okay so this is a pretty serious project covering a pretty serious topic so hang in there we're going for a ride This was brought to my attention by some folks talking on Disc about the toxicity of the Warrior Cats community on Roblox and I realized a lot of that stuff applies here too. Heck, a lot of it is stuff I've been guilty of. Don't think this is a project where I'm acting like a saint and ordering you all around. I get that it's hard, and I get that I'm far from perfect, too. Nobody's a good person all the time, but why don't we all try to be a little better together? Yeah, I'm gonna start following people and favoriting projects. I didn't when I started this account, and I didn't until today because I wanted to be aesthetic and "cool". But you know what's cooler? Being real, personable, and reachable. Feel free to remix this project and either reuse my essay or type up your own! Really hoping I can turn this into a movement to spread positivity <3
The art community on Scratch is broken. In a lot of ways. Honestly, I don't blame anyone- being an artist is hard in ways a lot of people don't even understand. We put up with other people who steal our art, call us names, and harass us daily. We get hundreds of requests for free art that we don't have the time or energy for. If we start a series and take a while to get around to each episode or chapter, we get flooded with comments asking when the next is going to be out. Other sites and parts of the internet aren't any better or less toxic. Believe me, I've tried them all. But this doesn't give us an excuse to behave like crap to others. I think some members, particularly older members of this community (myself included) need to take a step back and analyze how we talk to and think about the other kids on this site. It's time to accept that this is THEIR domain, not ours. Scratch is a wonderful community for kids to grow, learn new things, and make mistakes, and we older or more experienced artists are here to inspire them. Scratch is not made for us, and that's fine. We stay, for nostalgia, community, a variety of reasons, but being surrounded by mature, experienced artists is not one of them. Kids make mistakes, and as role models (face it, if you're older than 13 and have been on Scratch for a decent amount of time, that's what you are) it's our responsibility to show them how to gently and maturely handle these mistakes. A 10-year-old being given their fist "social media" account has no idea about things like copyright laws, Internet etiquette, and art theft. Their parents certainly aren't going to teach them that. Yelling at them for taking a picture off Google or recoloring a meme they liked is not going to teach them. It's only going to confuse them and make them feel unappreciated or bullied. What we can do instead is gently and constructively guide them in the right direction. Instead of saying "you shouldn't take pictures off the internet without permission" or "Artists don't like it when you recolor their work" go for something like "hey, I like it! You should try drawing it by yourself, I think that could look really cool!" or, "I like that you liked my meme! I think it looks a little too close to my characters though, can you change it a little more?" Now, of course, if they respond with something snarky or mean or straight up deny they didn't draw it you're welcome to report them. But give the younger kids who don't know any better a chance. Make friends, become a mentor. A kid who is already friends with you and looks up to you will listen far better when you encourage them to make their own stuff and respect other artists! Interact with these new users and stay positive and constructive- I promise they'll follow in your footsteps. So go get out there and find a young wannabe artist to befriend :D If we role models avoid being toxic and stay positive, it will make a huge impact on the community. Theives, newer kids, and just the general exhaustion of being a big fish in a little shoal getting to you? Please don't take it out on the kids of this site. go for a walk, pet your dog/cat, step away from the internet/art for a few days. Whatever you need to do, take care of yourself, but do your best to be a good role model on Scratch <3
