How to give helpful suggestions about Scratch: Scratch Design Goals

3sal2

Lightnin wrote:
While you may want an atomic lambda 3d recursive sine function so you can use Scratch to calculate pi to 96 trillion digits, that may not be possible given the resources and design goals of Scratch.

Of course, your system may not be able to support this. Nobody has 87 TB of space.

Don't even get me started about exactly computing Japan's area. And the next thing you know, your Minecraft complete-world generator might crash your system or create a black hole.

GGGoga

Hi!
I've got a few ideas, which can do Scratch better.
At first, can you add private variables to custom blocks? Now custom blocks can only fix clutter in script. But, if I need variable in custom block, for example, var i:

define 
set [i v] to [ 0 ]
repeat (length of [@list v])

    
change [i v] by (1)
if  <(item (i) of [@list  v]) = [1 ]>then

replace item (i) of [@otherlist  v] with [2 ]

    
end

end

I have to create variable i, and then I have very, very many variables.
In Paskal, custom blocks = procedures:

procedure SumOfSqrts(var a:real;k:integer);
var i:integer;
begin
a:=0;
for i:=0 to k do
begin
a:=a+sqrt(i);
end;
end;

I hope you understand me.

At second, there is two very usefol blocks:

go to front

and

go back () layers

But they don't give us real freedom, becouse block “go to front” moves all other sprites on down layers. Could you add block “go to layer ()” and variable “layer”?

Thanks.

Sollybunny

ask [command] and wait

add (answer) to [  vcommand]

i want that to work

Last edited by Sollybunny (April 18, 2015 12:34:44)

Happypug12

Lightnin wrote:
By giving feedback and suggestions, you're participating in the Scratch design process with the Scratch Team. So it's important that we give you some background about how we think about Scratch, so you know where we're coming from.

What are the Design Goals of Scratch?

If Scratch was a room, it would have a low floor, wide walls, and a high ceiling.

* Low floor: It should be easy to climb in and get started with Scratch - even for Scratchers who have no experience programming.

* Wide walls: Scratchers should be able to make all kinds of things with Scratch - not just animations and games, but news programs, science experiments - things we can't even imagine.

* High Ceiling: Even though it's easy for someone who is new to programming to get started with Scratch, it should still be possible to make complex stuff.

Because we have limited time and resources, new developments that make the program easier and more inviting for newcomers are a higher priority than adding advanced programming features. (Thankfully there are other graphical programming languages that are continuing to add powerful advanced features.)

Who are we designing Scratch for?

We're designing Scratch for girls, boys, experienced users, educators, and especially people with very little or no experience programming. We take feedback from all these people – through meetings, workshops, emails, and these forums – when designing Scratch.

What's the best way to give feedback / suggestions?

Here are few pointers that will help your idea / feedback / suggestion get heard:

* Take into account the design goals described above. While you may want an atomic lambda 3d recursive sine function so you can use Scratch to calculate pi to 96 trillion digits, that may not be possible given the resources and design goals of Scratch. Luckily, there are better tools for that kind of thing out there.

* Be respectful and constructive. We know we're not perfect; we make plenty of mistakes and we're happy to hear when you think you've identified one and have suggestions for improvements. But it's never helpful to give rude or unconstructive feedback: to us, or to any member of the Scratch community. That's not how we roll.

* Make sure your posts (and the subjects of your threads) are written clearly and succinctly. Take the time to illustrate points and suggestions with mockups, so viewers can get a clear picture of the issue at a glance. Try not to assume that something is obvious to us, or to anyone else.

Thanks for reading this, and thanks for your feedback and suggestions!

Hi Scratch Team!
Although this is not a critical suggestion, it would be nice if you added this to Scratch.
I was thinking about how we have Featured Projects, and how the people who made them get many, many, follows. But there are some amazing Scratchers out there who no one knows about. Maybe we could have Featured Scratchers. There could be 5 Featured Scratchers, Featured for 1 - 2 days, and when their time for being Featured ends, they get to pick the next Featured Scratcher. Thank you for reading this!

Knocktowl

My suggestion is to show the discussions someone's following on there profile. Other than that, I love Scratch!

GirlyG

Can you do something where it shows whether a user is online and what they are doing. For example: GirlyG IS MAKING A PROJECT or GirlyG IS OFFLINE

Paddle2See

Hey folks! Rather than posting your ideas here, where nobody is looking, please make a separate topic in Suggestions for each of your ideas. Also, please check around for existing topics that might already cover your idea (use the Search bar) and read the other sticky topics at the top of the forum section. Thanks!

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