the rCLup-next / recommendedrCY video previews. What your fellow newsgroup user is seeing
is almost certainly a layout issue, not a configurable option.

Here are the key points:

YouTube uses a responsive layout that adapts to screen size, zoom level,
and sometimes experimental features Google is testing.

The rCLgiant sidebar thumbnails pushing comments way downrCY problem usually happens if:

The browser zoom is set above 100% in Firefox.

The window is narrow, so YouTube switches into a rCLmobile-likerCY stacked layout.

A YouTube A/B experiment is active for that user.

An extension or content blocker is interfering with YouTuberCOs CSS.

Things to check / fix

Reset zoom: Press Ctrl+0 in Firefox on YouTube to restore zoom to 100%.

Resize the window: Make sure Firefox is wide enough; narrow windows
trigger the stacked layout.

Try private mode: If the layout looks normal there, an extension is interfering.

Clear cookies / cache for YouTube: YouTube may have cached a test layout.

Check FirefoxrCOs about:config: Make sure layout.css.devPixelsPerPx is set
to -1.0 (default). If itrCOs changed, the whole UI can appear zoomed.

User agent experiments: Sometimes YouTube serves Firefox users a
different layout. Changing the user agent (via an extension) to Chrome
can fix it, but usually the zoom/window width is the culprit.

Efae So, no rCo there isnrCOt a YouTube setting for rCLpreview size.rCY ItrCOs a
Firefox-specific rendering/layout issue. The first thing he should try
is hitting Ctrl+0 to reset zoom and then widening the window.

Do you want me to give him step-by-step instructions for resetting
YouTuberCOs layout in Firefox (cookies, cache, etc.) so he can rule out experiments and extensions?

You said:
Thanks. No, I'll just copy what you've said - although it isn't zoom: he
has already said "is there a way to have smaller previews? (other than
zooming out, it makes the
menus unreadable)", so I think he's onto that option.
Doing this third-hand as it were isn't really practicable; since you
have confirmed there is no such YouTube setting, I'll let him (and the
other newsgroup members) work on it. Other suggestions may already be
being tried, so no need for any more! Thank you.
ChatGPT said:

Got it rCo glad I could confirm that thererCOs no actual YouTube rCLpreview sizerCY setting. Sounds like yourCOve got the right approach: let the group kick ideas around now that you know itrCOs a layout quirk rather than a
toggle.

Happy to help rCo and good luck to your fellow user in getting Firefox
back to behaving!
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

English can be hard. But it can be learned through tough thorough
thought, though
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.comp.software.firefox

In alt.comp.os.windows-10, on Sun, 14 Sep 2025 19:29:16 +0100, Andy
Burns <usenet@andyburns.uk> wrote:

micky wrote:

One used to have to scroll down about 1 screen to see the comments. The
extra 16 screens in win11 are filled with previews of videos you could
watch, that used to be about 1 square inch in a column on the right, Now
they are 4 inches wide and proportionally as high, and only two fit
on a page horizontally and 1 vertically.

sounds like you've zoomed-in the page, try zooming out with ctrl-minus,
or ctrl-mousewheel, or reset the zoom with ctrl-zero (not the numpad zero).

YOU WIN!!!. That was it. Either it copied my zoom from another page
or I zoomed in on comments once (my vision is not that good) and it
remained, and spread to all the other instances of youtube.

In the page I just fixed, it was at 200% and then at 170% it was the
same but at 150% it got back to normal. With the comments on the left,
previews on the right.

It's a good thing, and sometimes a problem maybe, that Firefox retains
zoom levels, even I think for new webpages. I havent' figured out the
rules yet. But starting a new youtube page kept the zoom level up.
Either an entirely new youtube page or maybe only one started from
another.

There is no point to zooming anything on youtube other than comments,
and I had not even looked at the comments on 90% of thee pages with 17
screens of previews. So it definitely copiped the zoom level from
somewhere.

Firefox does have a setting to zoom everything, and I think I have text
set ot 105%.

This means I can take out the uBlock filter I put in, which didn't seem
to do anything. The problem it was meant to solve was clearly not what
I had.

Thank you so much. I've Fedexed a life-size cupie doll with AI
implementation to your email address as a thank you. She will pretend
to be your daughter, and if you are not married, she can pretend to be
your girlfriend.
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.comp.software.firefox

In alt.comp.os.windows-10, on Sun, 14 Sep 2025 19:49:00 +0100, "J. P.
Gilliver" <G6JPG@255soft.uk> wrote:

On 2025/9/14 18:53:3, micky wrote:

Firefox added, modified original post at the bottom.

In alt.comp.os.windows-11, on Sun, 14 Sep 2025 17:14:00 +0100, Andy
Burns <usenet@andyburns.uk> wrote:

micky wrote:

if you want to
see comments, you have to scroll down 17 screen to get to them,

So far this has only affected my win11 computer and not either of the
win10 ones.

I highly doubt it's the Win11-ness causing that; mine doesn't do it in >>> Firefox or Edge, I don't think you can even try to "pull-the-wool" over >>> YouTube's eyes, because there's no distinction in the browser
user-agent: between win10 and win11 ...

