If you've only just joined the forums, you may have noticed that you can't do some of the things that everyone else is doing. You'll probably have also noticed that the rank under your username is "New Scratcher" instead of "Scratcher". This was introduced as a way to combat some of the spam and trolling that was appearing on the forums .
You can read more about the history of why this tag was added on the Scratch Wiki article, here.
To help, this is a list of everything you can/can't do for now. But first, if you're wondering how to become a Scratcher - The time varies depending on your overall activity on both the main site and forums. Just keep being active and friendly and soon your rank will change to Scratcher also.
Anyway, so far New Scratchers cannot:
1) Edit their own posts - Scratchers can edit posts they have made by pressing the edit button at the bottom of their posts, so if a user makes a mistake, they can change it etc: New Scratcher's don't have this button.
2) Delete their own posts - Scratchers can also delete their own posts with another button, but again. New Scratchers do not have this button.
3) Post or create threads in the Miscellaneous sections of the forums.
4) Post every minute - Scratchers can post another post every 60 seconds, for a New Scratcher the wait is 180 seconds.
5) Use image tags - New Scratchers cannot post images.
If the image tags are used in a post, then this message appears.
- Sorry, New Scratchers cannot place images in their posts. Please remove all BB code [img] tags.
6) Post links (unless they lead to somewhere on Scratch). - New Scratchers cannot post links unless they're on Scratch due to them being abused in the past. New Scratchers can still type a link as text however, eg: http://scratch.mit.edu.
A few examples of links New Scratchers can post are:
http://scratch.mit.edu - The homepage
http://scratch.mit.edu/users/06dknibbs - Users
http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/06dknibbs/329606 - Projects
A link to somewhere off-site such as google results in this message though.
- Sorry, New Scratchers cannot post urls to websites other than Scratch in their posts. Please remove all BB code [url] tags.
7) Create signatures - New Scratchers cannot create signatures to go with their posts.
If you want to know why this rule exists - There's an FAQ topic here..
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Note: For the Tbg Forums, restrictions 1 and 2 don't apply.
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Currently that's everything. So again, just keep being an active and friendly member around the site/forums and Scratch On!
Last edited by 06dknibbs (2011-07-26 21:41:52)
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1000 seconds between posts?! That's like 17 minutes!
Having a system like this a good way to stop spammers, but it seems really restrictive for normal users...
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hmnwilson wrote:
1000 seconds between posts?! That's like 17 minutes!
Having a system like this a good way to stop spammers, but it seems really restrictive for normal users...
16 minutes, 40 seconds, to be precise
The time rule might be made longer or shorter - 1000 seconds is the current, but it may or may not change sometime in the future
Salvatore-Augusto wrote:
Don't worry! As long as you are polite and don't cause too much trouble, the time will simply fly by, and you'll soon find yourself with the same powers as other Members
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Wolfie1996 wrote:
hmnwilson wrote:
1000 seconds between posts?! That's like 17 minutes!
Having a system like this a good way to stop spammers, but it seems really restrictive for normal users...16 minutes, 40 seconds, to be precise
The time rule might be made longer or shorter - 1000 seconds is the current, but it may or may not change sometime in the future
I'd agree it should be made shorter... 17 minutes (or 16 minutes and 40 seconds >_>) seems a bit to long, and while it'll stop 90% of spammers, it may also end up putting off some new forum users...
Last edited by 06dknibbs (2010-06-17 19:00:41)
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06dknibbs wrote:
Wolfie1996 wrote:
hmnwilson wrote:
1000 seconds between posts?! That's like 17 minutes!
Having a system like this a good way to stop spammers, but it seems really restrictive for normal users...16 minutes, 40 seconds, to be precise
The time rule might be made longer or shorter - 1000 seconds is the current, but it may or may not change sometime in the futureI'd agree it should be made shorter... 17 minutes (or 16 minutes and 40 seconds >_>) seems a bit to long, and while it'll stop 90% of spammers, may end up putting off some new forum users...
We were worried about that, too - as I said, it might change. Not sure how soon that will be, though, or how much shorter the rule will become...
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06dknibbs wrote:
Wolfie1996 wrote:
hmnwilson wrote:
1000 seconds between posts?! That's like 17 minutes!
Having a system like this a good way to stop spammers, but it seems really restrictive for normal users...16 minutes, 40 seconds, to be precise
The time rule might be made longer or shorter - 1000 seconds is the current, but it may or may not change sometime in the futureI'd agree it should be made shorter... 17 minutes (or 16 minutes and 40 seconds >_>) seems a bit to long, and while it'll stop 90% of spammers, WILL end up putting off some new forum users...
