VideoSift is a unique online community catalogs and discusses video on the Internet.

Just as you wouldn't expect to walk into a village on the other side of the globe and know what's going on, understanding the culture and language of VideoSift can be challenging at first.

First and foremost, VideoSift is a community. It has grown organically over time. It is not a Silicon Valley start-up or Yahoo's latest thing-a-ma-bob. Sometimes the edges are a bit rough. "The Sift", as it's affectionately known, is growing organically at the whim of its creators and passionate members.

1. Customize your profile.

   

   Avatars are shown along side your comments and in your profile. They're especially big and visible on VideoSift and thus receive a lot of attention. It's a good way to be recognized and become part of the community. You can upload an avatar photo from your computer, or link to a picture on the web. Go to your "account" page (upper right hand corner of this page) and then "Profile". Use the form to upload or link to a photo on the net.

   

   You can use pictures from photo sharing websites like Flickr or Photobucket as long as you have permission to copy the image. From your profile page you can also enter details about yourself to let other Sifters know a little bit about who you are.

   
   
   
2. Vote and comment.

   

   We're trying to break free from the yoke of passive TV-style viewing, comrade Sifter. If you have something to say, even if it's just a kudos to the submitter or video creator, drop a comment in the post. If you watch a video and like it, make sure you up-vote it. Other Sifters will see your up-votes and learn the kinds of posts you like.

   
   
   
3. Create some Playlists.

   

   If you are interested in a particular topic that you see on VideoSift, create a playlist and start adding videos that fit that category. To create a playlist or add to your existing playlist, select the "playlists" link in the video summary area.

   
   
   
4. Get to know some Sifters.

   Clicking on a Sifter name for a video post will bring up a Sifter's profile page. From here you can leave a comment for the member.

   

   Likewise by selecting profile reply on a comment, you can reply to a Sifter on their profile.

   If the comment is private and you don't want other members to view it, make sure the "private" box is ticked before leaving your comment.

   
   
   
5. Submit your first video.

   Not to be done lightly and usually not until you've been around for a while, the most important rule when submitting a video is to not submit a self-link. A self-link means anything you created or were associated with the production of -OR- even just uploaded to an accepted video host. If you break this rule, your account will be banned. That means that it will be disabled and you will not be able to login to VideoSift anymore. Please try and avoid violating the posting guidelines only to complain about our policies afterward via email. This is considered bad form and we'll probably post your mail as a "Ban Mail" for everyone to read.

   To submit your first video, find a video that you like on one of the many video hosts that VideoSift accepts. You will need to copy the "embed code" from the host site, which is the code to make the video display on VideoSift. Each video host has a different way of letting you copy the embed code. For instructions on how to do it from all of the accepted host sites, see here.

   

   Once you have copied the embed code, come back to VideoSift and select "submit a video" from the top menu. From the submit form, you can paste the embed code that you copied. Before filling out anything else, select the "validate embed code" button. This will check to see if the exact same embed code has already been submitted to VideoSift. If it has, you will not be allowed to continue. you can however, go off to vote and comment on the already submitted video. You've just found someone who likes the same stuff you do.

   If the video is not an exact duplicate, you can continue to fill in the submit form. Give your post some tags (keywords) a title and description. You can also place the video in channels that that are appropriate for the topic.

   Your video might still be a duplicate. After selecting "continue" from the bottom of the form, a list of similar videos will be displayed. If your video comes up on this page, it's time to abandon the submit process as the video is already live on the site. However, if a duplicate is not found, you are free to submit your first VideoSift post!

   After submission, your post goes to the Unsifted queue area for the consideration of other sifters. If your post receives 10 votes within a few days, it will be published to the front page. If 10 votes are not received, your post will be automatically discarded. Don't be disappointed if your submission doesn't make it out. Only a fraction of submissions actually make it to the front page; that's just the way it works. For your next submission you might want to try a more descriptive title, or leave some comments in the post that provide more information, or spur discussion.

   There's a lot more to VideoSift, for example invocations, star levels, the Dead Pool, channels and more, but this should be enough to get you on your way as a Sifter.

   If you have any problems or questions, look in the FAQ. If this doesn't help, check out our member discussion area Sift Talk. A Sift Talk post does not have the same restrictions as a video post; you can freely post questions, suggestions or problems here as long as they are related to VideoSift or online video in general.

Welcome to The Sift!