Directory
Section 0: Temporary Questions
Section 1: The Forums
Section 2: The Project Editor
Section 3: Moderation
Section 4: “Myths” and History of Scratch
Section 5: The Scratch Website

Section 0: Temporary Topics
Questions in this section will come and go, and might not become a permanent part of the list.

Discussing Political Topics in Scratch
Scratch welcomes people of all ages, races, ethnicities, religions, abilities, sexual orientations, and gender identities. In order to keep the site welcoming to those users and make them feel comfortable, the ST removes any sort of comment that could offend these people. The ST respects your opinion, and you are welcome here, but the ST would prefer if you not share your opinion if it could offend someone. The ST does not and will not force their beliefs upon you, they just want to help keep the site welcoming to new scratchers.

Note: If your opinion doesn't line up with the ST's exactly, you can still respectfully express it if you don't actively go after people for those beliefs.

Section 1: The Forums

Can you reopen my forum topic?
If you accidentally closed a topic, report the first post of the topic asking for it to be reopened. If a scratch team member closed it, it's probably for a good reason.

How do I edit my post?
If you are a New Scratcher, you have until you leave the page to edit your post. You can do so by clicking the edit button next to the report and quote buttons.
If you're a scratcher, the button is there permanently for all posts you make on any topic (as long as the topic isn’t closed).

How do I close a topic?
You can do so by waiting 24 hours and then clicking the grey button that says “Close Topic” at the bottom. If you want to close it sooner, report the first post of the topic asking for it to be closed.

How do I make a topic?
Go to the forum that is relevant to your topic, then at the top should be a blue button saying “New Topic”. Click that and now you can make your topic.
What is necroposting?
Necroposting is when a user comments on an old, sometimes resolved, topic without adding to the conversation.

How do I edit my signature?
Go to:

 scratch.mit.edu/discuss/settings/*YOUR USERNAME*/ 

Or click the link at the bottom of the discussion home page

What is bumping a topic?
Bumping a topic is when a user posts on their topic normally because of their question not being met or just because the topic is inactive. The rule to bumping, however, is, “A user may bump any topic they want, even if it's not theirs. Though it must not be resolved, old, or replaced. The topic may also only be bumped once every 24 hours or when it reaches page 2, where most topics are overlooked.”

What is block spamming?
Blockspamming is when users use the scratch blocks plugin to create long, unneeded, and completely off-topic scripts. However, using the block plugin to display an on-topic message is NOT spam, according to this post. (Thanks to @Col_Cat228 for the explanation)

How do I suggest stuff for scratch?
First off, paste the following text in your search browser (preferably a chrome browser):

 site:scratch.mit.edu/discuss

Now put a space in between and put your suggestion. If no forum topic about your suggestion has been made, you may make a new topic in the Suggestions forum, which is right under the QAS Forum on the Homepage. If it is taken, then you may *CONSTRUCTIVELY* contribute to the conversation

What is the 120/60-second rule?
This is a phrase referring to how New Scratchers have to wait 120 seconds between posts on the forums, and how Scratchers only have to wait for 60.

What's a sticky?
A sticky is a topic containing useful information that new forumers may find helpful. These topics are pinned to the top of the first page as its the first thing scratchers will see.

I need coding help
Go here for coding help

I found a bug in Scratch (that isn't a bug with my own coding)
Go here to report bugs in Scratch (please make sure that the bug wasn't caused by your own coding and is actually a real bug)

Section 2: The Project Editor

Where do I add extensions?
Below the “my blocks” tab in the editor, you will find the button that lets you add extensions

Why isn't my project saving?
Probably because you have a large file in your project (Music files, images, etc..) If it's not that, report it in the bugs and glitches forum

Section 3: Moderation

Can you unban _____?
For privacy reasons, only the owner of the account is given details on their ban, and the owner should take action if they are banned. If you are the owner of the account, you may useContact Us to submit an appeal.

Can you ban _____ for _____?
Please either report minor offenses with the report button beside each comment. If it is major (Impersonation, large amounts of harassment, etc.) Use Contact Us

Somebody is copying my projects and isn’t changing anything about them
First, start by reporting the users copied projects. If the user doesn't stop, you may email scratch here.

False Reporting/Mass Reporting
The phrase “I was false reported!” is often used to cover up the fact you broke a rule. The ST checks everything about the account before filing a report, so please don't spam the forums because you broke a rule.

Mass Reporting is a real thing, however, as the ST’s moderation system automatically takes down projects if there is a lot of reports in a short time, to prevent anything bad from being spread. If the mass reports are false, however, the users doing the mass reporting will be moderated in some way.

Why do my numbers turn into x's when I post?
Scratch blocks long strings of numbers to prevent users from giving out phone numbers and other personal info.

Why can’t I link to google docs?
Google Docs can be used to share information and create private chat rooms, which is strictly banned on Scratch.

Why isn't the word “Discord” allowed?
Users could share discord servers, which has private messaging, and private messaging is not safe for Scratch.

Section 4: “Myths/History” of Scratch

Who founded scratch?
Mitchel Resnick is believed to be the founder, or at least one of the founders, of scratch.

How did scratch get its name?
Mitchel Resnick, the “founder of Scratch”, said himself that scratch referred to how when DJs mix the music, they scratch it. This is also referring to how users can remix projects.

