I think the overwhelming majority of people on HN (and possibly elsewhere) would prefer if they could just have a homepage that was just reverse chronological ordered videos from their subscriptions, with a separate "Discover" tab, with no interference from their algorithm.
This thread might prove an excellent case study for YouTube. I was subscribed to all of the channels I listed and a few more along the same lines; my recommendations have never shown me videos from some of the other channels people have posted in this thread or in reply to my own post. If you want a good recommendations system, this thread has been better than YouTube's algorithm for discoverability on these kinds of topics.
I can't imagine anyone is actually happy with how YouTube works on this front.
This thread might prove an excellent case study for YouTube. I was subscribed to all of the channels I listed and a few more along the same lines; my recommendations have never shown me videos from some of the other channels people have posted in this thread or in reply to my own post. If you want a good recommendations system, this thread has been better than YouTube's algorithm for discoverability on these kinds of topics.
I can't imagine anyone is actually happy with how YouTube works on this front.