Okay, recently... Google (they still own Youtube, right?) made probably the dumbest change they have ever done... They completely butchered the comment notifications and how they work in general. Before this change, the "bell" on the top right corner will have a number on it based on the number of threads that has been commented on since you've comment on it. All comments on the same thread will be stacked as a single one, and when you click on it. It brings up that comment thread in it's own little menu on the side, allowing you still be on the same page.

From there, you can view all new comments on that thread, make a reply if you want, and then continue to the next thread...

Now? Every single comment is counted as it's own thing, causing a huge list of comments appearing when you bring down the menu, instead of threads, AND on top of that... When you attempt to click to view the comment, it LITERALLY loads the video's page and bring you down to the comment section, though putting said comment thread as highlighted but it still brings you to a whole new page instead of keeping the menu approach... So not only they got rid of the organization of the comments but also they got rid of the very easy way of viewing them, making viewing comments a PAIN in the behind now...

Is there a new settings somewhere to change this back? If not, can I send a very negative message to Youtube to let them know how stupid this decision was? It is really annoying...

Yes, that was a pointless change; not one of Google's biggest [censored]-ups, but annoying nevertheless.

However, since Google Plus syncs with YouTube, you will still be able to view the old notification menu through the Google homepage itself.

Oh man, that sounds like a pain. Yeah, the new notification system is definitely a step backwards.