Scratch

Edition 3

-Introduction-

This is not as long as a printed almanac, but should hopefully be as beneficial as one once used correctly. Read what's going on, and see if you learn anything.

It can be updated, so don't think that this is the permanent release; there's the edition number at the top.

-Contents-

1. 2009 in review
2. Resources
3. Scratch Records
4. The 10ers
5. Statistics and information
6. Events

-Chapter One-
-2009 in review-

2009 was a rather controversial year, but it turned out okay. This has been divided into sections of news, and this is the list:

1. Animation Frenzy
2. Text-Based-Games
3. Discussions about the front page
4. 07ers, 08ers, 09ers
5. 1-Sprite 1-Scripters
6. Heroes of 2009

   ~Animation Frenzy~

   Around April or so, animations began getting popular. Those who frequently sent them out received many friends and such, thus becoming the celebrities that we have now.
   Unfortunately, there was a bit of a scuffle around gamers and animators - but it turned out fine.

   Animations in those times would frequently pierce the Top Loved, and slide the games down the edge. They settled down for a while, usually five days or more - and then they would fall down when another animation or game came along.
   But overall, there were approximately twenty-five great animations reaching the front page.

   ~Text-Based-Games~

   The Inspiration and More forum was doing well. Text-Based-Games were a popular activity, and there were several. But the number was rising, and big-bang suggested a forum made specially for them. It was made in March, and went off to a good start.
   It suffered from chatrooms at first, but slowly the gaming bit got along. Many great ideas were shared, and everyone was having fun. RPGs became big, and it was even suggested that they had their own forum. However, it wasn't made - but it wasn't entirely neccessary.

   Over time, attention moved slightly from the Scratch-related forums into the games. That wasn't much of a problem, but it proved tiresome for the moderators. However, Jonathanpb suggested deleting the forum, and discussions began.
   After several weeks of discussion, andresmh decided that the forums would be closed. However, he suggested starting it again in a seperate area, with new moderators to take care of it specially. MyRedNeptune organized a Selectricity election, and thirty-seven users ran.
   Three or so days later, The-Whiz and Nikkiperson2 were declared the new moderators. The forum was up and running, and was popular. But andresmh warned that if users were hurt by others, the forum could close down again, but permanently.

   ~Discussions about the front page~

   Every user wants to be famous, and every user wants to be well-known and recognized. When animations were on the front page, some gamers got rather frustrated; after all, they wanted their games there too. Sadly, the front page can't hold every project that deserves it.
   Some controversial threads appeared, pointing out that the Scratch slogan was Imagine, Program, Share - and that there wasn't a mention of art in it. However, animations passed the discussion (after all, it's not just scribbling on the computer), and continued.
   However, what began to irritate users were the stream of 0-sprite 1-scripters streaming the Top Viewed. Art with a piece of music constantly got front-paged, and was irritating to some - but andresmh said that the art was usually interactive and therefore fine.
   Despite the explanations and reasoning, the arguments still continue. Which side is right?

   ~07ers, 08ers, 09ers~

   Scratch has been around for a while. Each year provided new users, of which had varying personalities and preferences.
   The 07ers mainly created games, and had their small community. Scratch grew, and then 2008 provided more users. Those users enjoyed more animations and art, and many celebrities rose at that point. Some of them are still around!
   However, 2009 brought even more users. Some of these happened to start flame wars, and there was a lot of angry discussions... some of them complained that the 09ers were ruining things. But it just happened to be like that, so don't panic.
   Fortunately, the discussions died down.

   ~1-Sprite 1-Scripters~

   Recently, lots of users have been attempting the 1-Sprite 1-Script challenge. You have to make an entire game/animation/whatever just with one sprite and one script. It's tough work, but many users have struggled and succeeded.
   The 1-S 1-S to experience is LINE, an actual scroller. Two sprites is hard enough, but one is terrible - you have to stamp terrain.
   Many other users have done it too, such as floatingmagictree with Sphered, a spin-off of The-Whiz's 1-S 1-S: Squared.
   You can try making your own, but remember that it's immensely hard to have several moving objects.

   ~Hereos of 2009~

   2009 had its heroes. No bribery, favoritism, or similar pieces have been used.

   1. The-Whiz

   After the Text-Based-Games election, he was one of the winners. He created the TBG Resources thread, and an Announcements section.
   He has also closed many threads, warned spammers, and more.

   2. Nikkiperson2

   She was the other winner of the Text-Based-Games election, and that means she was the other moderator. She's done a great job at moderating, and is always there to stop people from posting to 50...

   3. RHY3756547

   He started the 1-Sprite 1-Script craze, causing many to step out and try. He made LINE, the starting point, and has also made a variety of games - such as tennis (also a 1-S 1-S).