I fixed your post
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Salvatore-Augusto wrote:
06dknibbs wrote:
Wolfie1996 wrote:
16 minutes, 40 seconds, to be precise
The time rule might be made longer or shorter - 1000 seconds is the current, but it may or may not change sometime in the futureI'd agree it should be made shorter... 17 minutes (or 16 minutes and 40 seconds >_>) seems a bit to long, and while it'll stop 90% of spammers, WILL end up putting off some new forum users...
I fixed your post
Exhibit A): Sorry for turning you into evidence and stuff x)
Getting the balance between stopping people who sign up to spam and making sure new users can use the forums without a large problem is probably going to be hard
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Maybe it could be reduced gradually with time?
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Nice thread - it explains a lot and is very helpful.
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Chrischb wrote:
Maybe it could be reduced gradually with time?
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Nice thread - it explains a lot and is very helpful.
That could be a good idea ^^ And thanks
coolstuff wrote:
Chrischb wrote:
Maybe it could be reduced gradually with time?
Fabulous idea!
I'll discuss
I find it weird when you mods keep saying "we'll discuss".
What goes on back there? DX
Last edited by 06dknibbs (2010-06-18 21:20:50)
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i'd set it to 180 seconds
that's triple the time, we don't wanna scare away all members do we?
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PlayWithFire wrote:
i'd set it to 180 seconds
that's triple the time, we don't wanna scare away all members do we?
Sounds like a reasonable time ^^
But the problem is, I think the Scratch Team is trying to scare away spammers...
*Pokes above posts*
Anyway, I think some sort of change will happen to the system. For now, I just listed everything different for New Scratchers
Last edited by 06dknibbs (2010-06-18 21:28:54)
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coolstuff wrote:
06dknibbs wrote:
I find it weird when you mods keep saying "we'll discuss".
What goes on back there? DXI'm the only one who says it and I've only said it twice
Twice is still enough for a member to take notice >__>
/off-topicness..
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What are rules 1 to 3 for? They don't help at all!
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helltank wrote:
What are rules 1 to 3 for? They don't help at all!
I don't get why they did 1 or 2 myself
But 3 is probably because a lot of spam/off-topic threads appeared there, especially in the misc.
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06dknibbs wrote:
helltank wrote:
What are rules 1 to 3 for? They don't help at all!
I don't get why they did 1 or 2 myself
Those are odd... my guess is that:
1. If a user posts inappropriate images and edits their post immediately once a moderator gets on, the moderator won't see anything while other users have.
2. Spammers and such seem to like the Show and Tell forum; they sometimes make their own threads. The rule could be so that they don't bump any threads; threads quickly fall, and if they want their spam to stay they'll have to bump it.
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Chrischb wrote:
Maybe it could be reduced gradually with time?
I like that idea, too!
Maybe the limit could start at around 10 minutes between posts, and then decrease from there? That way, a new user could have reasonable posting limits as they posted more, but spammers could still be stopped before they got out of control.
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Harakou wrote:
Chrischb wrote:
Maybe it could be reduced gradually with time?
I like that idea, too!
Maybe the limit could start at around 10 minutes between posts, and then decrease from there? That way, a new user could have reasonable posting limits as they posted more, but spammers could still be stopped before they got out of control.
Actually, that wasn't exactly my idea - but this is a better one. ^^
Last edited by Chrischb (2010-06-19 05:11:47)
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Chrischb wrote:
Harakou wrote:
Chrischb wrote:
Maybe it could be reduced gradually with time?
I like that idea, too!
Maybe the limit could start at around 10 minutes between posts, and then decrease from there? That way, a new user could have reasonable posting limits as they posted more, but spammers could still be stopped before they got out of control.Actually, that wasn't exactly my idea - but this is a better one. ^^
It wasn't? So what was your idea?
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Harakou wrote:
Chrischb wrote:
Harakou wrote:
I like that idea, too!
Maybe the limit could start at around 10 minutes between posts, and then decrease from there? That way, a new user could have reasonable posting limits as they posted more, but spammers could still be stopped before they got out of control.Actually, that wasn't exactly my idea - but this is a better one. ^^
It wasn't? So what was your idea?
To reduce the amount gradually over time for all users, raising it up again if the situation worsens again.
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