What is the Scratch Wiki?
The Scratch Wiki is a Wiki made for Scratchers by Scratchers. It is a useful place that can teach you all you need to know about Scratch, and to this day is still being updated to maintain accuracy and preserve history.

Why can't I use cloud variables?
You must be a Scratcher to use cloud data if it doesn't work then, report it here

How do I get a featured studio/project?
To get a featured studio, go to this forum topic and apply for a featured studio
To get a featured project, go to this studio and suggest a project to be picked, though you may not suggest your own project.
Note: Not every one that submits will get featured.

Who is “kaj”?
Kaj was a scratcher who threatened to hack the website. Note the fact he threatened to hack, but whether he did or not is unconfirmed. Nowadays the name is generally used as a meme, such as “Follow this studio or else Kaj will hack your account”. But if you see anyone trying to spread false info about Kaj, or is falling for it, please ask them to stop. A more detailed description of the Kaj story can be found here

When will 4.0 come out?
3.0 was released very recently as of now. The Scratch Team is still trying to improve 3.0 and fix the bugs and glitches it has. As such, unless something major happens like HTML stops working, 4.0 will not be released anytime soon.

Who is gdpr000001?
GDPR is a set of European laws that gives users the ability to wipe every bit of data about them on any website. What scratch does when a user want's to wipe their data is they set the username to GDPRXXXXXX, and resets the birth date and country of the user.

How do accounts with no projects and no activity get tons of followers?
Most of those accounts are called namesnipes, where a user takes a common word used in a language, or a popular topic, and sets their username to that word/topic. These accounts are commonly never used. Users on Scratch like to follow these accounts to either;

Make a sentence using their following tab

Trick their followers in the “What's Happening” section

Or they just follow them because simply they have a rare name.

Section 5: The Scratch Website

How do I become a Scratcher?
To get the Scratcher rank, your account must be at least 2 weeks old, have some shared projects, and be active in the community. Being active in the community means commenting on some people’s profiles, viewing some projects, or joining some studios. Please note that you won’t get the invitation to become a Scratcher as soon as you hit 2 weeks, it can take up to a month, if you meet the criteria of course.

How do I join the Scratch Team?
You must be 18 or older as it is a paying job. The most common listing is Community Moderator, as you can work even if you don't live near the Scratch HQ. The other jobs, however, are HQstrictly. To apply, go here.

How do I get views/popular?
First off, views don’t matter, as Scratch is for education and fun, but if you still want to be famous to a bunch of 9-year-olds, try putting your projects in “Add All Studios” or advertise your project here

What are the rules on FNAF projects?
FNAF projects are all automatically marked NFE, to play it safe.

You may not make any FNAF project that contains jumpscares, as even with warnings, a child may not know what they are getting into.

You can make games featuring FNAF characters, as long as there are no jumpscares, but they will still be marked NFE to again, play it safe.



Can I Change My Username?

Za-Chary wrote:

8.1 Changing usernames
If a user could change their username (or even set a certain “nickname”), this could be very confusing for the Scratch community, especially for those following that user. In addition, this would make moderation of the website more difficult because it would be harder for the Scratch Team to keep an eye on what a user may be doing. The Scratch Team has allowed username changes only on very rare occasions, such as if the username contained inappropriate content or personal information. Generally, the Scratch Team does not change usernames on request (including for reasons such as “I do not like my current username anymore”).

However, because of the way that usernames are stored on the server, changing the cases of letters in your username (for example, changing @Za-Chary to @ZA-CHARY) is NOT rejected; you can discuss it on this topic

Why doesn't my project show in the search tab?
Either your project is new or has been marked NFE (Not For Everyone), doesn't have many views or was made very recently.

What does NFE mean?
It means that the project had themes or relates to things that some Scratchers could feel uncomfortable by, but isn't bad enough to issue a project takedown. These projects do not show up in Search Results. (Relating to FNAF, Blood, Guns, and Violence are some things that can NFE a project)

Lukesstitch wrote:

It's great that you want to help but we don't need another FAQ list now.

Lukesstitch wrote:

It's great that you want to help but we don't need another FAQ list now.

neeb132 wrote:

I think if this will replace the current FAQ it should have every question on the old one as well as the ones you have rn

Za-Chary wrote:

-snip-

• Could you remove “2020” from the name? Idk why but it sounds kinda of dishonest in my opinion because 2020 will not stay around forever. If it's really important try calling it “UPDATED”.
  
• Also, would it be possible to have each of the questions' colors have less contrast? Some draw more attention than others and none too often I get sidetracked pretty easily. At the very least could you bold them?
  

ResExsention wrote:

-snip-

ThatOneWeirdDude wrote:

I addded a question called:

“ Are Me and the ⬛⬛⬛ Projects Allowed”

Just wanna know if I need to remove it or if its fine.
(Btw it's censored)

Paddle2See wrote:

ThatOneWeirdDude wrote:

I addded a question called:

“ Are Me and the ⬛⬛⬛ Projects Allowed”

Just wanna know if I need to remove it or if its fine.
(Btw it's censored)

If it's censored, it's probably not okay to share it on the site. Keeping it unshared is fine, I would think.