One would think I would have learned by now to do more testing before
posting. For several days I coudln't find the comments at all, and I
googled Where are the youtube comments. I found posts from months
before the problem started for me, one that said they are to the right,
but mine were not. I waited several days and looked at a dozen videos;

What I did not do is try Edge or Chrome and it works as it used to in
both of them, even in win11.

So the problem seems to be not for everyone but for me with Firefox. So
I've added firefox to ng list, and for them reposted the original
question, but modified since the question has changed.


Youtube format
It seems Google/Youtube have rearranged youtube's format, so if you want
to see comments, you have to scroll down 17 screen to get to them,

At least in Firefox in win11, though not in Chrome or Edge in win11, or
Firefox in two win10 computers.

One used to have to scroll down about 1 screen to see the comments. The
extra 16 screens in win11 are filled with previews of videos you could
watch, that used to be about 1 square inch in a column on the right, Now
they are 4 inches wide and proportionally as high, and only two fit
on a page horizontally and 1 vertically. I occasionally go back and
forth between the video and the comments and I want the otld format
back!

I thought I'd ask ChatGPT for you anyway. It didn't solve the problem,
though it _did_ confirm that there _isn't_ a YouTube setting for video >preview size. Here's the conversation - starting with my input: I've
found giving it plenty of detail works best. >=========================================================================
A fellow newsgroup user is having a problem with the size of the video >previews on YouTube: he is used to seeing previews of videos other than
the one he is viewing, at a fairly small size on the right of the page,
with the comments to the main video which he is viewing on the left of
the page. He is now seeing the previews presented at a much larger size,
such that he needs to scroll down 17 screens to reach the comments. He
is only seeing this when using Firefox under Windows 11; Chrome and Edge
work in Windows 11 as they used to (small previews), as does Firefox on
his windows 10 computers.
Is there a setting in YouTube for the size of video previews which he
can adjust, and if so how does he get to it?
ChatGPT said:

There isnAt a YouTube setting that controls the size of the oup-next / >recommendedo video previews. What your fellow newsgroup user is seeing
is almost certainly a layout issue, not a configurable option.

Here are the key points:

YouTube uses a responsive layout that adapts to screen size, zoom level,

Thank you for asking it. And you repeated my problem exactly. If Andy
hadn't beaten you by a mere 20 minutes, the reference here to zoom level
might well have been enough for me to find it.

and sometimes experimental features Google is testing.

The ogiant sidebar thumbnails pushing comments way downo problem usually >happens if:

The browser zoom is set above 100% in Firefox.

And again it says it here, and first for the specific symptom, but of
course the first time it's just summarizing this list.

The window is narrow, so YouTube switches into a omobile-likeo stacked >layout.

A YouTube A/B experiment is active for that user.

An extension or content blocker is interfering with YouTubeAs CSS.

Things to check / fix

Reset zoom: Press Ctrl+0 in Firefox on YouTube to restore zoom to 100%.

Resize the window: Make sure Firefox is wide enough; narrow windows
trigger the stacked layout.

Try private mode: If the layout looks normal there, an extension is >interfering.

Clear cookies / cache for YouTube: YouTube may have cached a test layout.

Check FirefoxAs about:config: Make sure layout.css.devPixelsPerPx is set
to -1.0 (default). If itAs changed, the whole UI can appear zoomed.

User agent experiments: Sometimes YouTube serves Firefox users a
different layout. Changing the user agent (via an extension) to Chrome
can fix it, but usually the zoom/window width is the culprit.

? So, no u there isnAt a YouTube setting for opreview size.o ItAs a >Firefox-specific rendering/layout issue. The first thing he should try
is hitting Ctrl+0 to reset zoom and then widening the window.

Do you want me to give him step-by-step instructions for resetting
YouTubeAs layout in Firefox (cookies, cache, etc.) so he can rule out >experiments and extensions?

You said:
Thanks. No, I'll just copy what you've said - although it isn't zoom: he
has already said "is there a way to have smaller previews? (other than >zooming out, it makes the
menus unreadable)", so I think he's onto that option.
Doing this third-hand as it were isn't really practicable; since you
have confirmed there is no such YouTube setting, I'll let him (and the
other newsgroup members) work on it. Other suggestions may already be
being tried, so no need for any more! Thank you.
ChatGPT said:

Got it u glad I could confirm that thereAs no actual YouTube opreview
sizeo setting. Sounds like youAve got the right approach: let the group
kick ideas around now that you know itAs a layout quirk rather than a
toggle.

Happy to help u and good luck to your fellow user in getting Firefox
back to behaving!

I will have to be more diligent in checking zoom. I use it for text and
notice it in text and not graphics. In fact it often doesn't zoom
graphics when I've wanted it too. But I will remember that it can.

Thank you. Unfortunately, because you posted second, I can only send
you a miniature cupie doll with wind-up implementation. Wind her up and
she will say, Let's go shopping for clothes.

