1. An account on YouTube allows users to create playlists, upload and edit videos, and have their own channel. It provides more functionality than just viewing videos.
2. There are alternatives to YouTube for uploading, viewing, and editing videos such as Screencast.com, SafeShare.TV, and classroom wikis. Software like YouTube Video Editor and Movie Maker allow offline editing.
3. Videos on YouTube can be viewed directly on the site, on alternative sites like Quietube that remove advertisements, or downloaded from YouTube or using third party sites then viewed locally.