My main point was it is probably about the money. Afterall, streaming is a business and a difference between what site pays versus the other can be huge.
I then added about the shadiness, agreeing with what you wrote in the OP that “people dislike Kick saying it is less ethical.” I will expand upon that idea since you are accusing me of having an “proletarian” agenda. The “shady” part is based on the founder’s background in online gambling (stake.com), particularly crypto gambling, as ethically questionable due to potential for addiction, financial ruin, and regulatory grey areas. Also, the purpose of Kick, especially in the early days, was suspected to be a way to funnel traffic to Stake.com.
Even more, with the shadiness, Kick’s stated goal is “creator-friendly” moderation and avoiding “cancel culture,” the effect of their looser policies has been that controversial streamers (especially those who lean right or have been associated with right-wing talking points) find a more welcoming home there. This leads to the “right-wing coded” perception.
Streamers weigh both the financial elements and the ethical environment when choosing a platform. For many, Kick’s controversies make it more complex.
This is so true. I want to like Odysee but every other video is “anti-woke” and alt-right bullshit. It also has some weird stuff related to using a credit card in order to comment when you first signup. It has its own currency, which I am OK with people making money, but seems to be too big of a focus. I have never tried Rumble but it sounds like I don’t want to if its just a worse Odysee. With that said, I still prefer to watch a few of my favorite YouTube creators on Odysee, like Mental Outlaw and Oregon Pacifist.
I really like PeerTube and it is probably the best YouTube alternative after you weigh all the pros and cons. More content creators need to move to PeerTube but there are already some really good ones, especially if you like technology related videos. Some of my favorite creators on PeerTube are Veronica Explains, Gardiner Bryant, and The Linux Experiment. PeerTube also needs a better search and directory systems than the current SepiaSearch, which is often out of date.
Also, if you want to watch live-streaming stuff, like an alternative to Youtube live or Twitch, there is Owncast. The problem with Owncast, though, is there are very few people actually using it. Depending on the time of day, you’ll have people streaming games or tech related stuff (like coding). You can see some of those (who wish to be listed) streaming at any given time at https://directory.owncast.online/. You’ll often see more people live on Peertube than Owncast.
Invidious is fine but it is so hit-or-miss whether you’ll be able to use it, depending on the instance. What I’ve been experimenting with lately, as I still watch a lot of YouTube, is adding all of my YouTube subscriptions (I’ve narrowed them down to about 250) to my RSS reader and loading the ones I want to watch into Invidious. Sometimes, though, it is too frustrating when Invidious instances just don’t work.