That's because I looked it up and afaict most cupie dolls are naked. I
made a bad choice of gifts. I'm going to call Fedex and see if I can
stop delivery until I find something more approprieate for you and Andy.
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.comp.software.firefox

On 2025/9/14 22:24:39, micky wrote:

In alt.comp.os.windows-10, on Sun, 14 Sep 2025 19:29:16 +0100, Andy
Burns <usenet@andyburns.uk> wrote:

[]

sounds like you've zoomed-in the page, try zooming out with ctrl-minus,
or ctrl-mousewheel, or reset the zoom with ctrl-zero (not the numpad zero).

YOU WIN!!!. That was it. Either it copied my zoom from another page
or I zoomed in on comments once (my vision is not that good) and it
remained, and spread to all the other instances of youtube.

[]
If I understood what ChatGPT was telling me, it's not zooming itself
that causes YouTube to change how it behaves, but the shape it
perceives: if it thinks you are seeing it through a tall thin interface,
it switches to a presentation more suited to a fobile moan.
Of course, increasing the zoom level - without increasing the window
width - will have the _effect_ of making how you're seeing it seem
narrow, so the effect is the same - though it will happen at different
zoom levels depending on the window width (or screen width if you're maximised).
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.comp.software.firefox

J. P. Gilliver wrote:

If I understood what ChatGPT was telling me, it's not zooming itself
that causes YouTube to change how it behaves, but the shape it
perceives: if it thinks you are seeing it through a tall thin interface,
it switches to a presentation more suited to a fobile moan.

Of course, increasing the zoom level - without increasing the window
width - will have theeffect of making how you're seeing it seem
narrow, so the effect is the same - though it will happen at different
zoom levels depending on the window width (or screen width if you're maximised).

Yes, the style sheets can alter the appearance of the page depending on various conditions, such as width, you can play with this in Responsive
Design Mode (ctrl+shift+M)

e.g. for YouTube, as you make the "frame" narrower, the search bar
reduces to a search icon, the voice search icon disappears, the video thumbnails move from the right column to to being below the main video
and get larger ...
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.comp.software.firefox

It turns out it was my fault after all.

Andy got it right about zoom level, but then I blamed Firefox for
copying zoom levels from other tabs. It does that but I haven't figured
out the rules yet.

But I see that in this case I did it directly. My eyes are not as good
as before maybe, and I have the laptop farther away sometimes, and so to
see them well, I zoom on the youtube comments, and sure enough, a couple
days ago, I did it again. I zoomed so much that the comments were below
17 pages of video suggestions. I think I didn't notice this when I
first did it because I didn't scroll up a page at a time. Must have
gone straight to the top, or left that tab and didn't come back.

So thank you all for your help. And again to Andy for getting it right.

In alt.comp.software.firefox, on Sun, 14 Sep 2025 13:53:03 -0400, micky <NONONOmisc07@fmguy.com> wrote:

Firefox added, modified original post at the bottom.

In alt.comp.os.windows-11, on Sun, 14 Sep 2025 17:14:00 +0100, Andy
Burns <usenet@andyburns.uk> wrote:

micky wrote:

if you want to
see comments, you have to scroll down 17 screen to get to them,

So far this has only affected my win11 computer and not either of the
win10 ones.

I highly doubt it's the Win11-ness causing that; mine doesn't do it in >>Firefox or Edge, I don't think you can even try to "pull-the-wool" over >>YouTube's eyes, because there's no distinction in the browser
user-agent: between win10 and win11 ...

One would think I would have learned by now to do more testing before >posting. For several days I coudln't find the comments at all, and I >googled Where are the youtube comments. I found posts from months
before the problem started for me, one that said they are to the right,
but mine were not. I waited several days and looked at a dozen videos;

What I did not do is try Edge or Chrome and it works as it used to in
both of them, even in win11.

So the problem seems to be not for everyone but for me with Firefox. So
I've added firefox to ng list, and for them reposted the original
question, but modified since the question has changed.

Youtube format
It seems Google/Youtube have rearranged youtube's format, so if you want
to see comments, you have to scroll down 17 screen to get to them,

At least in Firefox in win11, though not in Chrome or Edge in win11, or >Firefox in two win10 computers.

One used to have to scroll down about 1 screen to see the comments. The >extra 16 screens in win11 are filled with previews of videos you could
watch, that used to be about 1 square inch in a column on the right, Now
they are 4 inches wide and proportionally as high, and only two fit
on a page horizontally and 1 vertically. I occasionally go back and
forth between the video and the comments and I want the otld format
back!

--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.comp.software.firefox

On Thu, 02 Oct 2025 06:58:11 -0400, micky wrote:

Andy got it right about zoom level, but then I blamed Firefox for
copying zoom levels from other tabs. It does that but I haven't figured
out the rules yet.

CTRL-0 should reset the zoom level to 100%.
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.comp.software.firefox

In alt.comp.os.windows-10, on Fri, 3 Oct 2025 00:20:52 -0000 (UTC),
Lawrence D|Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:

On Thu, 02 Oct 2025 06:58:11 -0400, micky wrote:

Andy got it right about zoom level, but then I blamed Firefox for
copying zoom levels from other tabs. It does that but I haven't figured
out the rules yet.

CTRL-0 should reset the zoom level to 100%.

Ah, yes. Good.
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2