Scratch

cheddargirl wrote:

Greenatic wrote:

cheddargirl wrote:

Depends on the point of view.    Something I've been noticing is that some Scratchers prefer topics that have a creative component to them over topics (MaC), or vice versa where they prefer reading up on something (RaP), some might find it slightly annoying, other may not. It's all on perspective. 

But if you want to, say, find a bunch of science threads...you have to search through both.

There's more than one way forum topics can be organized: what ultimately happens is that it may suit some while not necessarily others (note that this goes for any other forum community as well). A non-academic example: if someone was a Sonic fan and wanted to look up Sonic fan-fiction made by other Scratchers while talking about Sonic-based shows and games, they too would have to look through both MaC and RaP to find all possible Sonic threads on the Scratch Forums. A non-Scratch Forum example: deviantART reorganized its forum structure, eliminating subdivisions for some art topics so some topics dedicated to specific art mediums got lumped in with others (crafts got lumped into traditional art, fractals got lumped into digital art, etc.), suiting artists of various talents and mixed media but not those involved in a single specific medium.

It just ended up being MaC and RaP in the end after several talks of forum reorganization being that Scratch focuses more on creativity and being inspired by other media around us. But as expected, some might welcome this change, others not. Same can be said when other forums go under a restructure change - it's impossible to satisfy everybody. 

It just seems like it would be a good idea--and if you look at the posts here, the majority of people who have posted here support it.

cheddargirl wrote:

What I would really like more is a better search function, such as tags for forum threads which gives alternative forums of organization, one that's independent of forum structure. But that's something to be brought up later for possible plans to switch to a new forum software.

That might be able to solve this problem and your counterexamples.  I think that should be a high priority for 2.0.

FreshStudios wrote:

MrMonk made a mock-up for me... thank him!
http://i42.tinypic.com/v4coc6.png
It looks like it would fit in great!
The only problem is topics that would be like "I hate teachers" or "Getting Bullied" which was exactly like miscellaneous...

I have to admit, the description kind of screams "Miscellaneous" with an academic twist.

Greenatic wrote:

cheddargirl wrote:

FreshStudios wrote:

MrMonk made a mock-up for me... thank him!
http://i42.tinypic.com/v4coc6.png
It looks like it would fit in great!
The only problem is topics that would be like "I hate teachers" or "Getting Bullied" which was exactly like miscellaneous...

I have to admit, the description kind of screams "Miscellaneous" with an academic twist.

Is that a bad thing?   

Yes, it is. It's pushes the limit of what is okay to discuss on the forum and what is probably better talking elsewhere (for example getting bullied is something that requires personal attention from a trusted adult instead of getting questionable advice on a forum), just only under the mask of "Academics" making others believe it okay when it is not.

Greenatic wrote:

cheddargirl wrote:

Greenatic wrote:

Is that a bad thing?   

Yes, it is. It's pushes the limit of what is okay to discuss on the forum and what is probably better talking elsewhere (for example getting bullied is something that requires personal attention from a trusted adult instead of getting questionable advice on a forum), just only under the mask of "Academics" making others believe it okay when it is not.

So, make a sticky about what's okay and what's not.

Alternatively the mockup creator could make the description more specific and cater it to the same criteria running behind MaC or RaP in the mockup.

Greenatic wrote:

cheddargirl wrote:

Greenatic wrote:

So, make a sticky about what's okay and what's not.

Alternatively the mockup creator could make the description more specific and cater it to the same criteria running behind MaC or RaP in the mockup.

How about this?  (+ a sticky)

Academics
Discuss school/college courses and education.  Please do not discuss social problems here.

More specific would be better as that is still somewhat pushing the limit. Look at the description of MaC:

Discuss things you are creating or exploring outside of Scratch, like art, music, programming languages, or crafts.

The first part is brief description but concise about what kinds of topics are allowed. The second part gives examples of what is allowed at the same time implying what isn't. I think: Discuss what you are learning and studying in school/college, such as math, science, or history would be a better description. What's questionable is that some subjects can cross over into MaC or RaP at times. A topic about Art class or Art History class, for example, can easily fit into MaC and RaP, respectively.

Last edited by cheddargirl (2012-04-14 10:45:58)

bump

cheddargirl wrote:

Greenatic wrote:

cheddargirl wrote:

Yes, it is. It's pushes the limit of what is okay to discuss on the forum and what is probably better talking elsewhere (for example getting bullied is something that requires personal attention from a trusted adult instead of getting questionable advice on a forum), just only under the mask of "Academics" making others believe it okay when it is not.

So, make a sticky about what's okay and what's not.

Alternatively the mockup creator could make the description more specific and cater it to the same criteria running behind MaC or RaP in the mockup.

Maybe the description could be:
Discuss things you're learning, academic courses you're taking, and other academic things here. NOT for discussing things that are going on at School.