Hey everyone, welcome back! I hope you had a restful and productive weekend. It was super gloomy and nasty outside here, complete with a boatload of rain and wind gusts of over 40 mph at times. I thought about trying to get outside for a little fresh air at one point, but then I started thinking about how many layers I’d need to put on to be comfortable. Not surprisingly, the idea went away as fast as it had arrived – especially when I looked out my window to see a few of my younger trees bent over at an almost 90º angle. That was all the convincing I needed. It’s too early in the season to need all those layers!
On the bright side, being stuck inside I was able to put some serious work into a bunch of projects that have been patiently waiting for my attention. Since Mother Nature decided to have her fit for the entire duration of the weekend, I basically stitched for two days straight. So much so (sew?) that my poor little digits literally have holes in them at this point. I know, I know – why didn’t I use some kind of protection or reinforcement, right? Because! No pain, no gain baby. For whatever reason, something about “feeling” every stitch makes it that much more satisfying. That’s not weird or anything… is it?
LOL anyway. Over the weekend I also got a chance to sit down and go through some emails and other messages that have been stacking up in my inbox (they have a tendency to do that by the end of the week) and I noticed that many of you are still having trouble commenting during our LIVE shows like STITCH with Lisa Bongean and Shop Talk. A few months ago Heidi put together an excellent step-by-step tutorial explaining a few reasons why this might be. Thank you to everyone who left feedback on how the post helped them figure it out! I’m super happy you were able to troubleshoot the issue. You know how I love reading your comments so it was a bummer when I found out so many people were having trouble.
I don’t now about you, but it seems like YouTube is making things way more difficult than they really need to be in order to comment. Not sure why they do that but I’m sorry it’s proving to be so hard for some people. Ahh, such is life – but at least you have this handy little guide to help you remedy the problem! That being said, if you missed the original post on how to make it so you can comment during my LIVE broadcasts, no worries. Let’s go through it again together! What makes this such a pain is that there could actually be a few different reasons why you might be having an issues. Here are the top possible reasons that we found…
This seems to be the most common reason viewers aren’t able to make comments on YouTube videos. To be able to comment on YouTube videos, you need to have your own YouTube Channel. Who knew?!? It doesn’t matter if you plan to use your channel to post your own content or not, but establishing a channel is required to be able to comment on videos posted by other creators. This is not the same as an initial YouTube account. You will not be able to comment if you only have a YouTube account, and not a YouTube channel of your own. YouTube is a Google owned company so you’ll be able to create your channel using your already established Google account, such as your Gmail or YouTube (these are just two of many Google account options). If you do not have an existing Google account, you can simply go to YouTube.com, click ‘sign in,’ and select ‘create a Google account.’ Then follow the prompts.
After you created your Google account, you will then be able to create your YouTube Channel. If you’re having trouble creating a Google account you can also hit the link below for more information.
Once you have your Google account created, you are now able to sign in to YouTube and create your channel.
Once you make all the selections required to establish your channel, you should be all set!
If you already have your own channel and are still unable to comment, another reason could be…
YouTube has a, “Restricted Mode“ feature, which can be found in the settings drop-down menu. Its purpose is for parents to have more control over their child’s YouTube environment by restricting content and postings. Comments are disabled in “Restricted Mode.” In other words, if for some reason your account was set or changed to this mode, you will not be able to make comments until it is turned off. Below are instructions on how to do this on most desk-top or lap-top computers. If you are on a smart phone or tablet, it’s going to be a little bit different. Those instructions are posted below.
If you are still experiencing problems turning off “Restricted Mode“ on your computer, you can find additional help by clicking the link below!
In a perfect world the instructions for turning off, “Restricted Mode“ on your phone and tablet would be the same…buuuut since that would just be way too easy, of course they’re not. If you are trying to do this on an Android phone, you will need to follow the instructions posted to the link below.
…and if you’re on an iPhone or iPad you will need to follow yet another set of instructions by clicking the button below. Having fun yet? LOL!
Hopefully you’ve resolved your commenting issue between those two options. If not, we have a few other things to explore. The next possibility is…
Expired Cookies a common problem with an easy fix. This would only apply if you already have both a YouTube account and YouTube channel established, and the cookies in your browser have expired. Sometimes all you need to do is log out of your YouTube account and log back in and that fixes the problem. You can also clear the cache data from your browser. Because there are many browsers it would be hard to post instructions on how to clear cache for all of them. Google has a very helpful article about it that covers the different methods. For instructions on how to clear your cache and cookies, please hit the link below. 
Once you’ve tried clearing your cache and cookies, I recommend restarting your computer. Log back into YouTube and try commenting again. If that doesn’t solve the problem it must be something else! 
If you’re watching on your cell phone, the fix could be as simple as changing the orientation at which you’re holding your phone. On many phones, if you are holding it horizontally the comment section will disappear. In that case, you are only able to see the comment section if you are holding it vertically.
YouTube takes spam and negative comments very seriously. If you have been blocked by YouTube for any comment, on any page, you are unable to comment on YouTube videos. There are a couple of ways you can become “blocked”. YouTube filters language and comments by using algorithms, which is one way you can be flagged and blocked. The other is the result of a large number of people reporting the user, comment, or content. Both YouTube and the content creator can choose to block someone. If this has happened to you in the past, chances are you are still blocked from using the commenting section on YouTube videos. C’mon now, behave!
Hopefully out of these possible scenarios, you found the solution to enabling comments on YouTube. If not, you can always visit YouTube’s ‘Help’ section. It has several great articles on how to get things going with your account. If it’s to the point where you’re totally stuck and you just can’t figure it out, you can even contact them directly!
Alright everyone, class is over for today! LOL! I really hope this helps… Only one way to find out! Go practice your new YouTube skills so that you can get everything straightened out in time to watch Shop Talk with Shelley tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. CST! Tune in to hear all about what’s new, plus exclusive new details on our upcoming Primitive Christmas event! And now, since you’ll be able to comment, I’d love to hear from you! Remember to comment AND hit the like button as well during the show for a chance to win a prize! Click the button below to watch. See you there! ~ Lisa