Youtube has revolutionized streaming media on the web and made sharing video something that the general public at large could never have done on such a large scale before.

Why then does it suck so bad? It's usability is simply appalling. Here's my top 5 reasons why Youtube sucks and they should get their act together.

1. There's no flash player control other than play and pause! When it comes to flash players Youtube is trailing way behind any other streaming media site you care to mention. Not only is there a lack of fast forward and rewind, but you can't click on any point in the time line and expect it to play from that point, it jumps back to a predetermined point! In actuality, this is a very poor excuse for a flash movie player.

2. Layout. The layout is so bad it is hard to believe. The five basic items of information you want is (a) Summary (2) Views (3) Date uploaded (4) Uploaded by (5) rating. But they are not grouped together, some is under the video player, and some to the side. Worse still, the Summary Information is a further click away. This information should be length restricted and shown at the side without the need to click again.

3. Private Messaging. This feature is bust, every time I send a PM I get a message saying that there was an error, leaving me unsure whether the message got though or not. Maybe this is just me, I doubt it though.

4. Sound. Why is the sound out of synch on so many of the videos? Is it the source that's been poorly encoded, or is it Youtube's encoding that's doing it? Youtube is the only site I see this issue on, but without further testing the jury os out on this one admittedly.

5. Video quality. Although steps are being made to improve the quality, the resolution stays the same, that tiny window really isn't up to todays broadband capabilities. The option of a larger viewing area with better quality playback is long overdue.