Scratch

I hear tell around here that 2.0 will probably have some sort of sprite duplication support...yay! But usually when I use another language to produce multiple copies of the same sort of thing on the stage, canvas, whatever, I start with zero copies and then add instances of their class. Obviously that's not how Scratch works, so here's a simple suggestion: split the Sprites pane in two, leaving us with:

1. The "On Stage" panel. Exactly what the sprites pane is now.

2. The "Library" panel. At any time when working with sprites, you can drag the sprite from the "On Stage" to the "Library" panel. The sprite will disappear from the stage. But DON'T PANIC! The sprite still exists, you just can't see it. But you can duplicate it (or create an instance of it) by running the "create a sprite [name of sprite in library]" block. All of these new versions will start off with the exact same properties that the one in the library (the prototype) has. At any time, if you want to move the Library sprite back onto the stage, just drag it into the other panel and it will reappear right where it was.

I don't know how the details of this would work (for example what happens to all the clones when the project is stopped) but I think it's the most elegant way to handle sprite duplication, instead of the version found in most Scratch mods in which the "master" (prototype!) sprite has to be careful not to delete itself.

Comments? Suggestions? Angry rebukes?