   4. TheExplodingCheez

   Not every user can accumulate over 150 loveits on many of their projects. Mr. Happyman episodes were released, and would always freeze the 1st position of the Top Loved for a week or more.

   5. Jonathanpb

   He got the Text-Based-Games moved, and endured the long discussions. He persisted in the discussion war, and eventually got it changing... along with making the Scratch Team interact more.

   6. Cheddargirl

   She became a new moderator in the Scratch Forums, and was the one who cleaned up the All About Scratch forum. It had lots and lots of stickies, but she made threads that organized them into groups.

-Chapter Two-
-Resources-

Almanacs help you out, and so will this one.

Help on BBCode:

Forum Code / BBCode!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! All the tips and tricks!!!!!!!
This one's great for learning it swiftly.
All you need to know about BBCode.
This one's good for in-depth learning, along with lots of tricks.
The Official Guide to BBCode
This is the standard, boring, regular BBCode guide.

Cheddargirl's multi-stickies:

USE IT!
PROGRAM IT!
POST IT!
FIND IT!

Other:

An un-brief history of Scratch
Twenty-one chapters.
How to reduce your project's size
A common question.
How to make your projects impregnable to hackers
Not entirely neccessary, but is a good challenge.
How to make a password that will seriously annoy the hackers.
Check that your password is as strong as possible.


If you have any other threads to suggest, please post them.

-Chapter Three-
-Scratch Records-

This is a collection of records to amuse people. If you find yourself on the list, well done - and if you're not, don't worry; it can just happen.

If you like, try and break them.

Note: Archived, other languaged, and FAQ forums are invalid.

-Projects-

Most views: 1. University Escape with approximately 93000 views ~AromaRageST
                 2. Word processor (multi page) 1.0 with approximately 60000 views ~jay
                 3. Jet man game! with approximately 37500 views ~fleetJ

Most loveits: 1. Super Mario Galaxy V4 with approximately 2300 loveits ~Dolfus555
                   2. Archery  Champion beta 1.0 with approximately 1000 loveits ~Shanesta
                   3. Cube World with approximately 900 loveits ~Tanner-FBI

Most remixes: 1. 2 Pong with approximately 3750 remixes ~SampleProjectsTeam
                    2. Doodle with approximately 1500 remixes ~Graham
                    3. 6 Doodle with approximately 1330 remixes ~SampleProjectsTeam

-Threads-

Scratch Forums:

Most views: 1. Design the next Scratch logo with approximately 123000 views ~andresmh
                  2. First Scratch Forum Moderators with approximately 59000 views ~andresmh
                  3. Propose projects to get featured (expiremental) with approximately 56000 views ~andresmh

Most replies: 1. Dragon Egg Hatchery with approximately 2340 posts ~Staraptor
                 2. Are you famous? Ask here with approximately 1200 posts ~dav09
                 3. There's probably no god. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life. with approximately 1150 replies ~Mayhem

Longest topic post: An un-brief history of Scratch with approximately 542 lines ~Chrischb

Text-Based-Games forums:

Most views: 1. Post to 50 before a mod posts with approximately 7000 views ~Lucario621
                 2. Don't eat rocks - The Stupid Person's Guide to Life with approximately 2800 views ~WeirdF
                 3. The Dot Game with approximately 2500 views ~hmnwilson

Most replies: 1. Post to 50 before a mod posts with approximately 2000 replies ~Lucario621
                   2. The Dot Game with approximately 550 replies ~hmnwilson
                   3. 10,000 Posts! with approximately 500 replies ~BWOG

Longest topic post: List of games/RPGs/other (check before making one) with approximately 355 lines ~Chrischb

-Users-

Scratch forums:

User with most posts: 1. Blade-Edge with 4776 (banned)
                               2. Bluestribute with 4743 (unactive)
                               3. floatingmagictree with approximately 4600

User with most stickies: 1. cheddargirl with 4
                                  2. andresmh and Chrischb with 3
                                  3. greenflash and demosthenes with 2
Text-Based-Games forums:

User with most posts: 1. Chrischb with approximately 1500
                               2. Vista4563 with approximately 1400
                               3. WeirdF with approximately 850

User with most stickies: 1. The-Whiz with 3
                                  2. Chrischb with 1


If you find that a record is incorrect or outdated, please post the correct fact with the count and holder.

-Chapter Four-
-The 10ers-

This chapter has been divided into three sections:

1. Greetings!
2. Expectations
3. Future?

   ~Greetings!~

   The 07ers, 08ers, and 09ers greet you. Welcome to Scratch! There has been a lot of talk about you, and other stuff that comes if you scroll down.
   These paragraphs are here to greet you, and make you feel welcomed.

