Hey I think it is pretty evident that nothing is or will ever be perfect, and this goes with Scratch as well However, things are getting out of hand Sure I am not the most popular guy on scratch but I have created many animations and I have built up my fan base so I thought that it would be okay to discuss a couple of things in this project that I have never spoken out about before When I was 6, I was introduced to Scratch in my class and I fell in love with it. I started making games and just having a blast, and I had fun with the people in the community. I lost interest later on because of school problems, but I was reintroduced when I was 10, in which I created my first account. Things were different, but the community was the same and so was the coding, so I was happy and okay I then decided to create this account 2 years later and I fell in love with animating Fast forward a year, I noticed that people started getting more competitive and angry about trying to get onto trending and build a follower count I ignored it because I didn't feel the need to get involved, but for whatever reason, near the middle of 2024 things took a turn I noticed that a lot of thumbnails were getting weird and I even came across some atrocious images that I cannot share here. Yes, even worse than what happened recently. But this is only 1 out of a hundred big problems that I have been encountering, so I will only discuss the top 8 worst 1) The reporting system - The reporting system was created to, well, report projects that needed to be taken down for whatever reason. I have used it more often than usual due to the explicit content that I have been encountering. One time I saw an animation about World War II, and I already thought that this was iffy to have to begin with, but I decided to see it since I like History. Within the project it contained some really disgusting and horrific images along with some terrible symbols drawn that I was shocked by, and the animator even made a joke about a serious situation that occurred during the battles making it seem like a hilarious thing, even though millions died from it. When I reported it I was notified that it got banned so I was satisfied about that. But in no less than 2 hours later, the project was put back up and it is still up to this day. This is only 1 instance of this happening, but let me assure you, it happens a lot. 2) Trending - Trending is a way of showcasing the most popular projects on the website and it is really fun, however it has not worked AT ALL. It can easily be manipulated to force your project onto the top which is cheeky in itself, but some people abuse this and do some terrible things with it. Once, I posted a project and I was really excited to see it rise up, and when I checked a day later I received 300 messages from people who loved it. This is great and all, but when I checked trending, there were 3 projects with only 10 views on top from people who manipulated the system. Another way that it can be manipulated is by creating extravagant thumbnails, to only hide a bad project on the inside that took no effort. 3) The Community - As I mentioned before the community was really nice and great, but now it is the complete opposite (for the most part). As time goes on, new people join Scratch which puts a shift on the community's likes and dislikes. This is great and all but a lot of younger audiences have been joining and making the whole of scratch all about generic platformers and stick men animation. This may just be a personal problem for a lot of us, but it has really angered me that my animation that I spent hours on gets overtaken by someone who only took 5 minutes to make. The community has also been very mean, argumentative, and brain-rotting. I receive at least 3 comments a day of people either making fun of my animations, or my oc. I have been called bald in multiple instances which really hurts my feelings because I already deal with bullying at school, and I come to scratch to try and escape it but it seems like I can't. 4) "Modernization" - All companies and websites want to keep up with the current standard for their business, however Scratch just takes it to another level. A lot of this is just in my opinion, however I think the majority would agree. The color change from blue to purple was a big deal, but I could really care less about that; the standard for coding was really laid back back then but now you have to know some crazy algorithms to keep up with the standard for coding. This is really frustrating because I just want to be able to sit down and enjoy scratch, not feel pressured. 5) Times are changing - Scratch cannot control this, but it still bothers me. A lot of people I used to know and talk with have quit scratch and some have even done some terrible things. Scratch has no deal with this so I am not mad at them for this, but it still upsets me
6) Search Bar - Okay. This one really makes me mad. The search bar is meant to allow you to look up something specific, but it does not even work half of the time. If you look up something now, there is a high chance that it says: "Nothing Found" or it says nothing at all. This is primarily due to lag and it really angers me when it doesn't work. 7) Banning system - The banning system is very bad. Banning is meant to be used responsibly when something sensitive is shared to the public. However if a group of people all report for the same exact reason, even if it is like 10 people, the project becomes taken down. My animation about roast battles got taken down within 10 minutes because "it made people feel harmed". There is nothing in there targeting a specific audience so I did not violate any guidelines. The word filter system is also terrible, scratch states that words like frick are okay as it is not filtered, however if someone feels offended by it then it is not okay to say??? If you also want to say a word with the word "live" in it, then you will be banned from commenting. I have no comments. 8) "Grinding" - Scratch used to be a place to relax for me and animate for fun, but because of all of the competitiveness, I have been required to grind so much more. Now some may say "well why do you just animate for fun", and my response is that it is impossible. Even if I made a silly animation for fun, there will always be someone there in the comments or irl telling you that it sucks or that you need to try harder All in all I have found no joy in scratch any more and it really sucks to me because I want to make people happy and I was positive feedback on my work, but it seems impossible due to all of this. There is no point in doing something if it gives you stress or anger which is why I have decided that I am taking a break. I am not quitting, and I am not giving up, but I want to take some time to think. I will keep animating every now and then and I will comment and talk from time to time, but I cannot handle any of this drama any more. I apologize to those who support me and I am so grateful for all of the nice things you've said, but please understand that this all has gotten out of hand and I need a mental break. And to the Scratch Team - Thank you so much for all of the good years I have had with you. You have given me so many skills and teachings that I will never forget. I am forever grateful for this website but it is not the same any more. Until some of these problems are fixed, I will not be a 100% active member.
