Before I get into this, yes, I know it may seem suspicious or may sound dumb, but I wanna at least help people to be better on Scratch. I mean, I have seen SO MANY people on the community getting banned for ridiculous/obvious reasons. So, I can give you tips of how to prevent the risk of a ban.

How exactly?

The answer is simple: Just follow the community guidelines. That is the main reason why you have getting a projects removed, mean/weird comments and whatnot. If you think something isn’t fair, then contact the Scratch Team in a friendly tone.

Is Scratch’s moderation good enough?

It’s both yes and no. Sometimes the Scratch Team removed content if they just simply dislike it or disapprove it, even if they do somehow, yet, follow the community guidelines. So, this proves that the Scratch Team isn’t perfect, like all other sites out there. Also, don’t hate the whole team, because sometimes the moderation was sometimes done by an individual (One person).

What kind of content does Scratch doesn’t allow?

They don’t allow pretty much almost everything people has been posting in the Scratch community, except FNF stuff. But gun shooting and FNAF are the 2 great examples of unallowed subject (And by “great”, I mean, B I G). Gun shooting was disallowed simply because it’s shooting, as if, like, in a violent way, if you know what I mean. And think about it, that type of gun shooting on Scratch that is supposed to be 8+ of age? It’s pretty obvious that so many projects like those are taken down. And for FNAF stuff, a lot of those projects were taken down, too. And don’t get mad, because Scratch has been taking down FNAF stuff since 2015. They made a discussion forum post regarding to these problems below:

• Schools blocking Scratch due to FNAF games.

• Parents complaining about FNAF.

• Children having nightmares.

So, now you see the point? If you got bored of gun shooting and FNAF, then try to make a storyboard or a platformer game, because those 2 subjects are one of the most popular. So, there’s that.

How can I avoid the risk of a ban?

Simple. Again, just simply follow the community guidelines. What else? Just act normal around the site. Try not to call people names, don’t leave unnecessary criticism that might hurt people’s feelings, especially to kids with autism, post normal projects (like game concepts, artwork, music, memes, etc.), and don’t try to get into flame wars. Flame wars are the most common and the worst unfriendly experience Scratch and others has ever been through. Flame wars also affects the community. It can make innocent people quit because of it or stay out of something related. If you see a flame war, DO NOT JOIN IN, just simply report it to the Scratch Team. And let me tell you, flame wars are obviously not even worth living, either.

What if people takes my content?

Well, just let them be. But they must make sure they give credit to YOU, because giving credit is part of the community guidelines. Scratch doesn’t care if people takes content from others, but if they legit stole it, then that’s a different story. However, Scratch also doesn’t allow anyone to disallow remixing, because you are basically discriminating others, or at least that’s what the Scratch Team said. So, if someone legit stole your content, report it. Otherwise, just at least ask them why they took your content and then kindly solve the problem. But if you have a problem with people taking your content, then Scratch is not a place for you.

Concerning about comments and links…

Scratch made all links outside of Scratch unclickable on purpose. Why? Security purposes. They were actually making it harder for kids to be redirected to somewhere else. But if it’s a Scratch link, then it is safe to click for kids. Now, for the comments, nobody is supposed to be putting mean comments and stuff like that, because Scratch is supposed to be a free, open-source, safe, friendly website. And of course, obviously cussing is disallowed and I was fine with it. But they also disallow certain words that are not cursing either. You may have already noticed that Scratch mutes you for 4 minutes whenever you say “Discord”. Well, it’s because Scratch doesn’t allow anyone to mention that word, because it is a place where people can type in literally anything and any word/links and all other information. And because of that, Scratch barely trusts anyone, so they disallow that word, too. To bypass it, make it a typo, like “D!sc”.

What about criticism?

Criticism is common, and they mostly give helpful information, supposedly. You can leave criticism to almost anything, but make sure it is constructive and reasonable because some people can find it offensive or mean without looking deeply. To make it low-profile, add a proper ending like, “…but that is just my opinion, and I hope you don’t take it personally or offensive, I’m just simply trying to help out”. That can lower the suspiciousness or the toxic thoughts that the person might think and you don’t have to argue with that person. Why do you have to say that? Because since the internet is just full of text and data, it can be pretty hard for people to think the other people’s perspective and because almost nobody on the internet is talking to each other literally face to face IRL, there is no tone of voice on anything. So, make the text looks friendly to prevent toxicity.

Conclusion:

Leaving mean comments on other people’s projects, leaving unnecessary criticism, joining flame wars, and harass other moderators or individuals because they did something you don’t like, all of that seems like an unacceptable behavior, right? Then just be nice to everything and everyone around you, simple. And I’ve been saying this on my previous guides. I know it can hurt to find out that you have got banned or getting your content taken down, but after thing back to it and look into its reasons, try to evaluate a way to make yourself better in the future. Forgive/apologize, forget, and just move on to the bright side. I don’t want to see you ended up crying or getting upset or planning to harass because that is only gonna make it worse. People have been doing this because most of them always seems to assume the worst instead of looking the bright side. Look, we’re just kids, and the site moderators are adults, and nobody wants to see stuff that seems immature. And once people is suddenly gonna find that you don’t fit into the space anymore, they’re gonna kick you out of it. (Also, in case if you didn’t understand what I just said, it’s a metaphor). So, just try to act friendly, follow the rules, and just be the best you can and try to take advantage of it. That is when you are going to suddenly fit in. Plus, there is more things to enjoy in life than doing garbage on the internet.

~

Do you know what my mental physiology teacher once told me?

“Always think positive. Because if you continue to think the bad side, it’s gonna suddenly eat you up more than usual.”