Scratch

cocoanut wrote:

illusionist wrote:

cocoanut wrote:

Since there are new mods, i.e. more time for mods, can we discuss religion and politics? 

No.

Why not? D:

There must be some really sensitive folks here if you can't discuss that.

Because it still takes work for us to keep things neat and clean. Honestly, in my few hours as a moderator, I've had to ban 2 people for spamming - it's much more work than you might think being a moderator is! We still have to read through all of the posts to make sure things are neat & tidy & non-offensive. Also, it's still not a friendly community if you're arguing, which takes away from what these forums are all about.

pinochio wrote:

So Scratch opposes debates on religion and politics?

Yes.

fg123 wrote:

coolstuff wrote:

cocoanut wrote:

Why not? D:

There must be some really sensitive folks here if you can't discuss that.

Because it still takes work for us to keep things neat and clean. Honestly, in my few hours as a moderator, I've had to ban 2 people for spamming - it's much more work than you might think being a moderator is! We still have to read through all of the posts to make sure things are neat & tidy & non-offensive. Also, it's still not a friendly community if you're arguing, which takes away from what these forums are all about.

pinochio wrote:

So Scratch opposes debates on religion and politics?

Yes.

Woah! How many people get banned in a day?

Too many    I'm not sure I'm permitted to disclose that information 

cocoanut wrote:

No no no. Absolutely not. Debate is the basis of life. We learn from debate. We change from debate. We exercise from debate. If it weren't for debate, our world would be underdeveloped.

Yeah, but

1. Only to an extent.
2. From what I can see, the only reason you're on Scratch is because of the forums, as your friends are there, and you can debate about different things - that's now why the Scratch Forums was created. Going a little off topic is ok - but especially when half of the posts made in the forums are in Miscellaneous - it's a little too much. I can guarantee you the forums weren't just made so users can chat. They were for what the main forums are for - announcements, suggestions, troubleshooting, etc.

Lucario621 wrote:

From what I can see, the only reason you're on Scratch is because of the forums

I have projects. I just haven't had ideas for several months however, and I'm one of those guys who frequently gives up when it takes too long.

as your friends are there...

I HAVE NO FRIENDS

...and you can debate about different things - that's now why the Scratch Forums was created.

I don't believe that's why the Scratch forums were created. And I know for a fact that's not why they were created.  I was here before Inspiration and Miscellaneous existed.   

Going a little off topic is ok - but especially when half of the posts made in the forums are in Miscellaneous - it's a little too much.

To be honest I don't care where a user posts as long as it's not against the Terms of Use. But hey, look at me saying that. Am I right to judge? 

I can guarantee you the forums weren't just made so users can chat.

Yeah, I agree with that.

They were for what the main forums are for - announcements, suggestions, troubleshooting, etc.

Yep.
------------------------------------
So what was your point with that little post there?

coolstuff wrote:

fg123 wrote:

coolstuff wrote:

Because it still takes work for us to keep things neat and clean. Honestly, in my few hours as a moderator, I've had to ban 2 people for spamming - it's much more work than you might think being a moderator is! We still have to read through all of the posts to make sure things are neat & tidy & non-offensive. Also, it's still not a friendly community if you're arguing, which takes away from what these forums are all about.

Yes.

Woah! How many people get banned in a day?

Too many    I'm not sure I'm permitted to disclose that information 

I believe coolstuff is referring to the commercial spammers he caught earlier. 

Sadly, the Scratch website is a big target for those who wish to abuse SEO tactics for money, so most of who be ban from the website are typcially commercial spammers. About 4 to 5 people are banned a day... all because of commercial spam. 

coolstuff wrote:

pinochio wrote:

So Scratch opposes debates on religion and politics?

Yes.

As for the idea of Scratch opposing debates on religion and politics: Believe it or not, there are religious and political projects located on Scratch, so the idea of Scratch opposing religion and politics isn't correct.    The problematic issue is that those topics, when posted in the forums, typically turn out as rowdy flamebait topic regardless of whether or not the thread owner has intended for it to be so. These topics become ridiculously difficult to moderate to maintain it flame free (sometime taking several hours to do so), which, in turn, causes time to be taken away from helping out in the rest of the forums - this is why posting such topics in the forums is now discouraged.

Last edited by cheddargirl (2010-05-28 01:20:59)

cheddargirl wrote:

These topics become ridiculously difficult to moderate to maintain it flame free (sometime taking several hours to do so), which, in turn, causes time to be taken away from helping out in the rest of the forums - this is why posting such topics in the forums is now discouraged.

Yep - totally agree.
It's not that we don't want disagreement - disagreement is fine. Any community that has integrity must also have disagreement. But it's a question of how much disagreement the community can tolerate and still maintain a respectful, friendly tone.

Believe me, we tried for a long time to keep from banning religious and political threads, but in the end we just didn't have enough resources - especially what with all the other stuff we think is important to emphasize.  So we have to choose our battles, and religion and politics didn't rank high enough on the list to justify all the energy it took to deal with them.

Recently we have been seeing a big jump in the amount of spam showing up here in Miscellaneous.  Some of it is taking the form of posting "fads" where one person will post a topic and then a whole bunch of other people post identical or nearly identical topics.

It seems to be kind of a game to try and join in with these fads and make a topic.  This becomes a problem when it clutters up the entire forum with similar topics.  Also, the topics themselves are often spam or soon degenerate into spam. 

This is making a lot of work for our moderators.  Please remember that spamming is considered a disrespectful action and could result in your account being blocked.  When an account is blocked, it is usually blocked for the entire Scratch site, not just the forums.

We certainly don't want to see that happen so please try to combine topics into one general topic rather than putting up a bunch of nearly identical topics.  And make sure your posts are adding useful information to the topic you are posting on.  Thanks for your help with this issue 

calebxy wrote:

Wait a second. This was closed a minute or two ago, and now it's open. 

This is because of the "fad" which just happened. Paddle2see is allowing people to discuss what happened. Most likey so information can be gathered as to future of Miscellaneous.

Last edited by what-the (2010-07-31 05:28:04)

Jonathanpb wrote:

In the Problems in the Miscellaneous forum topic, it says "Don't misquote or disrespect mods or the Scratch Team". But shouldn't it be "Don't misquote or disrespect anyone"? You're not supposed to misquote or show disrespect to everyone, not just moderators and the Scratch Team. 

true dat.

iCode-747 wrote:

Jonathanpb wrote:

In the Problems in the Miscellaneous forum topic, it says "Don't misquote or disrespect mods or the Scratch Team". But shouldn't it be "Don't misquote or disrespect anyone"? You're not supposed to misquote or show disrespect to everyone, not just moderators and the Scratch Team. 

Johnathan...

You've found an error with Lightnin's post! 

Wow... Are you a teacher or Martin Luther King Jr.? 

Actually, Chrischb suggested it earlier. 

He says, "No, it should be "Don't misquote or disrespect anyone, especially moderators and the Scratch Team"! 

calebxy wrote:

Wait a second. This was closed a minute or two ago, and now it's open. 

It got closed from the "two-week" rule. 

Last edited by Jonathanpb (2010-07-31 05:44:08)

Paddle2See wrote:

Jonathanpb wrote:

He says, "No, it should be "Don't misquote or disrespect anyone, especially moderators and the Scratch Team"! 

Thanks, fixed 

Thank you thank you!!!        

I really agree! How about we close it temporarily for how ever long it takes to clean it up, and then re open it?