The Litter Tray

Tutorial

Review your first held comment

The question the tray asks first, the answer that goes on the record, and the one-way door that puts a comment back.

The pictures are illustrations of the product's screens. The step diagrams below show the surrounding flow.

An illustration of Needs review, where questions wait for your answer.
An illustration of the comment detail screen, with context and the record beside the decision.
  1. Step one

    A question, not a hold

    A new tray starts with everything set to Test: when a rule believes a comment should be held, it asks you and waits. The comment stays public on YouTube while it waits, and nothing changes there until you say yes. Questions wait on the Needs review tab, under the heading Waiting for your decision.

  2. Step two

    Read the card

    One card carries what the decision needs: the comment, who wrote it and where they stand with you, the rule that matched, the categories it saw, how sure it was, and a one-line reason. If the comment has replies, the card warns you before you decide, because YouTube hides the whole thread when a parent is held, and those repliers did nothing.

  3. Step three

    Hold it, or keep it on YouTube

    Choose Hold on YouTube to answer yes: the tray requests the hold and shows whether YouTube confirmed it. Choose Keep on YouTube to answer no: nothing is sent. Your answer helps you judge whether a category is ready for Auto. It does not retrain the AI.

  4. Step four

    Where the hold lands

    A confirmed hold sits on the LitterTray Held tab: the tool's own holds only, kept apart from YouTube's own queue, which has a tab of its own. Each held card says whether the hold was automatic or placed by hand, and lists any replies hidden with it, each one a link, so you can read what that person actually said.

  5. Step five

    Seen, and kept held

    Most holds need nothing more than your eyes. Mark as seen and keep held takes the comment off the attention list; it stays held on YouTube and stays on the record. The tab counts attention owed, not history.

  6. Step six

    Put it back on YouTube

    The other door is the one-way one, and it belongs to the owner alone. Put it back on YouTube leads to a confirmation page rather than straight to the write: it shows the comment and names the consequence. Putting it back publishes the comment for everyone again and is permanent; a put-back comment can never be held again. Hidden replies come back with it. The restore is recorded as your decision to allow that comment. While the write is on its way, the card says so instead of offering the button twice.