YouTube adds Q&A option for Live Stream broadcasts

Google has announced a major enhancement to its YouTube service, with users who watch Live Stream broadcasts now able to participate in Q&A sessions where they can catch up with their favourite stars. What’s more, questions asked in the video chat system are taken directly to Live Stream and can be watched in real time by other viewers.

Q&A sessions will now be a much more exciting way for YouTube creators and their followers to interact and chat in real time. The option available for Live Stream and Premiere broadcasts will only be activated by the host of the channel in question, who will also be responsible for moderation and will be able to interrupt users who abuse this option at any time.

Google is proposing the new feature as a way for YouTube creators to grow their managed channels faster, allowing fans to communicate both directly with their favorite stars and with each other by participating in discussions on the topic being discussed in that broadcast.

Q&A sessions complement the Live Polls option, increasing the arsenal of tools YouTube creators can call upon.

Very similar to live chat sessions, Q&A sessions are administered according to the same rules, with YouTube creators able to define lists of forbidden words and stop video responses for verification. Other users will also be able to contribute by reporting answers they find inappropriate. YouTube authors will also be able to select helpers for the moderation effort.

Since Q&A sessions can become extremely crowded, especially in Live Stream sessions with many viewers, YouTube creators will be able to sort the questions received in chronological order, subject to not being able to answer all of them in time. Thus, after 200 questions received, the system will automatically delete unanswered questions.