Note, i'm in firefox-esr(I am also not signed in in case it was not clear). if it makes any difference i'm on starlink however i don't think this is the problem, and i'm not going to test log-in since i don't have an google account at my starlink workstation.
I did test the problem in pale moon and basilisk(current versions), and i couldn't get past the youtube search function which loaded a mangled page and freezes the browser(same for both browsers). should i test seamonkey?
Perhaps i just need need to update to the latest firefox? I have been getting warning for awhile now telling me to update my browser to continue watching youtube. i guess they finally pulled the plug. Still, it kinda bugs me that the current versions of pale moon and the like don't seem to be supported by youtube anymore.
...In happy news, it looks like dalek.zone is back up and running today(no longer 502)!
I wish more people would use alt video platforms(like peertube).
Any suggestions on other places to consume video content(preferably long-form and somewhat intellectual)?
p.s. it looks like other people have had similar problems recently: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46829632