Allowing Open-Source extensions to be mentioned on scratch.

9gr

Please hear me out on this one. I don't seem to see that this point can do damage to anybody.

I feel like the extension and userscript policy is too much. Open Source extensions let anybody to look at them so that = easy moderation.

What should there be implemented if this was allowed:

There should be a forum topic in the "Advanced Topics" forum for scratchers to ask the Scratch Team if their extension can be allowed to be said on scratch. Example Guidelines are:

They have to be Open-Sourced on GitHub.

2. Every single part of the extension HAS TO be open sourced.

3. If the GitHub repository of the said extension gets privated/deleted, the user cannot reapply for another extension.

Please consider the above ^.

Prime689

9gr wrote:
There should be a forum topic in the "Advanced Topics" forum for scratchers to ask the Scratch Team if their extension can be allowed to be said on scratch.

What happens if somebody used the extension by looking at the requests?

9gr

Prime689 wrote:
9gr wrote:
There should be a forum topic in the "Advanced Topics" forum for scratchers to ask the Scratch Team if their extension can be allowed to be said on scratch.
What happens if somebody used the extension by looking at the requests?

then there should be an application system instead

Jeffalo

atleast you shouldn't get in trouble for naming an extension. people who would know how to install them are already likely to be installing browser extenstions.

9gr

bump

dhfbei8987

Ok, I'm on the fence here, hear me out.

They are equivalent to extensions, and just because people see the code doesn't make it any different. It is still an extension.

Semi-support.

reallysoftuser

all extensions are banned for a reason

On November 30, 2017, the Scratch Team announced that advertising third-party browser extensions (including userscripts) made for Scratch was disallowed due to the risk that some extensions can collect private data unknowingly.

Last edited by reallysoftuser (March 28, 2021 19:13:15)

Sheep_maker

All extensions can be said to be “open source”; you can use tools like this CRX Viewer to see the source for a browser extension

NanoRook

reallysoftuser wrote:
all extensions are banned for a reason

On November 30, 2017, the Scratch Team announced that advertising third-party browser extensions (including userscripts) made for Scratch was disallowed due to the risk that some extensions can collect private data unknowingly.

Which is a terrible reason, honestly. I have seen exactly zero documented cases of a random Scratch browser theme “collecting private data” (whatever that means) and I've used tons of browser extensions, including ones not at all related to Scratch. Chrome and other browsers that support extensions will tell you what data an extension needs to collect, anyways, and there are far more efficient ways to steal someone's information that don't involve plugins for children's websites. It feels like this rule was made as a random knee-jerk reaction (like when accounts with the name “Kaj” in them were immediately terminated back when that was still a thing.)

Until the Scratch Team makes a dark theme for the website and editor so that Scratch is actually usable at night, I'll keep my Stylish extensions, thank you.

Sheep_maker wrote:
All extensions can be said to be “open source”; you can use tools like this CRX Viewer to see the source for a browser extension

I think the bigger issue here is that it'd take a lot of vetting to determine what's a safe extension to discuss and what's not.

Last edited by NanoRook (March 28, 2021 20:27:35)

ThatExplosivePigeon

I guess this could be useful. How about they must be open source and be verified by the scratch team.

Steve0Greatness

reallysoftuser wrote:
all extensions are banned for a reason
On November 30, 2017, the Scratch Team announced that advertising third-party browser extensions (including userscripts) made for Scratch was disallowed due to the risk that some extensions can collect private data unknowingly.

Which would be an issue, if it weren't for the fact that this is about open source extensions, how do you know that ST(for an example) doesn't collect data on you? Because Scratch is open source:
The Scratch Website, the Scratch 3 Editor

Hmm… this would be nice, as it would let people mention(by name, and maybe even link) the most downloaded Scratch Extension(since it's open source[see their website, no link]). Scratch is a bit harsh on Scratch related extensions rn, it would be nice if they loosened up on them a bit.
It does seem a bit harsh that a person can't apply any of their extensions ever again.

ninjaMAR

Support! This would encourage more people to make extensions. Since these extensions would be open source, people could look at them to see what it does

Rendangbike2

Not the ST that checks, but the developer. ST only moderates, not make stuff for Scratch.
For the suggestion: Just because some extensions are bad, doesn't mean that all is.

Support.

Steve0Greatness

Rendangbike2 wrote:
For the suggestion: Just because some extensions are bad, doesn't mean that all is.

no, the ST is both the devs, and the mods, it's just different teams on the ST.

Rendangbike2

Steve0Greatness wrote:
Rendangbike2 wrote:
For the suggestion: Just because some extensions are bad, doesn't mean that all is.
no, the ST is both the devs, and the mods, it's just different teams on the ST.

So thisandagain isn't a mod but a dev?

Steve0Greatness

Rendangbike2 wrote:
-snip-
So thisandagain isn't a mod but a dev?

IDK, I didn't say that everyone on the st is a dev(that's far from true.)

Sheep_maker

Steve0Greatness wrote:
how do you know that ST(for an example) doesn't collect data on you? Because Scratch is open source:
The Scratch Website, the Scratch 3 Editor

Scratch does collect data from you, besides the obvious data collection upon creating an account, interacting with the website, etc. They use Googl e Ana lytics.

MoreThanEnuff

Support. The extension's source code being publicly available literally means that it CAN'T have malicious code.

bluedragon8633

Steve0Greatness wrote:
reallysoftuser wrote:
all extensions are banned for a reason
On November 30, 2017, the Scratch Team announced that advertising third-party browser extensions (including userscripts) made for Scratch was disallowed due to the risk that some extensions can collect private data unknowingly.
Doesn't Scratch already collect data on you?

9gr

bump

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