   The Scratch Community is the group of users that work together to create companies, projects, RPGs, and more. To join, simply jump in! Join a company, found an RPG, remix a project, browse the forums, etc.
   If you don't feel comfortable with diving in, you can try finding friends. It may take time, but you'll have a lot of fun.

   As for programming, don't worry if you're clueless - it'll come naturally. Play with the blocks, expirement, download a project and investigate. It'll come to you, so don't worry.

   ~Expectations~

   After the 09ers had arrived, users began discussing the next year of Scratchers. 2009 had many more animations and artworks, and there was talk about the trend continuing. There were some flame wars, but they died down. However, the memory remained, and many were nervous of the future.
   The general expectations were these:

   • Chatty
   • Animators
   • Artists
   • Discussions
   • Celebrities
   • Great projects to come!

   There will be some users of each type for sure. Some categories will have more than others, but that doesn't matter - unless it results in a bad way.
   Great users join every year, which means that each has experienced their stars. In a recent poll on the star of 2009, RHY3756547 ranked top (by far). As for 2010, who'll it be?

   There have been countless threads of anxiety, panic, or welcoming. Feel free to browse.

   ~Future~

   The future in this category focuses on the 11ers. We can't be sure of what's to come, as 2010 has only just started - but you can all state your opinions by posting threads, posting in this thread, or commenting on discussion projects and galleries.
   If we all had to state our expectations for the future, it would probably follow these:

   • Celebrities
   • Heroes
   • Villains (don't panic, they get banned)
   • Hackers
   • ???

   Celebrities will certainly arrive, as someone has to take the spotlight. There will also be heroes, such as in this year - the hero could be an 07er, 08er, 09er, 10er, or 11er. It could be any. It could even be you!
   Heroes will be there too, however small their contribution. 2009 had six heroes, which is plenty - and their parts were large. Stay tuned.
   There will be villains, because Scratch is growing. As a large site, some people will try and ruin it. But they'll fail, because the Scratch Team, moderators, and members are strong. Don't worry.
   There will be hackers, because they have already appeared. However, their success is minimal, and you don't have to worry unless your password is utterly ridiculous.
   As for the last bullet, that just shows that we can't be sure of anything much.

-Chapter Five-
-Statistics and information-

This chapter is handy for writing guides.

-Statistics-

Projects at Scratch's start: 0
Current amount of projects: Approximately 820000
Current amount of available projects: Approximately 650000

Users at Scratch's start: 0
Current amount of users: Approximately 414000
Current amount of project sharers: Approximately 97000

Script count: Approximately 15800000

Sprite count: Approximately 5000000

Scratch forum users: Approximately 77000
Scratch forum thread count: Approximately 26000
Scratch forum post count: Approximately 265000

TBG forum users: Approximately 460
TBG forum thread count: Approximately 335
TBG forum post count: Approximately 15000

-Information-

Scratch Team members:
   andresmh (ScratchR)
   Jens
   Paddle2see
   natalie
   Lightnin
   mres-admin
   tammy
   mletreat
   paulmedwal
   johnadmin
   karenb
   ericr
   evhan55
   jay

Scratch Forum moderators:
   [censored by the author]

TBG Forum moderators:
   [censored by the author]

Sorry, but it turned out that a list of moderators was rather dangerous.

Age of forums from oldest to youngest:
   07-3-07 Troubleshooting
   07-3-14 Advanced Topics
   07-3-20 All about Scratch
   07-5-09 Suggestions
   07-5-22 FAQ
   07-7-20 Show and Tell
   07-12-26 Announcements
   08-8-22 New Scratch Members
   08-8-22 Inspiration and More
   09-3-26 Text-Based-Games (old)
   09-10-27 Text-Based-Games (current)

Versions of Scratch:
   1.0
   1.0.1
   1.0.2
   1.1
   1.2
   1.2.1
   1.3
   1.3.1
   1.4
   1.4.1 (for Linux)
   2.0 - (The planned number for the next release)


Curators:
   I   cheddargirl
   II   Toasty
   III   Jasb
   IV   Keroro645
   V   Lanie
   VI   Coolstuff
   VII   Forest
   VIII   Coka
   IX   JSO
   X   PetVet300
   XI   Fullmoon
   XII   Penguinsrock
   XIII   The Whiz
   XIV   andresmh (temporary)
   XIV   SabGames
   XV   ElPapa
   XVI   sparks

-Chapter Six-
-Events-

There aren't many, but they deserved a clear place.

Scratch Day: May 16
Anniversaries of the Text-Based-Games forums: October 27
Closing of the old Text-Based-Games forum: October 27 like above
Every two months: Next Scratch Design Studio gallery
Scratch 1.4 release anniversary: July 2
....................................

Stay tuned for the 2011 release! 

Last edited by Chrischb (2010-02-01 23:46:11)